Industry News

28 January 2018

The Lang Cat sets the pace as the MiFID II arguments begin in earnest

The issue of the disclosure of trading costs as part of MiFID II has been rumbling on this week with arguments breaking out all over the place.

21 January 2018

FCA versus MPs over British Steel transfers

A lively if unlikely spat has broken out between the FCA and the Work and Pensions select committee. The committee and the chairman Frank Field has made some very stark criticisms of the FCA and its actions over the British Steel Pension Scheme. There is a long list of correspondence from various parties on the committee website including from one of the advice firms and the introducer embroiled in the issue.

14 January 2018

Will Carillion crisis see a repeat of British Steel problems?

Whitehall officials and the Pension Regulator are meeting to discuss the implications of Carillion’s possible collapse. This is surely the key quote from the Sky website.

08 January 2018

Another year, another cash call from the FSCS

As they face another bill, IFAs may well be asking themselves when on earth the FSCS is going to reformed. Actually change is in the pipeline but too soon for the latest cash call.

17 December 2017

AE to extend to 18 year olds but not for seven years

The big auto-enrolment review has been published with plans to extent it to 18 years hitting the headlines though not for seven years. There is no decision on increasing contributions. The Secretary of State of Work and Pensions David Gauke writes about the reform in the Guardian.

11 December 2017

Woodford and Buxton warn on Bitcoin

Bitcoin has made the headlines, but it is arguably pension transfers not the modern equivalent of tulip mania which most IFAs should  be worried about even if it is only the threat of higher compensation bills in future.

03 December 2017

'Feeding frenzy' headlines do IFAs no favours

Advisers are on the front of the weekend Financial Times for all the wrong reasons. The full headline is grim for the sector ‘Port Talbot workers lured to opt out of pension fund in adviser ‘feeding frenzy’. Here is the link though the story is, of course, behind the FT paywall.

27 November 2017

Low growth is the biggest news from the Budget

The Budget was very much of the whimper not a bang variety. The big news or at least the news Chancellor Philip Hammond would like you to concentrate on is that stamp duty is to be scrapped for first time buyers on the first £300,000 in properties up to £500,000 as Mortgage Strategy reports.

19 November 2017

Home building spree promised for Budget

It looks as if the two main political parties are about to enter a house building bidding war. The Conservatives will say they will build up to 300,000 houses a year according to Chancellor Philip Hammond as the Daily Mail reports, a total which would more than match Labour plans.

13 November 2017

A trip to Port Talbot causes DB concern

The defined benefit transfers issue continues to rumble on this week.

05 November 2017

Small rate rise but quite a lot of arguing

The big news in the last seven days has been the small rise in UK interest rates. Professional Adviser discusses the 0.25% increase and the message from the MPC that the next two years will probably bring two more rises.

30 October 2017

The FT leads the way in raising pension transfer misselling fears

Is the reputation of the advice sector about to take another big knock and financial blow to boot?

22 October 2017

Prestridge suggests a 30% flat rate on pensions

The Mail on Sunday’s Personal Finance editor Jeff Prestridge suggests a move to a flat rate of pension tax relief of 30%. Politicians do often heed to the opinions of influential journalists. It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall at the Treasury to hear their reaction.

15 October 2017

Pensions misselling repeated - whose fault would that be?

It wouldn’t be the run up to the Budget without some discussion of pension tax relief. The last big mooted move was when someone decided to make pensions like ISAs a few years’ back ago. Arguably this time, the plan is more ambitious.

08 October 2017

Suitability concerns dog pension transfer advice

Slowly but surely, the FCA view on pension transfers is emerging. In its latest look at the market, the FCA finds significant problems with suitability of DB transfers.

01 October 2017

Dampier says investors should not neglect the UK

These are fractious times, but markets still seem to be remarkably robust. In such circumstances, Hargreave Lansdown’s Mark Dampier suggests that investors should not neglect UK equities while incidentally wishing that the UK never has a referendum again.

The FCA appears to be taking a softly, softly approach to MIFiD II compliance, at least so far and will not clamp down hard from next year. Given the lack of guidance apparently due to allowing European regulators to take the lead, that at least feels like a reasonable stance.

As the Prudential increases its salesforce numbers, Money Marketing asks is the man (and presumably woman) from the Pru back on the road.

There are some concerns about FCA proposals to allow applications for power of attorney to be completed online rather than requiring a written signature. Lawyers are concerned about scamming the elderly. Is regulatory convenience trumping consumer protection?

Tisa’s Adrian Boulding suggests that the UK is drowning in a sea of small pot pensions.

Stephen Lansdown has sold £190m worth of shares in Hargreaves Lansdown although his stake is still a significant 12.3%.

DC pension schemes must supply much more data on charges if requested by their governance body from January 2018 including complicated costings involving transaction spreads.

London house prices are at their weakest for 12 years says Nationwide as Mortgage Strategy reports but one survey shows mortgage approvals rising 7.8 per cent nationally.

Investment Week asks whether fund managers will choose Copenhagen as their European hub. It’s a great city but your reviewer doubts it.