Financial Advisor articles from November 2003

Financial Advisor archives from November 2003

Fixed-rate IF loan unveiled.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Intelligent Finance is to launch its first range of fixed and tracker mortgages early next year. The firm, which is owned by HBOS, confirmed it is to branch out from its niche in the offset market as a response to broker feedback. IF...

Genesis Home Loans tightens self-cert checks.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... GENESIS Home Loans has introduced tougher checks to verify applications for self-certification mortgages. John Lee, head of sales and marketing for Genesis, said all applications would now be thoroughly examined, including detailed...

Spanish house prices rocket.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... SPANISH house prices have climbed 300 per cent since 1987, pricing many holiday homeowners out of the market. A study by Spains Foundation of Confederated Savings Banks found that in 1998 the cost of buying a 70sqm home was 2.6 times the...

Extra News.
November 20, 2003... Halifax reacts to base rate rise Halifax will increase its standard variable rate from 5.5 per cent to 5.75 per cent from 1 December. This follows the recent increase in the Bank of England base rate by 0.25 percentage points. Standard Life...

L&G to go for principal status.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Legal & General has confirmed it is seeking principal status and hopes to hire up to 3,000 appointed representatives. The group has been reluctant to reveal its post-Mortgage Day plans but this week announced it was currently applying to...

Hamptons develops strategy of alliances; Hamptons seals alliances with an eye on future acquisitions.(Hamptons International)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Mortgage broker Hamptons International has announced a series of joint ventures as part of a future acquisition strategy. The firm has this month tied-up with London-based IFA the Square Mile in a bid to share compliance and professional...

Property market still a safer haven.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... THE recent interest rate rise should stabilise the property market, according to specialist website www.buy-to-let-secrets.co.uk. Neil Lewis, director of specialist website www.buy-to-let-secrets. co.uk, said the rate change would have a...

Martin Key is in the Pink as senior compliance manager; Former senior manager with Sesame will develop an implement Pink Home Loans direct authorisation proposition.(announces other appointments)
November 20, 2003... Martin Key has been named by Pink Home Loans as its senior compliance manager. Mr Key, who formerly held a number of senior management positions at Sesame, has been recruited to develop Pinks direct authorisation proposition and steer the...

Skipton creates new marketing position.(Skipton Building Society appointed Rachel Ramsden head of marketing)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Skipton Building Society has appointed Rachel Ramsden in the newly-created role of head of marketing. Ms Ramsden joins from Britannic Money, where she was also head of marketing. At Britannic, Ms Ramsden saw the firm through its original...

Key dates for your diary.(various financial services industry events listed)(Calendar)
November 20, 2003... Council of Mortgage Lenders 25 November: Conference: Managing Distribution and Cost to Improve Margin, The Hatton Conference Centre, Hatton Garden, London. Starts at 9.30am, through to 3.45pm. Speakers include Chris Darlington, consultant...

The future of self-certification.
November 20, 2003... The recent screening of the BBCs Money Programme highlighted abuse in the sale of self-certification mortgages. However, the self-certification mortgage continues to have a valid place in lenders product portfolio. This is with the proviso that...

Finding value in a static market; Renewed confidence in the market has not pushed up house prices yet, but another en-suite bedroom surely will.
November 20, 2003... The word on the street among estate agents is that confidence has returned to the property market. Deals are being done daily and the only real problem that faces these companies is the lack of decent properties available to sell to this...

Expats need not fear tax man.
November 20, 2003... As the cold, damp British winter begins to take hold of the country, many of us dream of following Posh and Becks to warmer climes. More than 1.2 m of us have already made that dream a reality with second homes in Spain and a further...

Waiting for the self-cert fallout.
November 20, 2003... It has been three weeks since the broadcast of the BBC documentary on self-certification mortgages. Yet, at the time of writing, only two lenders Genesis Home Loans and West Bromwich Building Society have come forward to state their position on...

What next for the housing market? The Bank of England is looking for a slowdown in the housing market, but raising the base rate may not create one.
November 20, 2003... The outcome for base rates was inevitable. Once it was known that the Monetary Policy Committee had voted by a narrow five votes to four to hold base rates rather than raise them in October, it became only a question of when the MPC would vote...

Customer loyalty is the long-term option; Taking the long view on business is the only way to guarantee that customers remain loyal.
November 20, 2003... I believe that if remortgage business in the UK continues at current volumes, irreparable damage will be done to the mortgage market. My reason? Loyalty is out the window. The mortgage industry has in the past existed on loyalty. As levels...

Best-Buys.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... This month there are two pages of mortgage facts and figures to help you select the best mortgage for your clients. On this page the graphs show the average of all discount, fixed rate, and first and second time buyer fixed and discount rates...

Axas IFA chief quits to join Caudwell.(Keith Atkinson joining telecommunications firm)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Axas head of IFA distribution Keith Atkinson has quit the insurer and left the industry. He is officially on "gardening leave", but will next month join telecommunications firm Caudwell as sales director for one of its subsidiary...

Fee-free fixed home loan plan doomed; European mortgage finance agency scheme will not work, say experts.
November 20, 2003... PLANS for a fee-free long-term fixed rate mortgage would fail if governments had to support it, experts have claimed. Intermediaries said that a long- term fixed deal with no early repayment charges planned by the European Mortgage Finance...

IFAs and providers get closer together.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Leading IFAs and providers are in secret talks about establishing a group working to knit closer relationships in the industry. The group, called the Retail Finance Alliance, has secured the interests of several leading providers and eight...

FSA chief to address Sofa conference.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... The Sofa annual conference kicks off in Birmingham on 27 November. Speakers include John Tiner, chief executive at the FSA and Peter Hopkins, head of the pensions simplification review at the Inland Revenue. The two-day conference, in...

Intermediaries in favour of regulation.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Mortgage intermediaries expect support from lenders and insurers to get through regulation. First National Home Finance said a recent survey revealed that more than half of intermediaries thought providers should assist with FSA registration....

NAPF shows way on small firms.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... The National Association of Pension Funds will show trustees how to invest in small listed firms next year. The discussion on ways to plough cash into small firms while bolstering pension pots will take place at the NAPFs investment conference...

Mutual rejig plan at Standard Life.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Standard Life Investments is to overhaul its mutual funds division. Alan Burton, managing director of mutual funds, is retiring this week and will not be replaced. Standard Life would not say how many divisions were involved, except to confirm...

Its party time for Addison as he joins Gartmore Investment team.
November 20, 2003... INVESTMENT Kevin Addison has joined Gartmore Investment Managements third-party sales team as regional sales director. He will be responsible for handling accounts with IFAs in the south-east. Prior to joining Gartmore, Mr Addison spent 16...

Multimanager role for Wilson.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Axa Investment Managers has appointed Robert Wilson to the newly-created role of director of retail investments for Axa Multimanager. Mr Wilson will be responsible for all aspects of portfolio management and will work with Philippe Le...

MCCB to clear up first-timer confusion.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... A REGULATOR will tackle the FSA after revelations that half of first-time buyers had no idea about their mortgages. Research, from the Mortgage Code Compliance Board, showed that almost half of all first-time buyers had no idea and only one...

BSA to campaign for appeals system; Societies call the right to appeal against ombudsmans decisions.
November 20, 2003... BUILDING Societies have called for an appeals system for decisions made by the Financial Ombudsman Service. John Goodfellow, chairman of the Building Societies Association, told members at its annual lunch on 13 November that it would...

Regulation update.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY www.fsa.gov.uk CP201: Implementation of the Insurance Mediation Directive for long-term insurance. Responses: 31 January. DP22: Reducing money laundering risk knowing your client and anti-money...

Key attacks ?aws in consultation results; Investigation into regulating home reversion schemes is badly focussed.
November 20, 2003... A NATIONAL IFA has hit out at government consultation on regulation for home reversion schemes. Key Retirement Solutions is concerned that the Governments consultation, which was unveiled last week, focusses too much on price and not...

88% of IFAs will be directly authorised.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... MORTGAGE firms are expecting almost nine out of 10 brokers to become directly authorised. Research from Mortgage Promotions has showed 88 per cent of respondents would opt for direct FSA authorisation rather than appointed representative...

MGM promotes annuity online.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... MGM Assurance has teamed up with Hargreaves Lansdown to try and improve take-up of the providers select annuity. Tim Gosden, product manager of MGM Assurance, said it had been difficult to pinpoint whether the relatively low up-take of the...

Hargreaves plans to triple advising team; Mortgage department grows in step with a buoyant property market.
November 20, 2003... Hargreaves Lansdown will strengthen its advising team and expand into equity release, following strong mortgage business growth. The Bristol-based nationwide IFA plans to triple the size of its advising team and is about to issue an equity...

Light loan offer; NEW PRODUCT: preferred mortgage.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Preferred Mortgages unveiled its Extra Light product at Mortgage Business Expo this week. To mark the launch, Preferred is offering a 1.5 percentage point discount until 28 February 2005 for loans up to 90 per cent loan to value. Starting...

Lib Dems slam govt child funds.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... The governments plans for Child Trust Funds are "a triumph of hope over expectation", according to the Liberal Democrats. Following a Treasury select committee meeting on the governments ideas, Norman Lamb MP, and member of the committee,...

Pensioners could gain GBP50m by shopping around.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... PENSIONERS miss out on more than GBP50m of retirement income every year, according to the Bank of Scotland Annuity Service. The independent annuity broking arm found pensioners were failing to look around for the best deal. If they...

MPs quiz experts over Sandler range; Industry figures and academics face questions on costs and price cap.
November 20, 2003... The debate over the Sandler products price cap and suitability continued last week at a parliamentary meeting. MPs quizzed a panel of industry experts including Professor Philip Davis of Brunel University and Professor Christopher OBrien...

Chartwell IFA opens 3 advisory branches; Adviser boosts service with south-east, south-west and midlands offices.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... LEADING IFA Chartwell is opening three branches to accelerate its advisory service. Craig Whetton, chief executive of Bath-based Chartwell, said that although the firm had been offering an advisory service, Chartwell was still perceived as...

FSA overhaul of CIS to bring cash onshore.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... THE FSAs overhaul of the Collective Investment Scheme sourcebook will see more money back onshore, according to the IMA. In its response to CP185: The CIS Sourcebook a new approach, the Investment Management Association said the revamp of...

Sort out savings and retire early.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... BORED Brits could retire early rather than switch jobs if they sorted out their savings, according to Clerical Medical. An online survey carried out by the pensions and investment provider, found 78 per cent of middle-aged people realised...

Lenders must loosen their lending criteria; Building society members warn the housing market needs bolstering.
November 20, 2003... THE chairman of the Building Societies Association warned members of a housing slowdown and the need to loosen lending criteria. John Goodfellow, chairman of the BSA, told the societys annual lunch last week, that lenders should prepare for...

UCB fixed offers; NEW PRODUCT: loans.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... UCB Home Loans, the specialist lender of Nationwide, has released new fixed rates on its self-cert and buy-to-let ranges. It will also increase its variable rates by a quarter of a percentage point following the Bank of England interest rate...

Claims may follow Equitable report.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... LORD Penrose, and any claims that could arise from his report, hung heavily over Equitable Lifes interim report. Charles Thomson, chief executive of Equitable Life, said he remained cautiously optimistic for the year ahead as the society...

2% offer extended; NEW PRODUCT: with profits bond.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... LIVERPOOL Victoria has extended the 2 per cent extra allocation on its enhanced With Profits Growth Bond until 5 December. The special offer has been extended on the with profits bond, which was enhanced at the end of June with improved...

L&G puts faith in Japanese recovery; Range of options Increased as Nikkei Index outperforms the competition.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... AN IMPROVED outlook for Japan could mean sunnier prospects for pension funding, according to Legal & General. Andrew Nagele, associate director of Legal & General Investment Management, said that since April Japans Nikkei Index has...

Massive pension trust gap fear.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... EMPLOYEES are losing trust in the ability of employers and the Government to help them prepare for retirement. Aon Consultings annual Pensions at Work report showed only 19 per cent of employees trusted their employers to provide...

Rule changes will create a surge of right-to-buy loans.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... NEW government rules on council housing could mean a drop in right- to-buy mortgages, an IFA has warned. Rob Clifford, managing director of Mortgageforce, said that government proposals to extend the time before council tenants could take...

Building societies told to build trust; Mp tells BSA members to lead the way in rebuilding consumer confidence.
November 20, 2003... BUILDING societies have been told they should lead the way in rebuilding consumer trust in financial services. Labour MP John McFall, chairman of the Treasury select committee that recently quizzed credit card lenders on interest rate...

A-day expected to scrap compulsory annuity purchases.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... COMPLUSORY purchase of an annuity could be a thing of the past after A-day, according to Scottish Equitable. At the insurers pensions road show, Stewart Ritchie, pensions development director of Scottish Equitable, said proposals put...

Debate on lifetime limit delayed paper; CBI pressure means pensions simplification details will not be out soon.
November 20, 2003... WRANGLING about the GBP1.4m lifetime limit could be holding up the second pension consultation paper, according to Stewart Ritchie. The pensions development director of Scottish Equitable told more than 400 IFAs at the providers pension...

Axa withdraws Lifetime Care arm from long-term care sector; Millfield warns IFAs to take note of providers decision to exit ailing pre-funded insurance market.
November 20, 2003... IFAS should take Axas decision to withdraw from the pre-funded long-term care market as a "serious wake-up call". That is according to Nicky Cave, head of the Millfield Care Partnership, the specialist division of the Millfield Partnership....

Stonebanks petition hit by wording problems.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... SETBACKS and problems with petition wording continue to plague David Stonebanks campaign to demutualise Standard Life. Mr Stonebanks had to return voting request forms after he spotted a mistake in the petition that he had launched on his...

Yvonne wins Women IFA 2003.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... INSPIRATIONAL IFA Yvonne Goodwin won the title of Woman IFA of 2003 at a gala dinner last week. The adviser for Leeds-based Pearson Jones was presented with the award, a holiday to an island resort in Italy and champagne at the Womens IFA...

Clerical offers fund transfer tool; NEW PRODUCT: pension tool.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... A SOFTWARE tool designed to make pension transfers easier can now be accessed through Clerical Medicals salesforce. The Pensions Comparison tool has been launched by Clerical Medical to help advisers maximise opportunities for clients, by...

Regulation gap will leave borrowers unprotected; Complaints dating from MCCB days will not be admissible once FSA regulation kicks in.
November 20, 2003... REGULATORS have warned the government of a regulation gap that could leave complainants out in the cold. The Mortgage Code Compliance Board said that consumers with complaints that date from before FSA regulation begins in October would be...

Applications come in for FSA managing directors.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... More than 20 people have applied for one of the three high-level jobs on offer at the FSA. Following the management restructure announced by John Tiner, chief executive at the City regulator, there are vacancies for three managing...

Kingstons opens in Cheltenham.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... The opening of Kingstons Financial Managements Cheltenham office was attended by Cheltenhams mayor and the president of the Chamber of Commerce. The new office marks the firms expansion plan that has seen the IFA team grow to 17 so far...

The Exchange focusses on new service.
November 20, 2003... Software firm Focus Solutions Group has teamed up with The Exchange to offer IFAs an online and off-line business service. Focus has won a long-term contract with The Exchange to integrate its service Goal:techno- logy into Exweb. ...

Stroud & Swindon launches attractive trackers and fixes.
November 20, 2003... STROUD & Swindon Building Society has launched a range of fixed-rate and tracker mortgages The society is offering a one-year fixed rate at 4.65 per cent, which reverts to a Bank of England base rate tracker plus 0.99 percentage points....

FSA clears Clay Cross transfer.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... The FSA has confirmed the transfer of engagements from Clay Cross Building Society to Derbyshire Building Society. The transfer was approved for 12 November after the application from Clay Cross. The FSA had appointed Eric Engstrom, a manager...

Cripps to host pensions seminar.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Cripps Portfolio is holding a seminar for IFAs on investment management for pensions. The investment management firm will hold the seminar on 4 December at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Pembury, near Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Further details...

The IMA explains the Child Trust Fund.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... The Investment Management Association has published a guide to the governments Child Trust Fund. The guide explains who is eligible for the fund, the level of contributions that can be made, the types of account available and how the accounts...

Winterthur Life rating raised.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... AKG Actuaries & Consultants raised Winterthur Lifes financial strength rating from B to B plus. Nigel Balchin, managing director of AKG Actuaries & Consultants, said the uprating reflected the improvement in the position of the insurers parent,...

SPML regulation show hits the road.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited is running a third series of regulation roadshows. The roadshows for packagers are in Manchester on 21 November and London on 25 November. Presentations will be given by the SPML compliance team. The SPML...

Work is biggest health threat.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Doctors believe the work place poses one of the biggest threats to our health, according to a new survey. More than two thirds of the GPs interviewed in Norwich Union Healthcares survey said they thought workplace factors accounted for half of...

Adviser slams AMP over immoral sales practices; Adviser claims AMP has been recommending Towry Law without declaring its ownership.
November 20, 2003... An IFA has accused troubled provider AMP of passing Pearl customers on to Towry Law without declaring its links. Worcestershire-based IFA Peter Stonehewer alleged that AMP, which is to demerge next month, has been targeting AMP Pearl...

Buckles acquires two more IFA ?rms.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... North Wales-based IFA Buckles Investment Services has bought two local IFA businesses adding 4000 clients to its books. The firm has bought Chester IFA, Cathedral Associates and Isletrend, the financial services operation of one of North...

Gerrard is back in sponsors saddle.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... THE eighth season of the Gerrard Ladies Open point-to-point championship is under starters orders. The nine races that make up the season start at Silverton Foxhounds in Devon on Sunday, 25 January. As well as providing prize money for the...

Millfield launches employee service.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... MILLFIELD Partnership aims to corner workplace advice by launching an employee benefits service. The national firm of more than 500 IFAs is in talks with several FTSE100 companies and small and medium-sized enterprises in the hope they...

Networks cost thousands for little return, claims 360.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... IFA networks are tapping members for thousands of pounds a year without commensurate benefits, according to Threesixty Services. The service provider which since launching earlier this year has picked up 75 client firms said heavy fee...

Mortgage Extra free this week.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... The future of self-cert mortgages depends on high quality compliance checks, according to John Lee in Mortgage Extra, free with Financial Adviser this week. This applies to both lenders and brokers, says Mr Lee, of Genesis Home Loans. Alan...

Software help with illustrations.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... New computer software will allow intermediaries to give fully compliant business illustrations. The Alpha+ for mortgages service is a stand-alone calculations provider that will give intermediaries key facts, information, projections and annual...

G&A signs up to study with the CII.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Griffiths & Armour has signed up to the Chartered Insurance Institute qualifications. CII will supply the Liverpool-based independent insurance broker with 160 exams and related study material over the next two years. The focus will be on the...

Electronic trading system expanded.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Legal & General has extended the electronic trading systems for its protection range. IFAs using its eProtection Choices range can now use an automated underwriting service similar to that of its On Line Term Assurance. OLTA lets advisers go...

NU Healthcare enhances range.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Norwich Union Healthcare has made some enhancements to its group income protection products. These include raising the maximum income benefit to GBP250,000 from GBP200,000 and increasing the maximum income benefit threshold to GBP200,000 from...

GBP7m paid on breast cancer claims.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Scottish Provident paid out more than GBP7m on breast cancer claims in the first six months of 2003. This went to 80 claimants, the highest ever at Scottish Provident, reflecting better screening and greater awareness of early symptoms and...

Bosses still take pension breaks; TUC reveals employers are not paying in despite crisis.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... EMPLOYERS continued to take contributions holidays worth more than GBP1bn despite the pensions crisis, according to the Trades Union Congress. New pension fund figures for the five years to 2002 revealed employers with final salary schemes...

Educating investors at the Pru.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Prudential has set aside GBP3.5m to educate investors through IFAs and advisory groups. This compares with the GBP300,000 earmarked by the FSA, which has a statutory responsibility for public financial education and improving consumer...

Politicians to cut red tape.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... BUSINESSES have been promised a cut in red tape by Labour and the Conservatives. Speaking at the annual Confederation of British Industry conference in Birmingham, Gordon Brown, chancellor and Michael Howard, Tory party leader, pledged to...

Multi-ties likely to grab IFA business; Exclusive: New rules may mean big changes for IFAs, warns survey.
November 20, 2003... Regulatory changes may lead to the rise of multi-ties and the demise of IFAs as the largest retail sales channel. This is according to the results of a survey of 35 senior life and pensions decision makers at Marlborough Stirlings Vision...

CII exams attacked by Sesame.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... The Chartered Insurance Institute has been accused of cutting corners on its examination processes. According to the Sesame group, the CII decided to put the K10 and K20 examinations on the same day, although some IFAs were meant to be...

Forsyth to host Financial LIA Adviser Service Awards.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... TV legend Bruce Forsyth was set to compere the Financial Adviser LIA Service Awards this week. Nearly 700 guests were expected at the glittering gala dinner at the Natural History Museum in London on Thursday evening. The event will...

Advisers should look at the advantages of outsourcing; Operating costs can be reduced and time saved if non-core work is handled by an external company.
November 20, 2003... The advantages of outsourcing administration or accountancy work should be considered seriously by IFAs. Tad Potworowski, director of financial outsourcing for Grant Thornton, the London-based chartered accountancy firm, said: "The IFA...

Fee-based IFAs should be aware of credit insurance.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2003... Advisers will need to become more aware of credit insurance as they move towards providing fee-based services, according to IFA Ashley Clark. Mr Clark, co-director of Staffordshire-based IFA NeedAnAdvisor.com, said: "It is something that...