Last month marked five years since the final report of the Financial Advice Market Review was published. The review was commissioned by HM Treasury to find measures to close the advice gap and enable the development of affordable and accessible financial advice - but in the five years since not much has changed and by some measures the advice gap has actually grown. And earlier this year the government was forced to admit one of the measures introduced following the review - the pensions advice ...
Apr 16, 2021•31 min
Pensions taxation in the UK has been tinkered around with for years. Over the decades, different laws have shaped pensions legislation, making what should be a simple concept – helping people to save more for their retirement – extremely complicated. With this in mind, Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor of FTAdviser, spoke with three industry specialists to ask them to think the unthinkable about pensions. If they were chancellor, what changes would they make and why? Joining FTAdviser In Focus on ...
Apr 13, 2021•35 min
Since 2007, the number of private-rented households has grown by 60% as house prices have soared but incomes stagnated following the financial crisis. This growing cohort of renters has become known as 'Generation Rent', but what does this mean for the protection market? Homeowners across the UK are already underprotected and renters even more so, but since protection is traditionally sold at the point of a house purchase, what does the decline of home-ownership mean for consumers, brokers and i...
Apr 09, 2021•36 min
Last week HM Treasury published a raft of consultations into tax policy, in a follow-up to the Budget which was branded 'tax day'. But like many sequels, it didn't quite live up to the hype. While some were anticipating changes to inheritance tax and capital gains tax - and there were even rumours of significant reform to pensions tax relief - in reality most of the Treasury's proposals were administrative in nature. This week FTAdviser's digital editor Damian Fantato is joined by Claire Trott, ...
Apr 01, 2021•27 min
The role of pensions minister tends to change hands regularly but since his appointment in 2017 Guy Opperman has become the second-longest serving person in that position - second to Sir Steve Webb. Earlier this year he guided the Pensions Act into law, which included long-awaited rules around pension dashboards, collective defined contribution schemes, and new powers for The Pensions Regulator. This week FTAdviser's pensions reporter Amy Austin has a chat with Opperman about the plans to reasse...
Mar 26, 2021•23 min
The past few years have been a turbulent one for British companies, with the Brexit negotiations followed by coronavirus lockdowns. And the UK is often caricatured as home to big financial services or commodities companies - many of which face structural challenges - but not to tech start-ups. But what opportunities are there in the UK? In this special edition of the FTAdviser Podcast, sponsored by Schroders, FTAdviser digital editor Damian Fantato examines what the outlook is for UK listed comp...
Mar 24, 2021•28 min
Inheritance tax is being lined up for a long-overdue overhaul, following recommendations by the Office for Tax Simplification. Wryly described as a ‘voluntary tax’, the limits have barely been touched for over a decade, while only minor tinkering around residential nil rate bands has been part of Budget announcements in recent years. But all this is about to change - and advisers whose clients may get caught up in the increasingly complicated web of IHT planning will need to know various ways to...
Mar 22, 2021•30 min
Exactly a year ago, prime minister Boris Johnson began placing the UK into lockdown, closing pubs, cafes and restaurants as the coronavirus pandemic took hold. A few days later he would tell the UK population to stay at home. A year on from these dramatic events, many advisers have changed the way they run their businesses and meet their clients. On this week's podcast, FTAdviser digital editor Damian Fantato talks to three firms of different sizes about how they have coped and what they have le...
Mar 19, 2021•42 min
Last week chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak announced an extension to the stamp duty holiday and a government guarantee scheme to encourage lenders to start offering high loan-to-value mortgages again, after the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. This week Damian Fantato, digital editor of FTAdviser, is joined by Danny Belton, head of lender relationships at Legal & General Mortgage Club, and David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages, to discuss whether this is enou...
Mar 12, 2021•23 min
The events of the past 12 months have made many previously mundane things, such as going to the supermarket, more complicated. One thing that was already fairly complex but has been made more complicated is transitioning into retirement. From volatile investment markets to the changing employment opportunities for semi-retirees and the potential for having to support younger members of the family - many things have changed over the course of 2020. In this special edition of the FTAdviser Podcast...
Mar 10, 2021•33 min
This week chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak his second Budget as the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine across the UK gives hope of a return to some degree of normality over the summer. Despite unveiling plenty of schemes to demonstrate how much he was investing in the UK economy, Sunak made clear that the bills racked up during the pandemic would soon be coming due. This meant several revenue-raising initiatives were announces, including an increase in corporation tax, frozen thresholds o...
Mar 05, 2021•24 min
As we approach the end of the tax year, clients inevitably kick-start their tax planning. Perhaps we’d wish them to do this earlier, but let’s face it, tax isn’t the easiest thing for most people to grapple with as a concept. This FTAdviser in Focus podcast explores why tax can be so tricky to tackle. The panel talks to Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor for FTAdviser, about the language of tax reliefs, duties and allowances, and why education needs to start earlier. The panel also discusses how fi...
Mar 01, 2021•23 min
Over the past year working from home as gone from being a niche lifestyle, to something workers up and down the UK are doing every day. Offices across the UK are empty, along with bars, restaurants and other hospitality premises. And on top of this many are shopping from the comfort of their own sofas. But what does this mean for investors in commercial property and for those using it as a diversifier in a portfolio? This week FTAdviser special projects editor David Thorpe discusses this issue w...
Feb 26, 2021•32 min
FTAdviser In Focus has been looking at all aspects of vulnerability, and one of the biggest ways in which vulnerability has been made manifest is in the rise of scam activity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Across social media, rogue lead generation adverts have popped up, often making outlandish claims about premiums. Meanwhile, calls from outright scammers – as well as lead generators – have targeted people in their homes, claiming to be getting them a better deal on their life insurance. What d...
Feb 22, 2021•32 min
There are many changes caused by the coronavirus crisis that were perhaps predictable at the start of the pandemic — a shift to working from home, a rise in home gym sales and far too many banana breads being baked. But one that was perhaps less easy to forecast was the rise in DIY investing and day trading. Retail platforms have experienced a huge wave of new clients, equity trades have more than doubled, and the recent Gamestop battle between amateur investors and hedge funds caused a trading ...
Feb 19, 2021•28 min
The market for providing advice on defined benefit transfers has shrunk by 46% over the past few years, as insurance costs and regulatory changes take their toll - and there are concerns this will be exacerbated by the contingent charging ban, which came into effect in October 2020. So what does it take for a financial advice firm to continue to provide financial advice? This week, reporter Amy Austin talks to two advisers who have remained in the market: Alistair Cunningham of Wingate Financial...
Feb 12, 2021•23 min
The Financial Conduct Authority is keen to make sure financial services companies are treating customers fairly and paying mind to whether the client is potentially vulnerable. But has Covid made us all fall into this category at some level? This is not just relevant at the time of the initial consultation but also ongoing – are our investments that we chose three years ago still suitable? Are they going to be suitable in three or five or even seven years' time? How does one best assess investme...
Feb 09, 2021•36 min
Attempting to launch a new financial advice firm is tricky at the best of times, but doing it during a global pandemic - amid lockdowns and social distancing - might be another level of challenge. And that's before you take into account the economic uncertainty which 2020 saw. But this week on the FTAdviser Podcast, reporter Rachel Mortimer talks to two advisers who did just that. Joining her to discuss how they launched their firms during 2020 are Alister Gaines, a chartered financial planner a...
Feb 05, 2021•27 min
Last month the Financial Conduct Authority published its review of the financial advice market post-RDR and FAMR, in which it raised concern about the lack of competitive pressure advisers face, as well as "significant" clustering of fees which, the regulator said, suggested the advice market was not "well-functioning". This week FTAdviser's digital editor Damian Fantato is joined by Tim Fassam, director of government relations and policy at adviser trade body Pimfa, and Alasdair Walker, a chart...
Jan 29, 2021•35 min•Ep. 119
One of the side effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and the lockdowns which have been introduced to curb the spread of the virus, has been low inflation. During 2020 inflation reached its lowest point for five years and since April 2020 it has only once gone above 1 per cent. But as vaccines are rolled out and the prospect of a return to normality looms larger, what can advisers expect during 2021? FTAdviser special projects editor David Thorpe talks to Phil Smeaton, chief investment officer at...
Jan 22, 2021•39 min
A lack of good financial education has often been cited as the reason for people's financial ill-preparedness. So, in 2021, how can advisers encourage their clients - and their client's young children - to form good money habits? Furthermore, if education about managing one's finances begins at school or even younger, what sort of helpful tips might advisers share with clients to help them get their own children off to a flying start? Speaking to Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor for FTAdviser, ab...
Jan 15, 2021•34 min
In the first episode of 2021, FTAdviser digital editor Damian Fantato is joined by reporters Imogen Tew, Rachel Mortimer, Chloe Cheung and Amy Austin to discuss what the upcoming year might have in store for financial advisers. First Damian and Imogen discuss property funds and the impact the Financial Conduct Authority's new rules might have, as well as continuing M&A activity in the platform space and an outlook for the year ahead. Then Rachel considers whether the coronavirus pandemic has...
Jan 08, 2021•23 min
Few people will look back fondly on 2020, but amid the panic and the pandemic there were many important lessons - both personal and financial. Joining Simoney Kyriakou, editor of Financial Adviser, on the final FTAdviser Podcast of 2020 are four panellists from a cross-section of the financial services industry: pensions, protection, mortgages and investments. They talk about the way in which their sectors have reacted to and met the challenges of 2020, and what lessons consumers and market prac...
Dec 18, 2020•34 min
There has been a raft of mergers and acquisitions in the asset management and platform space as waves of consolidation continue to grip both markets. In the asset management sector, major names like Jupiter and Merian have come together, while adviser platforms continue to be snapped up by big asset managers and private equity firms alike. Both industries are experiencing a downward pressure on fees and many firms within the market have seen a difficult year as assets under management tumbled in...
Dec 11, 2020•35 min
Providing first-class service to clients has been a challenge during 2020 as the pandemic unfolded - but that doesn't mean it has been impossible. Technology and communication were two of the most crucial elements to ensuring top-class client and adviser service, according to the panellists taking part in the Financial Adviser Service Awards 2020 podcast - which is sponsored by More2life. Simoney Kyriakou, editor of Financial Adviser, was joined by Stuart Wilson, corporate marketing director at ...
Dec 09, 2020•34 min
The coronavirus crisis has created a "perfect storm" in which scammers can target victims distanced from their support network, according to the guests on the latest edition of the FTAdviser Podcast. This week reporter Rachel Mortimer talks to Myron Jobson, personal finance campaigner at Interactive Investor, and Simon Harrington, senior policy adviser at Pimfa, about the targets scammers have spotted during the pandemic, why social distancing can hamper attempts to stop scams and what advisers ...
Dec 04, 2020•27 min
The outcome of this year's US presidential election is now a little clearer, but with a pandemic still raging and a trade war between China there is plenty for an incoming Biden administration to address - and plenty of unknowns for investors. In this special edition of the FTAdviser Podcast sponsored by Schroders, special projects editor David Thorpe talks to Keith Wade, chief economist at Schroders, Paul O'Connor, multi-asset fund manager at Janus Henderson, and Stephen Bell, managing director...
Dec 02, 2020•38 min
Tax planning forms a fundamental part of the financial advice process, from tax efficient investing to gifting and inheritance tax arrangements. And with chancellor Rishi Sunak facing nearly a £400bn shortfall due to the coronavirus crisis, many are expecting tax hikes as early as next year with the capital gains structure already in the crosshairs. So, what effect has the pandemic had on tax planning, and what does the future look like for advisers going forward? In this episode, reporter Imoge...
Nov 27, 2020•38 min•Ep. 111
As people live longer, advisers are not only having to figure out how to fund their clients' ever-longer retirements, but also address the possibility of having to fund the rising cost of social care. Government's of different colours have made several aborted attempts to help people fund their care needs but none have made it into reality. Last year prime minister Boris Johnson promised to fix social care "for once and for all" but no plans have been forthcoming. So in this week's episode, repo...
Nov 20, 2020•37 min•Ep. 110
Environmental, social and governance Factors are being applied across preexisting portfolios and new funds and trackers are being created along ESG lines. But how far do the E, the S and the G go in determining what is a good investment, and what is merely a good ambition? What really makes it worthwhile for an adviser or investor in interrogating what the ESG credentials of a fund or stock really are? Joining Simoney Kyriakou, editor of Financial Adviser on the FTAdviser Podcast to discuss thes...
Nov 13, 2020•27 min•Ep. 109
