Financial Advisor articles from November 2005

Financial Advisor archives from November 2005

Aifa welcomes Positive return.
November 3, 2005... POSITIVE Solutions has renewed its membership of the Association of IFAs after the body refused to allow multi-tied advisers to join its ranks. The national IFA, which was bought by Aegon for AGBP160m, postponed renewal awaiting the...

Deloitte bids sad farewell to Iqbal.(Icki Iqbal has packed away his calculator )(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... AFTER 40 years in the financial services profession, Icki Iqbal has packed away his calculator and walked away from the actuarial desk for the last time. The popular Deloitte & Touche man retired on Monday following a career that saw him...

Will warnings from Sovereign.(Independent Financial Adviser )(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... IFAs could lose their professional indemnity cover if they take will instructions from their client, warns Sovereign. Nick Plumb, director for the Ipswich-based will writing services provider, said there were relatively few IFAs who...

Standard Life fields float calls.
November 3, 2005... Standard Life is receiving "thousands" of calls every day from members seeking information about the proposed stock market flotation, it has claimed. The mutual is extending the opening times of its phoneline for members looking for...

Friends looking to A-Day boom to fuel expansion.
November 3, 2005... FRIENDS Provident signalled its push back into the individual pensions market as it announced steady growth in the first nine months of the year. Meanwhile, third-quarter figures from Norwich Union, Prudential and Skandia also showed...

Fidelity trail deals aim to win over IFAs.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... FIDELITY has continued its policy of incentives for the IFA market by offering trail commission for unit trust investments outside tax wrappers for the first time. The move follows the reduction last month on the annual management charge...

One in three fail to add to pension.
November 3, 2005... More than one in three UK workers are not contributing to a pension, according to research from B&CE Benefit Schemes. Some 6.5m people in full-time work are not contributing towards a pension, with 4.6m making no provision for their...

CII unveils revamped training tool.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... THE CHARTERED Insurance Institute has shaken up its Continuing Professional Development scheme ahead of the launch of its competency framework. Launched after extensive consultation, the new scheme will apply to all qualified members of...

Fate of AGBP3.3bn Aviva cash is 'in policyholders' hands'.
November 3, 2005... NORWICH Union has said that policyholders will get the final say on whether its parent company Aviva distributes AGBP3.3bn of orphan assets to shareholders. Aviva announced that it had begun steps that could lead to AGBP3.3bn of NU's...

Advisers get set for boom in eq release.
November 3, 2005... ADVISERS are predicting a rise in the equity release market, according to the results of a new survey. A questionnaire, conducted on the behalf of Norwich Union, found that, of those quizzed 78 per cent believed they would be doing more...

Gauntlet Risk creates alternative adviser arm.
November 3, 2005... AN alternative provider of professional indemnity cover for IFAs has set up a separate company for advisers' insurance. Gauntlet Risk Management has set up Gauntlet Standard Insurance Company to house its Gauntlet Club, which offers an...

Four founders add to Millfield exodus.
November 3, 2005... Four founding shareholders of Millfield have left the business and opted to cash in more than AGBP1m of shares. The latest senior departures to hit the Surrey-based group came a year after senior Inter-Alliance staff, including Keith Carby,...

Downing rolls out VCT issue.
November 3, 2005... DOWNING Corporate Finance has announced the launch of the sixth edition of its Pennine Aim venture capital trust. For every AGBP1 invested in the VCT, around 70p will be invested in Aim stock, although there will be some investment in...

Technology Adviser website Financial Express revamps website.
November 3, 2005... FINANCIAL Express has relaunched its fund research and analysis service with a new interface and a host of additional tools. The Woking-based firm's improved Trustnet Adviser site has a revamped homepage that gives IFAs and brokers direct...

A-Day clarifications to 'ease' protection issues.
November 3, 2005... The latest Revenue changes to A-Day rules will significantly ease the burden for those advising trustee and corporate clients, according to Stewart Ritchie. HM Revenue & Customs last week published a raft of draft regulations that included...

SL scoops glory as sales stars take a bow.
November 3, 2005... STANDARD Life stole the show at this year's Financial Adviser Sales Awards 2005 last week. The life and pensions provider came runner-up in the Best Call Centres (Inbound) category, second only to HSBC's Direct Homebuying Department, but...

Changing demographics set to ratchet up pressure with only migrants to ease threat.
November 3, 2005... THE ratio of the UK working population to people of pensionable age will drop sharply, further deepening the pension crisis, according to Office for National Statistics data. Pension Trends reveals that in 2003 there were 3.3 working people...

ONS uncovers yawning gap in nation's pensions.
November 3, 2005... LESS than half of the UK working population is a member of a private pensions scheme, according to the Office for National Statistics' long-awaited statistical backdrop for UK pension trends. The 96-page publication, Pension Trends, found...

Liver finalises launch in light of A-Day news.
November 3, 2005... ROYAL Liver is completing development work on a pension term assurance product ready for A-Day following latest Revenue guidance. HM Revenue & Customs last week published the first draft of its technical manual for pension simplification...

UKsif warns advisers to get ethically savvy.
November 3, 2005... IFAs could have compliance issues if they continue to ignore ethical fact finds when advising clients on their investment choices, according to UKsif. Helen Barnes, retail investment project manager for the UK Social Investment Forum,...

Majority hold less than AGBP10,000 in their pension plans.
November 3, 2005... IN 2002-03, 55 per cent of men and 73 per cent of women held less than AGBP10,000 in their stakeholder and personal pension funds, according to Pension Trends. The report also shows that in 2003 there were 9.4m individuals in the UK...

Standard warns on Sipp move.
November 3, 2005... INVESTORS rushing in to self-invested personal pensions risk falling victims to crooks through Treasury changes which would expose them to unregulated providers, according to John Lawson. Mr Lawson, head of pensions policy for Standard...

NEW PRODUCT website HSA offers opportunities to intermediaries with website.
November 3, 2005... PMI and cash plan provider HSA is looking to forge closer ties with intermediaries with the launch of a website. HSA said that the website includes sales aids and information for clients about healthcare needs and gives specific details...

Intrinsic calls on N4 and The Exchange for its site.
November 3, 2005... INTRINSIC has signed up N4 Solutions and The Exchange to provide its front and back office systems. The new venture, which has been set up by former Zurich high-flyers led by Sandy Leitch, said it had invested heavily into providing a...

Securetrading campaign to ramp up online safety.
November 3, 2005... PAYMENT service provider Securetrading is sponsoring a new government initiative to help web-savvy financial customers conduct their business in a safe environment. The Get Safe Online Campaign provides a one-stop-shop for reliable,...

MORTGAGE buy-to-let Pink raises LTV in buy-to-let bid.
November 3, 2005... PINK Home Loans is hoping to attract buy-to-let investors with high loan-to-values. Investors can borrow up to 89 per cent of the property value with Pink's new buy-to-let product funded by GMAC-RFC. The mortgage offers a fixed rate of 5.19 per...

Web usability firm speaks out on lack of online relevance.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... MORTGAGE lenders are in danger of missing out on millions of pounds worth of online sales because of a "crisis of relevance". Research by web usability company Foolproof found that online shoppers are failing to find the sites they wanted...

NU criticised over tardy turnarounds.
November 3, 2005... Norwich Union has been criticised for turnaround times on protection applications that are taking four times as long as the best performing providers. Protection brokers Life Policies Direct has produced figures that show Norwich Union is...

Abbey sub-prime entry ignites market.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... IFAs have hailed Abbey's intention to enter the sub-prime market as a turning point in the sector. The news follows Abbey's announcement last week that it intends to make inroads into the sub-prime and buy-to-let markets over the coming...

Trigold adds Money Partners mortgages.
November 3, 2005... Non-conforming sourcing provider Trigold has added the mortgage ranges from Money Partners to its module. The Trigold module allows intermediaries to source non-conforming mortgage products from a range of lenders, which accounts for 80 per...

NU, Axa go opposite directions over rates.
November 3, 2005... NORWICH Union has upped premiums for its range of term assurance products while Axa has lowered premiums. Premiums for NU term assurance without critical illness have been increased by an average of 0.4 per cent, with 58 per cent of...

NEW PRODUCT combi bond B&B links to FTSE.
November 3, 2005... Investors wishing to protect their capital but benefit from rises in the stock market can look towards Bradford & Bingley's Guaranteed Combi bond. With a minimum capital requirement of AGBP1000, the combi bond splits the customer's...

Watson Wyatt turns to Stalkartt as it prepares for A-Day changes.
November 3, 2005... General Watson Wyatt has appointed Tim Stalkartt as a senior consultant within the executive financial planning group in its benefits practice. Mr Stalkartt was previously a senior financial planning manager for accountants Grant Thornton...

CII on the hunt for lost exams.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... THE CHARTERED Insurance Institute has lost about 300 papers for examinations sat at its Birmingham test centre on 17 October. The institute has apologised to candidates after a parcel containing their papers was received by the courier, but...

eConveyancer warns of Hips failing.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... THE mortgage industry is unprepared for the introduction of home information packs and risks losing business, according to Alan Dring, sales director for eConveyancer. Mr Dring, who left Standard Life to join the online conveyancing group,...

Consumer Intelligence fault probe under fire.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... PROTECTION advisers have dismissed as "contradictory and deeply flawed" a fault-finding report following 125 mystery shopper calls to companies. The Consumer Intelligence report into the selling of life assurance probed leading protection...

HSBC Inv shakes up its retail team.
November 3, 2005... ANDY Clarke has been appointed HSBC Investments' head of retail. Mr Clarke joins from DWS Investments, where he was head of retail distribution. In his new role, he will be in charge of strengthening relationships with intermediaries...

Gov't to shun Turner report, predicts PFS.
November 3, 2005... RECOMMENDATIONS made in the Turner Report are likely to be ignored by the government, according to the Personal Finance Society. In an informal poll of members, the PFS found that more than half of respondents expressing a strong opinion...

Looking back on one year of difficulties but overall success.
November 3, 2005... FINANCIAL ADVISER: How has the first year for Money Partners gone? COLIN SANDERS: For the first six months of our business, the growth the company made was central growth. In a newly regulated market you are never going to get a second...

Finding ways out of another fine mess.
November 3, 2005... THAT'S another fine mess you've gotten us into, as Oliver Hardy said to Stan Laurel on numerous occasions. I am talking about the glorious confusion and posturing between the Association of British Insurers, endowment claims handling firms...

Votes are in for Service Awards.
November 3, 2005... MORE than 650 people and 28 providers will be attending this year's Financial Adviser Service Awards 2005. With an increasing range of providers in the market for IFAs to choose from, service has become key to retaining and attracting new...

Your very own Superman.
November 3, 2005... Intermediaries have to do superhuman things sometimes when it comes to dealing with clients and managing their expectations. However, few could have been as surprised as Taylor Patterson when their very own Clark Kent walked through the...

Tears while tying the knot.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... Everyone loves a wedding and here Insider is pleased to show wedding pictures for Home of Choice chief executive Richard Coulson. Here he is on his wedding day with his lovely wife, before jetting off to South Africa on his honeymoon. ...

No tax fun in the sun.
November 3, 2005... While the recent hurricanes across North America might seem a long way away, their effects were felt by those planning to go to the International Trust and Tax Planning summit. The event, which was due to be held last week, had to be...

We meet again, Mr Hawks.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... Guy Batchelor, the sales and marketing director of Platform, saw a shadow from his past at the Financial Adviser Sales Awards last week. Compering was Tony Hawks, author of Round Ireland with a Fridge, but better known by Mr Batchelor as...

An end to the never, never.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... FINALLY the government has heeded the warnings about escalating credit and store card debt that financial advisers and others in the financial services sector have been warning about for two years or more. As the credit-driven and housing...

Congratulations.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... THIS year's Financial Adviser Sales Award lived up to its usual standard with the quality of well-deserved winners. All 13 have something to celebrate -- coming top in their categories in a world-beating field of financial services...

Punishment is for guilt not defiance.
November 3, 2005... ANY week now, unless we see a U-turn to end all U-turns, the financial adviser business that is John Joseph Financial Services will be visited by the heavy mob from the FSA. The heavy mob, otherwise known as the enforcement division of the...

True image rather than ticked box.
November 3, 2005... SERVICE? "Fine. Thank you for that. I am really pleased you have been able to resolve that problem for us. So what is the timescale for you getting back to us? "How long? Sorry. When you say five working days, is that five working days...

A taxing system that's here to stay.
November 3, 2005... LOOKING back from the current state of the UK tax system, it is difficult to discern a clear tax policy direction over the past quarter century -- or even the most recent eight years -- which has brought us to this point. That is not to...

Putting assets on the fast track.
November 3, 2005... TAXATION issues should not usually determine investment choices. It is important to base decisions on the merits of the underlying investments and tax relief should be gratefully accepted as a bonus rather than the purpose. But, when it...

ABI revamps quality mark.
November 3, 2005... Raising Standards has been ditched by the Association of British Insurers in favour of a more comprehensive initiative. In a 25-page consultation paper sent out to providers this week, the ABI outlined plans to launch an initiative to raise...

The dangers lie in the gaps between regulation.
November 3, 2005... One of the few benefits of a classical education for one with a lamentably poor memory -- in addition to the ability to say "I love you" in Latin, an essential skill though it might be -- is the knowledge that history repeats itself. Had...

A well-researched beeline for success.
November 3, 2005... IMAGINE the following scenario; it may be familiar to some of you. Your business team has identified a gap in the market and your organisation has invested considerable resources in designing, developing and launching a product to fill it. ...

Investing that is not just for your granny.
November 3, 2005... It all seems too good to be true, a savings product where higher rate taxpayers are earning a gross equivalent of 6.33 per cent with total protection against inflation built-in and total security. Scratching your head? Then try a spot of...

Time to clip rate hawks' wings.
November 3, 2005... Economic data for the UK economy seems to have strengthened the hand of the interest rate hawks. With hawkish comments from Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, still ringing in their ears, and the September inflation and third...

The poison pens have run out of ink.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... A FEW years ago I used to receive a constant barrage of what can only be described as hate mail from a section of the advice community -- and I use the word advice here in the loosest possible term. Every piece Money Mail published warning...

Time to crack the whip on CTFs.
November 3, 2005... Parents could lose AGBP544m in growth on the 850,000 outstanding child trust fund vouchers if they allow them to expire, according to experts. Six months into the scheme, findings by Moneyfacts have revealed that almost half of the...

John Charcol warns of fading bonanza.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... SWIFT action may be required if first-time buyers are to get the remnants of good fixed-rate deals. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager for John Charcol, said a recent trend in removing good market rates could mean first-time buyers lose...

Impact of Harrison's departure splits IFAs.(Independent Financial Adviser (UK))
November 3, 2005... CREDIT Suisse funds could suffer following the departure of fund manager Leigh Harrison, according to an IFA. Kim Barrett of KS Barrett & Associates in Waltham Abbey, Essex believes fund managers have a real effect on the performance of...

Picking good securities will be key for 2006 -- S&P.
November 3, 2005... CHOOSING securities well will be at the heart of good performance over the next year, according to the latest review of the High Income sector from Standard & Poor's Fund Services. The organisation -- the leading fund information and...

Chelsea sees the Light with reduced rate mortgages.
November 3, 2005... CHELSEA Building Society has overhauled its range of mortgages. The society has also reduced rates on its Prospect range of non-conforming mortgages. An Extra Light mortgage, for example, will now be at 5.25 per cent, a 1.24 percentage...

Equitable, Ranson strike deal.
November 3, 2005... The Equitable Life high court battle is on the verge of collapse as the troubled mutual has settled its AGBP650m negligence claim against Roy Ranson, a former managing director. The news has been greeted with anger from policyholders who...

Abbey reduces interest rates on Flexible range.
November 3, 2005... ABBEY has reduced the interest rates on its Flexible Plus range of offset mortgages. The bank previously offered mortgages with rates of 5 per cent and 5.35 per cent, tracking the Bank of England's base rate. But it has now announced...

Standard Life revises rates on fixed and BTL.
November 3, 2005... STANDARD Life Bank has introduced new rates on its fixed-rate mortgages. The company has withdrawn previous fixed-rate mortgages and introduced new rates. The fixed rates have generally risen, although a lower price is now offered on...

Axa cutting back rates across range of covers.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... AXA is revising the rates on some of its protection products. The new rates will apply to its stand-alone critical illness cover, life cover and life or earlier critical illness cover, which it claims will be the most competitive in the...

IFA urges drawing on age facts to show risk.(Independent financial adviser)
November 3, 2005... THE age of claimants should illustrate the need for more people to consider critical illness, according to an IFA. Peter Chadborn, principal of Chadborn Baker and Kearle which is based in Essex, said that statistics released by Scottish...

NU warned over term assurance price rises.
November 3, 2005... NORWICH Union should take care not to price itself out of the term assurance market, according to an IFA. Mark Loydall, director of Cambourne Financial Planning in Loughborough, said the provider had increased a number of term assurance...

Paragon bracing for a surge in Sipps lending.
November 3, 2005... SELF-INVESTED personal pension business is expected to soar after A-Day, according to a survey, with 65 per cent of mortgage brokers already bracing themselves for a surge in buy-to-let business. The research comes from Paragon Mortgages,...

EU shake-up set to bring new opportunities.
November 3, 2005... INCREASED mobility among European executives prompted by a European Commission directive could provide more opportunities for IFAs advising on pensions, according to John Lawson, head of pension policy for Standard Life. The directive will...

Winterthur Life sounds alarm over loophole hunt.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... BORROWING in Sipps will be limited to 50 per cent of the policy's value after A-Day and IFAs should not try and subvert these rules, according to a pension provider. Mike Morrison, pensions strategy manager for Winterthur Life, warned that...

Bibby joins chorus urging easing the burden of rules.
November 3, 2005... THE regulatory burden on small UK businesses must be eased by the government, Bibby Financial Services has said. David Robertson, chief executive of Bibby Financial Services, said that following the EU's Better Regulation Initiative, aimed...

Survey finds smaller firms backing government moves.
November 3, 2005... AN increasing number of small businesses believe the government takes the concerns of small- and medium-sized enterprises into account, research has revealed. The annual Small Business Survey for the past year found that 56 per cent of...

The FSA: do as it says not as it does.
November 3, 2005... Gotcha. When the FSA stamped down on comparative mortgage tables put out by mortgage brokers and researchers it was very strict with how information should be presented. In particular, it demanded that companies compiling such tables make...

Tenet launch to offer equity deal.
November 3, 2005... TENET has launched an IFA that offers top performing advisers the chance to purchase shares in the business. On Tuesday the Leeds-based group unveiled Foster Denovo, a company designed to serve private clients and successful corporations....

ACCA calls on potential tycoons to plan ahead.
November 3, 2005... WOULD-BE entrepreneurs should produce a good business plan before starting out, according to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. The ACCA said that such a business plan should include financial forecasts and proposals that...

Workers target time management as way to make life easier.
November 3, 2005... A LARGE number of British people waste time, according to a poll. Only 64 per cent of those interviewed said they felt they used their time efficiently. This means that 36 per cent felt they could do better with their time management...

Experts urge caution as house prices rise.
November 3, 2005... HOUSE prices rose by 1.3 per cent in October prompting speculation that the market is on the cusp of a period of accelerated growth. But industry experts said it was too early to say if the market had reached a significant turning point....

Invesco Perpetual in double investment bid.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... INVESCO Perpetual hopes to double investment in its specialist Aim venture capital fund, just six months after it was launched. The Invesco Perpetual Aim venture capital trust was launched in June when it raised AGBP25.1m. In January...

Getting out and about with those that matter.
November 3, 2005... Monday A mundane Monday is enlivened by a client meeting in the middle of the day, at their home in west London. Nothing beats actually meeting and talking with those people you are charged to help and advise. The couple --Ayoung...

Sub-prime advisers blast IFA mortgage mis-selling claims.
November 3, 2005... LEADING sub-prime advisers have blasted a top IFA for claiming the non-conforming sector was at risk of mis-selling mortgages. The claim was made in last week's Financial Adviser by Carl Wright, the managing director of Manchester-based IFA...

Canada Life backs annuities route.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... ANNUITIES may be the best way for clients to pass on wealth to beneficiaries with fewer IHT implications, according to Canada Life. One of the changes that will arise from A-Day will be that pensioners will no longer be obliged to purchase...

Discovering the right way to catch a thief.
November 3, 2005... Question: My business has been victim to a number of theft incidents in the past few weeks and I suspect certain members of temporary staff are involved. As they are contracted staff from a third-party company, I am unsure how to deal with the...

IFAs missing out -- Just Wills.(Independent Financial Adviser )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... MANY financial advisers are missing out on a potentially valuable income stream by not taking will-writing instructions from their clients, according to Just Wills. David McMaster, managing director of estate planning company Just Wills,...