Money Management articles from December 2007

Money Management archives from December 2007

Court in the act.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Paying compensation at maturity would confer on the endowment mortgage an absolute cast iron guarantee A s advisers will know well, compensation for endowment mortgage policies is only supposed to be payable where it is judged that...

Starting the CAR.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Advisers disagree on remuneration scheme The commission based approach to intermediary compensation is broken and only customer agreed remuneration (CAR) will give advisers fair payment and provide value for money for consumers, an...

70 is the new 50.
December 1, 2007... Byline: But retirement ages will need to re-evaluated Rather than slowing down into old age, people are now able to live the lives at age 70 that previous generations would have enjoyed at 50, according to research from HSBC. The research...

Blast from the past.
December 1, 2007... Byline: News from 25 years ago In the December 1982 issue of Money Management we reported that the life assurance commissions agreement was on the brink of collapse and concerns were mounting that it would spark a commissions war. ...

Pick a winning portfolio.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Fantasy fund management game launched Money Management has teamed up with JP Morgan Asset Management to launch the Fantasy Fund Manager League. Simply pick your perfect portfolio and beat your peers for a first prize of AGBP30,000,...

A highly liquid investment.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Splash out on water companies around the world A water fund available TO UK investors has been launched by Protected Distribution in conjunction with Barclay's Bank. The Protected Water fund invests in a new index created by the...

Building BRICs.
December 1, 2007... The first Russian ETF has been launched on the London Stock Exchange as part of Lyxor's emerging markets ETF multiple launch. Lyxor has also launched a Brazil, China and Asia Pacific ex-Japan ETF. The funds join the India and South Africa...

Hotting up.
December 1, 2007... HSBC is capitalising on environmental problems with the launch of its Climate Change fund. The fund is managed by Sinopia, the specialist quantitative arm of the HSBC Group and invests in companies that are addressing the problems posed by...

New for old.
December 1, 2007... Lincoln Financial Group has relaunched its Elderly Care product, a protection plan that focuses on conditions related to old age. The plan pays a tax free lump sum after the diagnosis only of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, motor neurone disease,...

Both breadth and quality.
December 1, 2007... A new SIPP from Hazell Carr puts the emphasis on low charges and high service standards. It has no set up fee and a monthly administration fee of 0.02%, minimum AGBP12.50 pm, maximum AGBP40 pm. It is a full SIPP that allows all permitted...

Independence isn't broken.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Letter of the month Since the RDR workshop event in June, I have seen no published evidence intended to support the contention of the broken intermediary model but an awful lot of conjecture and vested interest purporting to be a...

No clear TCF guidance.
December 1, 2007... Byline: "We won't tell you how to do TCF" John Howard of the Financial Services Consumer Panel told delegates at an FSA conference on TCF on 6 November that although "firms want to be told what to do... the FSA says it is going to allow...

Transferring trail.
December 1, 2007... I have been in this industry for 41 years and seldom have time to write letters to the insurance press. I have always acted ethically and unbiased and for the best arrangements for my clients. However, recently I received two letters from...

Hidden agenda in RDR.
December 1, 2007... Further to Philip Wise's letter (MM September), he says that commission receiving advisers should have to state to their clients "if you do not purchase a commission paying product from me I will not be paid for my advice". To keep a level...

FSA fees.
December 1, 2007... We have just received notification of this year's regulatory fees and that element to support the FSA has increased by a decidedly alarming 29.1% over last year's figure. Can anyone explain why this might be? The FSA have tried to claim...

Top 100 IFAs.
December 1, 2007... Financial Adviser published their top 100 IFAs this week, and conveniently provided annual turnover and something they refer to as "sales size", which I assume means adviser numbers. The interesting thing is they also provide % fees earned...

The professionals.
December 1, 2007... Laverne Hadaway's piece (October Upfront) intimated that this survey was greeted by indifference or derision by IFAs - how true! I think the CII have rather shot themselves in the foot. Why ask a bunch of ne'er-do-well amateurs (MPs) what...

Returns still melting away.
December 1, 2007... Endowment mortgages are no longer on the advice radar. A number of advisers now proudly say (with the benefit of hindsight) that they never went near them in the first place. But many others did recommend what seemed like a good product at the...

Fantasy fund manager - win AGBP30k!
December 1, 2007... Financial journalists are renowned for knowing an awful lot about what's going on in the investment world at any given time, while not actually having enough money to prove their point. And that position has suited us perfectly well, thank you...

Generic financial advice.
December 1, 2007... The Treasury announced in early 2007 that it was setting up an independent review under Otto Thoresen to research and design a national approach to generic financial advice (GFA). GFA is seen as an important plank in delivering the Government's...

The year of change.
December 1, 2007... There have been several significant developments in the UK protection market in recent times. From Virgin's cancer cover to PruProtect's Vitality concept the protection industry has seen genuine innovation. PruProtect has taken its tiered...

Certified v Chartered.
December 1, 2007... Financial advisers are divided over qualifications. The two largest professional bodies award what they believe is the highest academic achievement in financial planning, and neither believes that its competitor's offering is equivalent. On one...

It's a wrapover.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Ascentric joins up with Royal London The acquisition of a stake in FundsDirect Ascentric by Royal London will not mean the end of its independence, the wrap provider argues. Funds Direct Ascentric was one of three wrap providers...

Solvency abuse.
December 1, 2007... The bad news is that the European Union has not been regulating the solvency of insurance companies satisfactorily. The good news is that it is doing something about it: this is the Solvency II project, which is a complete overhaul of the...

Permission granted.
December 1, 2007... For some time the FSA had been receiving a number of requests for waivers to the rules on permitted investments for unit linked life and pensions policies, most of which were granted. The existing rules had not been substantially reviewed since...

Income after 75.
December 1, 2007... For those considering their retirement options at 75, the two obvious choices are either to purchase an annuity, or to use the alternatively secured pension (ASP) rules. ASP, despite the talk about it, was always likely to be only used by a...

Death to nil-rate band planning?
December 1, 2007... Before the Chancellor's announcement last month, many married couples and civil partners were advised to implement nil-rate band planning to mitigate their overall inheritance tax (IHT) liability. Basically, the value up to the nil-rate...

The dividend dilemma.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Would pensions plummet if UK institutions are forced to think long term? asks John Chapman In an increasingly money purchase world, future pensions are dependent on market returns, which are themselves dependent on dividends and...

An uncertain season - the credit crunch.
December 1, 2007... Byline: In view of the credit crunch, Laverne Hadaway takes the temperature of the mortgage market from advisers' perspectives There is little doubt that the sub prime mortgage sector is suffering from the effects of the credit crunch. Week...

Taking stock - investment trusts have lots to offer.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Investment trusts may be old fashioned but they still have plenty to offer says former investment banker Russell Taylor The recent appearance of behavioural scientists amongst investment strategists has brought some needed common...

Here to stay.
December 1, 2007... Long seen as the black sheep of the financial services industry, equity release has or had all the pitfalls that could be hoped for in a financial product: lack of regulation, unscrupulous providers, a product likely to be needed at times of...

Q&A.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Jo Dymock asks Dominic Fraser-Smith how equity release will fulfil its growth potential Q: How do you view the equity release market at the moment? DFS: People have been talking about the boom in the equity release market for...

Crunch time.
December 1, 2007... There has been talk of the anticipated boom in equity release for several years, ever since the regulation of lifetime mortgage products back in 2004 and the perceived overhaul of the industry. However, the expected growth did not occur,...

Come and get it.
December 1, 2007... Insurers should TAKE more steps to return unclaimed assets to their rightful owners, said Norwich Union. The company has embarked on a search to find the owners of AGBP40m in unclaimed assets. Some of the money dates from policies written as...

Not just a pretty face.
December 1, 2007... Interest in equity release is growing dramatically, with new providers entering the market, advisers considering how to incorporate equity release within their financial planning process and the industry sector benefiting from the security...

Q&A.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Jo Dymock finds that the equity release market is due for a brand new name Q: How do you view the equity release market at the moment? NHS : We think equity release is becoming a mainstream product. It is no longer a niche...

Crib sheet: Equity release.
December 1, 2007... Equity release is a way of releasing cash from a property, either through sale or mortgage, while allowing the homeowner to continue living there as long as they wish. There are certain eligibility constraints for equity release: - The...

A new standard for advisers.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Non exam based financial planning benchmark ISO standard 22222, the UK's first certification scheme for financial planners could be an alternative for advisers who do not want to have to attain professional qualifications, one of...

Coming together.
December 1, 2007... Byline: RDR could clear way for new professional body A single professional body for financial advisers will be necessary to improve the profession's public image and enlist new recruits, advisers have said. Simon Hudson, chief...

Can they handle it?
December 1, 2007... Byline: Big is not necessarily beautiful It is easier for larger wrap platform and fund supermarkets to correct mistakes made than smaller ones, a spokesman at Cofunds has argued. Wrap providers regularly come up against mistakes made by...

A tall order.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Endowment mortgages have long way to grow Endowment mortgage policies that are 20 years into a 25 year term need to grow over 8% on average per year if they are to meet their projected targets, new research from Money Management has...

Levy rising.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Regulator may charge fines for reporting Firms that repeatedly submit poorly completed Retail Mediation Activities Returns (RMARs) on a regular basis may soon face an administrative charge, the FSA has said. The fee was...