News In Brief
Equity release advisers need to double
The number of equity release advisers needs to double by 2020 to meet growing demand, Bower Retirement Services has claimed, writes Richard Eagling.
According to their calculations, if the market continues to expand at the current rate of growth, the total number of equity release customers will hit 11,300 in Q4 2020, almost double the 5,700 seen in Q4 2014. This means that the number of equity release advisers (assuming they’re already working at maximum capacity) will also need to double to cope: 1,580 could potentially be required by 2020, meaning the industry could need to recruit around 800 new advisers in the next five years.
“Over the last year, equity release has moved into the limelight as a vital solution to help people fund their retirement,” said Geoff Charles of Bower. “The challenge now is for the equity release sector to keep up with this expansion in demand… the sector could be constrained by a lack of active qualified professionals if growth continues at the current rate.”
Barings unveils Strategic Bond Fund
Baring Asset Management has converted the Baring Global Bond Trust into a flexible fixed income product aimed at delivering consistent performance across different market environments, writes Tim Leonard.
The Baring Strategic Bond Fund, which will not be tied to a benchmark, will be managed by Guy Dunham, Head of Global Aggregate, and Richard Balfour, Fixed Income Investment Manager. The fund will be unconstrained in its remit and draw from a wide range of sources, including government and sovereign bonds in developed and emerging markets, investment grade and high yield corporate bonds, currencies and derivatives.
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Call for transaction cost evidence as pension charge cap confirmed
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have called for evidence on the disclosure of transaction cost information for workplace pension schemes, as the final rules requiring firms to implement a charge cap for default funds used for automatic enrolment were also confirmed, writes Tim Leonard.
With Independent Governance Committees (IGCs) and pension scheme trustees being required to report annually on the costs and charges involved in managing and investing the pension pots of scheme members from April, the FCA and DWP are seeking views to feed into the next phase of this work, which looks at how information about transaction costs should be reported in a standardised, comparable format.
Opinion is being sought on what costs should be included in the transaction cost reporting, how such costs should be captured and reported, and whether
information about other factors that impact on investment return should also be provided. How IGCs and trustees will receive costs information and whether additional disclosure requirements on other parties are necessary to enable this, and when, how and in what format members and/or other prescribed persons should receive transaction cost information is also up for discussion.
The call came at the same time as it was confirmed that from 6 April firms providing workplace pension schemes used by employers for automatic enrolment will have to cap the charges within default funds to 0.75% per year of funds under management. Firms will also be prevented from paying or receiving consultancy charges and paying commission for advice not expressly agreed by scheme members. The practice of charging active and deferred members of schemes differently based on whether they are contributing to the scheme or not is also being prohibited.
LV= to launch new retirement income proposition
LV= is set to launch an online retirement proposition allowing advisers to tailor multiple product solutions, including drawdown and annuity products, together in a single application and policy, writes Tim Leonard.
Encompassing a number of tools, the LV= Retirement Account will provide a quote summary showing the combined solution of multi-product quotations. Within the proposition, the already launched LV= Retirement Pathfinder modelling tool will help demonstrate the full range of retirement options.
Advisers can project how long a client’s money will last, how long the client will be
expected to live, and which type of product or combination of products may be most appropriate. The tool allows advisers to create a detailed retirement options report for their clients based on the level of income they want to achieve, as well as the amount of flexibility or guarantee they require dependent on their individual needs, risk appetite and tax position.
Supporting the Retirement Account, and available to use from 7 April, will be a new online service, called Retirement View, which will provide the ability to quote and apply for a single or combination of LV= policies online through one paperless and signatureless application.
Currency 1st March 2015
AUS $ US $ £ £ £ €
HK $ ¥
US $ US $ SIN $ SFr €
US $ €
5898.48 18132.70 6946.66 3812.77 3744.26 11401.70 24823.29 18797.94 4963.53 2104.50 3402.86 9014.53 4951.48 4440.67 3599.00
1st March 2014
5415.45 16321.71 6809.70 3730.07 3666.66 9692.08 22836.96 14841.07 4308.12 1859.45 3110.78 8475.33 4408.08 3696.10 3149.23
All indices displayed in local currencies Source: Lipper Ltd 8 Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts ® March 2015
1st March 2013
5120.38 14054.49 6360.81 3417.40 3349.39 7741.70 23020.27 11559.36 3160.19 1514.68 3269.95 7593.67 3723.00 2738.58 2633.55
1st March 2012
4388.08 12952.07 5871.51 3112.38 3043.91 6856.08 21680.08 9723.24 2966.89 1365.68 2994.06 6109.93 3452.45 2623.10 2512.11
1st March 2011
4922.60 12226.34 5994.01 3174.53 3106.58 7272.32 23338.02 10624.09 2782.27 1327.22 3010.51 6610.44 4110.35 2350.99 3013.09
1st March 2010
4651.11 10325.26 5354.52 2798.33 2736.80 5598.46 20608.70 10126.03 2238.26 1104.49 2750.86 6710.99 3708.80 1818.68 2728.47
1st March 2005
4156.50 10766.23 4968.50 2537.38 2495.46 4350.49 14195.35 11740.60 2051.72 1203.60 2033.93 5931.30 4027.16 1511.02 3058.32
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