Financial Advisor articles from October 2006

Financial Advisor archives from October 2006

Sesame faces an uncertain future as Misys talks stall.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Share price for parent company drops as break up of the group emerges as leading option The future of Sesame hangs in the balance following the breakdown in talks about a possible management buyout of parent company Misys. As...

Royal & SunAlliance exits US at a loss.
October 5, 2006... Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Group is expected to post a loss of AGBP443m on the sale of its US operations. Andy Haste, chief executive, said: "The sale of the US operation is the right deal for our shareholders. The transaction will...

Trainee home inspectors get the boot from Hips.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... News that the largest residential surveying company in the UK, Countrywide Surveyors, is making nearly all of its trainee home inspectors redundant is perhaps a wake-up call to the mortgage industry. Despite the government protestations...

Ladder still out of reach.
October 5, 2006... News from Nationwide Building Society that the average price of a house rose by 1.3 per cent in September compared with prices in the previous month will be encouraging to the financial advising community. There were fears that the rise in...

Dealing with the power of numbers.
October 5, 2006... After the surprise rise in base rates in August, the decision to hold rates in September was widely ex- pected. However, financial markets and economic commentators are still looking for another rise in November. The minutes of the September...

Waiting for the US to sneeze.
October 5, 2006... Byline: US property prices dictate to some extent the European housing market. So what are the latest predictions? R ecent economic data has brought more evidence of spreading weakness in the US housing market. Homebuilders are about as...

Sting like a fee.
October 5, 2006... Byline: The temptation to go for lower rates but higher fees is always there for clients. But does it make any sense? As we move into the autumn, mortgage lenders, backed by the new season's advertising and marketing budgets, are getting...

Learning to lay solid financial foundations.(financial assistance for home buidling )(Column)
October 5, 2006... Byline: Getting secure finance for your self-build project is the first important step Building your own home can be a satisfying and rewarding experience but it is not for the faint hearted. Not least because those preparing to embark on...

Confidence on MPPI is needed, says CML.
October 5, 2006... Byline: In response to OFT study, it says MPPI needs to be integral to homeowning protection The Council of Mortgage Lenders has submitted an official response to the study conducted by the Office of Fair Trading - and claimed that...

House prices up AGBP13,000 on last year.
October 5, 2006... The strong figures from Nationwide for September have been born out by brokers reporting an abnormally strong summer holiday season. Nationwide, the UK's largest building society, claimed the average house price has gone up by AGBP35 a day...

HSBC to aid first-timers.
October 5, 2006... First-time buyers First-time buyers now have a comprehensive online toolkit to guide them through the sometimes bewildering process of purchasing a property. HSBC has set up an online advice centre with a panel of professional...

More than half the UK is middle class.
October 5, 2006... More than half of the UK population work in middle class occupations, according to research conducted by the Office of National Statistics. The research shows 22.4 per cent of people work in lower managerial and professional occupations....

Increase for with profits bonus rates.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... With profits bonus rates have been increased for customers of Axa Sun Life and the Sun Life Assurance Society. The changes mean that regular bonus rates could be going up by 0.75 of a percentage point and payouts on maturing policies are...

It's ice on the prize with FA, Standard.
October 5, 2006... Financial Adviser readers have a chance to win a three-night stay in the Ice Hotel in Sweden complete with husky sledding and snowmobiling. The competition has been organised in conjunction with Standard Life Bank to complement the bank's...

Need to up TCF efforts.
October 5, 2006... Byline: FSA discussion paper calls for providers to further improve their products regulation The FSA is encouraging providers to design their products with greater care and to provide higher-quality information. In its latest...

CBI survey finds financial services suffer a 'sharp decline in business'.
October 5, 2006... Financial Services companies have seen a sharp fall in business growth over the last quarter, says a survey by the CBI and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The Financial Services Survey found that financial services companies had reported a...

New FSA treating customers fairly proposals.
October 5, 2006... nThe latest FSA discussion paper on TCF suggests: n Providers and distributors should work together to prevent future detriment to consumers. n The FSA's supervisors have reported that problems persist at the level of interface between...

Bolton to review investment and recruitment in Fidelity handover.(Fidelity Bond and Mortgage Co.)
October 5, 2006... Byline: Tips to pick the best of the special situations bunch in In Depth page 49 investment Anthony Bolton will concentrate on reviewing Fidelity's investment processes and recruitment when he hands over full control of his Special...

IFAs turn profit at half-year results.
October 5, 2006... IFA IFA Helm Godfrey has reported its half-year results publicly for the first time, posting profits growth of 270 per cent. The IFA has decided to release its results for the first time as a reaction to industry criticism that the IFA...

'Nearing victory' in battle for pension compensation.
October 5, 2006... Byline: MP and Ros Altmann put government under fire yet again over the issue pensions An MP and a leading pensions campaigner, a former adviser to Number 10, have joined forces to attack the government over its pensions policy. ...

Ship members set to sail into direct eq release channels.(Safe Home Income Plans)
October 5, 2006... Members of Safe Home Income Plans - the trade body for the equity release sector - will open up direct to consumer channels, because specialist advisers are letting them down. The developments pose a threat to financial advisers and...

Uncertainty has effect on rates.
October 5, 2006... rates Political and economic uncertainties during the party conference season has led to a volatile mortgage rate market, according to a mortgage expert. Rob Wingfield, director of mortgage brokers Hamptons International in Bristol,...

Auto-enrolment is the answer, says Portillo.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Former MP claims auto-enrolment on schemes is only way to avert crisis key speech The government should impose auto-enrolment on company pension schemes if it is to avert a worse pensions crisis, according to Michael Portillo....

IFA Partners scheme rewards PS members for new recruits.(Positive Solutions)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... profits A scheme called IFA Partners has been launched by Positive Solutions to reward members for bringing new advisers on board. It will pay out a pot of at least AGBP80m to be shared among these IFA partners if Positive Solutions...

National partnership sets out its stall for float on stock market.
October 5, 2006... Positive Solutions aims to float on the stock market in 2010 with a proposed equity value of AGBP600m. The move will follow a value-sharing arrangement with IFA partners to help the company lift profits. The national partnership will enable...

Deadline ticking away until 2010 flotation sees recruitment drive to get to 2500 move up a gear.
October 5, 2006... Positive Solutions has revealed it is planning a recruitment drive to help the company meet its flotation target in 2010. Neil Johnson, chief executive of Positive Solutions, said: "We plan to grow our firm from 1500 partners now to 2500....

Intuitive software to get boost as multi-tie wrap element is added.
October 5, 2006... Positive Solutions revealed enhancements to its Intuitive Customer Relations Management software to enable advisers to construct a multi-tie wrap platform for its clients. Richard Clarke, director of IT for Positive Solutions, said: "The...

F&C speaks out over 'sleepwalking' abuse.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Providers are 'taking advantage of poor advice over child trust vouchers' Providers are taking advantage of poor advice over child trust vouchers and encouraging parents to plough money into accounts that often fail to provide...

New finance courses set to create new IFAs.
October 5, 2006... Training A number of schools and colleges are helping to create the next generation of IFAs with the introduction of new finance-based courses. The courses will give pupils an advantage in securing jobs within the competitive financial...

IMA brands fees moves 'absurd'.
October 5, 2006... investment A decision not to classify initial fees for investment fund managers as income is "absurd", according to the Investment Management Association. The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee said that if an...

Standard steps up shares hunt.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Standard Life still searching for the 270,000 policyholders who have not claimed their shares after the flotation investment Standard Life has not given up hope of tracking down the 270,000 policyholders who have not claimed...

Mixed welcome for Homebuy plan.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Focusing on key workers in the public sector will mean scheme will miss bulk of first-time buyers, claims adviser The government's Open Market Homebuy scheme will do little to help the bulk of first-time buyers, according to a...

Change around at top: IFP announces new head.
October 5, 2006... associations The Institute of Financial Planners has revealed the names of its new president and vice- president. Jane Wheeler, principle of Direction Financial Planning, will take the role of president and Barry Horner, managing...

Specialist sector attracting the investors and advisers.
October 5, 2006... Investment The Specialist sector has been the most desirable for advisers and investors so far in 2006, Fidelity has reported. The company said that this reflected advisers' desire to diversify their clients' portfolios. The...

DIY compliance 'thing of the past'.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Outsourcing urged as MiFID impact will ruin small firms that try to regulate their business on top of day-to-day duties regulation Small IFAs that try to take care of their own compliance as well as the other day-to-day running...

Personal Touch gets cash boost from LDC.
October 5, 2006... investment Financial services network Personal Touch Financial Services has announced a AGBP10m investment by Lloyds TSB Development Capital, a mid-market private equity house and part of the Lloyds TSB Group. Andy Lyndon, investment...

New Star stock share sell-off reaps rewards for employees.
October 5, 2006... Staff at New Star have made a AGBP42m windfall after placing their first tranche of shares on the stock market. The sales represent 4 per cent of the Aim-listed company's assets with 11m shares sold at 384p each. The placings came...

Buyers headed for 'mortgage trap'.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Moneysupermarket.com reveals that homeowners who increase the term of their mortgages end up paying more mortgages Homeowners could carry their mortgage debt with them into retirement if they do not stick to or reduce the term...

Liberal Democrat MP joins in on the personal debt debate.
October 5, 2006... debt Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable has sent a warning shot to both providers and consumers to focus on financial safety nets, such as payment protection insurance, in the event that a borrower finds he is unable to meet his liabilities....

Leadbay generates AGBP3bn worth of mortgage leads in September.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... Lead generation company Leadbay has revealed it passed on AGBP3bn-worth of mortgage leads to brokers in September. This brings the total amount of mortgage business passed to advisers this year up to AGBP22.6bn. Simon Baker, operations...

New rules will 'favour employer not workers.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Employment equality regulations could hinder requests to work of over-65s regulation A number of corporate lawyers and providers have warned the government that new age discrimination regulations will increase the likelihood...

New academy plans at Birmingham Midshires.
October 5, 2006... Birmingham Midshires is to promote responsible lending with the development of a new academy for its staff. The specialist mortgage lending business of HBoS has teamed up with business intelligence software provider SAS to set up the Credit...

UK market has vastly consolidated - Fidelity.
October 5, 2006... Sector concentration in the UK stock market has risen sharply in the past decade while the global market remains as divided as it was 10 years ago, according to research conducted by Fidelity International. In 1996, less than a third - 31...

Operating profits indicate a strong performance regardless of new business fall as Royal London debuts interim results.
October 5, 2006... Interim operating profits for Royal London before tax were AGBP108m and profit from the new business written was AGBP22m. This compared with profit from new business of AGBP37m in the previous year when operating profits of AGBP88m were...

Bank of Scotland helps GuestInvest to grow portfolio.
October 5, 2006... investment Bank of Scotland is partnering with GuestInvest to help the hotel buy-to-let company to grow its portfolio. Under the GuestInvest concept, investors buy a room in one of GuestInvest's hotels. They can stay there for up to 52...

Regulator's mortality data is under fire from adviser.
October 5, 2006... pensions Suggestions from the Pensions Regulator that pension liabilities are larger than previously thought due to under-estimations of life expectancy are misleading, according to an adviser. Paul Jayson, a partner for national...

Pension credits go unclaimed.
October 5, 2006... pensions Pensioners in the UK are squandering almost AGBP3bn through unclaimed pension credits and unnecessary tax payments. A report by adviser representatives IFA Promotion reveals that pensioners are neglecting their right to...

Fidelity cuts US Special Sits fees in investor hunt.(Fidelity Investments)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... investment Fidelity is to restructure its American Special Situations fund with reduced fees expected to attract a raft of new investors. Initial charges on the fund from 23 October will be cut from 5.25 per cent to 3.5 per cent. The...

Price comparison site to expand IFA service.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Advisers fear that online leads auction could lead to low-quality business A new online auction site for IFA leads has been criticised by a number of IFAs concerned that it could produce low-quality business. ...

1st to aid advisers on tech systems.
October 5, 2006... Training 1st, supplier of integrated technology solutions, is to launch a training and consultancy service to advisers struggling to integrate new technology into their processes. The new training service will be available to advisers...

UK advisers react well to GMAC point of sale service.(General Motors Acceptance Corp.)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... mortgages GMAC-RFC's new online point of sales service has attracted 10,000 people within one month of its introduction. The group became the first UK mortgage lender to launch point of sale offers using automated valuations on 4...

Winterthur enhances online adviser tools.
October 5, 2006... investment Winterthur Life has improved its online adviser service to offer IFAs a better service, the company has said. Although geared towards managing Winterthur's tailored selection fund platform, the upgrades build upon the site's...

FSA called upon to look at CFD deals.
October 5, 2006... Byline: AITC shows concerns as to lack of transparency present in use of increasingly popular Contracts for Difference investment The Association of Investment Trust Companies is calling for the FSA to look into the use of Contracts...

Last few places remain for the PFS's Birmingham bash.(The Personal Finance Society)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... With just a month until the PFS Conference fewer than 50 places remain for financial advisers. The Personal Finance Society (PFS) has sold more than 1200 tickets for the event after releasing an extra batch to cater for demand. The gala...

Alliance Trust expands as it rolls out boutique.
October 5, 2006... investment Alliance Trust is launching an asset management business. The launch will be a boutique business, aimed at managing a diverse range of products and services for both retail and institutional investors. At first it will...

Principality continues to grow its online advice for clients.
October 5, 2006... Principality Building Society has reported profits before tax increased by 13 per cent in the first half of 2006 year-on-year, buoyed by growth in mortgage advances. In the first six months of 2006, mortgage advances grew by 39 per cent to...

Housebuyers ignore rate move by MPC as prices continue rising.
October 5, 2006... Housing House prices increased by 1.3 per cent in September, as the Bank of England's last rate rise failed to cool the market, according to Nationwide. The building society reported that the average price was AGBP169,413, buoyed up...

SimplyBiz members get direct route into Axa after pair strike deal.
October 5, 2006... Axa has created a dedicated support team exclusively for SimplyBiz members. The team provides a direct route into Axa for SimplyBiz members when dealing with pre and post sales enquiries. This is a personal service with the Axa team...

Chatham to go in Scot Widows restructuring.
October 5, 2006... Byline: About 200 permanent staff positions are in doubt as Kent office is closed Restructuring Scottish Widows is closing down its Chatham operations, with the future of 200 client service roles uncertain. Widows said that the...

Zurich Protected notches up AGBP30m.(Zurich Advice Network Ltd.)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... Investment Zurich's Tracker Protected fund is worth more than AGBP30m after only one year on the market, according to Zurich. The fund passed the milestone after growing popularity among IFAs who, Zurich claim, value its cautious...

Senior FSA defection suggests pay 'deficit'.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Latest departure at FSA reopens question as to its ability to retain top staff Yet another senior FSA manager has defected in the latest spectacular capture by the private sector. Kari Hale, director of finance strategy and...

Survey shows Isa limit needs to be higher.
October 5, 2006... Investment The investment limits on Isas would be higher by 19 per cent in 2010 if raised in line with the official Consumer Price index. This is according to the Alliance Trust, which based its predictions on a 2 per cent inflation...

Sipp providers cull expectedp.(Self-Invested Personal Pension)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... Half of all Sipp providers will not make it through the authorisation process in April 2007, according to experts. John Moret, director of sales and marketing for Suffolk Life, and Andy Bell, director and consulting actuary for AJ Bell,...

Staff need to appreciate comments from clients rather than fear them.(Interview)
October 5, 2006... FINANCIAL ADVISER: Your latest results were generally pretty good, how do you feel about the apparent success after a number of new initiatives? CRAIG ERRINGTON: We are delighted with our half-year results, which at the moment are showing...

Rate rise to derail BTL 'gravy train'.(Buy-to-let residential property investments)
October 5, 2006... Byline: Pink Home Loans managing director predicts overstretched landlords and rising interest rates could hurt portfolios buy-to-let Buy-to-let landlords with large portfolios could badly hurt by rate rises that could bring the gravy...

Upfront commission leads to churning.
October 5, 2006... There is an argument to be had that providers' woes, and the controversy over upfront commission, is all down to the City and the unbelievable power the institutions and analysts wield over the UK's big life companies. The problem is the City...

Confidence building.
October 5, 2006... The FTSE 100 shot past the 6000 barrier last week, the first time it had done so since May. The news is encouraging, not least because it puts the dark days of five years ago and the bursting of the technology bubble far behind. ...

An appetite for consolidation.
October 5, 2006... As a long-standing economics graduate of sports-mad Loughborough University, I have always wondered what it would have been like to go to Cambridge instead and mix with the highbrow rather than testosterone-fuelled men in purple track suits....

Eliminate the bad eggs.
October 5, 2006... Take a pledge for the consumer I have a proposal. Financial advice has come under attack rather often down the years - and I admit to being one of the culprits. The difficulty can be that while we accept there are plenty of advisers doing...

What lies ahead.
October 5, 2006... On 16 September, Sir Callum McCarthy, chairman of the FSA, gave a speech about present business models. The content indicated the FSA's perception of the remuneration model practised by the industry and of what may lie ahead. It is no...

Power of the press can be put to better use.
October 5, 2006... I really do not understand that Tony Hazell. For all the years I have been reading the trade papers I have not always agreed with the national trade press journalists, but I do at least understand their point of view. They are bound to see...

All the hold music in the world.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... Forget business protocol, hiring and firing and the question of fees over commission. The biggest challenge for IFA firms right now appears to be what hold music to use. You could go for something classical, or if you're CBK you could try and...

There must be an Angel playing with my stats.
October 5, 2006... The good sorts of Standard & Poor's, the ever-helpful ratings agency that provides FA with hundreds of charts and the occasional article, have a certain fondness for one of their super-statistics providers, Angeliki Kallipoliti. The...

Charity keeping it clean for the kids.
October 5, 2006... Another week, another charity fundraising event, this time its in aid of children who have suffered due to pollution-related illnesses and diseases, from cancer of the limbs, to leukaemia and lead poisoning. Paul Szkiler, chairman of...

Donations rise while the jumpers fall.
October 5, 2006... As if that was not enough good doing for the week, the daredevil antics of members of the protection side of life, plus a couple of hacks, raised around AGBP5000 for various charities. The group jumped from 14,000 feet last week to raise...

Money Aspects to roll out franchise business.
October 5, 2006... Money Aspects, the Glasgow-headquartered IFA, is rolling out its franchise operation across the UK from this week. It said it is the first full-service financial adviser to have received accreditation from the British Franchise Association....

Tips to pick the best of the bunch.
October 5, 2006... Anthony Bolton's outstanding long-term performance track record, the sheer size of the Fidelity Special Situations fund before the recent fund split, and the manner of the split itself, have all combined to make special situations investing one...

America is ready to head back to the malls.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Between falling house prices and falling gas prices, which does the American consumer care about more? Data releases are the fuel for most financial market activity. Prices twitch constantly as new data is released. There are times...

Eating your cake.
October 5, 2006... Byline: The IFA sector is under pressure from other investment channels. Does it need to change to survive? While there is a strong feeling among IFAs that depolarisation has not had the effect predicted by the FSA at its inception, there...

Time to get wiser about getting older.
October 5, 2006... New laws about age discrimination and pension schemes have been postponed for two months. Other elements of the Employment Equality Regulations came into force on 1 October, but important provisions about occupational and personal pension...

Taking steps to make a change.
October 5, 2006... Byline: The protection industry must stop waiting around for the market pick up and be proactive in attracting business If you stick at doing the same things the same way, how can you expect a different outcome? That seems to be the...

Sailing the good ship equity release.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Ship works to improve the image of equity release among IFAs and clients - so what does the future hold? One of my most challenging new roles is as the non-executive chairman of Safe Home Income Plans Group, the UK equity-release...

Zopa to target personal debt with new asset class.
October 5, 2006... n investment IFAs are being targeted by the creators of Zopa, the person-to-person lending market. The concept of the service, which already has more than 100,000 members, is to tap into the most profitable sector of high street...

investment.
October 5, 2006... INCOME BOND ABBEY Type: Guaranteed Income bond Details: Guaranteed fixed income of 4.24 per cent each year net. Guaranteed capital return after four years or in the event of an early death. Monthly, quarterly or annual income...