Money Management articles from October 2006

Money Management archives from October 2006

Told you so.
October 1, 2006... Byline: He regularly attacked the industry with a stamina worthy of the Duracell Bunny When Mick McAteer of Which? announced that he was leaving the consumer publication and moving on to pastures new, I suspect that there were several...

Care qualifications.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Barclay's advisers required to hold CF8 Barclay's Financial Planning is insisting that all of its advisers who work with elderly clients must be qualified on long-term care issues ahead of the 30 October deadline. The...

Axa's AGBP170m destiny.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Financial advice group abandons flotation plans Axa is in acquisition talks with Thinc Destini for a reported sum of AGBP170m. Axa is hoping to strengthen its UK distribution arm through a takeover of the financial advice...

Not playing by the rules.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Pension scheme members lose out on transfer Members of final salary pension schemes who sought enhanced protection pre A-Day to ringfence their pension pots from the lifetime allowance (LTA) may now lose out. A-Day rules state...

Manager moves.
October 1, 2006... n Alan Miller, who was recently involved in a high profile divorce from his wife Melissa, is taking a sabbatical from New Star, the investment group he helped found in 2000. Guy Crossland has been poached from Investec to help run the hedge...

Endowment disappointment.
October 1, 2006... Byline: FSCS deducts 'savings' from compensation Policyholders mis-sold endowments by firms that have gone out of business are likely to find themselves with less compensation than their counterparts claiming from businesses still trading....

Home reversion.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Legislation next step in statutory regulation The Government has published legislation to bring home reversions under FSA regulation, officially paving the way for the rules to come into effect on 6 April 2007. The secondary...

Funding innovates.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Loans against cashflow offered A new loan package that lends against expectation of future cashflow rather than security over assets has been launched for financial planning firms. The MLC Strategic Partner Funding Program,...

Financial Planner of the Year awards.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Finalists announced WE ARE DELIGHTED TO announce the shortlist for the 2006 Money Management Financial Planner of the Year awards, in alphabetical order: Robert Borrill of Pearson Jones, Sheffield; Olivia Bowen of the Gaeia...

Next month.
October 1, 2006... Our main survey will be our six-monthly update of with profits endowment policies. Our second survey will be on offset mortgages. Also, Financial Planner of the Year Awards - the winners. Dilution levies More on MIFID ...

Weighing the income options.
October 1, 2006... Byline: RETIREMENT PLANNING A new LUMP SUM product from Aegon claims to be the first to combine the guaranteed income of an annuity with the flexibility of an investment bond. Aimed at the 50-70 age range, 'for life' provides a guaranteed...

Tired of waiting.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Commission retrieval limited by company law IFAs out of pocket from employers failing to pay commission can be left powerless to retrieve the cash owed under limited company rules. A case involving a Cumbria-based IFA has...

Islamic fund launched.
October 1, 2006... Byline: GLOBAL EQUITY FUND Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has made its Islamic Global Equity Fund available to retail investors in the UK for the first time. The OEIC, or investment company with variable capital (ICVC),...

Bare necessities.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Absolute trusts International is the latest group to launch trusts specifically designed to avoid the new charges imposed on trusts under the Finance Act 2006. The company's Absolute Discounted Gift Trust and Absolute Loan...

A loan for life.
October 1, 2006... Byline: NTER-GENERATIONAL MORTGAGE A new concept for the UK mortgage market from Kent Reliance Building Society, the inter-generational mortgage, is based on the 100-year mortgages that are commonplace in Japan, and is designed to help...

Feeding the pension credit monster.
October 1, 2006... Byline: PENSIONS The more one scrutinises the Pension Commission/Government pension reform package the more it falls apart. Turner's first failure was not unifying state pensions and killing off Pension Credit. His second was opting for...

IHT planning - lifetime gifts out of income.
October 1, 2006... Byline: TAX The exemption for lifetime gifts out of income is generally regarded as the most under-used inheritance tax (IHT) planning strategy. However, it is an extremely efficient inheritance tax planning tool and has the potential to...

Taking stock.
October 1, 2006... Byline: INVESTMENT This reader will be 65 when he retires in March 2009, and the government actuary's tables indicate that, on average, he can expect at least another 15 years of life, and his partner may well live even longer and he is...

Become an instant cash buyer.
October 1, 2006... Byline: MORTGAGES A colleague was intrigued to hear how an acquaintance had managed to secure the house of his dreams despite being stuck in a house selling chain and without a bridging loan. The vendor was not happy to wait but wanted a...

On the right path.
October 1, 2006... The average British investor seems to be developing a conscience. As awareness of ethical issues becomes more mainstream - from Fairtrade coffee in the grocery store to more opportunities for recycling -many investors are now choosing to put...

Hop on the bandwagon.
October 1, 2006... The environment has emerged as one of the most interesting investment trends over the past year. Issues such as climate change, water shortages and oil supplies have meant that one can hardly switch on the television or open a newspaper...

How green is your fund?
October 1, 2006... Investors looking to put their money where their mouths are can find themselves confronted by a bewildering array of so-called 'ethical' funds. But by whose ethics are they run? The traditional method is to place them on a scale ranging...

A competitive merger.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Top mortgage houses join forces Nationwide's takeover of the Portman Building Society is expected to increase competition in the mortgage market. The AGBP150bn deal will create the UK's second largest mortgage lender after...

Path to sustainable investing.
October 1, 2006... Would you know what to say if asked, "What is your carbon footprint?" The latest catchphrase of the environmental movement attempts to get consumers thinking about the impact that their lives have on the environment. Specifically, a carbon...

Six themes for the future.
October 1, 2006... Awareness of green issues has never been greater. Concerns about environmental degradation, climate change and water shortage and the possible solutions to these issues, once debated only by eco-warriors, are now in the mainstream. Green...

Making an impact.
October 1, 2006... After years of using negative criteria to screen out inappropriate companies, many ethical fund managers are now loosening their rules and turning to shareholder power to get what they want. Rather than dismissing potential investments out of...

Taking control of the future.
October 1, 2006... Pensions have occupied centre stage this year. A-Day's pensions simplification rule changes splashed the formerly dull subject matter across the front pages, exciting many with the possibility of spicing up their pensions with exotic...

Preparing for the 'golden age'.
October 1, 2006... Does life begin at 50? And, if so, how can you ensure your lifestyle is maintained as you gradually wind down from full-time employment? For many people aiming to retire early this has become a pressing question: just how can they achieve their...

Tool time.
October 1, 2006... According to recent research, 50% of people with a pension do not know what type of investments they hold within their plan. This is a huge problem for the industry if it wants to encourage pension savings. Advisers have a key role to play in...

Individual pensions: latest results.
October 1, 2006... The advent of A-Day has led to a surge in new business figures for individual personal pensions. According to latest figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), single premiums were up 60% in the second quarter of 2006 compared...

Why SIPPs have the edge.
October 1, 2006... Regulation, as well as the industry itself, has made retirement and pensions specifically, so complex as to be virtually impenetrable for the average investor. Of course there are other factors to explain low savings - but confusion is at the...

A SIPP of Polly's tea.
October 1, 2006... In August's Money Management, John Chapman asked, in his thought provoking article 'SIPPs for all too much to swallow', whether mass self-investment would stretch the investing abilities of Britain's pension savers too far. He questioned...

Pension planning post A-Day.
October 1, 2006... It has been almost universally agreed that pension simplification turned out to be not quite so simple after all. As A-Day itself thankfully fades into the distant memory, the need for clients to be sold the benefit of pensions - while...

Teeth with no bite.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Delay for age discrimination rules The Government is giving pension schemes more time to comply with incoming age discrimination regulations. The regulations take effect on 1 October 2006, but pension schemes will now have until 1...

Standing out from the crowd.
October 1, 2006... The self-invested personal pension (SIPP) sector's extraordinary rate of growth seems to have been undeterred by the Chancellor's controversial last minute U-turn on allowable post A-Day investments. Money Management's 2005 SIPP survey revealed...

Is your website fit for purpose?(Company overview)
October 1, 2006... Byline: COVER STORY The internet has turned marketing a business upside down. When the promises of what the internet could achieve for a business burst with the dotcom bubble in 2000, the internet was seen as nothing more than a pipe...

Are you being served?
October 1, 2006... Byline: SUPPORT SERVICES - IFAs Compliance has never ranked among the most popular of tasks for IFAs. Many see it as a distraction from what they do best - getting on with clients and helping them achieve their financial goals. But with...

S&P's top 15 UK life insurers.
October 1, 2006... Byline: TOP 15 UK OFFICES - LIFE ASSURANCE Looking back over the past year, there have been a number of positive developments for the UK life sector. Equity and property markets continued to deliver strong returns, reported new business...

Going up, going down.
October 1, 2006... Byline: PENSIONS - ANNUITIES Things can only get better. Annuity rates have been falling for so long now that they cannot get any worse, surely? The annuity market has subscribed to this brand of stiff upper lipism when it comes to...

Trustees on trial?
October 1, 2006... Byline: TRUSTEE QUALIFICATIONS - REGULATION The UK occupational pension system faces two crises. Many firms with defined benefit (DB) final salary schemes face large deficits that will take many years to remove, if indeed they can ever be...

RMAR - nothing but bother!
October 1, 2006... Byline: ELECTRONIC REPORTING - REGULATION Over recent years, the financial services industry has embraced technological advancement and the significant economic benefits that such progress creates. It seems incumbent on FSA to exploit...

Protection racket.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Mortgages - MPPI Regulation of the mortgage market was taken on by the FSA in January 2005, and in September 2006 the first fine, of AGBP56,000, for failures relating to the sale of MPPI, was issued to niche mortgage broker Regency...

A contributory question.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Concern over top ups to state pensions Concerns have been raised as to whether people should make top up payments to secure a basic state pension (BSP) in light of regulatory changes proposed in the pensions White Paper. Top up...

Tax-free cash conundrum.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Scot Eq gives MVR waiver of just one month Scottish Equitable with profits policyholders in phased drawdown are being given just a one-month window to take their tax free cash before the age of 75 without incurring hefty market...

Chalk and cheese.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Equity release research questioned Advisers have criticised research comparing equity release interest rates with standard variable rates (SVRs) on traditional mortgages. Equity release body Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP)...

Changes to MM stats.
October 1, 2006... We have added a complete index of unit trust funds to the S&P fund ratings sector, with effect from this month. Also, following the annual S&P review, the following changes have been made to the unit trust sectors from the October issue...

Building bridges.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Actuaries forge tighter links with advisers trade body the Actuarial Profession is launching a campaign to forge tighter links with advisers in a bid to raise awareness of crucial issues which affect both groups. The body,...