Octopus to split its IHT vehicle and recommence withdrawals from one part
Octopus is splitting the shares of its suspended IHT vehicle with Citywire New Model Adviser getting the exclusive. It must have advisers with any clients invested considering ways to explain what is happening and now fixed on any potential losses.
Octopus is splitting the vehicle into its poor performing fibre optic section and the remaining two-third will reopen to new investors and withdrawals.
There are follow up stories in the Telegraph and there’s a lot of detail here in ISP Review as well.
The plan as reported will see them split out their fibre broadband assets (i.e. those held by Fern Trading – Vorboss and AllPoints Fibre Network from other investments. The move comes shortly after Octopus backed away from a deal to acquire PXC from TalkTalk.
The big financial news announced at the Labour Party conference came in Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s speech. From 2030 the triple lock pension will become a double lock linked to either CPI inflation or 2.5%. There is some suggestion that the government hopes that the pension will still keep pace with earnings.
The change will pay to some degree for the setting up of a National Care Service. It is now being reported in the Guardian that the Government plans to pass the appropriate legislation before the next election, though it would come into force afterwards.
The Conservatives, Reform, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and the Scottish National Party have all expressed opposition to the change in some form.
There is some suggestion of both a split at the Conservative Party conference over the party’s continued support for the triple lock mechanism, reported by Sky and indeed among the Lib Dems as the BBC reports.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies considers the potential savings here and the Nuffield Trust considers how an enhanced care service might operate.
The Income Protection Task Force (IPTF) has published the last instalment of its 7 Claims Stories series, an industry-wide project that has spent the past 18 months looking at the income protection (IP) claims journey.
This episode draws on feedback from advisers, insurers, reinsurers and claims professionals to set out a view of what good claims handling looks like. Money Marketing reports.
A plan to close the protection gap has been produced by protection advice firm Cream Financial Solutions.
Cream suggests doubling down on referral pathways adding that mortgage intermediaries have the expertise to advise on protection but do not have the capacity. FTAdviser reports.
Finally Moneybox is to launch AI-led advice service but one that will have human advisers too, in yet another Citywire exclusive.