Popular News
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FCA reassures Hartley clients after ‘concerning’ letter
The Financial Conduct Authority has reassured Hartley Pensions clients following a letter sent by the joint administrators over the unauthorised movement of monies from their SIPPs by Hartley.
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Annuity misconceptions remain despite rise in sales
Almost half, 48%, of over-50s are unfamiliar with what lifetime annuities are and how they compare to other annuity products.
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FCA delays SDR for portfolio managers
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has delayed its plans to apply sustainability disclosure requirements (SDR) to portfolio managers.
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Industry urged to probe pensioner spending habits
Pension providers have been urged to find out more about post-retirement spending as new research suggests homeowners’ and renters’ drawdown habits are very different.
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Single pensioners need £225K more for ‘moderate’ retirement
Single pensioners need £225,000 more in their pension pot than couples to achieve a ‘moderate’ standard of living in retirement.
Latest Blog
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James Jones-Tinsley: Aiming for an advice-guidance sweetspot
As Nikhil Rathi is reappointed as CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for another five years, the FCA has set out its strategic direction for 2025/26, with important implications for financial advisers.
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Martin Tilley: FCA must grapple growth v regulation question
In late December, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tasked 10 regulators with removing ‘barriers to growth’ in order to attach the jump leads to the UK economy. On 16 January, the FCA wrote a letter to the Government to outline their plans to support the growth agenda.
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Lisa Webster: Over-taxation of pensions remains an issue
HMRC’s January pension schemes newsletter announced changes to tax codes for pensions, and a few headlines followed proclaiming HMRC had finally fixed the over-taxation issue. It would be fantastic if that was the case, but despite nearly 10 years of getting it wrong, the problem isn’t resolved yet.
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Lisa Webster: Divorce impact on lump sums raises question
The lifetime allowance may have been consigned to the annals of history but the various forms of protection are still relevant in the new world, especially when it comes to the amount of pension commencement lump sum (PCLS) that can be taken.
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Martin Tilley: How education can tackle pension scams
The dark reality of pension scams is that we don’t really know how common they are. Fraud is a crime which tends to have low reporting events and with pension scams, it’s no different. The emotional toll can be as large as the financial, with some people being too embarrassed to report that they have been the victim of a scam.
ofAlmost one in ten (9%) of investors said that the source of information they have increased the most to help manage their investments is social media, with 7% now regarding it as their most important source of information.
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) is creating three new investment company sectors as part of a sector reshuffle.
SIPP provider Curtis Banks has revealed the top technical queries its support team received in 2020.
The FCA has begun civil proceeding in the High Court against Paul Steel for providing unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice.
It has also secured in interim injunction which freezes the assets of both Mr Steel and his partner Ms Foster up to the value of £7m, pending a further hearing.
The regulator said Mr Steel’s firm, Estate Matters Financial (in liquidation), contravened the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by providing unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice, leading consumers to exit defined benefit pension schemes when it was not in their best interests to do so.
The regulator added that Mr Steel, Estate Matters Financial’s director and co-owner, was knowingly concerned in the contravention.
The FCA alleges that Mr Steel breached FCA requirements by undertaking a course of conduct which resulted in the removal of the firm’s assets, leaving it unable to meet potential liabilities for unsuitable advice, while enabling him to retain the significant profits that accrued from the provision of the advice and from ongoing fees.
An injunction was also obtained against Ms Foster on the basis that she may be holding or controlling assets owned by her partner Mr Steel.
The FCA has also asked the Court to make a restitution order requiring Mr Steel to compensate consumers who have suffered losses as a result of receiving unsuitable pension transfer advice.
No trial date has been set.
Wealth Manager Charles Stanley, which has a substanial SIPP arm, has removed VAT from its Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) across its Dynamic Passive, Blended and Multi-manager models.
Private equity-owned platform James Hay is to buy rival Nucleus Financial for £145m in an all-cash deal announced today.