Money Management articles from February 2005

Money Management archives from February 2005

Time is money.
February 1, 2005... The service offered to intermediaries by life and pension providers is worsening and it is costing IFAs over AGBP200m a year, according to advisers surveyed by insurance technology specialist FIS Software. 21% of IFAs classified the service...

Get your piece of the PI.
February 1, 2005... With the Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) in effect from 15 January, arranging professional indemnity insurance should be at the top of every adviser's to do list. The IMD...

Throwing the book at them.
February 1, 2005... The FSA ended 2004 with a bang, imposing millions of pounds in fines and compensation at the end of December. Among those hit with the FSA's rulebook was Bradford & Bingley, which was fined AGBP650,000 for the mis-selling of precipice bonds and...

Simply the best.
February 1, 2005... A revised statement of best PMI practice has been introduced by the ABI following the launch of the new protection regulation regime. The statement came into force on 15 January as the General Insurance Standards Council passed regulatory...

Fiscal foundation.
February 1, 2005... The Pre Retirement Association has launched a service providing free educational information about personal finance. The charity, in conjunction with the Department for Work and Pensions, has made the material available on the internet...

Blast from the past.
February 1, 2005... Twenty-five years ago, Money Management reported that on 1 January 1980 the new 'cooling off' provisions came into force for certain types of long term policies. The new regulations required all life insurance companies to issue a...

Goldie looking new portal.
February 1, 2005... The Exchange has expanded the capability of Exweb by launching a new version of the portal. Exweb Gold comprises the original Exweb research, quote and buy services alongside a variety of new functions that have extended its range. It...

Enhance and chance.
February 1, 2005... A year in which more than 350 structured products were launched concluded with the introduction of the Citigroup Enhanced Growth Plan V, a six year investment comprising two levels of growth potential. The first option is 100% capital...

Capital protection & growth.
February 1, 2005... Legal & General has launched the Protected Capital and Growth Plan 2, which will remain open to investment until 11 March. The plan promises to pay a 22.5% return or 50% of any FTSE 100 Index capital growth, whichever is greater at maturity on...

Reality bites.
February 1, 2005... About four years ago, I was privileged to be a member of a panel of speakers at question time for the very first FTAdviser Expo in London. One of the questions put to the panel was, did we feel that with profits endowment policies had a future?...

Equity exposure without fear.
February 1, 2005... Newcastle Building Society has launched a Guaranteed FTSE Return Bond. The bond has a five year term and will pay investors 80% of any rise in the FTSE 100 or 100% of any fall (capped at 25%) at the end of that period. Returns are calculated...

Belated entry to e-submission arena.
February 1, 2005... Standard Life has launched a new business submission system that will allow IFAs to source quotes and submit business electronically for its protection products. Protection Online enables advisers to take client details from back office...

Terminal decline?
February 1, 2005... The payment of commission to intermediaries for the recommendation of personal finance products has been fraught with problems for over 25 years. Events such as the scrapping of the maximum commission agreement (MCA) by the OFT in the late 80s...

The best interest for everyone.
February 1, 2005... In contrast to the mass market appeal of mortgages that can be obtained on the high street, mortgages arranged on behalf of trustees are much more specialist and rare. Consequently, building societies and large lenders tend to shy away from...

worth the wait.
February 1, 2005... Webline has launched its first online annuity comparative quotes service, backed initially by Norwich Union, Prudential, Friends Provident and Standard Life. The group said that talks were taking place with other major providers and plans...

In safe hands.
February 1, 2005... A cross between equity and debt, and only issued by building societies, PIBS (permanent interest bearing shares) are unusual investment products that offer consistent income. As the name suggests, PIBS pay income in the form of a fixed coupon,...

Testing times.
February 1, 2005... The original FPC has been through a few updates since it was first implemented 15 years ago, most recently in 1994. This time around the exams have been changed to reflect the regulatory requirements of the Financial Services Authority (FSA)....

Taking Stock - February 2005.
February 1, 2005... In March 2004 I recommended a report* by a couple of the cleverest US market theoreticians, which showed that the future earnings growth of companies is positively correlated to the payout ratio. Those companies that paid generous dividends...

Not just making up the numbers.
February 1, 2005... Index-linked gilts enjoyed a surge in popularity during the sustained bear market that dominated the first three years of the 21st century. The vehicles were seen as a safe haven, where investment not only guaranteed returns -- a boast that few...

Capital gains and the family home.
February 1, 2005... To qualify for at least some relief from capital gains tax on disposal, there are two crucial conditions to be met: the property must constitute a dwelling house; and for at least part of the total period of ownership, the individual must have...

Scandal of occupational money purchase schemes.
February 1, 2005... Over the last few years over half the private sector final salary schemes have been closed to new entrants, and generally replaced by money purchase schemes. Simply changing scheme type brings costs and benefits, but real harm has been caused...

Adventurous investments.
February 1, 2005... Just when the financial services industry thought Gordon Brown had exhausted his supply of goodwill, he threw a particularly meaty bone in the direction of the VCT sector. It was a hungry sector at that, having experienced an investment...

Union doubt over Prudential mis-selling.
February 1, 2005... A teachers' union has dismissed fears of mass mis-selling involving Prudential top-up pensions sold to teachers. The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) said that the figures showed very few claims of...

It's a hard Sun Life.
February 1, 2005... Axa Sun Life has been fined AGBP500,000 by the FSA for producing misleading advertisements. The adverts for Axa's Bonus Cash Builder Plus Plan and its Guaranteed Over 50 Plan, which featured TV personalities Carol Smillie and June...

Surrender value rules unfair.
February 1, 2005... With profits pension policyholders could lose out under the FSA's proposals to revamp surrender value rules, due out at the end of January. The Association of Policy Market Makers (APMM) has repeated calls for the FSA to "abandon" the...

Running for cover.
February 1, 2005... After years of savers contracting out of the state second pension (S2P), and its predecessor SERPS in order to put part of their NICs into their private pensions, many have decided that their money might be in safer hands remaining with the...

Left in the dark.
February 1, 2005... Advisers have been left guessing as to how incoming alternatively secured pensions (ASPs) will be calculated just over a year before A-Day. The introduction next April of ASPs -- also known as alternatively secured income -- is set to be...

Sticks and stones.
February 1, 2005... The FSA has accused endowment providers of failing to handle mis selling complaints with appropriate consideration. It added that firms could face heavy fines if they did not "meet the required standards". One of the charges levelled at...

Child's play.
February 1, 2005... The official launch of CTFs has encountered a mixed reception within the industry. The scheme to encourage families to save for their children was rolled out on 11 January with confirmation that 75 companies had committed to offering the funds,...

Splits definitive.
February 1, 2005... The settlement reached by the FSA and the firms involved in the split capital investments trusts scandal, of a package of AGBP194m for affected investors, has been the subject of huge criticism within the industry. After a three year...