Money Management articles from March 2004

Money Management archives from March 2004

BEATING THE HOUSE.
March 1, 2004... Premier is to launch a structured product that will make money even if the market falls. The six year Premier Growth Plus Plan, which will be available for seven weeks from 1 March 2004, is linked to the FTSE 100. It will pay 75% of...

INFLATED PROMISES.
March 1, 2004... In a bear market, even the best funds will lose money. Investors planning for their retirements gain scant consolation from equity investments that beat both the index and their peers only to fall short of inflation. Investment consultant...

URBAN FLAVAS.
March 1, 2004... Urban Exposure has launched a UK fund investing in off-plan housing developments. The Property Trading Plan purchases properties in the pre- construction stage and sells them on before completion. The plan seeks to make money from the...

sense of respectability.
March 1, 2004... The rivalry between Jupiter and New Star to win assets under management has been briefly postponed by the inclusion of both companies' funds on Scottish Widows' open architecture platform. Along with Schroder, the two managers have new...

COMMERCIAL LENDERS and the residential sector.
March 1, 2004... Until recently, the COMMERCIAL and residential mortgage markets have been considered chalk and cheese. The residential mortgage market is fairly straightforward, while the commercial market is complex and best left to the experts. Commercial...

Taking STOCK.
March 1, 2004... The bear market appeared to reach its nadir in March 2003 -- appears because the jury is still out on whether this is just a sustained and powerful bear market rally or truly the return to normality. However, there is no doubt in the mind of...

CP 207 - fairness for with profits policyholders?
March 1, 2004... The 1980s and 1990s are referred to as glory years for with profit policies. The returns were indeed higher than those from building societies and much higher than current returns. For long term investments, returns on with profits were much...

Judging dread diseases.
March 1, 2004... The inspiration for critical illness cover (CIC) was renowned South African cardiologist Dr Marius Barnard. He recognised that saving lives often introduced the survivors to financial insecurity. When CIC plans first appeared on advisers'...

Year end tax planning.
March 1, 2004... There are a number of allowances and exemptions that, if unused, cannot be carried forward to the following tax year. These include: Income tax personal allowance Everybody, including children, is entitled to a tax-free amount of...

What on earth are Furbs and uurbs?
March 1, 2004... It has been argued that the financial services industry is overly fond of acronyms. Certainly they do not foster greater comprehension among consumers. But when it comes to some products, the words behind the acronym are almost more difficult...

Thawing the isa.
March 1, 2004... Finally, some optimism should be allowed to creep into the individual savings account (ISA) market. After a year in which stock markets have started to show signs of recovery the industry should be anticipating this year's ISA season with...

Double Exposure.
March 1, 2004... Fund managers have switched from damage control to profit patrol. In just 10 months, appetite for risk has surged from an all-time low to an all-time high, according to the latest Merrill Lynch global manager survey, which began gauging risk in...

14.2m workers high and dry Pensions Bill no incentive.
March 1, 2004... The Pensions Bill does nothing to stimulate saving for retirement, according to industry experts. The Bill, due to take effect in April 2005, holds few incentives for employers and employees to make pension provision. Steve Bee, head...

High price, low protection PPF proposals fall short.
March 1, 2004... A barrage of complaints from consumer groups, providers and consultants alike has greeted the long-awaited details of the pension protection fund (PPF), announced in the Pensions Bill. The PPF aims to provide a minimum level of compensation...

B-onerous season True extent of bonus cuts revealed.
March 1, 2004... Terminal bonuses on 10 year with profit endowments have plummeted 91% in just six years, according to figures collated by traded endowment policy specialist Beale Dobie. The research, which includes virtually all past and present with...

Exchange announces wrap roll out.
March 1, 2004... The wrap account currently being built by The Exchange and FundsDirect will be rolled out in four stages culminating in the launch of the integrated service in September this year. Eleven national IFA firms, including WIFAS, Bradford &...

Trail furore IFAs under threat?
March 1, 2004... IFA trail commission is under fresh attack from new rebate service Intelligent Money. Launched in a blaze of publicity last month, the discount broker will channel all commission back to investors for an annual fee of AGBP35. Fay...

Another IFA under the cosh First pensions unlocking fine.
March 1, 2004... The FSA has fined independent financial adviser Berkeley Jacobs AGBP175,000 for 'pensions unlocking'. It is the first such fine issued by the regulator -- but it is unlikely to be the last. Louise Buckley, a spokesperson at the FSA,...

Six annuities for one pension LPI cut means big changes in 2005.
March 1, 2004... People talk about pensions simplification a lot more than they do it. While security for members of wound-up final salary schemes rises to the top of the political agenda, simplification of the myriad money purchase arrangements --...

MM awards workshop Calling all potential Financial Planner of the Year award winners.
March 1, 2004... We are delighted to announce that we are running a complimentary workshop to help prospective candidates submit a winning entry for the 2004 Money Management Financial Planner of the Year awards. The awards are now in their ninth year. Each...

Back from the brink Structured products post gains in 2003.
March 1, 2004... Structured product performance rebounded with markets last year, with only 23 of the 156 maturing products posting total returns of less than 100%. The research, conducted by Pinnacle Insurance using supplementary data from...

High hopes for cap Will it rise above 1%?
March 1, 2004... Providers are optimistic that stakeholder products will have a more realistic charges cap after the Government relaxed its stance on child trust fund (CTF) charges. The recent announcement that CTF accounts would be capped at 1.5%, rather...

DWP's IT projects show improvements Pension credit and combined forecasts look healthier.
March 1, 2004... The DWP's shocking track record for running expensive computer systems -- best illustrated by the failure of the Child Support Agency project -- is improving at long last, according to expert witnesses at a meeting of a committee of MPs. ...

Funding for children Industry pledges personal finance education drive.
March 1, 2004... The financial services industry is set to radically increase its funding of personal finance education following the FSA's announcement that it would double its core funding of the Personal Finance Education Group (PFEG) to AGBP120,000. ...

Demeaning of life Insurers criticised over endowment complaints.
March 1, 2004... The latest meeting of the Treasury Select Committee, arranged to address the endowment mortgage misselling crisis, quickly descended into an exercise in buck-passing. The cross party group of MPs used the hearing to grill senior figures from...