Money Management articles from August 2007

Money Management archives from August 2007

It doesn't add up...
August 1, 2007... New figures say that the British are saving less than they have done since the 1960s. Now the Government is suggesting that school children should be taught financial planning, presumably in an effort to combat our savings-light, debt-heavy...

Doom and gloom confirmed.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Contributions to money purchase fail to match those DB schemes Actuarial research has confirmed the worst fears of industry experts about pensions savings. Not only have over 80% of final salary schemes closed to new entrants, up...

Blast from the past.
August 1, 2007... Byline: News from 25 years ago In the early 1980s occupational pensions held a AGBP70bn stake in the economy and invested a further AGBP20m in new share holdings each week. But despite their economic importance, trustees and fund...

Internet ignorance.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Online opportunities being missed Advisers are missing out on opportunities provided by the internet, according to a study from online resource provider IFA Life. Advisers have very low levels of enquiry from their websites, the...

The long and the short of it.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Advisers yet to be convinced by new investment strategy Investec and UBS have both launched 130/30 funds in the UK, making the most of the investment opportunities offered by UCITS III rules introduced in 2004. The 130/30...

Shaking up the market.
August 1, 2007... Friendly society Pioneer has launched an income protection plan aimed solely at professionals and those in low risk occupations. The Professional Income Plan (PIP) includes guaranteed, age-costed premiums that rise every year, financial...

Making green tracks.
August 1, 2007... Barclay's Global Investors has launched three exchange traded funds, including the first clean energy ETF in Europe. The iShares (the Barclay's brand name for ETFs) S&P Global Clean Energy fund is based on the S&P Clean Energy index,...

Exercise to gain pounds.
August 1, 2007... PruHealth has introduced a new feature that allows its private medical insurance (PMI) policyholders to use gym membership to reduce the cost of their premiums. The insurer has teamed up with well known gyms, including Cannons and LA Fitness,...

CIC boost in confidence.
August 1, 2007... Friends Provident has taken the brave step of promising to pay a proportion of a critical illness (CI) claim in cases of unrelated non disclosure. For example, where someone has suffered an illness, but forgotten to mention it when they...

Meaningless designatory letters.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Letter of the month I read with interest your editorial in June's MM concerning the award of CFP status to firms. I am sure the majority of CFP individuals would agree 100% with your comments. It would seem that the qualification...

Today's growth industry.
August 1, 2007... A very good article from Alan Lakey, ' Today's growth industry', (May 2007) not least in terms of how clearly it articulates the various ways in which the FSA has conspicuously breached the four statutory objectives that are supposed to define...

Under attack.
August 1, 2007... Byline: IFAs believe that report undermines them The retail distribution review (RDR) largely reflects the views of banks and providers, is socially divisive and will not necessarily lead to better advice, according to advisers. Their...

Commission vs fees.
August 1, 2007... This is an area where debate is essential for the future health of our profession. The biggest issue is that the majority of clients are not given a clear explanation of what services they are buying from their adviser or what amount they are...

Personal accounts.
August 1, 2007... write this letter having just READ the excellent article in June's Money Management entitled 'Held to account' by David Severn. There are several well made points in the article but the area which gives me greatest concern is whether as...

RDR.
August 1, 2007... Events over recent times have all been about wrongly diminishing the IFA sector in favour of banks. The IFA sector is clearly the best sector for the general public to receive unbiased, whole market suitable advice. The tied/multi tied sector...

CPI vs RPI.
August 1, 2007... I was delighted to read the ARTICLE on CPI vs RPI in the May issue - an excellent article on the subject. I never thought of MM as a humourous magazine, but the devastating revelation (Box 2) that "the ONS currently has a wide range of...

Recipe for disaster.
August 1, 2007... I'm sure I am not alone, but a WORD of thanks for your leader (July issue). It would seem that most (if not all) editors of informed financial journals are critical of the regulator in this respect and supportive of the IFA cause. I like to...

Transfer season.
August 1, 2007... June saw the UK's FTSE 100 companies attain a total pensions surplus for the first time in more than five years. Although this may not reflect the current state of the entire pensions universe, it is notable in that these companies managed to...

Total commitment.
August 1, 2007... While the first signs that the housing market may be slowing are beginning to appear, helped along by yet another interest rate increase, prices remain out of the reach of the average first time buyer. It is in this climate that 100% plus...

Match investment policy to temperament.
August 1, 2007... It was the economist John Maynard Keynes who remarked that most politicians are in thrall to the theories of some long dead economist. Much the same might be said of investment managers. I can well remember the excitement with which we young...

Environmental services.
August 1, 2007... There are a number of high profile initiatives, such as the London 2012 Olympics, that are driving home green concerns by taking particular care over the environment in their planning and development phase. These initiatives serve to further...

Beware the myth of cohabitation.
August 1, 2007... There is a common misconception that, if a couple have been living together for a long time, they are deemed to be in a "common law" marriage or civil partnership. In law, there is no such thing, and anyone splitting from a cohabiting...

Sub prime mis-selling fears.
August 1, 2007... Byline: FSA report to spark rise in claims The latest interest rate increase and the FSA's damning report on sub prime mortgage advice could mean that IFAs are met with a raft of mis-selling complaints in the near future, industry experts...

Think again, Peter Hain.
August 1, 2007... Peter Hain, the new secretary of state for work and pensions, should think again about the clash between personal accounts, the proposed vehicle for getting over seven million people to save more for their pensions, and the levies within...

When I'm 65...
August 1, 2007... Itake as my starting point three articles drawn from a single recent weekend in our press. In a piece launching its welcome campaign for dignity in home care, The Observer charts the decline in home care provided by local authorities as funding...

Uncertain times ahead.
August 1, 2007... The FSA published its retail distribution review (RDR) in a Discussion Paper (DP07/1) at the end of June. An FSA Discussion Paper is rather like a Government Green Paper: "Here are some interesting ideas we have been thinking about. They are...

Varying costs.
August 1, 2007... The ban on smoking in public places has drawn attention to the differences between the premium rates which smokers and non smokers pay for their life assurance. It seems unlikely that many smokers will be tempted to give up just to get cheaper...

Star quality.
August 1, 2007... Following Morningstar's acquisition of Standard & Poor's fund data business earlier this year, the former S&P fund stars for the registered investment funds universe (unit trusts and OEICs/ICVCs, investment trusts, insurance funds and...

Financial strength of with profits offices.
August 1, 2007... Now that the stock markets have recovered, life office financial strength no longer seems to be a talking point. Any firm that might have been in danger of collapse through sheer weakness has either been taken over or demutualised and shored...

The helping hand.
August 1, 2007... Technology is the obvious answer to compliance requirements. Instead of mountains of paperwork and rooms full of filing cabinets detailing every step of client adviser interaction, software systems can record everything on one database. ...

Adviser technology on the catwalk.
August 1, 2007... Forget the skinny models in Hugo Boss suits: the biggest trend on the adviser catwalk this year is e-services. Hailed by some as the business saviour, the use of these powerful tools has given many firms a vital new weapon in their efforts...

Ahead of the times.
August 1, 2007... Since the dawn of the internet, the use of technology by financial advisers in every aspect of their work has grown relentlessly, from client databases and back office systems to product information and applications. One of the most...

Double charging.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Pension schemes hit with extra tax charges The Government has been accused of imposing a stealth charge on pension schemes whereby members and schemes are both hit with a 40% unauthorised payment charge (UPC) that should only apply...

Unwrapping the debate.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Publication of FSA platform report Advisers have welcomed the recommendation in the FSA's platform review that wraps should come under principles based regulation rather than being subject to specific rules. The review,...

Everything going 2plan.
August 1, 2007... Byline: National IFA model challenges networks A new national IFA claims that its business model represents the future of product distribution in the financial services sector. 2plan has been launched by two former directors of IFA...

Reaching out.
August 1, 2007... Byline: SIPP provider goes direct to IFAs Self invested personal pension (SIPP) provider Mattioli Woods is to launch a new SIPP, the first of its range that will be aimed at advisers. The "online, top end" SIPP will be aimed...

Small fry.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Report asks FSA to close the guidance gap The FSA smaller businesses practitioner panel has criticised the FSA for failing to put enough resources into ensuring that smaller IFA firms are up to speed with the latest regulation. ...

Price war feared.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Income protection price cuts could damage product Experts are warning that the threat of a price war in the income protection market could damage the product's reputation as consumers will base their choice on cost rather than the...