Money Management articles from March 2005

Money Management archives from March 2005

A helping hand.
March 1, 2005... The introduction of mortgage and general insurance regulation has changed the FSA's remit according to the regulator's recently published two year business plan. The changes have seen a further 14,000 firms come under the FSA's auspices....

Advice you can bank on.
March 1, 2005... About three Quarters of consumers prefer to buy financial products from their bank branch than through any other channel, according to research from technology consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton. That may not seem like good news for financial...

Blast from the past.
March 1, 2005... Sufficient funding for occupational pension schemes was as hot a topic 25 years ago as it is today. In the March 1980 Money Management, employers' ideas of 'adequate' funding and their failing to keeping up contributions to their pension funds...

A fee too high.
March 1, 2005... Butterfield Private Bank has joined forces with trustee firms Quarters, J Bradley and MC Trustees to launch three SIPPs. Under the tie-ups, Butterfield will act as the plan provider offering banking facilities and optional discretionary...

Reinventing the wheel.
March 1, 2005... A new whole of life plan from L&G has gone back to basics by offering non profit guaranteed premiums, which are fixed for the duration of the policy. The provider is placing an emphasis on the plan's inheritance tax-related benefits, as it...

Launch coincides with global warming pact.
March 1, 2005... The recent string of VCT launches continues unabated with a new offering from Keydata Investment Services. The Keydata Income VCT invests in renewable energy projects, the first of which are wind turbine farms. The VCT will only invest in...

Property portfolio now open to ISA investors.
March 1, 2005... Close Property Investment has created a property fund of funds that qualifies for investment through ISAs and PEPs. Closepip ISA & PEP Plc is a new feeder fund for Closepip, which was launched in May 2003 but was not able to qualify for ISA/PEP...

Fund offers capital repayment.
March 1, 2005... Norwich Union has launched a new with profits fund that comes with a capital guarantee over the first five years. The fund pledges to return the initial investment on the fifth anniversary of the policy, regardless of the prevailing investment...

New range open to intermediaries.
March 1, 2005... Clerical Medical has expanded its range of external funds available to intermediaries. Advisers will now be able to sell 16 external funds managed by Fidelity and Invesco Perpetual as well as 11 additional funds from Newton, Schroder and UBS....

Funds for the future.
March 1, 2005... Hopes are riding high for the Government's child trust funds (CTFs). The new savings scheme, officially launched in January when the first vouchers were sent out, is being held out by Labour as the great white hope to tackle child poverty and...

Covered love.
March 1, 2005... When covered warrants first became directly available in the UK in October 2002, their potential to provide returns in a falling market was pushed to the fore. It was claimed that the products could provide a respite from the seemingly...

ISA plateau.
March 1, 2005... Providers faced with dwindling ISA sales thought that Christmas had come early when the chancellor announced in December that he would not seek to cut annual limits on the investment wrappers. But the end of this ISA season may bring a...

Individual pensions.
March 1, 2005... As we were going to press the market rewarded us with some really good news for once -- the FTSE 100 index hit the psychologically important 5000 barrier closing at its highest for two-and-a-half years on 10 February. After more than two years...

Absurdities and attractions of the pension proposal.
March 1, 2005... The December 2004 interim report, Towards a citizen's pension, from the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), adds to the absurdity of the UK pension crisis, as a key body again suggests how another body, this time the Government,...

Taking Stock - March.
March 1, 2005... The writer of this letter is a former IFA and finalist in Money Management's first ever Financial Planner awards in 1996, but now retired. Disciplined savings and cautious investment during his working life ensures a comfortable lifestyle now...

Another year ends - preparing for A-day.
March 1, 2005... Tax planning and pensions are so closely related that they cannot be considered in isolation. From April 2006, remuneration will again become key for pension planning. For occupational schemes, salary (strictly, remuneration which includes...

Fantasy portfolio challenge.
March 1, 2005... WELL, WE ARE CERTAINLY not in the home straight yet, but the majority are still travelling well as we approach the turn. Even the benchmark portfolios are holding their own, with their cautious and unrestricted portfolios in the first quartile....

Let battle commence.
March 1, 2005... MULTI-MANAGER FUNDS HAVE earned the industry moniker 'sleep at night investments' for good reason. Not only do they aim to control volatility and reduce risk by way of combining different assets, managers and management styles, but they also...

Multi-manage or not...
March 1, 2005... Demand for multi-managerfunds could soon outpace that for single investment funds, judging by the hundreds of multi-manager products now available. The success of the growing multi-manager sector lies largely in its ability to select individual...

Prudential under fire.
March 1, 2005... FOLLOWING OUR REPORT in the February issue about potential misselling of AVCs to teachers, a former Pru salesman contacted us, breaking his silence 10 years after quitting the group to join calls for a review of top-up pensions sold to...

The art of asset allocation.
March 1, 2005... EACH MULTI-MANAGER PROVIDER will have their own detailed process for making investment decisions and managing their portfolios. Broadly, the work falls into four stages: strategic asset allocation, portfolio construction, tactical allocation...

The dream team.
March 1, 2005... OVER THE PAST DECADE, WORLD financial markets have become increasingly volatile, driven by a hot cocktail of trends and events such as globalisation, war, technical innovation and corporate governance concerns. While volatility has eased...

The investors' flexible friend.
March 1, 2005... MULTI-MANAGER PRODUCTS can be used in many ways, provided that they have been designed with flexibility in mind. For example, ISAs and pension products can use multi-manager funds to achieve their investment requirements and still retain their...

Target practice.
March 1, 2005... WHEN BARINGS BECAME THE first provider to launch a target return fund into the UK market in March 2004, there seemed little to differentiate the model from the other products angling to replace with profits investments as a lynchpin of the...

The new with profits?
March 1, 2005... EVER SINCE THE DEMISE OF WITH profits bonds, the investment industry has been looking for an alternative product that would appeal to cautious investors. Target return or 'cash plus' type funds are the latest attempt to capture this potentially...

Aiming high.
March 1, 2005... FIRMS PROMOTING TARGET return funds are adamant that the products can provide high returns without the corresponding risk levels. But expecting cynical IFAs to believe that the funds can provide the best of both worlds is unrealistic and the...

The UCITS effect.
March 1, 2005... FEW INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS would deny the impact that UCITS III rules are beginning to have on the industry. The legislation has facilitated greater flexibility within a host of investment products, notably the rise of a new wave of target...

Enhancing returns.
March 1, 2005... THE INVESTMENT COMMUNITY will be only too aware that for many, cash has become king. The indifferent investment outlook across the major asset classes, coupled with the failings of with profits, means that it is no surprise that cash continues...

With profits revamp.
March 1, 2005... The FSA has released its final rules on the fair treatment of with profits policyholders, including guidance on exit penalties, provision of clear information to policyholders and the appointment of a policyholder advocate to protect their...

The uninformed.
March 1, 2005... Consumer watchdogs have criticised Skandia for waiting a year before contacting 10,000 policyholders affected by its 'mis-charging' debacle. Skandia admitted earlier this year that it had alerted the FSA in March 2004 to a charging problem...

Days of fines and posers.
March 1, 2005... If it had been a boxing match, I reckon that Legal & General would have won on points in its battle against the FSA over its fine for mis-selling. Upon the Tribunal's pronouncement in January, both sides to the dispute were claiming victory,...

A Market of low interest.
March 1, 2005... While the housing market is considered to have cooled, the situation for most first-time buyers remains bleak. A report from the Nationwide shows that the average price paid by a first-time buyer is up from AGBP39,369 in 1993 to AGBP125,502 at...

Hartford to heart.
March 1, 2005... One of the largest US financial services groups is to target the UK retirement savings market that it describes as crying out for better service. The Hartford was founded in 1810, has assets of $290bn and has covered everyone from Abraham...

Friend or foe?
March 1, 2005... MULTI-MANAGER PRODUCTS have evolved from the expensive fettered fund of funds products of a few years ago. With more transparent and lower charge options now available, they have broadened their appeal. And they have become instrumental in...

Docs online.
March 1, 2005... A SERVICE ENABLING patient reports to be requested electronically has been launched by Marlborough Stirling. The service aims to transfer medical reports quickly to insurers in order to hasten the underwriting process and improve new business...

Equity release market booms.
March 1, 2005... The equity release market is likely to hit AGBP5bn by 2010, according to a report by trade body the Actuarial Profession, and the introduction of new rules on residential property investment in SIPPs may lead to new equity release...

Personal pensions makeover.
March 1, 2005... Friends Provident is re-claiming its position as a major player in the personal pensions arena, boosting adviser renewal commission and widening its fund manager range. The group is planning a personal pensions push within the next three...

Never mind the carriage clock.
March 1, 2005... Retirees are migrating back to the workforce in a bid to boost income levels, new research has revealed. The third annual Prudential Retirement Index found that over 1.6m pensioners have returned to work, primarily to enhance their earnings....