Money Marketing back issues from October 2002:
Kelly says Treasury backs stake suite.(Financial Secretary Ruth Kelly )(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The Treasury has given a ringing public endorsement of Ron Sandler's flagship recommendation of a stakeholder suite of products. Treasury Financial Secretary Ruth Kelly called the, products a fundamental part of the Treasury's thinking and commended Sandler for recognising the ...
Tiner tells the CII that commission is still on the cards.(John Tiner at Chartered Insurance Institute conference)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The FSA has publicly acknowledged that IFAs may still be able to get paid by commission following depolarisation. Speaking at the Chartered Insurance Institute annual conference in Birmingham last week, FSA managing director John Tiner repeated the regulator's message that it is ...
'Tax-free Isa dividends set to stay'.(individual savings account)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The 10 per cent tax credit on dividends within Isas will continue despite the Government's current policy of scrapping them on April 6, 2004, according to senior industry sources. They say that in private conversations with Inland Revenue senior policymakers they have been ...
BBB [pounds sterling]20m share issue to finance major deals.(Berkeley Berry Birch )(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Berkeley Berry Birch is issuing over 27 million new shares to raise [pounds sterling]20m to fund a siring of large-scale acquisitions and infrastructure improvements. The group, which has 645 registered individuals and a turnover of [pounds sterling]55m, plans to spend [pounds ...
Aberdeen executives take 33% pay cuts. (News).(Aberdeen Asset Management )(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Beleaguered fund firm Aberdeen Asset Management is cutting executive pay by a third in a bid to stem criticism surrounding its failed split-capital trusts. Aberdeen chief executive Martin Gilbert and global investment trust director Chris Fishwick will both join senior ...
'Multi-tied IFAs will be marginalised'. (News).(Phil Hodkinson)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... IFAs that multi-tie in a depolarised world will become marginalised as they will be going head to head with the banks, warns HBOS insurance and investment chief executive Phil Hodkinson. He told delegates at a polarisation conference in London last week that advisers who stay ...
Pickering rejects annuity purchase compulsion. (News).(Alan Pickering)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... Pensioners should not be forced to buy an annuity but must ensure they have a regular income for life, according to Alan Pickering. Speaking at the Chartered Insurance Institute's annual conference in Birmingham last week, Pickering said he disagreed with the notion that the ...
Misys seeks damages for 'forged documents'. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Misys is seeking damages for what it claims were two forged documents which it alleges were sent by former DBS member Evan Owen, according to official High Court papers obtained by Money Marketing. Last week, Money Marketing reported that Misys had taken out an injunction ...
Working for secure retirement. (News Watch).(Andrew Smith speech)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Work and Pensions Secretary Andrew Smith said people must accept that they must save more and work longer ...
NU pushes MVA back up to 13%. (News Watch).(Norwich Union, market value adjustment)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Norwich Union has pushed its market value adjuster for with-profits policies back up to 13 per cent in response to new stockmarket lows. In ...
Pru sets up service centre in India. (News Watch).(Prudential)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Prudential is to set up an offshore service centre in India, resulting in the loss of ...
[pounds sterling]30m shifts from New Star to Jupiter. (News Watch).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... [pounds sterling]30.6m in gilts and cash moved from the New Star investment trust to Jupiter this week following shareholder elections on whether they ...
Mohl in for Batchelor AMP. (News Watch).(Andrew Mohl replaces Paul Batchelor )(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... AMP has moved quickly to appoint Andrew Mohl as chief executive officer after Paul Batchelor was forced to step down after difficulties with its ...
Futurity quits network for direct rule. (News Watch).(Countrywide network)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Futurity, a Scottish IFA with nine RIs, has left Misys network Countrywide. The firm has decided to become directly regulated as part of its strategy of attracting ...
Smoothed prices on ScotEq WP funds. (News Watch).(Scottish Equitable with-profits funds)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Scottish Equitable is offering cautious and growth ringfenced with-profits funds. They will not have guarantees or bonuses but ScotEq ...
Test your knowledge online. (News Watch).
Oct 03, 2002 ... Test your knowledge online with Money Marketing's CPD questions, sponsored by Scottish Widows. Specialist financial publisher Taxbriefs ...
Exeter Investment gauges its exposure to split caps. (News).(Exeter Investment Group)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... Exeter Investment Group is reviewing the exposure of its funds to the split-cap sector in response to IFAs' concern over professional indemnity insurance. The move comes after the group found that PI insurers were asking IFAs who do business with Exeter to advise them of their ...
A&L rejects centenarian's cash. (News).(Alliance and Leicester turns down Phyllis Grogan )(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... An IFA has hit out at the inflexibility of the FSA's money laundering rules after a 101-year-old client's [pounds sterling]170,000 investment in a two-year fixed-rate bond with the Alliance & Leicester was refused. Croydon IFA Dennis Munday says centenarian Phyllis Grogan had ...
`The savings gap can be closed with better ads'. (News).(Robin Wight of WCRS)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... The UK's savings gap is as much due to poor advertising as product providers not having the right products, according to Prudential ad agency WCRS chairman Robin Wight. Speaking at the launch of the [pounds sterling]20m the Plan from the Pru campaign which he directed, Wight ...
AITC says the worst is over for split sector. (News).(Association of Investment Trust Companies, split-capital trusts)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The collapse of the Aberdeen preferred income trust and the Dartmoor investment trust have brought the total number of split-capital trusts in receivership to six but the Association of Investment Trust Companies says the troubled sector is turning the corner. To date, a further ...
IFAs take two-thirds of fund sales. (News).(independent financial advisers)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The best-selling funds in the IFA sector in August were UK all companies, equity income and corporate bonds and North America funds, according to Investment Management Association figures. Fund sales in the tied market were concentrated on UK corporate bond funds. ...
Lenders fear EU credit squeeze. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... Lenders are warning that half the UK mortgage market could be affected by a restrictive new European directive on consumer credit which may be fast-tracked into legislation. Standard Life Bank says the directive risks wiping out remortgaging, equity release and offset and ...
Poll shows attitudes to mortgage regulation. (News).(survey of mortgage brokers concerns FSA regulations)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Only one in four mortgage intermediaries believes FSA regulation will help them grow their business by improving the image of the sector and creating new opportunities, says BM Solutions. But the BM Solutions smart index survey of 200 brokers also reveals that 29 per cent are ...
[pounds sterling]4m loss for Inter-Alliance but it aims to he in profit by end of 2003. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... Inter-Alliance made a loss of almost [pounds sterling]4.3m for the first six months of this year but expects to be back in profit by the end of next year. Chairman and chief executive Keith Carby, who joined the national IFA in January, says the company has been in a period of ...
ISA admin firm adds commission choice. (News Watch).(investment financial advisors)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Isa and Pep protfolio admin company Avalon Investment Services is offering an extra option for commission on monthly Isas. It says IFAs can ...
HBOS broadens UK and Euro fund range. (News Watch).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... HBOS's asset manager Insight Investment is offering a retail proposition of nine funds, and 14 revamped funds. It says this move gives it one of the broadest ranges of UK and European funds in the market ....
Yerbury made CIO at Invesco UK. (News Watch).(Bob Yerbury)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Invesco UK has appointed Bob Yerbury (right) as chief investment officer with responsibility for Invesco Perpetual and Invesco Institutional UK. He was previously CIO for retail arm ...
Two more directors on Namba committee. (News Watch).(National Association of Mortgage Brokers and Advisers )(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Intermediary trade body the National Association of Mortgage Brokers and Advisers has appointed two directors to its steering committee. They are packager Creative Mortgage Solutions sales and marketing director Simon ...
Network in mortgage deal with BSkyB. (News Watch).(Moneysupermarket.com)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Intermediary network Professional Adviser Alliance says its members could get up to 15 million new mortgage and loan leads as a result of a deal between parent Moneysupermarket.com and ...
Bee tour to focus on pension reform. (News Watch).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Scottish Life head of pensions strategy Steve Bee is taking to the road with a national pension tour for IFAs starting in Southampton on October 14 and ...
Annuity warning for pension trustees. (News Watch).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Trustees of defined-contribution occupational pension schemes, could face fines and disqualification if they fail to ensure that members get the best possible annuity available on ...
CA claims five million have been missold endowments. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The Consumers' Association has started its endowment-action campaign to help the five million people it claims have been missold endowment policies. The CA and Which? magazine say research carried out over the summer estimates that of the 8,264,000 people in the UK with ...
UBS looks long term with US equity fund. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... UBS Global Asset Management is offering a US equity fund as part of a stable of at least 12 funds which it plans to launch over the next three years. This is the fourth retail fund to be set up by the firm this year. The fund will be managed by Chicago-based Tom ...
IFAs voice SSAS fears after court rules on executive's tax-free cash. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... IFAs are warning that a court ruling that an executive director is not allowed to retire and take a tax-free lump sum if he remains a non-executive director in the firm could have serious ramifications for the small self-administered scheme sector. The Court of Appeal overturned ...
Market Harborough offers self-selection mortgage. (News).(Market Harborough Building Society)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... Market Harborough Building Society is offering a self-selection mortgage allowing borrowers to create a loan to their own specifications which it claims could fundamentally change the market. It says it is targeting experienced investors looking for-a loan of between [pounds ...
Average property asking price tops [pounds sterling]150,000. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... The average asking price for house across the UK broke the [pounds sterling]150,000 mark in September, according to property website Rightmove.co.uk. Its real-time property rep ort shows an upswing in asking prices as the national average rose by 2.3 per cent to [pounds ...
Politician to blame for misselling, says Pickering. (News: CII Conference).(Alan Pickering)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... Politicians and civil servants must shoulder some of the blame for pension misselling as they created the environment that allowed it to happen, according to pension review chief Alan Pickering. Speaking at the Chartered Insurance Institute annual conference in Birmingham last ...
Sandler attacks industry failure to motivate savers. (News: CII Conference).(Ron Sandler)
Oct 03, 2002 ... The financial services industry must not view the prospect of pension compulsion as a redemption for its own failure to create demand for its savings products, warned Ron Sandler. In explaining why the compulsion issue was only touched upon in his report in July, Sandler told ...
Big two finance unions to start merger talks. (News: CII Conference).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... The UK's two biggest financial services unions are in talks to merge, creating a single body with more than 200,000 members representing the bulk of unionised financial industry employees. MSF, the white-collar arm of Amicus, and Unifi start talks this autumn and hope to join ...
Advisers in fight for survival: LIA president Gavin Tisshaw says Sandler's aim is for fewer IFAs and just a handful of insurance firms. (Comment).
Oct 03, 2002; ... Why are we all so quick to criticise what others are saying or doing? I am convinced that all the negative comments about other people's perspectives are divisive and make us look like a laughing stock to the FSA and the Government. What has happened to us working together and ...
Pensioners fail to maximise potential. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Over a third of pensioners wish they had invested more for their retirement, while over a quarter will have to make sacrifices in retirement, according to research from Britannic Asset Management. In retirement, the overwhelming majority of pensioners prefer deposit accounts to ...
Impaired sales rise by a third. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... Sales of impaired life and enhanced annuities grew by 30 per cent in. the first half of this year and are set for further growth, puffing greater pressure on conventional annuity rates, says consulting actuaries Watson Wyatt. The firm says enhanced annuity business reached ...
Death is still the final taboo. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Death is the biggest conversational taboo in the UK even though two out of every three people has lost a close family member or friend in the last three years, according to research by Norwich Union. People in the North-west found death easiest to talk about, with only 12 per ...
Merrill Lynch to give choices on structured plans. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers is aiming to introduce two new structured products by the end of the year. Its stepped growth fund and income II fund, which will be listed on the Dublin Stock Exchange, will be the latest in a series of transparent and flexible structured ...
IFA leading way on environment. (News).(Independent Financial Adviser )(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Holden Meehan is claiming to be the first IFA in the world to go carbon-neutral, meaning that all the carbon it produces will be matched by carbon saving elsewhere. The IFA, which has a track record in socially responsible investment, has committed to a two-year investment ...
More firms offering paternity leave but staff prefer pensions. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Paternity leave is the fastest growing perk in the UK but pensions remain the favourite employee benefit, according to research by Virgin Money. It says over 51 per cent of employers now offer paternity leave compared with just 24 per cent a year ago. But it warns ...
London property falls as Northern prices rise. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... London house prices fell in September while Northern regions saw strong rises. Market analysts Hometrack says the average price in central London fell by 0.2 per cent in September to [pounds sterling]441,350 from [pounds sterling]442,251 in August. Its monthly survey ...
[pounds sterling]1m homes make up for slumping stocks. (News).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The number of properties sold for over [pounds sterling]1m has increased more than tenfold since 1995, according to Halifax Bank. Figures compiled by the company using information from the Land Registry reveal that 2,434 properties valued at over [pounds sterling]1m were sold ...
RBS backs guide for lone parents. (Marketing).(Royal Bank of Scotland Group )(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is sponsoring a free guide explaining the state benefits and tax incentives avail able to single parents. The guide, published by the National Council for One parent Families, includes contacts to other support agencies as well as practical ...
Britannia scores two more soccer club affinity deals. (Marketing).(Britannia Building Society )
Oct 03, 2002 ... Britannia Building Society is offering affinity accounts to supporters of Birmingham City and Liverpool football clubs. The clubs get an annual donation of 1 per cent on the total balance of their fans' save and support accounts. The accounts can be opened for [pounds ...
IFA aid to raise media presence. (Marketing).(Quay Software Solutions offers guide for financial advisers)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... IT specialist Quay Software Solutions is offering a free guide for advisers looking to raise their media profile. The guide, called Telling the Independent Story: guide to media relations, is aimed at advisers with no media experience. QSS says it explains everything ...
Has the FSA really changed its mind? (Perspective).(Financial Services Authority. financial adviser regulation)
Oct 03, 2002; ... It appears the FSA may have conceded the case over the defined-payment system and decided to scale back its plans for the reform of polarisation. Speaking at the industry conference Distribution Strategies Post-Sandler in London recently, FSA head of polarisation review David ...
Standard & Poor's top 10s. (Perspective).
Oct 03, 2002 ... <Pre> Standard & Poor's Top 10s TOP 10 UNIT TRUSTS Fund Name S&P Fund 1 yr 3 yrStars % % Merrill Lynch Gold & General 66.70 126.43 Schroder Seoul 61.03 -25.00 Baring ...
Investment view.(current market compared to 1972)
Oct 03, 2002; ... Comparisons can be made of this bear market and that of 1972-73 but they are very different times I was on holiday in sunnier climes last week. Those of you who feel obliged to exclaim "again?" with a quizzical grin etched on your features should reflect on what a stressful ...
Broker `Talkback'. (Comment).(taxation of pensions)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Should the Government scrap the tax-free cash benefit option on pensions? "No because one of the benefits of a pension is the ability to draw down that lump sum. Some people have already drawn down income from their pension and it would be unfair for others not to." ...
Common sense has no place in regulation. .
Oct 03, 2002 ... What a pig's ear our politicians have made of our business. It was inevitable that this would happen when the motley crew that constituted Miboc came on all heavy with all their embryonic rulebook. At the newly formed Securities & Investment Board, the hostility to practitioners ...
Commitment to with-profits. .(Letter to the Editor)
Oct 03, 2002 ... In response to the article in last week's Money Marketing headlined, NU rethinks with-profits bond strategy, NU wishes to set the record straight on its commitment to with-profits bonds. Norwich Union is one of the biggest providers of with-profits bonds in the industry and ...
Not the sort of help we need. (Letters to the Editor).(Accuses UK agency)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... The article in the September 12 edition of Money Marketing suggests help is-on the way from the FSA. While welcome, with respect, they are one of the main reasons we are now in this mess. Our PI brokers say the RU Owed envelopes inviting claims have played a major ...
Education could get industry out of this mess. (Letter to the Editor).(Investment advsisers get criticism for making profit)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... I think the letter from James Redman on with-profits just about sums up the lack of understanding of financial products that exists among many financial advisers. Perhaps if advisers were better educated in matters such as pension transfers, split-caps and endowments (to name a ...
It's all in the wording. (Letter to the Editor).(Fees or commissions)(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... I have been prompted to write after reading the letter in Money Marketing from Alex Houghton under the headline, Charging a fee would have lost us four clients. He explained that he recently met up with four new clients at a no-charge exploratory meeting and that once he had ...
PAM figures. (Letter to the Editor).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... I was disappointed to read, Big winners and losers in the private client investment market (Money Marketing, August 29). The statement that Lazard, Cazenove and Baring "haemorrhaged huge chunks of their assets under management as instability prompted mass desertions from their ...
IFA. (Versity's View).(The 80s and 90s were too good to last for financial advisers)
Oct 03, 2002; ... It's not that the present time is so bad for financial services but that the 80s and 90s were too good to last At a recent conference of IFAs a poll was taken of the 600 delegates to find out how many of them believed their businesses would survive. Fifty per cent said they ...
Independent view. (Comment).(Investment advisers face public relations problems)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The public may be disillusioned with us but this not change the reality that they needs us like never before If you are reaching the stage where you are beginning to believe that any light at the end of the equity tunnel can only be a train coming your way, you are forgetting ...
Well-advised campaigns. (Comment).(Brief Article)
Oct 03, 2002 ... Enter Mr Bradley and Mrs or is it Ms Bingley stage left. B&B has brought back its bowler-hatted twosome but one has had a sex change. This is the second recent clever reworking of the past following Prudential's Plan from the Pru. Both campaigns are welcome because ...
Outside edge. (Comment).(Professional financial advisers make good money)
Oct 03, 2002; ... The IFA market will polarise into highly professional advisers who can command a premium rate for in-depth analysis and advice and a group of less proficient firms more intent on pushing certain products While happy to point that out that last time I wrote on this topic I did ...