Press releases for September 2010
Press releases are shown below. Please email info@cherryplc.co.uk to arrange for your Press Releases to be displayed
30 September 2010
Aldermore, the new British bank, is extending its buy to let range to help fill the gap created by Lloyds Banking Group, which recently announced that it has significantly reduced its exposure to the ...
28 September 2010
Perspective Financial Group Ltd, the consolidation vehicle for IFA firms, has today (28th September 2010) confirmed IFA firm, Warnes Anderton Ltd, as its latest acquisition. It has also acquired the ...
27 September 2010
and pensioners in poorer health did NOT take advantage of open market option last year – losing £450m for the rest of their lives Estimate 70 per cent of those with pension funds under £40k ignored...
24 September 2010
Partnership, the specialist provider of financial solutions for people with health/ lifestyle conditions, has been voted ‘Best Enhanced Annuity Provider’ at this year’s Investment Life & Pensions Mone...
23 September 2010
Your Mortgage Decisions, the mortgage broking firm, has revealed its new fee-charging structure is reaping rewards for its team of advisers after it was introduced at the start of 2010. After an in...
21 September 2010
Ed Stansfield, Capital Economics, joins leading industry commentators for top flight London seminar next week (30/9/2010) highlighting investor opportunities Ed Stansfield, chief property econo...
21 September 2010
The Mortgage Alliance (TMA) has experienced a month-on-month rise in complex prime enquiries for the third consecutive month. Since TMA’s agreement with AToM aimed at giving members access to a ran...
20 September 2010
Bridgewater Equity Release, the home reversion specialist, today (20th September 2010) announced it has won the ‘Best Home Reversion Provider’ Award at this year’s Investment Life & Pensions (ILP) Mon...
20 September 2010
A fifth of clients who have not seen an IFA in five years blamed trust issues. According to the Sun Life of Canada Sense Check at 60 report published this month, respondents also say their trust i...
20 September 2010
Consumers are not reaping the benefits of historically low interest rates as banks look to buffer their capital reserves in light of the financial crisis, says the Bank of England. Since the finan...
20 September 2010
Between 55% and 65% of people due to retire may have conditions that qualify them for enhanced or impaired life annuities, research from Just Retirement says. Over 1,500 conditions count towards e...
20 September 2010
IFA Cavanagh warns short term profitability may be sacrificed as the group evolves to meet RDR requirements. Its interim results reveal this impact is already being felt with profits before tax of...
20 September 2010
Investec, the South African bank is about to test the market with a £250m securitisation of "non-standard" mortgages, including some sub-prime loans, according to the Financial Times. The portfoli...
20 September 2010
IFAs are under-equipped to benefit from a looming explosion of interest in long term care products, says a market specialist. Chris Horlick, long term care managing director at Partnership, says ...
20 September 2010
Lighthouse Group has placed its focus on bagging new corporate clients in a bid to see off what it argues is an inevitable loss of remuneration per client for its advisers. Announcing results in wh...
20 September 2010
Gross mortgage lending fell 14% in August to an estimated £11.4bn, the lowest figure for the month since 2000, according to the CML. CML figures revealed that August mortgage lending was down sharp...
20 September 2010
The government is pledging to raise up to £7bn a year by 2015 by clamping down on "morally indefensible" tax evasion, a senior Lib Dem minister has said. Speaking at the party's conference, Treasu...
20 September 2010
More than 9,000 public sector employees are earning a higher wage than the prime minister, as momentum grows behind radical cuts to pay and benefits in this area. New research conducted for BBC Pa...
20 September 2010
Tory MP Zac Goldsmith has pledged to take up the fight for Keydata investors after being contacted by an IFA with clients’ money in the failed investment company. He has promised to bring the issu...
20 September 2010
Conflicting evidence means it is too early to call a housing market double dip, as average asking prices fell for the third consecutive month in September but new seller numbers abated, according to R...
20 September 2010
Partnership, the specialist provider of financial solutions for people with health/ lifestyle conditions, as well as those suffering from a serious medical impairment, has today announced a strengthen...
20 September 2010
Aldermore, the new British bank, has added two new products to its Limited Edition range of residential mortgages: 3.49% two-year fix - available up to 65% loan to value. After two years the rate r...
16 September 2010
Which is best: sole trader, limited company or the 'third way'? As advisers get to grip with changes within the industry, they are being forced to scrutinise every aspect of their firm. One imp...
16 September 2010
The free legals offered by lenders on remortgage deals could offer compliance danger for the intermediary, said Jonathan hall, commercial director for OpenConvey. Hall said recommending products w...
16 September 2010
More people than ever aspire to own their own homes. According to a survey carried from YouGov for the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), 85% of people say they want to be living in a property the...
16 September 2010
An IFA trying to provide pensions advice for his client claims he is shut out by Abbey Life because of the provider’s strict interpretation of the anti-money laundering rules. Francis Klonowski, fe...
16 September 2010
Lord Myners has raised serious doubts as to whether dismantling the FSA will prevent the onset of another financial crisis. Speaking at the Treasury select committee inquiry into financial regulat...
16 September 2010
Advisers studying for the QCF level four diploma have been hit by a series of setbacks after the investment management certificate and the CII’s gap-filling exercises were branded ‘anti-competitive’ a...
16 September 2010
Mervyn King has accepted the role financial services played in leading the country into recession and admitted policymakers did not do enough to prevent it. Speaking at the Trade Union Congress (T...
16 September 2010
London & Country Mortgages has launched a free mortgage application for the iPhone. The Mortgage Assistant app features best buy tables and a range of mortgage calculators to help borrowers judge m...
16 September 2010
Four MPs from Norfolk have pledged to get justice for investors with money caught up in failed investment firm Keydata. Norman Lamb, Chloe Smith, Elizabeth Truss and George Freeman yesterday met w...
15 September 2010
15 September 2010: Specialist general insurance provider Assurant Intermediary has been appointed to the newly created general insurance panels launched by Sesame and PMS. Sesame, PMS and Bankhall...
15 September 2010
The Building Societies Association’s property tracker survey has reported a dip in consumer confidence, despite improved access to mortgages. The survey revealed that 26% of consumer’s did not thi...
15 September 2010
Mortgage and ancillary service distributor PMS, has launched a new insurance panel, aimed to help drive additional revenue for intermediaries in today’s tough market. The new insurance panel is on...
15 September 2010
If you believe everything you hear, Openwork's acquisition of 2plan Wealth Management will be music to the ears of the FSA. According to a significant chunk of the adviser community, the regulator...
15 September 2010
Multi-tied network Openwork has bought national IFA 2Plan Wealth Management for an undisclosed sum as part of its plan to develop a whole of market proposition through acquisition. Openwork, which ...
15 September 2010
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has confirmed that the cost of compensating clients of failed stockbroker Wills & Co will fall on wealth managers and advisers. The FSCS has plac...
15 September 2010
France rockets ahead with 43 per cent of mortgage enquiries Interest in emerging markets has totally disintegrated France is still top of the list and soaring to new heights, according to the la...
15 September 2010
Bridgewater Equity Release, the home reversion specialist, has today (15th September 2010) announced two dates for its regular regional broker forums which will take place next week. The first foru...
14 September 2010
it can take 36 years to recoup 12 months’ lost income, warns Annuity Direct New data from Annuity Direct reveals shattering cost of pensions deferral Wealthier pensioners more likely to defer ...
14 September 2010
The number of people losing their homes or falling behind on repayments is edging down, with new repossessions in Q2 falling to the lowest level in two years. The latest figures from the FSA revea...
14 September 2010
A survey found 92% of those planning on taking out a mortgage during the course of the next year don't understand the difference between the types of deal on offer. Research carried out by First D...
14 September 2010
The majority of IFAs would like their platform to be independently run, a new study has found. Research by Defaqto shows 59% of advisers would prefer an independent platform above other options wh...
14 September 2010
The full extent of Norwich & Peterborough clients’ over-exposure to Keydata products has been laid bare as law firm Regulatory Legal says the issue will likely end in the courts. Data compiled by ...
14 September 2010
Lloyds Banking Group has remained top of the Financial Ombudsman Service's twice -yearly list of worst complaints offers, after attracting more than 22,000 complaints in the six months to the end of J...
14 September 2010
The financial ombudsman (FOS) dealt with almost 400 complaints relating to collapsed stockbroker Wills & Co in the first half of the year, finding 99% in favour of the consumer. According to data ...
14 September 2010
Future sales expectations rose in August, despite the balance of newly agreed sales falling to its lowest level in two years, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). RICS...
13 September 2010
Gabrielle Knights (Wessex Asset Management) to helm latest WAY fund Aimed at clients looking for a high growth addition to a more general portfolio Focuses on Far Eastern markets (avoiding Ja...
13 September 2010
Stable and consistent returns - 5, 7 & 10 year Bonds paying from 8 – 9 % p/a Min €250k investment – for institutional and pension fund investors Global distribution: Switzerland up first, to be ...
13 September 2010
Less than 4 per cent of SimplyBiz and Compliance First advisers say they will consider the restricted advice route post-RDR, according to SimplyBiz chairman Ken Davy. The support services firm surv...
13 September 2010
Aifa is now taking applications for its diploma in investment planning which offers advisers a case study based qualification to meet the professional requirements of the retail distribution review. ...
13 September 2010
The number of non-retired women with no pension has taken a 7% leap over the past year, according to research from Barings Asset Management. The study shows 47% of women who are not yet retired do...
13 September 2010
Taxpayers could benefit from the expertise of IFAs to help them avoid paying unnecessary capital gains tax (CGT), according to a new study. Research by unbiased.co.uk shows these payments will be ...
13 September 2010
London-centred estate agent Foxtons plans open 20 new branches after returning to profit. The high-profile agency, as renowned for its high-pressure sales tactics as for the Minis its representati...
13 September 2010
The housing market continued to be subdued in July, as demand for mortgages failed to match seasonal expectations, according to the CML. CML figures showed that 56,000 mortgages worth £8.4bn for h...
13 September 2010
Friends Provident is adding mastectomy cover and five new ABI+ conditions to its critical illness (CI) product. The five additional ABI+ conditions are: heart attack; benign brain tumour; coronary...
13 September 2010
3mc has launched a virtual mortgage desk which gives mortgage intermediaries access to a knowledge base of information about the lenders on both its club and packager panels. The service compliments 3...
13 September 2010
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society will today receive letters from solicitors acting on behalf of 250 customers, demanding compensation for investment advice they received relating to Keydata pla...
13 September 2010
Chris Baigent-Reed, head of client engagement of 1st - Exchange, looks at what advisers must look to do to attract the customer of tomorrow. With many IFA firms increasingly finding themselves pit...
13 September 2010
Basel III regulators reveal measures designed to prevent banks running out of liquidity. Financial regulators have reached a deal to force global banks to double the spare cash they hold in the bi...
13 September 2010
David Nish plans to break Standard Life’s dependency on financial advisers for distribution and explore a direct to consumer channel, according to the Mail on Sunday. Nish, who took over from Sand...
13 September 2010
SimplyBiz chairman Ken Davy has warned restricted advice will be "bad for the consumer and bad for professionalism". His comments come as new research by the support services group polling over 50...
13 September 2010
HSBC, Barclays and Nationwide are the only British institutions to register in Global Finance's list of the world's 50 safest banks but no UK names appear in the top 10. The annual report highligh...
10 September 2010
The number of attempted mortgage fraud cases continued to steadily increase by 37% in the first half of the year, according to Experian. Despite numbers dipping in Q3 and Q4 2009, fraudulent mortg...
10 September 2010
An FSA consultation paper detailing how it intends to collect data from firms as part of its pre- and post-RDR supervisory agenda has been delayed until Q1 next year. The regulator had intended to...
10 September 2010
It's Thursday night. You're at the pub with friends. The conversation turns to investing and, when you're asked for your opinion, you give it. Six months later a letter arrives. It's signed by a f...
10 September 2010
Without parental assistance, the average age of a first-time buyer will rise to 43 years old, said the National Housing Federation, as Redrow calls for greater government assistance for novice buyers....
10 September 2010
Average house prices grew just 0.2% in August, as housing transactions fell back sharply from July’s boom, according to LSL Property Services and Acadametrics. The plateau in house prices over rec...
10 September 2010
Godiva Mortgages has extended its prime residential range with a two-year fixed rate at 2.49% and a three-year fixed rate at 2.99%. Both mortgages are available up to 60% LTV, with a booking fee ...
09 September 2010
“After the long and balmy summer, investors have returned to find that the situation in the EU is not as fundamentally sunny as the strong economic performance of Germany has suggested. “Only yeste...
09 September 2010
The CML has warned that interest-only deals could disappear from the market as lenders abandon the product in the face of the FSA’s proposed regulatory reforms. The FSA Mortgage Market Review cons...
09 September 2010
Four million households in Britain have no adults in work, according to official figures, a number which has risen to a ten-year high. Data from the Office for National Statistics show that in the...
09 September 2010
Business secretary Vince Cable has conceded the UK's biggest banks may not be split along "crude lines" but instead firewalls could be introduced to separate retail and investment arms. Cable is a...
09 September 2010
The FSA has fined Goldman Sachs International (GSI) £17.5m for failing to have adequate systems in place to comply with regulatory reporting obligations. The London-based division of Goldman Sachs...
08 September 2010
Virgin Money will base its new operations in Edinburgh where it will create 200 new jobs in a boost to the city which has suffered from large-scale job cuts. The financial arm of Richard Branson's...
08 September 2010
Vince Cable has voiced concerns over the appointment of Bob Diamond as the new Barclays chief executive, fuelling the row over whether big banks should be broken up. Diamond, currently head of Bar...
08 September 2010
Will Roberts examines the main points of contention and asks if platforms will have enough time to adapt to the new rules before the RDR deadline at the end of 2012? As the IFA industry hurtles to...
08 September 2010
How can Brazil answer the challenge of its government’s desire to raise more capital without holding back the current level of economic growth and increasing tax rates, which could halt consumer spend...
08 September 2010
The appointment of Stephen Gay as AIFA director general came as a surprise to many, primarily because knowledge of the contenders had not been made public. Whilst unexpected, it was not as big a s...
08 September 2010
AIFA members are demanding to be consulted on future appointments to the agenda-setting AIFA Council following the "surprise" selection of Stephen Gay as director general. The current director of ...
08 September 2010
The Bank of England is expected to hold rates at 0.5% this week, but a quarter of Brits are still afraid of the effect rises will have on their finances. A survey by Moneysupermarket.com revealed ...
07 September 2010
Re-issue of plan due to continuing interest in a product that protects against runaway inflation Innovative ‘best-of’ structure can pay the growth of inflation, even if the FTSE 100 falls Invest...
07 September 2010
AIFA has launched a platforms decision-making guide as advisers’ due diligence methods come under increased regulatory scrutiny. Here are the key messages... Interrogate your business strategy bef...
07 September 2010
The FTSE 100 fell 0.85% or 46.36 points to 5,392.83 this morning with Barclays among the biggest losers. Investors are wait to see how Wall Street reacts to President Obama's infrastructure plans,...
07 September 2010
A consortium of IFAs and investors, including Norwich & Peterborough (N&P), are in talks to unite to try to save troubed Keydata backer Lifemark, which needs immediate investment to the tune of £13m. ...
07 September 2010
From marketing help to referrals, Kevin Paterson, sales and marketing director, Assurant Intermediary explains how the insurance sale can build relationships I'll wager most people aren't surprise...
07 September 2010
An IFA has been jailed for five and a half years for helping clients secure mortgages fraudulently. Adviser Mark Campbell helped property developer Michael Browne and his business partner David Vi...
07 September 2010
Coventry Intermediaries has pledged not to offer linked products as part of its mortgage portfolio. In an extension to the original six pledges it made in 2007, the building society said that link...
07 September 2010
Banks, whether rightly or wrongly, are continuously being hit from all sides over their conduct, with accusations flying of a swift return to the big bonus culture following the credit crisis, refusin...
07 September 2010
LV= has revealed strong protection new business figures for the first half of the year. Its sales grew 37% over the first six months of 2010 to £11.5m (on APE basis) from £8.4m during the same per...
07 September 2010
The Treasury has promoted Margaret Cole to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) board, while the FSA has promoted her from director to managing director of enforcement and financial crime. Cole's...
07 September 2010
Rob Derry, managing director of secured finance packager, Brunel Mortgages & Loans, is calling on the broker sector to gain a better understanding of how secured loans can solve problems for remortgag...
07 September 2010
Bridgewater asks advisers to consider their own responsibilities in delivering increased consumer education on equity release Bridgewater Equity Release, the home reversion specialist, has today (7...
07 September 2010
Property Portfolio Rescue (PPR), the UK-based residential property company, has today (7th September 2010) revealed its new ‘chain-saving’ proposition designed to secure a fast sale when a property ch...
06 September 2010
Barclays has announced it will create a maximum of 600 jobs in Scotland. The news will be a welcome respite for the financial services sector after 3,500 job cuts at RBS and 600 at Standard Life. ...
06 September 2010
The National Insurance Contributions (NICs) holiday for new businesses set up outside London, the South East and East of England has come into effect today, with the potential to help an estimated 400...
06 September 2010
Select & Protect has warned that many ‘accidental’ landlords who have fallen into letting out their properties during the economic crisis may not have adequately insured their properties. The gene...
06 September 2010
A Coventry IFA was jailed for five and a half years for his part in an extended mortgage fraud after he overstated a single client's income several times to secure mortgages. The client, Michael B...
06 September 2010
US economic growth slowing faster than expected Austerity measures increasingly visible in the US at a state level Europe must not be complacent and could face similar problems Emerging ma...
06 September 2010
HSBC has warned that it may move its headquarters away from London if the UK government does decide to break up the big banks. The head of the group’s investment banking division Stuart Gulliver sa...
06 September 2010
The appointment of Stephen Gay as director general of the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (Aifa) is truly disappointing. For those of you who don’t know him, Gay is director of distr...
06 September 2010
In a roundtable event hosted by IFAonline last year, Stephen Gay, the new director general at AIFA, gave his views on adviser charging, independence and the RDR timetable... At the time of the eve...
06 September 2010
Stephen Gay is taking over as director general of AIFA. But can, and should, an insurance company director represent IFAs' concerns, fight your corner, fly your flag? As distribution development d...
06 September 2010
Outgoing AIFA director general Chris Cummings has lambasted in-fighting as the industry’s “weakness”. Cummings, director general of the trade body since 2005, quit in June to become the first chie...
06 September 2010
Britain's six biggest banks have commissioned a report to profile the creditworthiness of their business customers in a bid to break the deadlock with the Government over lending levels. The banks...
06 September 2010
Britain's largest banks will present their "living wills" to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) next month, ahead of the G20 summit of leading industrialised nations in South Korea. The resolu...
06 September 2010
A group of institutional shareholders is threatening to issue a joint letter demanding the resignation of Harvey McGrath as chairman of Prudential. The shareholders, who claim their frustrations a...
06 September 2010
Chancellor George Osborne will scrap the Pre-Budget Report this year and replace it with a slimmed-down autumn statement. In a break with the Gordon Brown era, the autumn statement is aimed at sav...
06 September 2010
Chris Cummings, the outgoing director general of AIFA and AMI, has lauded replacement Stephen Gay as a 'man of integrity' and says his recent past as an Aviva director does not matter. Cummings is...
03 September 2010
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has said advisers can use just one platform post-retail distribution review and still be classed as independent if they have a homogenous client base. However...
03 September 2010
The FSA today said adviser firms' approach to platform systems and controls continues to be a " particular area of concern" as AIFA launched a platforms due diligence guide for members. Speaking a...
03 September 2010
Ben Bernanke: new regulations may prompt ' too big to fail' banks to break up America's wave of new financial regulation is likely to prompt the country's biggest financial institutions to break th...
03 September 2010
Brussels agrees powers to directly tackle British banks European negotiators last night struck a deal to create agencies with the power to over-rule the decisions of national regulators like the UK...
02 September 2010
The FSA has imposed a lifetime ban on David Marriott, the former chief executive of two insurance intermediaries, for persistent misuse of client money. Marriott, who was a CEO at Target Underwrit...
02 September 2010
Abbey for Intermediaries (AFI) is set to launch an exclusive two-year fix at 3.09% available up to 60% LTV. The purchase product, which has a fee of £995 and a maximum loan size of £550,000, offer...
02 September 2010
Yorkshire Building Society has reduced the rate of its first-time buyer mortgage to 5.59% after seeing a surge in demand for the product since June. Yorkshire's two-year first-time buyer fixed rat...
02 September 2010
Downbeat news on house prices and on construction sector growth added to evidence that UK economic growth may have already peaked, pushing the pound lower again. The FTSE was up just 5.8 points at...
02 September 2010
A new code of conduct for financial advisers in New Zealand is a step closer to implementation after draft proposals were approved. The country's Commission for Financial Advisers has signed off o...
02 September 2010
Former St. James's Place senior partner Peter Carron has been censured by the FSA for defrauding customers. Earlier this month, the wealth management firm offered £2m compensation to some investor...
02 September 2010
Nervous advisers are recommending clients stick with their existing pension arrangements, even where there is good reason to transfer, because of the FSA’s “heavy-handed” crackdown on pension switchin...
02 September 2010
1 September 2010: Kleinwort Benson has been appointed Fund Administrator to a market-leading Guernsey domiciled fund, with a launch value of US$150 million. Kleinwort Benson (Channel Islands) Fund ...
02 September 2010
Conveyancing Alliance Ltd, the online conveyancing distributor, have today (2nd September 2010) announced the appointment of a new Account Manager, Zaeema Ghauri. Zaeema’s responsibilities will inv...
02 September 2010
The FSA has been carrying out covert monitoring of structured product advice and has asked a number of providers to keep an eye on IFA firms, as part of a discreet review of the controversial sector. ...
02 September 2010
The internet and comparison sites are seen as one of the biggest threats to business by 28% of brokers, according to Assurant Intermediary. The research found that, despite the wide range of produ...
02 September 2010
Former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld believes the investment bank may have been able to survive if US authorities had given it the same assistance as its rivals. In a prepared testimony to the com...
01 September 2010
The average detached family home has increased in value by £91 a day over the past year, more than any other type of property, according to Halifax. Research by Halifax using its own house price d...
01 September 2010
Over the last 12 months tenant arrears have remained stable or fallen, according to 84% of landlords. Research carried out by LSL Property Services, owner of the UK's biggest lettings agent networ...
01 September 2010
This coming Saturday, 4 September 2010, sixteen intrepid cyclists from the financial services industry will set out from Lowestoft, East Anglia on a trip that will take them from the most easterly poi...
01 September 2010
Independent research* commissioned by Aldermore, the new British bank, has revealed the true extent to which the UK housing market is being held back because of banks’ and building societies’ reliance...
01 September 2010
Former Axa Framlington CEO Robert Kyprianou has joined Gartmore as an independent non-executive director. Kyprianou retired in September last year but said he was "looking forward" to a role on th...
01 September 2010
Leading UK statisticians are questioning government plans to link the state pension and other key benefits to the consumer prices index (CPI). In a letter to the chair of the UK Statistics Authori...
01 September 2010
Standard Life today says it expects a net headcount reduction of some 500 employees over the next 15 months as it rolls out the second phase of its group restructure. It will phase out up to 600 e...
01 September 2010
The Mortgage Works (TMW) has extended its buy-to-let range to offer landlords greater choice and flexibility. The new deals include a one-year tracker with no early repayment charges (ERCs) and 80...
01 September 2010
New bank Aldermore said UK banks are using credit scoring as a "blunt tool" to turn away borrowers in their thousands. Banks have raised the credit scoring bar, said Aldermore, meaning creditwort...
01 September 2010
Over 1,500 mortgage schemes were introduced into the UK mortgage market in August indicating the biggest monthly increase in over 20 months, according to a monthly product survey from Mortgage Brain. ...
01 September 2010
A recent survey carried out by Assurant Intermediary amongst 2000 UK mortgage brokers and intermediaries has revealed that 28 percent see the internet and aggregators as one of the biggest threats to ...
01 September 2010
Conti, the UK’s leading overseas mortgage specialist, has launched a service which offers some of the best available overseas property deals from carefully chosen agents, developers and foreign banks....
