Money Management articles from September 2006

Money Management archives from September 2006

REITer's block?
September 1, 2006... An online service that claims to offer advisers unbiased information about real estate investment trusts (REITs) has been launched. The not-for-profit initiative is the brainchild of the British Property Federation (BPF), the Royal...

Gym'll fix it.
September 1, 2006... FTAdviser.com, the home of Money Management online, is to launch a web-based training service for IFAs. FTAdviser Gym will feature workouts of 15 questions each, offering IFAs the chance to hone their knowledge on a range of relevant...

Watch out for MM's own blog!
September 1, 2006... Money Management is planning to launch its own blog in September, initially for a trial period of three months. Written by MM's editor, it will be a sort of 'Walford's week', mostly a sideways look at life as a financial journalist and the...

No more trails of breadcrumbs.
September 1, 2006... Two major Capita-owned software platforms have come closer together in a move that is expected to make it easier for advisers to comply with FSA requirements. Users of the Quay software package can now make free use of Webline software as...

Manager moves.
September 1, 2006... Baring Asset Management has appointed Paul Wimborne as Global Emerging Markets portfolio manager. Wimborne's previous position was manager of Insight Investments' AA rated Global Emerging Markets fund, which closed in November 2004 when Insight...

Blast from the past.
September 1, 2006... Tensions between the Ombudsman Service and the financial services industry are never far from the headlines these days. Back in September 1981, Money Management reported on similar levels of hostility directed at the then voluntary Insurance...

IFAP explores un-Chartered territory.
September 1, 2006... Advisers with chartered financial planner status could see a boost to new business levels with the introduction of a new online search engine. The initiative has been introduced by Independent Financial Adviser Promotion (IFAP) and...

Next month.
September 1, 2006... n Our main survey will be the Standard & Poor's annual survey of the top 15 life offices. n Our second survey will on unit linked and with profits annuities and other alternatives. n Also, designing your own website - what to do and...

Greed is good.
September 1, 2006... It was Gordon Gecko, you may remember, in the 1982 seminal film 'Wall Street' who uttered this inimitable phrase when he was talking about ruthlessly making money. Back in the 80s it was fashionable and therefore acceptable to be greedy: make...

Borrow at your own risk.
September 1, 2006... Advantage, which was bought by Morgan Stanley in December 2005, is offering a mortgage aimed at homebuyers who want to borrow more than traditional lenders allow. The Flexishare plan comes in three parts. The first part, which the borrower...

Get a life.
September 1, 2006... ABN AMRO has launched a lifecycle fund, the Capital Protected Lifecycle Fund (CPLF), that claims to be the only lifecycle fund in the UK to offer guaranteed returns and an automatic profit 'lock in'. Both the initial capital and locked in...

SIPPing property.
September 1, 2006... Assetz Fund Management has launched a new property fund aimed at self invested personal pension policyholders looking to invest for growth in indirect residential property. The unit trust will help finance a AGBP75m property development in...

Protection to the people.
September 1, 2006... Safetyfirst, a division of British Insurance, has attempted to simplify the complexities of income protection with its new product. Rather than basing premiums on a combination of factors including age, sex, occupation and smoking habits,...

Safety net growth.
September 1, 2006... Premier Asset Manage- ment has launched a Protected Growth Plan that offers to fully return capital investments at maturity, regardless of stock market losses. The plan is designed to mature after six years, but if significant gains are...

Must have own teeth.
September 1, 2006... From 1 October 2006 age discrimination in employment matters generally will be unlawful, unless permitted under specific exemptions, such as those for pensions, or "objectively justified". Companies should familiarise themselves with the...

Reverting to the books.
September 1, 2006... The spotlight has been turned on equity release with the launch of a consultation on proposed home reversion examinations, alongside a training service for advisers. The Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) has issued draft proposals...

CI confusion reigns.
September 1, 2006... Consumers are not being made aware of the implications of non-disclosure when completing critical illness (CI) applications, research has found. Over 66% of those questioned in a survey by Scottish Equitable wrongly thought that product...

All in a name.
September 1, 2006... Aberdeen's Balanced Managed Fund is widening its remit to invest in collective investments so that it can access offshore and specialist asset classes. Aberdeen plans to change the name of the fund to Aberdeen Multi-Asset Fund and has written...

A new era for PTA.
September 1, 2006... It was always intended that A-Day would revolutionise the UK pensions system, but few could have predicted the effect that Pensions Simplification would have on the life insurance market. In the run up to 6 April, attention was focused on the...

Bulk purchase annuities.
September 1, 2006... For more than 10 years, Prudential and Legal & General have been the only active players in the bulk annuity pensions market, whereby the pension liabilities of a company are bought out completely and replaced by annuities issued by the life...

Not so trivial.
September 1, 2006... Bankruptcy trustees are manipulating new A-Day rules on pension funds to gain access to the funds, Money Management can reveal. Triviality rules state that where the value of a pension fund, including expectations from occupational schemes,...

Investment trusts v unit trust.
September 1, 2006... Investment trusts have a unique structure, which enables them to invest in a diverse range of funds and use a variety of strategies to raise funds. Much has been made of the rugged determination of investment trusts fund managers to stick with...

Reprojection shenanigans.
September 1, 2006... Most complaints about endowment misselling have been generated by the prospect of a shortfall, a perceived failure to hit the target. Complaints about investment performance cannot generally succeed unless the firm had given some kind of...

Taking stock.
September 1, 2006... The market called it the 'Greenspan put'. This reflected the belief that, however much the former Fed chairman warned of such things as "irrational exuberance", when push came to shove, the Fed would ensure that investors did not suffer unduly....

Trust bonds.
September 1, 2006... The last two Spotlights covered the taxation of discretionary trusts. The Finance Act changes to trust taxation are likely to result in the increased use of both discretionary and bare trusts. This is because, with effect from Budget day, the...

An adverse perspective.
September 1, 2006... Sub prime or adverse credit mortgages are set to grow as research shows that more consumers are getting themselves into financial trouble. Figures from the CML reveal that mortgage arrears are increasing. In addition, research by Datamonitor...

Wealth of the middle aged.
September 1, 2006... Late last year the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) produced a report 'Prepared for retirement? The adequacy and distribution of retirement resources in England'. The IFS report was overshadowed by the Pensions Commission's two reports, but it...

Access all areas.
September 1, 2006... Inheritance tax (IHT) planning used to be the preserve of just the wealthiest families, but with booming house prices, more people are being caught in the taxman's net. Research from Grant Thornton and Lombard Street Research indicates that by...

Take it on trust.
September 1, 2006... Before the 2006 Budget, estate and inheritance tax planning had been well established and was quite straightforward for advisers and individuals. With some relatively simple planning, individuals were able to save themselves and their families...

Who's your favourite?
September 1, 2006... Before the surprise announcement in this year's Budget regarding changes to the taxation of interest in possession trusts, the flexible power of appointment trust was far and away the preferred choice for inheritance tax (IHT) planning. It was...

With profits migration.
September 1, 2006... The mass exodus from with profits to unit-linked investments is stepping up, according to Skandia. In a recent survey, the product provider discovered that 93% of advisers plan to recommend that clients transfer out of with profit bonds to...

Passing on the pot.
September 1, 2006... Months after A-Day, the implications of pensions simplification are still unfolding. The inheritance tax (IHT) treatment of pensions has been at the centre of recent political debate, following comments that alternatively secured pensions...

Planning for HNW clients.
September 1, 2006... In the immediate aftermath of this year's Budget, there were dire predictions that trusts no longer had a serious part to play in inheritance tax (IHT) mitigation. That might indeed be true for the few multi-millionaires in our midst -" the...

The AGBP3.3bn question.
September 1, 2006... According to HM Revenue & Customs, AGBP3.3bn was collected in the 2005/2006 tax year in inheritance tax (IHT) with the average estate facing a bill of AGBP88,000. In spite of this, a Norwich Union survey recently revealed that 60% of UK...

Hot property.
September 1, 2006... The property boom that began about 10 years ago shows no sign of a slowdown, despite dire predictions over the past couple of years that residential and commercial property prices must soon return to more sustainable levels. But investors'...

REIT treat for property investors.
September 1, 2006... The arrival of UK REITs (real estate investment trusts) in January 2007 will change property investment opportunities, bringing greater accessibility and flexibility, together with the potential for higher yields and lower volatility. The...

The power of bricks and mortar.
September 1, 2006... It seems investors just cannot get enough of bricks and mortar, in whatever form. Millions of pounds are flowing into property funds on a daily basis, boosting the IMA specialist sector of which they are a part to the best selling spot for the...

Taking property investment global.
September 1, 2006... UK investors have long been investing in overseas equities and bonds as they seek to diversify their portfolios and maximise returns. While they recognise property as a diversifier, few have ventured abroad; only 2% of UK pension fund property...

Will the market continue to shine?
September 1, 2006... The strong bull run that commercial property has experienced over the past few years has driven prime yields to historic lows of 5.1% and it seems inevitable that the situation will become unsustainable -" resulting in a market slowdown....

Shaky foundations.
September 1, 2006... Changes to the qualifying assets for self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) in March led to a major fall-out among investors and providers alike, who believed that they had been misled by the Government. Research by investment manager Brewin...

Point of no return.
September 1, 2006... The M&G British Opportunities fund has failed to provide its investors with a dividend, despite being launched as an income producing investment. This is the first time that the fund has failed to pay a dividend in its 50-year history; it...

Waiting for the FOS.
September 1, 2006... The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is taking years to decide on mortgage endowment shortfall claims, despite expanding to cope with the volume of cases. A mortgage endowment shortfall claimant contacted Money Management after she was...

In the line of fire.
September 1, 2006... Investors in controversial split capital investment trusts are targeting intermediaries rather than providers for mis-selling compensation. A solicitor representing claimants is reportedly planning to make individual cases against...

An unfair comparison.
September 1, 2006... The FSA will wait until November to release new market average commissions -" used by advisers in the menu of charges shown to clients -" despite the fact that it was forced to admit that it miscalculated the figures by allowing non-advice...

An apple a day.
September 1, 2006... The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has claimed that its deal with the British Medical Association (BMA), which set price increases of 6% pa for GP reports and exams for the next five years,Awill not have an impact on the cost of...

Clearing the air.
September 1, 2006... HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been busy tidying up loose ends revealed in Pensions Simplification rules. A loophole that could have allowed certain people to take a higher tax-free lump sum has been closed. Under the original rules,...

Europe opens up.
September 1, 2006... Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are expected to transform the European property market as they are introduced more broadly across the European Union. REITs are quoted property companies with tax advantages that invest directly in real...

Funding long term care.
September 1, 2006... This country is facing a problem when it comes to long term care. The facts, while confusing and tricky to interpret, are out there, but most of us do not want to know. And for those of us that do want to know, people in charge of allotting...