FT Adviser

Alain Desmier, founder of lead generation compliance specialist Contact State, and Emma Thomson, founder of the Women in Protection network, have welcomed efforts in the insurance industry to root out the rogues but said more needs to be done. Speaking to Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor of FTAdviser, both guests urged the industry to highlight potentially misleading adverts to the regulators. "I b...

Inflation across the globe is spiralling as price of energy rises due to a worldwide squeeze on supplies. In the UK, inflation has reached 5.5 per cent - its highest level in more than a decade - and it is predicted to get even higher over the course of 2022. This surge of inflation was originally expected to be transitory but some are now reassessing this. This week FTAdviser's special projects e...

The work and pensions select committee has published a report on the five years of pension freedoms which found that savers needed more support to navigate the pension regime. Overall, the MPs found pension policy had revolved too much around pension pots rather than the individuals who were relying on this money for their later life security. The committee said the government and regulators...

During 2020, advisers cited more interest in insurance than ever before. But with figures of sales tailing off in 2021, was this just a blip on the insurance radar? Are people truly seeing the value of protection or is this simply a knee-jerk reaction to Covid? Yet one trend that is emerging is a new proactivity among younger women aged 18 to 30. How can advisers capitalise on this current sentime...

For years UK equities have been seen as laggards compared to the US. The UK market has been seen as too focused on value stocks such as banks and oil companies, with the focus on equity income often coming in for criticism. Indeed during 2021 investors pulled £4.4bn from UK equity funds. But has this changed? Since the beginning of 2022, amid rising inflation and interest rates, the Nasdaq has fal...

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme levy may be one of the issues which most vexes advisers who run their own firms. Indeed the overall FSCS levy has increased in nominal terms from less than £300m in 2011-12 to an expected levy of £717m in 2021-22. The Financial Conduct Authority has accepted this situation is not ideal and it has admitted the burden of the levy has fallen on firms which h...

As interest rates start to rise, the prospect of lockdowns recede into the past and global economies reopen, the high-growth nature of emerging markets may become particularly relevant. But investing in emerging markets is not without risk and this week, FTAdviser special projects editor David Thorpe is joined by Fahad Hassan, chief investment officer at Albermarle Street Partners, Gustoavo Medeir...

2021 was a busy year for mergers and acquisitions in the financial advice market, with consolidation fueled by private equity money continuing apace. As well as the traditional consolidators, there is now a group of start-ups looking to build national financial advice businesses through acquisition. But how much longer can this go on for? This week FTAdviser reporter Sonia Rach joined by Louise Je...

As we head into 2022, the pandemic is still ongoing. Variants are still being discovered. Travel plans are changing all the time. The UK and indeed most countries around the world have moved to hybrid working. Meanwhile, advised clients have moved house, saved money, lost money, taken out protection plans, reassessed their retirement goals and now many may feel they are at a crossroads. Where...

The start of 2022 has been an improvement on the start of 2021 - if nothing else because we can leave our homes. But last year was eventful despite the ongoing fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. Consolidation activity continued at pace, with private equity continuing to play a major role, and last year's tax reforms will give advisers plenty to think about. So what does 2022 have in store for advis...

The past couple of years have been difficult for many people in the UK and elsewhere. As a result, people have changed their plans and found their financial futures altered. So what happens when clients change their minds - either because they have to, or because they want to? How should investment portfolios be structured to help cope with big life-changing decisions? How can investors ride out t...

It has been a decade since Nutmeg launched as the first major British robo-adviser and since then, many start-ups have entered this space with the intention of disrupting investing but not all have succeeded. After several years of many private equity-backed launches, the number of new robo-advisers being launched has dried up and, if anything, the space is contracting. UBS Smartwealth, Investec C...

The collapse in bond yields and the dominance of stocks which pay little in the way of dividends has forced many medium risk investors to confront the dilemma of whether accept a lower yield or take on more risk. In this edition of the FTAdviser Podcast, sponsored by Schroders, special projects editor David Thorpe examines what these investors can do to square this circle. He is joined by Andrew M...

Pensions minister Guy Opperman has said his next plans for reform involve legislating for simpler pension statements, including a "statement season" when everyone receives their pension information at the same time of year. Opperman said he wanted it to become normal for people would meet in a place such as a pub and have a frank conversation about their pensions with their friends. But should thi...

The cost of raising a child is something many advisers discuss with clients, either on marriage or when the first child is born. Everything from funding school fees to food and clothing needs to be planned carefully. But what happens when clients are unable to conceive and need fertility treatment? How can advisers discuss this sensitive topic with their clients and help them cover the cost of con...

The return of inflation, low yields and the spread of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus have raised some awkward questions for bonds and their role in portoflios. Yield curves, often used by investors to gauge the market's expectations for growth, have been flattening recently which suggests there is widespread concern about the economic outlook. With quantitative easing coming to an end in t...

The FCA has pledged to introduce ESG rules for financial advisers, implementing a regime which would require intermediaries to take into account sustainability issues when advising clients. But what is the current regulatory situation? In this podcast sponsored by Royal London, FTAdviser special projects editor David Thorpe is joined by Ryan Medlock, senior investment development and tec...

The Chartered Insurance Institute is currently running a consultation which, it says, will help it and its members adapt to the changing world of new technology, more demanding regulation and changing attitudes among consumers. It puts forward proposals about the membership career journey and how the CII's learning and assessment could evolve. But the proposals have sparked some degree of concern...

The wealth management industry cannot solve climate change on its own, and there were significant elements missing from the Cop26 agreement, said Eoin Murray, head of investment at Federated Hermes. Speaking on the latest edition of the FTAdviser podcast about the outcome from the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, Murray said the devil was in the detail of the agreement. “So much of it is promissory and th...

The highly unusual nature of the economic recession and recovery means there are likely to be a number of “bubbles burst” in the coming years, according to this week's FTAdviser Podcast. As the global economy seeks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation is making a comeback and central banks are considering whether to increase interest rates. This week FTAdviser's special projects editor...

In October, the US Securities and Exchange Commission gave the green light to the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. This is the first US bitcoin futures-based exchange-traded fund, and for many this was seen as a turning point for cryptocurrencies when it began trading at the end of October. But the SEC drew a line in the sand just a few days later, refusing to authorise a leveraged ETF fu...

Rising inflation has prompted concerns that the UK economy is seeing the return of stagflation. Last seen in the 1970s, stagflation is characterised by stagnant growth and high inflation. The supply chain disruptions which led to fuel shortages in September and the looming rising cost of energy saw many draw parallels with the that era. Indeed, the Bank of England's new chief economist, Huw Pill,...

This week chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak hailed his second Budget of 2021 as heralding a "new age of optimism" as the UK seeks to leave the Covid-19 pandemic behind it. Are things that simple? On its surface, the Budget focused on reforming alcohol duty and business rates, and tinkering with air passenger duty, leaving many areas financial advisers might worry about unaddressed. But with...

October 2021 marked the start of regulatory scrutiny over pay gap data reporting. Many companies have already reported, while others are still to unveil their data. Yet even with regulatory pressure to disclose the level of the so-called gender pay gap, many companies still seem unwilling to be as transparent as they could be. It is known that gender pay disparity leads to financial ineq...

With the stamp duty holiday at an end and the Budget taking place next week, what does the future hold for stamp duty? Regularly referred to as the UK's "worst tax", stamp duty is regularly seen as in need of reform. But did the Covid-19 stamp duty holiday, which ended this month and saw receipts increase to £12.3bn, make reform any likelier? Hosted by Damian Fantato, digital editor at FTAdviser,...