Financial adviser numbers have risen by 1,400 (4%) since the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) and the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR), ending years of decline.

The owners of UK adviser platforms and SIPP providers Transact and James Hay have tabled cash offers for competitor and SIPP provider Nucleus.

US-owned investment manager Vanguard has added a drawdown option to its SIPP-based Personal Pension plan.

SIPP provider Curtis Banks is to raise SIPP fees substantially in a major overhaul of its charges and the interest it pays on SIPP cash accounts.

I spent several hours one morning this week poring over my old G60 manual to help work out some ‘scheme specific protected tax-free cash’ calculations in respect of some pre-2006 occupational pension scheme benefits for an adviser.