Financial Advisor articles from November 2006

Financial Advisor archives from November 2006

Just Retirement set to float on Aim index.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Specialist life assurance group could be worth AGBP400m if move goes ahead investment Just Retirement has announced its intention to apply to float on the Alternative Investment Market in a move that is expected to value the...

Brace for fines over TCF as FSA deadline nears, warns Threesixty.
November 9, 2006... Regulator fines to companies for not treating customers fairly are the first of a wave that will increase as the regulator's deadline approaches, according to a regulatory expert. David Brattesani, founding partner of Threesixty Services,...

New products needed to plug high-risk gap.
November 9, 2006... New products need to be established to fill the gap between high risk income drawdown and much lower risk life annuities, IFAs were told at the PFS conference. Kim Lerche-Thomsen, founder and chief executive of Living Time, which...

NU credits strong bond sales to its "top-quality' staff.
November 9, 2006... investment Norwich Union has said strong sales for bonds and collective investments are the result of recruiting "top-quality people" to do the job. Figures for the third quarter show bond sales rose 36 per cent to AGBP2.53bn for the...

Edeus remortgage deal eases Bank base-rate increase fears.
November 9, 2006... Free re-mortgages are being offered on Edeus' three-year adverse tracker range in order for advisers to assist clients who may struggle to meet payments if base rates change on 9 November. Edeus is also offering free standard valuations as...

Investors to act as developers in Cordea offer.
November 9, 2006... property Cordea Savills has launched a new development project under its Qualifying Property Companies structure. The property fund manager has purchased a 0.6-acre site in Morley, Leeds, with the aim of developing it into 13...

Britons struggle as courts order record numbers of repossesions.
November 9, 2006... Britons are increasingly struggling to keep up with their mortgage repayments. According to statistics released by the Department of Constitutional Affairs, the number of court orders made to take possession of a property rose by 58 per...

Renting parents face house price crisis, says A&L.
November 9, 2006... Mortgages Renting parents are facing a deepening housing crisis as family and property costs soar, new research has found. Almost a quarter of parents are still living or renting with their own parents according to a survey by Alliance...

Fund range is "key to choosing providers'.(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... Financial advisers are more likely to pick a product provider if it offers a broad fund range, according to Skandia. The company's asset management division recently questioned nearly 500 advisers for a survey about how they choose a...

FSA aims ease principles switch.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Industry guidance provided by the authority is aimed to help companies move toward principles-based regulation Regulation The FSA last week unveiled new plans to encourage industry guidance as it moved towards more...

Living Time rolls out a flexible annuities offer through online portal.
November 9, 2006... Advisers will now find it easier to access a flexible alternative to traditional annuities for their clients. Living Time has recently launched an adviser-friendly interface online. Available on The Exchange or direct from Living...

West Brom launches pre-emptive strike against base rate increase.
November 9, 2006... Total rental cover requirements for buy-to-let mortgages should be seen as a "pre-emptive strike' against a base rate hike, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk. West Bromwich Building Society has become the latest buy-to-let lender to announce a...

FSA clarifies Handbook guidance.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Watchdog aims to investigate whether guidance is necessary in its regulation handbook with consultation paper regulation The FSA intends look at whether the inclusion of guidance is required in its Handbook. It intends to...

Quay offers free upgrade to Client Care Desktop system.
November 9, 2006... An updated version of the client management software from Quay Software Solutions has been launched to include offline functionality. The upgrade to Client Care Desktop version 3.3.2 is free of charge. The offline version of the...

Liv Victoria considers selling off banking arm in a strategic review.
November 9, 2006... Liverpool Victoria is considering selling its banking operations in order to focus on distribution. Under its strategic review, the friendly society will consider performance enhancement mea- sures, strategic partnerships, joint ventures...

Widows and Pru bring axe down on jobs in the UK.
November 9, 2006... Two of the UK's largest providers have announced job cuts as a result of "restructuring operations' - provoking fury from the trade union Amicus. Scottish Widows has confirmed that it will cut up to 250 jobs as it closes operations in...

Reita sets out its legal stall as firms convert.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Association publishes new regulations in accordance with July's Royal Assent Regulation The final regulations for the Real Estate Investment Trusts Association have been published by Reita on behalf of the Treasury. ...

Insurance goes down, living and prices go up.
November 9, 2006... The average cost of life insurance has fallen by 51.7 per cent in the past decade, according to Barclays. The figure comes from the Consumer Price Index compiled by the Office of National Statistics. Other items such as clothing, footwear,...

Former Downing St environment guru is appointed to F&C assets.
November 9, 2006... F&C Asset Management has appointed Vicki Bakhshi, the Prime Minister's former climate adviser, to help boost its environmental investment policies. Ms Bakhshi was a senior member of the team which published the Stern Review, on the...

Living Time goes live to customers.
November 9, 2006... Vertex Financial Services has announced that a retirement income provider called Living Time has gone live. It has been supported by Vertex's product administration platform and full end-to-end administration service. It follows the"soft...

Market looks set to be wrapped up: Synaptic.(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... technology The overwhelming majority of IFAs expect their businesses to be using wrap technology within the next three years, according to research. Synaptic Systems found that 92 per cent of the advisers who took part in the study...

Speed-to-offer is key element.
November 9, 2006... Advisers and brokers consider speed-to-offer to be the most important factor when servicing property investor clients, according to the latest intermediary forecast from specialist buy-to-let lender Mortgage Trust. Some 52 per cent of...

Yorks broker is banned for life.
November 9, 2006... An insurance broker has been banned from all regulated activities after FSA investigators found he had sold more than 10,000 travel insurance policies that were not underwritten. Christopher Whiteley sold the policies through Whiteley...

Land Registry's new resale house price index aims to be the most accurate on the market.
November 9, 2006... The Land Registry has launched a new house price index that only includes properties sold more than once. The new seasonally-adjusted index will appear monthly and make average house prices available at national, regional, county and...

Mig 4 goes on the hunt for AGBP20m.(Matrix Income & Growth 4 trust)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... A revamped venture capitalist trust has been given stock exchange approval to raise AGBP20m. The Matrix Income & Growth 4 trust, known as Mig 4, is a new version of the multi manager TriVen VCT, but will now only be run by Matrix. ...

Gov't commits itself to future of the Isa.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Ed Balls announces Labour plans to extend vehicle past 2010 deadline Investment The government will extend its commitment to Isas beyond 2010, defying speculation that it was to scrap the UK's most successful savings vehicle...

Friends Prov adds to mirror range.
November 9, 2006... investment Eight new funds have been added to Friends Provident International's mirror range following an increase in market place demand. It is hoped that the new funds will give Friends Provident International clients a wider choice...

The 20-year story of Lawson's idea.
November 9, 2006... The Isa family tree dates back to 1986 when the then chancellor Nigel Lawson unveiled Personal Equity Plans, his brain child designed to encourage people to invest in the stock market. Mr Lawson had visions of a share-owning democracy and...

CTFs to roll into Isas on maturity.
November 9, 2006... Last week's Isa announcements by the government will also allow child trust funds to be rolled into an Isa account upon maturity. The move could see the creation of pension savers from birth and allow Isas to rival traditional pensions as a...

Standard Life "disappointed' by number of CI claims rejected.
November 9, 2006... Protection Standard Life declined 14 per cent of critical illness claims in the first quarter of 2006. The company paid out AGBP9.8m in 184 critical illness claims from January to June, but said it was disappointed with the level of...

F&C basks in the glow of a buoyant third quarter for offerings.(F&C Asset Management)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... F&C Asset Management, the UK's fourth biggest fund manager, has announced it has received strong returns on its retail funds in the third quarter. It had AGBP120m gross inflows in the last quarter into retail funds and a AGBP59m outflow....

Abbey "leading the way' in terms of innovation.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Groups say lenders should follow Abbey after it offers five-times salary Mortgages Housing groups have called for lenders to be more innovative after Abbey announced it would offer mortgages at five-times earnings and experts...

Forget the fads, says Heartwood.(David Lough of Heartwood Wealth Management)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... Only eight of the top 50 funds between 1996 and 2001 made it into the top 500 for the following five years, research has revealed. Of the top 50 funds in the five years to 2001, only two remained in this group from 2001 and 2006. ...

With profits stronger, but no way back - AKG.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Overall toxicity of with profits is leading to significant outflows - consultancy Investments The need for advisers to review with profits is resulting in often very high rates of surrenders, according to an extensive...

Pension interest is up: St James's.
November 9, 2006... The number of clients seeking pension products from St James's Place has risen by 85 per cent in the past nine months, according to the independent advisory company. The group's results for the nine months to 30 September offset a 6 per...

Gov't pension payback apathy fuels fury: Saga.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Occupational scheme compensation could be hot issue for General Election pensions Government attempts to not compensate people who have lost their occupational pension schemes has outraged the over-50s, according to Saga. ...

BRE looks to the future with Quest deal to be in the vanguard of Hips.(Quest Associates)(home information packs)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... HIps Consultancy BRE is to team up with Quest Associates in its bid to operate a certification scheme for energy assessors and home inspectors. Although BRE has not yet obtained approval from the department of community and local...

Assureweb claims first in bridging sales process-technology chasm.
November 9, 2006... An online portal for IFAs has integrated the sales process into its existing sourcing system for the first time. The partnership between Assureweb and Distribution Technology, an advice technology company, will see advisers carry out a...

Communication tops offshoring fears - Luxoft.
November 9, 2006... Regulation is not the main worry for UK financial companies outsourcing IT, a study has found. Research by Luxoft, an IT outsourcing provider, questioned 76 outsourcing decision makers at financial services companies. The results...

Shift sees annuities left behind.
November 9, 2006... Byline: A new survey suggests majority of advisers are helping clients to pursue alternative sources of retirement income Pensions Nearly every UK IFA is helping their clients to pursue alternative sources of retirement income in the...

Hip energy assessors "will be ready' - Ahipp.(Association of Home Information Pack Providers )(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... The Association of Home Information Pack Providers has insisted there will be 4000 energy assessors to produce Energy Performance Certificates by the time they become compulsory. The comments come in the wake of persistent mortgage industry...

Look beyond seductive headline mortgage rates, warns Hampton.
November 9, 2006... Lenders should ensure that customers are not seduced by attractive headline mortgage rates, a leading brokerage has warned. Jonathan Cornell, technical director of Hampton Mortgages, said lenders are increasingly offering extremely low...

Lack of consensus on CFD leads to further FSA study.
November 9, 2006... Regulation The FSA has announced that it will analyse the case for better disclosure of contracts for difference, after it found no industry consensus on the issue. After sifting through responses to its consultation on the rules for...

We are a long way from the final aria.
November 9, 2006... The government's response to the pensions White Paper, Security in Retirement, has revealed once more that this administration is at sea without a paddle when it comes to state-designed retirement provisions. The 100-page document is the...

There's good news...
November 9, 2006... ... and bad news At last we have some good news from the Treasury. Not only are Isas to continue for all time - or at least as long as Labour remains in power - but the barriers between maxis and minis are to be demolished. This is...

A refresher course in enthusiasm.(Conference notes)
November 9, 2006... Iam writing this just before setting off to the International Convention Centre in Birmingham for the annual conference of the Personal Finance Society. By the time that you read this it will all be over for another year and you will be...

Lenny on the quest for laughs.(Lenny Henry plans a comedy pic)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... Although Insider works hard to come up with witty quips on the weeks events, it seems that the hilarious people at MoneyQuest in Glasgow need no help. Not even from professionals like Lenny Henry. The comedy legend is planning to film part of...

Hosts with the most - forgotten anything?(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... And finally, it will not have escaped all the social butterflies among FA readers that the award season is upon us. And Insider for one is delighted to be such a frequent visitor to the rather more upmarket establishments on Park Lane of late....

Do not seek to chain a free spirit.
November 9, 2006... Hedge fund bashing is back with a vengeance. American hedge fund firm Amaranth's demise has meant re-intensified debate about regulation and the potential threat that hedge funds pose to global financial stability. Financial regulators,...

Is the honeymoon period over?
November 9, 2006... As advisers, you have at your disposal an increasingly vast array of investment options through the platforms, but are you being offered real choice or simply the illusion of choice? Are funds competing in an overcrowded space? If investment...

St James's Place post strong results despite exodus of representatives to Home Choice.
November 9, 2006... Strong growth figures and rising share prices have been reported at St James's Place over the past nine months. This is despite a takeover of St James's Place authorised representatives by Home of Choice at the end of last month. There...

EU consumers need to show us the money.
November 9, 2006... Byline: The eurozone appears to have gone through a wobble, but can the economic data really be trusted? Growth in the eurozone this year has undergone a renaissance. In 2004, the eurozone economy grew by a paltry 1.4 per cent, where the...

Sound foundations.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Reduced confidence in the retail market and manufacturing weakness are not enough to put investors off Whether it is chat about a neighbouring house's value tripling in a decade, or the investment potential offered by logistics...

Finding a way in.
November 9, 2006... Byline: SPACs are growing in popularity and are the ideal way to invest in an under-valued firm in a specific area Special purpose acquisition companies are being promoted as an ideal way for investors to participate in the acquisition of...

Still room in the pond for big fish.(trends in the financial business)
November 9, 2006... Byline: Barclays Wealth is sinking AGBP375m into winning new clients, but should IFAs see this as a threat to them? The biggest beast in the financial advice jungle is preparing for a new onslaught. The war drums at Barclays Wealth are...

Find ways to help a lost generation.
November 9, 2006... Byline: With the timebomb ticking, the government's White Paper will need to offer more to Thatcher's children A new study suggests that class is no longer the main dividing line in British politics. Instead, many of the main problems...

Living on the edge.
November 9, 2006... Byline: In spite of an uncertain future and speculation over its parent Misys, Sesame says it is "business as usual' The Misys saga currently playing itself out across analysts' desks and in the press, raises all sorts of questions about...

Way Group bid to exploit IHT loophole leaves advisers split.
November 9, 2006... n IHT PLANNING IFAs have urged caution over a new inheritance tax plan from The Way Group. The Income Inheritor plan, aimed at high-income earners such as professionals and top sportsmen and women, allows investors to gift surplus income...

NUI to pass on charge rebate.
November 9, 2006... n Norwich Union International says it is cutting the cost of global investing by passing on annual management charge rebates to niche customers. Premier portfolio investors holding in its offshore bond will pay a lower net annual...

L&G club reveals trackers.
November 9, 2006... n Legal & General Mortgage Club has launched two tracker deals available from Woolwich. The first product, which is available for up to 90 per cent loan to value, is a tracker for the term of the mortgage at 5.14 per cent interest rate....

SAVING.
November 9, 2006... ISA OFFER Standard Life BANK Type: Isa offer Details: Standard Life Bank has launched a preferential Select Freestyle Isa offer for new mortgage customers, offering a current rate of 5.5 per cent annual equivalent rate variable...

LIFE COVER.
November 9, 2006... GUARANTEED LIFE COVER ZURICH Type: Guaranteed life cover policy Details: Zurich has launched a guaranteed version of its whole-of-life product the Adaptable Life plan. The new guaranteed plan is aimed at those seeking regular...

CTF to serve future children.
November 9, 2006... n Parents can now take advantage of a child trust fund's tax-efficiency with a sound conscience that that they are doing their bit ethically and environmentally. Riding the wave of socially responsible investments, Family Investments, has...

Abbey shifts focus to rating.
November 9, 2006... n Abbey has introduced a first-time buyer product range, which is linked to the customer's credit score rather than the value of the property the loan is secured against. Affordability is also a large consideration for the product, with...

Close builds on fund success.
November 9, 2006... n Following strong returns for the Close UK Index Growth fund 2006 - which is expected to return 148 per cent at the close of its five-year cycle - the product has been extended. The 2012 fund is linked to performance of the FTSE 100 and...

Polarisation fear for wrap market.(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... The wrap market is becoming polarised based on the payment route, PFS delegates heard. Speaking as part of a panel debating the future of wraps at the PFS conference, Malcolm Murray, head of sales and marketing for Transact, said that one...

Trag urges bosses to be alert to danger of CV inaccuracies.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Study finds that as many as one in five job applications exaggerate qualifications or omit vital job information Careers Vigilance will pay off for IFA employers who check details on job candidates' CVs, according to research...

Dealing with debt costs AGBP3.6bn a year.(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... Small to medium-sized enterprises are being urged to consider the impact that late payments and debt have on their business. New research from Bibby Financial Services has revealed that the time spent dealing with late payments and debt is...

Be sure to set out all the rules of the game.
November 9, 2006... One of my employees has handed in his resignation, claiming that work has had a detrimental affect on his physical health. He claims that he will take us to Employment Tribunal, stating that we did not take his health problems seriously because...

Put your name over the parapet to find a target.
November 9, 2006... When considering networking there is a key element that must be remembered - it is not about one meeting or conversation it is a gradual, ongoing process. You acquire a handful of business cards so you call your new contacts, but what is...

Lights, camera, non-stop meetings.(Diary entry)
November 9, 2006... Monday Arrive at our Glasgow office at 8.30am; I am back from a week's annual leave, wonder if anyone missed me? One of the benefits of a Blackberry is not coming back to hundreds of emails needing attention, but it begs the question...

Lean on me, I will not fall over.
November 9, 2006... There is nothing inherently illegal in a UK resident holding an offshore bank account, a property, trust or company. As some of the estimated 1.5m UK citizens owning foreign property have found, there can be complications with local tax...

Finance Cube rolls out online portfolio tools.
November 9, 2006... Many advisers are underestimating the degree to which their clients want to research financial products on the web, according to Finance Cube. The Norwegian firm has just installed a system that allows clients of Surrey-based IFA...

Standard Life calls for more responsible mortgage lending.
November 9, 2006... Standard Life is calling on mortgage lenders to be responsible when approving mortgages. The flexible mortgage specialist says providers should be lending on affordability, considering a customer's would-be income and financial...

Reits are set to push the market to AGBP1 trn.
November 9, 2006... The introduction of real estate investment trusts into the UK market in January is expected to push the global market to AGBP1 trillion, according to Fidelity International. Steve Buller, manager of Fidelity's Global Property fund, said...

A-Day pension revamp "violates human rights'.
November 9, 2006... Byline: If tax charges breach ECHR the rules must be redrafted, experts claim tax Cumulative tax charges on pensions fall foul of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to legal and pensions experts. If any of the...

Abbey: widen the independent tag.
November 9, 2006... Regulation Advisers should be able to call themselves independent provided they offer whole of market access to funds, says Abbey. The regulator states that if advisers want to call themselves independent they need to be giving advice...

Housing value hits AGBP3.6trn, but prices may fall - PwC.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Forecast from PricewaterhouseCooper estimates one-in-three chance of price drops by 2010 Mortgages Housing had a total value of AGBP3.575 trillion last year, nearly 60 per cent of the total value of UK assets. The latest...

Consumers "more savvy on eq release' than expected - survey.
November 9, 2006... Consumers are more know- ledgeable on equity release than they are usually given credit for, according to a recent study. The survey, commissioned by Mortgage Express and undertaken by TNS-Global, looked at the financial attitudes of 358...

Capital & Reg brings Reita to 32.
November 9, 2006... Capital & Regional has confirmed that it has become the latest member of the Reits and Quoted Property Group. Real estate investment trusts are to be introduced in the UK in January and the group now includes nine of the biggest quoted...

NU urged to cut offshoring not IT systems in drive to boost service.
November 9, 2006... Technology Advisers have criticised Norwich Union's plans to scrap 75 per cent of its remaining legacy policy platforms to improve customer service and reduce costs. The group has revealed that it is looking to slash its policy...

Stern review could boost green funds, says TrustNet.
November 9, 2006... Swathes of investors could switch to green and ethical funds following a government-commissioned report on global warming. The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change calculated that the dangers of unabated climate change would be...

Competition would be comforting - it would show we are succeeding.
November 9, 2006... FINANCIAL ADVISER: You have just launched Riley, an individually-insured investment product, you must think it is pretty special, why? Mike Rahman: It has taken four years to develop from the initial idea. This is quite a lot longer than...

Lessons for everyone.
November 9, 2006... There has been an outburst from the usual sections of the popular press about the rising rate of insolvency and, as they would, linking that to the question of mortgage affordability and in particular the recent announcement by Abbey. ...