Financial Advisor back issues from March 2004:
Sell-off rumour denied by B&B.(Bradford & Bingley)
Mar 04, 2004 ... BRADFORD & Bingley could be up for sale following the departure of group chief executive Christopher Rodrigues. James Eden, an analyst for Frankfurt-based Commerzbank, claimed that selling off B&B, the UK's biggest IFA, was one strategy being considered by Mr Rodrigues, and was ...
Banks should pay more interest on transfers, says OFT.(Office of Fair Trading )(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... The OFT has called on the banking industry to pay more interest to customers when electronic transfers take place. The Office of Fair Trading said that customers making transactions should receive payments right up to the point where the payee's account is credited. ...
The primacy of pricing.
Mar 04, 2004 ... WHEN I first studied marketing I remember repeatedly chanting the mantra 'Price, Product, Place and Promotion'. We poured over many theories and models and we knew what marketing was about. I graduated as an expert- or so I thought. The theories never quite prepare ...
There may be trouble ahead...
Mar 04, 2004 ... ANALYSTS have predicted "real trouble" in the mortgage market if lenders fail to adequately address their bad debt provisions. The consensus among industry experts is that there will imminently be a market slowdown. This, they claim, will herald an end to low loan-to-values, which have ...
Too soon to figure out a trend.
Mar 04, 2004 ... THE subject of household debt has become a popular one for newspapers and TV news. There seems now to be more coverage of debt and borrowing growth than possibly any time since the late 1980s. As a result, not only are the monthly mortgage lending figures of interest ...
Bringing marketing back into the light.
Mar 04, 2004 ... IT SEEMS impossible to open a mortgage publication at the moment without reading about regulation, choices for brokers, and what this will mean for business. All good stuff and very topical of course, but is it me or is there a distinct lack of column inches being devoted to the all ...
Rules on money laundering extended.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... New money laundering rules have been introduced to try and detect relatively petty crimes that are usually overlooked. The new rules, which came into effect this week, require accountants and lawyers to report even minor criminal proceeds of their clients to the National ...
Co-op pulls out of self-cert mortgages.(Co-operative Bank )
Mar 04, 2004 ... The Co-operative Bank has pulled out of the self-certification market after claiming that "unscrupulous practices" were taking place. The move comes after a BBC programme suggested that fraud could be still taking place in the self-cert sector and in spite of recent statements ...
More precipice bonds are faced with major losses.
Mar 04, 2004 ... At least five more precipice bonds are about to mature with significant losses for investors. New data compiled by Chartwell Investment Management revealed several high income bonds were ripe for maturity, with two of the alleged worst offenders -" the NDF Extra Income and ...
DTI winds up housing investment businesses.(Department of Trade and Industry)
Mar 04, 2004 ... THE DTI has wound up a number of bogus property investment companies. It wound up Practical Property Portfolio and related businesses which allegedly received AGBP100m by promising investors it would refurbish derelict properties in the north of England. The DTI also ...
Knight takes over Gartmore US fund.(Gartmore American Smaller Companies fund )
Mar 04, 2004 ... Leading fund manager Gil Knight is to become the lead manager of the Gartmore American Smaller Companies fund. This is part of the company's move to reshuffle its US team and rename two funds. The AGBP97m American Smaller Companies fund was previously run by Nick ...
Commodities in optimal portfolio.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... The 2004 Equity Gilt Study by Barclays Capital has shown commodities to be a valuable diversifier for investment portfolios. The influential report explained that traditional portfolio theory suggested commodities should account for about 5 per cent of allocations within a ...
PPML award is absolutely fabulous.(Personal Pension Management Limited)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... PERSONAL Pension Management Limited, in partnership with Salisbury Playhouse, has won the Arts, Business and Employees Award for 2003. The award was picked up for a mosaic designed by Salisbury artist Lindsay Keir and produced with the help of ...
Blue rinses pull on blue jeans, says study.(survey of the elderly)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... SIXTY is to become the new 40, according to GE Life's survey of life in Britain for the over 50s. The survey -" Blue Rinse to Blue Jeans -" focusses on what life could be like for the over 50s in 2030, and covers areas including lifestyle, financial stability, health and social ...
Abbey suffers from FSA solvency rules.(Financial Services Authority)
Mar 04, 2004 ... THE FSA's solvency requirements took their toll on Abbey in a second year of big losses by the banking group. The mortgage bank, which reported a pre-tax loss of AGBP686m due to AGBP1.7bn of exceptional charges, had to set aside AGBP373m to comply with the regulator's new ...
LMI sets sights on the Continent.(Legg Mason Investors Asset Managers PLC,Europe)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... Legg Mason Investments is moving to register its new Dublin-based Small Cap fund across continental Europe. The US Smaller Companies fund, managed by Chuck Royce, chief investment officer for Royce & Associates, will be taken to the continent as part of LMI's distribution drive ...
Ifap brings in up to AGBP29m of business.(information for financial aid professionals)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... MORE than half of consumers who called the IFA Promotion hotline went on to call an IFA in their region, research has shown. The results from the end-of-year report by Ifap showed that 53 per cent of hotline calls and 40 per cent of online searches resulted in an IFA being ...
Northern Rock given reprimand for advert.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... The Advertising Standards Authority last week reprimanded Northern Rock. The bank had claimed that "Northern Rock treats all its customers like a new customer, all of the time". The ASA received complaints from the public who said the claim was misleading and that ...
Slow progress for fast-track mortgage.
Mar 04, 2004 ... ACCORD Mortgages has pulled in only AGBP7.5m on its fast-track business since November. However, the intermediary-lending arm of the Yorkshire Building Society will still keep fast-track mortgages going, despite the poor performance. Linda Will, managing director of ...
Poor pensioner benefit take-up.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... POOR take-up of benefits revealed the government's plans for ending pensioner poverty are falling short, according to the Conservatives. Nigel Waterson, shadow work and pensions minister, said the low take-up figures for means-tested benefits were especially worrying given that ...
Online system ready for roll-out to IFAs.(independent financial advisers)
Mar 04, 2004 ... IFAs have welcomed an online insurance system from Friends Provident that can cut protection application times in half. The online system has been put through trials by selected IFAs and is now due to be made open to the wider intermediary market. The system allows ...
Cheaper fixed rate products from UCB.(UCB Home Loans Corporation Ltd.)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... UCB Home Loans, the specialist lending arm of the Nationwide, has bucked the trend and lowered the rates on two of its fixed-rate self-cert mortgages. The two-year fixed-rate home loan is now available at 5.29 per cent, while the three-year fixed-rate product is on the market at ...
Liverpool Victoria cuts most with profits bonuses.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... LIVERPOOL Victoria has cut bonuses on most conventional with profits policies, but managed to maintain rates for its unitised offerings. The friendly society's with profits fund delivered a return of 14.1 per cent, but as a result of the 61 per cent equity-backing ratio, the ...
Rodrigues' move triggers plaudits.(Christopher Rodrigues resigned )(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... THE resignation of Bradford & Bingley chief executive Christopher Rodrigues has triggered huge praise from across the financial services community. Paul Smee, director-general of the Association of Independent Financial Advisers, said that the departure of Mr Rodrigues was a ...
Competition hots up for afiuent clients.
Mar 04, 2004 ... INTENSE competition for clients is the single most important issue driving wealth managers' strategies. This is according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, which claimed wealth managers believed that superior quality service would be an increasing differentiator for intermediaries ...
Prices may mean little to public.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... FIRMS are concerned that the pricings listed on the menu would mean little to consumers. Steven Cameron, head of business development for Aegon UK, said that the pricing comparisons did not work. He claimed that the menu would be better if it used a market average ...
Fees are on the menu as FSA unveils pricing plans.(financial services authority)
Mar 04, 2004 ... IFAs will have to think about the true cost of financial advice after FSA proposals for the menu were revealed. The publication of CP04/3 -" Reforming Polarisation: a Menu for Being Open with Consumers -" marks a first insight for most IFAs into what the menu will look like, and ...
Menu gives IFAs a better way to promote their value, says Aifa.(independent financial asdvisers)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... TRADE bodies have welcomed the menu proposals as a chance to promote the true value of advice among consumers. The Association of IFAs, which first proposed the menu, and IFA Promotion have said that the menu will give intermediaries a better chance to market their services. ...
Proposals served up after ive years.(five years)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... THE first sight of the pricing menu has provided the light at the end of a five-year tunnel. It has taken 15 years of sometimes angry debate between product providers, regulators, government officials and IFAs to reach today's product outline. The polarised regime ...
Moving from with proits beneits Axa.
Mar 04, 2004 ... AXA Life has said it reaped the rewards of shifting from with profits towards unit-linked business in 2003. Paul Evans, chief executive of Axa Life, said that even though the revenues for life and savings business in 2003 were down 11 per cent to AGBP4.04bn, the company had ...
Support for discounted mortgages.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... DISCOUNTED mortgages are crucial for getting first-time buyers into the housing market, according to Bristol & West. In response to the interim Miles report, B&W's economist claimed discounted home loans are good for the market. This contradicts the interim report ...
Lending up at two building societies.(Principality Building society, Coventry Building Society)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... The strong housing market saw mortgage lending rise at the Principality and Coventry building societies last year. Gross mortgage lending at the Principality Building Society, which is based mainly in Wales, rose by 39 per cent to just over AGBP1bn. However, profits at ...
Millionth pension forecast is issued.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... THE ONE millionth combined pension forecast was issued by the Department for Work and Pensions last week. The forecasts, which are issued by the department in partnership with employers and pension providers, give people an individually tailored picture of their future pension ...
Downing launches high net worth EZT.(enterprise zone trust)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... Downing Corporate Finance is launching a specialist enterprise zone trust for high net worth investors. Aimed at providing a strong-yielding tax-efficient vehicle for investors in this tax year, the Seventh Downing EZT will provide investors with a stake in an industrial ...
From mutual to advisory giant.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... BRADFORD & Bingley has long wanted to run Britain's largest financial advisory chain. Since demutualising in December 2000, B&B -" number one on Financial Adviser's benchmark top 100 IFAs -" has set out on the acquisition trail. Having been a staunch supporter of ...
Fine 'should act as a pension warning'.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... PENSION pots must be seen as essential savings and not a route to easy cash, according to Jardine Lloyd Thompson. The insurance broker said that the FSA's decision to fine Berkley Jacobs Financial Services for misleading advertisements about unlocking pensions should be seen as ...
Directors warned of responsibilities under FSA rules.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... COMPANY directors have been warned they would be under intense pressure from new FSA guidelines on regulatory obligations. Under the City regulator's conduct of business regime, directors will be expected to have overall responsibility for their business. This would ...
IF proitable for irst time in irm's history.
Mar 04, 2004 ... Intelligent Finance, the fledgling internet finance arm of HBOS has broken even for the first time. Last week, the banking group said its three-year-old online bank had made a profit in December. This meant that overall last year IF's outgoings equalled its income. ...
Lifesearch points out big savings in term assurance.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... Rewriting term assurance policies issued in 2000 could save an average of AGBP90m a year, according to Lifesearch. In its quarterly protection report, Lifesearch, a firm of protection specialist IFAs, said that falls in premiums of about 22 per cent between 2000 and 2004 has ...
Top IFAs targeted as Wifas is merged.( woolwitch independent financial advisers )
Mar 04, 2004 ... LEADING IFA firms are eyeing up top advisers from the former Woolwich IFA brand. Nationwide IFAs have set their sights on recruiting some of the advisers who have been affected by a restructuring at Barclays. The Wifas brand has been ditched after the entire advisory ...
Homeowners' home insurance too costly.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... HOMEOWNERS are paying AGBP2.06bn a year too much for their home insurance, according to a financial research company. Few are shopping around enough for the best available deal, and on average each household is paying AGBP122 too much. Consumer Intelligence said that ...
Norwich Union eyes with proits market.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... NORWICH Union expects to increase its share of the with profits market after its profits smashed City forecasts. The insurer's parent company Aviva bucked industry trends last week when it reported a leap in pre-tax annual profits for 2003 to AGBP1.9bn from AGBP1.72bn in 2002. ...
Pensions Bill risk of litigation.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... IFA firms face an increasing threat of litigation as a result of the Pensions Bill, according to RSM Robson Rhodes. John White, national partner of pensions and investment at the chartered accountant and management consultant, said the proposals could result in employees suing ...
Brokers get offer to join Sesame network.
Mar 04, 2004 ... SESAME is offering brokers the opportunity to join its network for mortgage-only business for the first time. The deal is for new business, rather than its existing membership, where membership fees will be calculated according to turnover, which can be as low as 5 per cent. ...
LTC specialist to cover retired.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... IFACare, the organisation promoting best practice in long-term care, has widened its scope to cover all retired clients. IFACare members decided at the organisation's latest annual conference they should broaden the objectives of IFACare to giving com- prehensive advise to ...
Sell-off rumour denied by B&B.
Mar 04, 2004 ... He added that there was unlikely to be any radical change in strategy as this was devised by the board, and Mr Crawshaw played a large part in this. He said: "Steven was strategic director at the time we floated," adding that the company would continue in the same strategic ...
Poor French igures damage Egg sell-off.
Mar 04, 2004 ... EGG has become a less attractive proposition for potential buyers after a weak performance in France led to sharp losses. The online banking group, which was put up for sale by majority shareholder Prudential last month, reported an annual loss of AGBP34m for 2003 on Monday. ...
Dunfermline taps buy-to-let market.
Mar 04, 2004 ... GMAC-RFC, the large intermediary-only lender, has sold its first pure buy-to-let portfolio to Dunfermline Building Society for AGBP70m. Steven Khan, head of asset sales at GMAC-RFC, said Dunfermline did not have any presence in originating buy-to-let mortgages. He added that ...
Appointees to add to consumer panel.
Mar 04, 2004 ... THE FSA has appointed four new members to the Financial Services Consumer Panel. In a move to increase the public's understanding of financial matters, Robert Skinner, Stephen Locke and Adam Phillips will join the panel from 1 March, while Nicholas Lord will join on 1 January ...
Call for anti-money laundering coalition.
Mar 04, 2004 ... A LEADING money laundering expert has called for the FSA to develop a monitoring standard. Mantas Inc, a provider of anti-money laundering technology, wanted the regulator to establish an industry coalition. The FSA has prompted an industry-wide discussion with the ...
Lump sum offer for delayed pension claim.
Mar 04, 2004 ... A LUMP sum looks set to be made available to pensioners who delay collecting their state pensions. Pensioners who opt to defer taking up their state pension are set to receive a lump sum with an interest rate calculated at least 2 per cent above the Bank of England base rate as ...
Man with a mission to let Sofa members fulfil their potential.(Interview)
Mar 04, 2004 ... FINANCIAL ADVISER: How will your approach as managing director of Sofa differ from that of outgoing MD Brian Lawless? BOB BULLIVANT: The main difference is that I am full-time, whereas Brian [Lawless] was part-time; once you reach the point where you are aiming to be the leading ...
The menu says that commission is toast.
Mar 04, 2004 ... Don't quote me on this, but I have a strange feeling that over the next few years the commission system is going to vanish in the haze -" at least as the preferred mechanism for remunerating IFAs. My conclusion follows several hours of enjoyable study of the FSA's ...
Vital research is out of focus.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... ONE thing that strikes me about the menu document is the heavy emphasis on the use of focus groups as a way of determining what consumers really want. As it happens, in another life I spent many hours either behind a screen watching the deliberations of a dozen or so different ...
FSA deinitions lack a certain level of distinction.
Mar 04, 2004 ... Something that was promised when CP121 was first published was a rigorous attempt to distinguish between independent and multi-tied advisers. This, it was felt, was an important element in the process of establishing the qualities of IFAS, specifically their ability to research ...
Underwater carnivore.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... Insider didn't expect a recent lunch meeting with one investment marketing lady to be so bullish. The meeting was hosted at London's City-based daring restaurant, Bonds, which boasts a menu fit for the most avid meat-eating visitor. The lady in question was most keen for all to ...
Equitable claimants 'can get more compensation'.
Mar 04, 2004 ... EQUITABLE Life policyholders can obtain much more than the 4.5 per cent compensation typically offered by the ailing insurer. This is according to law firm Clarke Willmott, which claimed the insurer's policyholders should not settle for the pay-outs offered by Equitable Life and ...
Lady luck strikes twice.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... Lucky lady Debbie Stavely, of Bristol & West Mortgages had a double surprise this Valentine's Day. Ms Stavely, who has not long returned from the Maldives, was presented with tickets for a production of Romeo & Juliet in Shakespeare's home town, Stratford ...
Graceless under fire.(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004 ... Insider was overwhelmed at the lack of grace with which a certain so-called rival editor declined to grace a prominent Friends Provident gathering to, well, relax over a few drinks at a PR bash. The editor certainly got more than he bargained for as he dallied with former Bates ...
Meeting the challenge.
Mar 04, 2004 ... THE announcement by the LIA of a new five-year strategic review is welcome news for the industry. It shows that the three main trade associations -" Sofa, Aifa and the LIA -" are on top of the game and are organisationally agile enough to respond to new challenges facing the ...
Sharp practice.(Office of Fair Trading)(Brief Article)
Mar 04, 2004; ... THE Office of Fair Trading has quite rightly drawn our attention to the practice of high street banks removing money from clients' accounts for two days before it reaches the payee's accounts. ...
Making sure that the price is right.
Mar 04, 2004 ... MENU pricing for IFAs is the last piece in the FSA's depolarisation jigsaw. Although only a proposal at this stage, it seem likely it will go ahead in something like its present form, given the amount of work and debate that has already gone into it. Possibly by the end of the ...
The safety net for pensioners.
Mar 04, 2004 ... WE all have a right to security in old age, and paying into a company pension scheme has always been seen as a safe bet. So when we have paid in for years and that security is suddenly taken away from us by the collapse of our employer, we have every right to be angry. That is why the ...
Optoma ills gap as Abbey leaves club.
Mar 04, 2004 ... Optoma Broker Solutions is rushing to fill the gap left by Abbey's departure from the Legal & General Mortgage Club. It is e-mailing brokers on its database to let them know that if they want to do business with Abbey, they can now do it through Optoma. Andrew ...
We have no right to clients' cash.(investment advisers)
Mar 04, 2004 ... JULIAN Penniston Hill really has put the cat among the pigeons. How dare he go to the national press and tell all those unsympathetic journalists and sceptical readers there are all sorts of renewal and fund-based commissions payable on those products that they purchased? And ...