Business Development Updates

20 September 2017

Octopus Titan VCT: open for investment

Octopus Titan VCT is now open for investment through a new share offer of up to £120 million.

Early bird discount

Investors applying for Octopus Titan VCT shares before 14 November 2017will receive a 2% early bird discount on the initial fee.

Backing Britain’s brightest businesses

Investors have the opportunity to participate in the potential growth of some of the UK’s most entrepreneurial high-growth businesses by investing in Octopus Titan VCT. They can claim 30% income tax relief on the amount they invest, along with tax-free dividends and tax-free growth. You’ll find the prospectus, brochure and application form on the Octopus Titan VCT webpage.

Regular dividends

Octopus Titan VCT aims to pay annual tax-free dividends of at least 5p per share, as well as potential special dividend payments, if portfolio companies are sold at a significant profit. It’s important to remind clients that the value of shares can fall as well as rise, that dividends are not guaranteed, and that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

If you have any questions about the Octopus Titan VCT new share offer, please call  0800 316 2067 or email [email protected]

 

For professional advisers only. Not to be relied upon by retail investors. The value of an investment, and any income from it, can fall as well as rise. Investors may not get back the full amount they invest. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change in the future. Tax reliefs depend on the VCT maintaining its VCT-qualifying status. VCT shares could fall or rise in value more than other shares listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. They may also be harder to sell. Personal opinions may change and should not be seen as advice or a recommendation. These products are not suitable for everyone. Any recommendation should be based on a holistic review of your client's financial situation, objectives and needs. We do not offer investment or tax advice. We recommend investors seek professional advice before deciding to invest. This advertisement is not a prospectus. Investors should only subscribe for shares based on information in the prospectus, which can be obtained from octopusinvestments.com.Issued by Octopus Investments Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: 33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT. Registered in England and Wales No. 03942880. We may record telephone calls to help improve our customer service. Issued: September 2017. CAM05583.

 

07 September 2017

If you have business clients, the risks they face are also your risks

Business or corporate clients can be really important to your practice so helping them understand and manage their risks is also a way of protecting your own business.
 
Risks can include the loss of a key employee and the lack of continuity and succession planning should one of the business owners die. These are risks you can help with.
 
Corporate protection makes sure businesses can continue to trade, replace key individuals, protect corporate debt and allow the owners to maintain control of their business while making sure their dependants receive a fair value for their share of it.
 
Whether you’re active in corporate protection or not – you can benefit from Aegon’s focus on providing you with the right information, support, tools and calculators to help you in this crucially important market.
 
‘It won’t happen to me’
Your clients have worked hard to build up their business, so it makes sense to protect it. They might not consider what would happen to their business if they were to die or become critically ill. But the reality is – the unthinkable does happen.

 

Take the first step
Look out for our Infomix emails – where we’ll showcase Aegon’s practical tools (including sales ideas, pre-approach letters, videos and calculators) that you can use when discussing corporate protection with your clients.
 
Aegon also have specialist consultants dedicated to helping you develop your corporate protection business. They can offer assistance with planning your strategy, identification of opportunities and practical day-to-day help with particular cases.
 
Action
Visit the Aegon Corporate Protection zone on Adviser Home to access this support material and get contact details.
 
Protect your client’s business – and protect your own

 
Source: www.actuaries.org.uk/learn-and-develop/continuous-mortality-investigation/cmi-mortality-and-morbidity-tables
1 Based on mortality data of 73% (CMI working paper 75, calendar years 2007-2010) of TMN00 mortality table, male non-smokers at 5+ years’ duration
2 Based on morbidity data of 102% (CMI working paper 75, calendar years 2007-2010) of SC04 morbidity table, male non-smokers at 5+ years’ duration
The figures are based on insured data – which means those people who have the appropriate insurance already in place. Equivalent figures applying across the whole population would show increased  likelihood of such an event being even more likely.

31 August 2017

Invesco Perpetuals Open Investment Meeting - your invitation

You are invited to join Invesco Perpetual on the morning of the 22nd September in London as 4 of their most respected investment professionals give their latest market and asset class views and insights.

The event will be chaired by Invesco Perpetual’s CIO, Nick Mustoe. Speakers will include Invesco Ltd’s Chief Economist, John Greenwood, UK Equities Fund Manager, Martin Walker, and Fixed Interest Fund Manager, Thomas Moore.

For more information on the speakers’ talking points, and schedule for the day, please click the link below to visit the dedicated event microsite.

Attendance of this event will qualify you for 90 minutes unstructured CPD.

28 July 2017

The Value of Advice - report

This is one of the hot topics of the time. There are many ways to consider “Value” but we think the simplest way is to look at what are you getting for your money. In other words Value = Benefit / Price.

Here we have two approaches. A report by the ILC sponsored by Royal London. This report compares those who have had advice versus those who haven’t and has fascinating findings showing a clear financial advantage for the “advised” group.

We also have our own research – covered and this report The Adviser Home Value of Advice. The method here was to ask advisers what they think their clients value most in the service they offer. So this is about the value of advice from the perspective of practicing advisers.

More on the Adviser Home Report on The Value of Advice

The immediate trigger for this piece of work was the FCA comment questioning the value of adviser’s investment advice. The report looks at this in some detail but also explores the dimensions on which advisers gain and attract clients. Price does seem to play only a small part and few market their price prior to the first meeting. We think this makes complete sense – only when you have full appreciation of a clients requirements can you set a price.

It’s clear from this research that advisers consider that clients place most value on the whole picture – both the peace of mind that comes from knowing your finances are being looked after and the value clients place on having the process looked after for them.

As always the value in the research we do is two-fold – firstly the gathering together of collective adviser views and secondly the chance it offers for you to consider your business and how you might develop it. We hope that our report gives pause for thought. There is no doubt that the regulator will continue to explore how all participants in the industry compete for business and it makes sense to consider this question for your own practice.

We also look at the question of whether an adviser can offer value to all clients or whether newer ways of meeting their needs might be required. Large numbers of advisers acknowledge that providing a full face to face service for all advisers is a challenge and are open to solutions with greater degrees of automation.

If you’d like to discuss any aspect of The Value of Advice please get in touch with is us at [email protected]

26 June 2017

Prudential Toolkit - Retirement is a journey, not an event

This message is true for both advisers and their customers. When advising retiring clients today, you may be taking into account Brexit, Pension Freedoms, Defined Benefit transfer and the outcome of the election. Yet tomorrow, it could be other events taking place elsewhere in the world . A complex arena with many things to consider and who knows what the future will have in store.

However, through it all, Prudential will continue to be at your side supporting you through these and other challenges you may face. To help, Prudential have put together a range of material covering a number of Retirement Planning topics.

What’s in the toolkit?

A guide written by Billy Burrows, Retirement Specialist, exploring the challenges an adviser may face in the years ahead. Hear helpful insight around DB transfers: facts, evidence and insight, cash flow modelling, due diligence, all from Rory Percival (ex FCA). Use Prudential’s practical Transfer Toolkit to help you with consolidation, DC to DC transfers, DB to DC transfers or your client’s first or subsequent moves to drawdown. Top up on CPD and learn from useful Technical articles helping you with Retirement Planning queries and angles.

For more information about Retirement Plans, visit Prudential’s dedicated microsite.

17 June 2017

You are invited to join Pictet Asset Management for breakfast or lunch

Pictet would like to invite you for breakfast or lunch (see full venue details below) to meet with their Multi Asset Investment team.

Meet the lead managers

Andrew Cole and Shaniel Ramjee, lead fund managers of the FP Pictet Multi Asset Portfolio, will outline their macroeconomic outlook and the implication for various asset classes and markets.

Taking no more than 1½ hours, this is an opportunity to meet the team and to gain an insight into their views and current portfolio positioning.

There’s a choice of 6 venues over three days ( 11th, 12th and 14th of July ) and we do hope you can attend.

Book your place

Please email [email protected]/* */ to confirm which venue and event you would like to attend.

Event details

Tuesday 11th July 2017

LUNCH 12.30-14:00
Hotel du Vin, Harrogate

Wednesday 12th July 2017

BREAKFAST - 08.30-10.00
Opus Restaurant, Birmingham
LUNCH - 13:00-14:30
Malmaison, Cheltenham
 

Friday 14th July 2017

BREAKFAST - 08.30-10.00
Hotel du Vin, Exeter
LUNCH - 12.30-14:00
Hotel du Vin, Bristol

 

14 June 2017

Prudentials improved Trust and Application Form Tool

Prudential know that trust business can be time consuming and complicated, particularly when completing documentation. They’ve made things easier for you by improving their popular Trust and Application Form tool.  
As well as adding the Probate Trust to the tool, they’ve also enhanced it by giving more:
 
·       Guidance on dating the trusts and applications
·       Information about who can be beneficiaries  of the various types of trusts
·       Information on when advisers should tick the box to cancel the loan on death for loan trusts
 
The inclusion of the Probate Trust complements their already extensive trust proposition, including the unique Prudence Inheritance Bond.
Check out the updated tool online.
 
Don’t forget about Prudential’s Estate planning core kit which has a host of support material available to help with estate planning conversations with your clients.

07 June 2017

Access technical expertise

Access Prudentials technical expertise and earn consistent CPD 

In 2016, Prudential’s Technical helpline – manned by experts with more than 250 years’ experience between them – answered around 15,000 calls from advisers.
 
Technical expertise, honed by such large scale input from advisers, generates really valuable market insight. This in turn, helps shape the CPD support Prudential provides. And this support is available to you at no cost in the Adviser Home CPD centre.
 
If you’ve not already checked it out, do it now and add it to a personalised CPD plan. You’ll find: 

A series of on-demand video box sets covering topics such as corporate investing, bonds taxation and pension death benefits The latest versions of the Prudential’s Oracle publications which include a number of technical and business development articles Access to recordings of the Oracle live WebEx programme

 
Even better news is that Prudential regularly adds content, so you’ve always got up to date material available to help meet your CPD requirements.
 
You can register or log in here>>

05 June 2017

The Value of Advice - A nationwide call for client feedback

We have now received a large number of responses to our request for adviser input on the question of how your clients value the advice they receive. Thank you! If you completed this research we will send you our report on it shortly.

What do your clients think?

We are now expanding the scope of this study by asking clients their views. For this we need your help. Would you share this link with your clients? https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/H829K6T

We are asking the same of every UK financial adviser and the result will be an aggregated study of great value to the sector as a whole. Please note:-
·       Client responses will be treated with absolute confidence
·       We will not be asking for client’s names or contact details
·       Responses will come in directly to us and we will not identify responses by adviser

We will create a report on responses on an aggregate basis across all the responses we receive and send you your copy, of course.  So this is a national study looking at advised clients as whole.

To assist we have below a draft wording you may wish to use to send to your clients including the survey link.

Draft wording
 

Dear …..

We are taking part in a nationwide exercise to establish the value you see in the services you receive from your financial adviser. This is an entirely confidential exercise coordinated by an independent research company, Adviser Home Ltd. We will not see your individual responses but we will be very interested to learn from the results overall and if you would like a copy of this then just let me know.
The survey should take you just two or three minutes. Would you please complete it by ……….. (Allow five days from issue)
To take part click on this link https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/H829K6T
Thanks for your help with this

26 May 2017

How investors can take care of inheritance tax headaches

Inheritance tax intake could top £6.2 billion annually by 2022, according to the latest Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts. The increase is attributed to both UK house prices and the continued growth of UK stock markets, which has defied expectations in recent months. Many of your clients could be sitting on significant gains. Unfortunately, a large chunk of their investments could end up as inheritance tax liabilities.

In this tax planning insight, Jessica Franks (Octopus Business Line Manager for Inheritance Tax Products) explains why rising inheritance tax receipts present a huge advice opportunity. The biggest impact could come from helping investors with large sums in share portfolios and ISAs in particular. Given that more than six million of the UK’s 23 million ISA holders are 65 or older, there are plenty of clients who could benefit from taking a more comprehensive estate planning approach, including making their ISAs inheritance tax-exempt. Read more>>

24 May 2017

Webinar Invitation - How to manage risk and return

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of the launch of the Allianz RiskMaster Multi Asset Funds you are invited to join this webinar on Tuesday 30th May 10-00 am. The webinar will cover:
 
1) The biggest challenges for multi asset managers over the last 5 years
2) How the AllianzGI  multi asset team manage volatility and return to match specific client risk profiles
3) The AllianzGI outlook for the second half of 2017
 

 
More about RiskMaster
 
If you would like to learn more about the 5th anniversary of the RiskMaster Funds and how they have delivered for investors you can visit>> 

19 May 2017

Cyber Attack

Cyber Attack - Consider liability insurance  - most PII policies DO NOT provide  comprehensive Cyber Liability cover

Friday’s global cyber-attack that infected over 200,000 victims, including our NHS, has led many businesses to evaluate their IT systems and installed software. 

Robust risk management of systems and software obviously mitigates exposure to a Cyber-attack – unfortunately nothing can be 100% secure from attack.

Why is specialist cover needed? Most PII policies DO NOT provide comprehensive Cyber Liability cover. View here - 10 reasons to buy cyber cover.

Did you know that this Cyber liability insurance package from O3 starts from as little as £1275* plus tax?
 
O3 Insurance Cyber Insurance package includes

Access to a 24/7 Incident Response Centre Dedicated contact assigned to support you from the time of any attack to conclusion Funds Transfer Fraud System Damage Extortion Regulatory Fines and Legal Costs Management Liability

Next Steps

You can see here full details of the Cyber Incident Response Service and an application.

It’s simple to apply, merely complete the application return to any of the O3 cyber account executives and they will provide your Cyber Liability quotation within 48 to 72 hours.

Alternatively, to discuss further please contact O3 Insurance Solutions:

[email protected]        020 3818 9066

[email protected]  020 3818 9069

O3 Insurance Solutions provide professional indemnity insurance to financial planning and wealth management professionals. They have over 30 years’ experience serving the financial services community.

*Note - The premium guide above is for Adviser firms with an annual turnover of up to £1,000,000 for £250,000 limit of indemnity – limits can be tailored to your requirements

08 May 2017

Investment Intelligence Seminars

03 May 2017

May 2017 Barometer - Download Market Views from Pictet

Resilient global economic recovery reinforces Pictet’s overweight stance on stocks; bonds cut to underweight.

Highlights
·       Stocks to draw strength from buoyant growth
·       Europe attractive but not the US
·       Fixed income: euro high yield not high enough
·       Global markets overview: equities march higher

Download the May edition of Barometer here

28 April 2017

So value investing is back in vogue!!

You could argue that investing in under-appreciated companies with quality balance sheets and benefitting from good yield and growth should never be out of style.

Why though should a value approach be applied only to equities and not across a whole range of asset classes?

In fixed income applying a value approach could mean avoiding Gilts and investment grade corporates but finding value in high yield short duration bonds.

In other asset classes, this approach could see you favouring REITs, renewable energy vehicles and infrastructure investments.

What about risk?

Value investing by its very nature should mean never buying at the top of the market it also means conducting research to find the value in companies bonds and markets that other investors may not yet see.

There are a number of equity “value” managers in the market but few offering a Multi-Asset approach….
Why restrict good thinking to just one asset class!
 

Want to know more?

Seneca are experts in Multi-Asset investing with a value approach visit their website at www.senecaim.com or take the time to read Seneca CIO Peter Elston’s latest investment letter here>>

Or

 

 

Arrange a 10-minute informative chat about Seneca funds and approach?

Call or email Helen Oloughlin Seneca Business Development Consultant on:

0151 906 2483 or [email protected] 

24 April 2017

Register for these seminars on how to build your practice with high net worth clients

Find out how to maximise opportunities from high net worth individuals with these upcoming seminars from Russell Investments.
 
In these CPD accredited events, Russell investments will delve into how to segment your client book to identify your best clients, deliver practical interactive tools to give your HNW meetings a boost and offer you an analysis service to give you an edge when attracting the best clients in a competitive marketplace.
 
What to expect from Russell Investments Academy

Practical techniques to identify your best clients Ideas on how to efficiently service your lower value clients to free up more of your time Interactive tools you can use to deliver a new type of client review meeting Economic forecasts to reassure nervous clients Practical tools to help you win new HNW clients

 
Book your place now
 
This free event will start at 09:30am, with breakfast included and conclude at 13:30pm after a buffet lunch. By attending this event you will receive 2.5 hours of CPD.

Register now to secure your place. You are welcome to bring along your colleagues or professional connections too.

Any questions?
 
If you have any questions please email [email protected] or call  020 7024 6601.
 
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