Money Management articles from February 2004

Money Management archives from February 2004

Simplification takes another scalp Open annuity branding deals cancelled over regulation.
February 1, 2004... Three white labelling deals that would have enabled insurance companies to sell annuities where any residual fund on death could be passed into the annuitant's estate have been cancelled. The arrangements to distribute the Open annuity --...

Playing with fire Structured product commissions up.
February 1, 2004... The move by some providers to increase commission on structured products is dangerous for IFAs, according to Nvesta director Graham Devile. "The products have taken a pounding anyway -- it's just inviting criticism," he says. Although 3%...

Everything changes PIN promises further costs for financial services.
February 1, 2004... Product providers, fund supermarkets and suppliers of software for IFAs will face massive upfront costs if the Government introduces a proposed database with a PIN for every person in the country. If the proposed UK population register were...

On the cliff edge More IFA failures likely.
February 1, 2004... The fallout from precipice bonds looks likely to affect more IFAs than expected. The David Aaron Partnership joins RJ Temple as the latest IFA to become insolvent due to its rising compensation bill for misselling precipice bonds. The...

Abbey shapes up and ships out Hundreds face job loss.
February 1, 2004... Abbey National has announced plans to close offices in Warrington and Derby causing the loss of hundreds of jobs. 400 telephone enquiry jobs will be transferred to India by the end of October 2004. People handling current account enquiries...

Fund management awards Ken Clarke MP to host event.
February 1, 2004... The 14th annual Standard & Poor's fund awards in association with Money Management are fast approaching. The awards, to be hosted by Conservative MP Ken Clarke, will take place at London's Dorchester Hotel on Tuesday 2 March 2004. The...

It's what people want!
February 1, 2004... Back in the early '80s I went on one of those cheesy organised day trips to a French hypermarket to stock up on cheap booze for Christmas, with the then princely sum of AGBP80 to spend. Not knowing a great deal about what was on offer, we...

Selling yourself.
February 1, 2004... The last few years have seen a hive of acquisition and merger activity in the IFA business sector. It has led to the setting up of organisations and specialists dedicated to helping IFAs to buy, sell and merge their businesses. Broker Exchange,...

Manager of managers Making cents Five new multi manager products from Standard Life.
February 1, 2004... Standard Life has secured the last of the big three US-based investment consultants, Wilshire Associates, to select the underlying portfolios for its five new multi-manager products. The other two specialised consultants from the US --...

Structured growth product 121% minimum return.
February 1, 2004... Legal & General has launched its Capital Protection Plus 2, a six year structured growth product linked to the FTSE 100. It will pay a guaranteed minimum return of 21% no matter what happens to the FTSE, up to a gain of 42%. If the market...

Emerging market funds Templeton expands onshore range.
February 1, 2004... Franklin Templeton Investments is launching a sterling-denominated emerging markets fund, as part of the expansion of its onshore range. Run by Mark Mobius, the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund will invest in undervalued stocks in Latin America,...

Fund of funds multi-tasking.
February 1, 2004... Isis is launching two new multi-manager funds this month. The Isis MM Cautious and the Isis MM Distribution funds will each have approximately 15 underlying managers in the funds. The cautious fund will be split evenly between equities...

CPPI products keydata opens up.
February 1, 2004... Keydata has launched its first open-ended product. The UK Protected Growth Plan will use Barclay's Global Investors' (BGI) Dublin-based iFTSE 100 fund as its underlying with 70% of the fund initially being invested in the tracker. The remaining...

Don't see red.
February 1, 2004... Once the toast of the borrowing community, endowments dominated the UK mortgage market for the best part of two decades from the early 80s to the late 90s. At their peak in 1988 endowments accounted for 83% of the mortgage market. Housebuyers...

Interesting times for mortgages.
February 1, 2004... As house prices continue to rise beyond affordable levels for first time buyers, the temptation to take out an interest only mortgage and forego the repayment vehicle is probably difficult to resist. For many first time buyers it may seem like...

Taking STOCK.
February 1, 2004... World equity markets have rebounded from the three years of the worst bear market since 1929 and the Great Depression. Guns and butter worked to spur on US economic recovery, as remarked in December's Taking stock, and helped repair corporate...

THE real under-pensioned.
February 1, 2004... In December the clamour of complaints about limits on tax relief for the pensions of top executives reached a crescendo, with moans from the CBI, top consultancies, most commentators and even the Prime Minister. Yet at the same time a report...

Taking the 'ow' out of endowments Reports of the life products' demise may have been greatly exaggerated.
February 1, 2004... Money Management research has revealed that the furore over endowment mortgages may have been a case of making a mis-sale out of a molehill. Millions of borrowers who took out the much maligned investment vehicles have been scared into...

TAX threat looms on dividends.
February 1, 2004... Over the past five years the Chancellor has introduced a range of measures and targeted tax reductions to support small businesses. These include the reform of capital gains tax, the introduction of taper relief, reducing the rate of...

In favour of final salary schemes.
February 1, 2004... For the average punter, pensions are boring. And even highly clued up executives of blue chip companies often have at best a hazy idea of what kind of pension they have. So in theory, the Government's proposals for pension simplification are to...

Ethics in the headlines.
February 1, 2004... Daily the news from Iraq offers disturbing pictures that test the emotions of the public. These have included the rights and wrongs of military action, the relationship between the countries of the West and the oil rich Middle East, how open a...

Distribution funds - Beware claims of tax advantages.
February 1, 2004... There has been much talk in the last year about the potential havoc that will be wreaked on equity funds once the Chancellor's proposals for the abolition of the dividend tax credit come into force on 5 April 2004. Some say that it will give...

AGBP1.4m cap isn't just for fat cats.
February 1, 2004... The latest offering from the Government, the imaginatively entitled 'Simplifying the taxation of pensions: the Government's proposals' adds more detail but certainly looks like a very poor return on the year spent producing it. Frankly it...

Land of the rising fund Year end performance figures highlight Japanese resurgence.
February 1, 2004... Standard & Poor's fund performance figures show that Japan's much predicted recovery is well under way, with Framlington's Japanese Income fund emerging as the top performing UK registered fund over the calendar year 2003. As revealed in...

Payout pain Yet more bonus cuts.
February 1, 2004... Investors hoping for good news to get them over the New Year blues will be disappointed by the latest spate of bonus announcements. Payouts on 25 year with profit endowments have slumped further, amid signs that the downward spiral in...

Live longer with less money Revised life expectancies from GAD mean annuity cuts.
February 1, 2004... Annuity rates are doomed to continue falling in 2004 as insurers factor in improvements to life expectancies shown in revised projections by both the Continuous Mortality Investigation Bureau (CMIB) and the Government Actuary's Department...

Sign of things to come Refuge pays lowest maturity yet.
February 1, 2004... Cheshire's Fred Lowe could not be more disappointed with the performance of his 25 year with profit endowment from closed life office Refuge, now owned by Royal London. When it matures on 1 March, it will pay between AGBP41,000 and AGBP43,500,...

Between a rock and a hard place Standard Life to undergo fresh audit.
February 1, 2004... Standard Life's dispute with the FSA about how its liabilities are calculated leaves questions over its future, as well as its financial strength. The FSA is to conduct a fresh audit of the life office, on the back of its recent...

Anyone for Tenet's? IFA group launches PI offering.
February 1, 2004... Tenet group has unveiled details of its own professional indemnity (PI) plan. In the scheme, the network will offer its own members up to four years of cover with excesses starting at AGBP5,000. Premiums will obviously fluctuate according to...

Time to pay up? Equitable makes more damages offers.
February 1, 2004... Equitable Life has made settlement offers to five additional Clarke Willmott clients. Two of the offers (based on damages claims of AGBP130,000-AGBP373,000) have been accepted. The other three have been refused and trials are due to begin...