Money Management articles from July 2004

Money Management archives from July 2004

Fantasy portfolio.
July 1, 2004... Money Management's weekly sister title, Investment Adviser, has launched an online portfolio competition. You can enter Investment Adviser's Fantasy Portfolio Challenge, sponsored by Ample. Entrants have until 30 June to register their...

Too little, too late.
July 1, 2004... The introduction of statutory protection for tenants' deposits in the buy to let market fails to go far enough for SIPP providers. The Government has proposed to mandate a system that would protect tenants' deposits from unscrupulous...

A blast from the past.
July 1, 2004... In July 1979 Money Management examined the issue of professional indemnity (PI) insurance. Only in a few professions was PI cover compulsory under the rules of their governing bodies, but an increasing tendency to sue for professional...

keeping it in the family.
July 1, 2004... Cheltenham and Gloucester (C&G) and Lloyds TSB have launched a new offset mortgage, which offers a friends and family option. The Lloyds TSB offset combines a mortgage from C&G with a current account from Lloyds TSB and the option of a...

he who dares wins.
July 1, 2004... Everyone wants more return for less risk. New Star's new fund of hedge funds is one of a handful of products to claim that it will outperform other investments, such as conventional unit trusts, while also reducing the adviser's downside risk....

focus pocus.
July 1, 2004... SVG and GAM have jointly launched a UK Focus fund and are pushing its innovative fund management strategy to the fore. The unit trust is underpinned by a GAM run British Virgin Islands based fund, which invests in FTSE listed companies. ...

too different.
July 1, 2004... Two new tracker mortgages take completely different approaches to providing borrowers with loans that are tied to the base rate. Alliance & Leicester's new product offers up to 95% loan to value and interest at the base rate plus 0.99%. Another...

A depolarised world.
July 1, 2004... The end of polarisation is finally approaching nearly five years after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) first attacked it for being anti-competitive. Several Financial Services Authority (FSA) consultation papers later, the new depolarisation...

Taken to the cleaners.
July 1, 2004... While recent changes to the money laundering regime may well have been triggered by the events of September 11, 2001, the headlines reveal a hardening of the attitudes of the regulatory bodies involved. The AGBP2m financial penalty imposed on...

What price good advice?
July 1, 2004... As a discerning, some might say choosy, consumer, I like to shop around for my groceries based on both quality and value for money. Of course, there are some products that are just too important to be based on value for money alone. With some...

With profit bonds - not so profitable.
July 1, 2004... You can hardly TURN a page in a national daily newspaper these days without reading some doom and gloom story about with profits plans. Companies paying minimal or no reversionary bonuses have compounded misselling problems; terminal bonuses,...

Foreign Interest.
July 1, 2004... With UK interest rates on an upward trend, the idea of accessing lower rates with a foreign currency mortgage sounds appealing. There are euro and US dollar mortgages available from one or two banks on the high street. However, borrowers may...

The french do it without caps.
July 1, 2004... Across the world pension systems are creaking as people live longer. In the UK a pre-emptive reduction in already meagre State pensions, coupled with employers cutting back on contributions, has left today's young earners facing a bleak outlook...

COMPANY TAKEOVERS AND TAX.
July 1, 2004... Whenever a company takes over another company, or indeed two or more companies merge, then the transaction will usually be a disposal for capital gains tax purposes. The extent to which the investor faces an immediate tax bill will largely...

Taking STOCK.
July 1, 2004... Fund managers have been reiterating to IFAs ever since the collapse of March 2000 that it is asset allocation rather than market timing or fund selection that holds the key to long term investment success. This is the justification for the new...

The struggle for life.
July 1, 2004... 2003 was clearly not a bumper year for life and pensions sales. Out of the 34 companies participating in the survey, only nine saw their new business rise over the 12 month period to 31 December 2003. On average business was down nearly 12%...

Out of time.
July 1, 2004... Hundreds of thousands of endowment mortgage holders may have missed out on complaining about mis-sold policies, according to Government figures. Under the 1986 Financial Services Act, policyholders have three years to complain from the...

The next best wrap account.
July 1, 2004... They said it was impossible for an Australian wrap account to launch in the UK. They said the failure of Norwich Union's Navigator system to adapt to the UK's taxation regimes meant that Australian companies would be unable to compete with...

Set menu?
July 1, 2004... The LIA and AIFA are calling on the FSA to change its menu proposal. Both organisations believe that it is currently too complex. They were responding to the FSA's consultation paper 04/3: Reforming Polarisation -- A Menu For Being Open With...

cosmopolitan elite.
July 1, 2004... Winterthur has launched five new sector specific life and pension funds to tie into its multi manager offering. The UK, European, North American and Global equity funds will be joined by a bond fund as the group expands its range of Elite funds...

From zeros to heroes.
July 1, 2004... Zero dividend preference shares could be coming back into vogue, according to Investec Asset Management. The statement from Andy Sowerby, managing director of the fund management house, follows the creation of an Investment Management...

BBB waits for clients' identity.
July 1, 2004... 41,000 former clients of Berry Birch & Noble Financial Services (BBNFS) will soon discover whether their financial products have been ring-fenced within the liquidated company. BBNFS was put into liquidation by parent company Berkeley Berry...

IFA denies proposing Origo deadline.
July 1, 2004... Origo's target of 70% of all insurance products supporting real-time contract enquiries by the end of the year became more shaky when IFA Sesame revealed that it had not asked for a deadline. When Origo launched its standard in May, its...

First supplier adopts Origo enquiries.
July 1, 2004... Quay Software will be the first IFA back-office supplier to support real-time valuations of life and pensions products using the new industry-wide standard. Although standard-setting body Origo agreed a common method for distributing...

Will they ever learn?
July 1, 2004... The FSA's newly announ- ced commitment to encourage financial capability in the public at large has been widely welcomed. Trade bodies from all areas of the industry have been keen to endorse the proposals, although many individuals have...