FT Adviser

Proprietary adviser platforms have their place but are they right for every advice firm? This FTAdviser In Focus podcast chats to Mike Barrett, consulting director at the Lang Cat, and David Ferguson, founder of Nucleus and new CEO of platform technology provider Seccl, about what advisers need to have in place to run an in house platform, how they can benefit from running a proprietary platf...

Last month, in the Queen’s speech, the government announced plans to bring in new legislation to "strengthen" the UK's financial services industry and ensure it acts "in the interest of all people and communities". This will be achieved through a financial services and markets bill which will be introduced the coming year. In this week's podcast, FTAdviser deputy editor Damian Fanato speaks to Lan...

In this episode of the FTAdviser In Focus podcast First Wealth's Anthony Villis and Square Mile's Tom Poulter discuss the price of investing. Has the cost of passive investing reached its nadir? Or is there room for further price drops? We also discuss adviser take-up of passive funds and a booming ESG interest. The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics...

With inflation soaring, interest rates rising and waves of economic and geopolitical uncertainty hitting the equities and bonds, investors can’t be blamed for struggling to find returns. In this week's podcast, FTAdviser's investment reporter Sally Hickey speaks to Sam Dovey, head of research at Ravenscroft, and Ian Brady, chief investment officer at WH Ireland, about where to find real returns, w...

The war in Ukraine has led to a spike in the Geopolitical Risk Index not seen since 9/11, but while some investors are responding to the long-lasting shifts, others are warning against getting whiplashed, as "geopolitical shocks can work both ways". Speaking on the latest FTAdviser In Focus podcast about the effects of geopolitics on investments and what it means for other mega-trends is Will...

The Financial Conduct Authority has warned advisers it needs to look again at the equity release market to make sure it is working in the best interests of consumers. This would be the second time the regulator has looked into this rapidly growing market to make sure it is working as it should. So this week FTAdviser reporter Ruby Hinchliffe is joined by David Forsdyke, head of later life at Knigh...

Advisers who chose to ignore crypto may have missed the development the market has undergone in recent years, as demand for the assets soared, prompting many regulators to take notice. In this podcast, which is worth 45 minutes of CPD, we will discover how crypto investing has come of age, what trends we are seeing in this market currently, and how advisers might look to position themselves as the...

Mental health is a topic which, in recent years, has come to the forefront of discussion at many businesses for the first time in history. Particularly following a global pandemic, which, for much of us, took a serious toll on our mental states. In 2020/21, work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 50 per cent of all work-related ill health, according to the most recent government f...

Financial advice has come a long way over the years, more so after technology during the pandemic has evolved the way we all live.  The ability to have everything at the click of a button means clients expectations from financial advisers and firms will be fast moving. Speaking to FTAdviser on this podcast, two experts discuss the ‘Amazonification’ of the client experience and where we are at...

Britain's housing market is broken and the property bull market could soon turn into a bear, mortgage advisers told FTAdviser in March this year. Eye-watering increases in the cost of living, combined with every-high house prices and wage growth that is low by comparison to both inflation and the rate of house price increases in some parts of Britain, have led advisers to question how sustainable...

Emerging markets may be considered less risky to invest in now, compared with the past, but they face a number of headwinds. Borrowing to tackle the pandemic has left many facing sovereign debt worries. Additionally, China continues to be a drag on the EM investment sector, exacerbated by its zero-Covid policy. In this special edition of the FTAdviser Podcast, sponsored by Schroders, deputy f...

Reforming networks’ appointed representative models is high on the Financial Conduct Authority’s agenda this year, and it’s been a subject of much controversy since the publication of the watchdog’s consultation in March. According to the FCA, networks generate between 50 and 400 per cent more complaints and supervisory cases on behalf of themselves and their members than firms which are not netwo...

Rising inflation and interest rates mean 2022 started with heightened volatility, which has not let up since. So what does this mean for investors? This week, FTAdviser contributing editor David Thorpe is joined by Peter Fitzgerald, total return fund manager at Aviva Investors and Peter Doherty, fixed income investor at Sanlam, to discuss how then are approaching the issue. They discuss how sure w...

Platforms have reached another inflection point. Most, if not all, major advised platforms have upgraded their technology now, as the calls from advisers grow louder for better integration and more easily attainable routes to data. This means platforms, theoretically, have the tools they need now to truly start innovating for advisers.  Meanwhile, a number of customised platform providers hav...

In this episode of the FTAdviser In Focus podcast, in partnership with Wisdom Tree, we take a look at governance - the G in ESG. Whether it is diverse representation on boards, strategic considerations, political lobbying or cyber risk management, governance plays an important role in how businesses are being run. Done well, corporate governance could mean long-term better performance fo...

A few weeks ago the Spring Statement was expected to be an uneventful macroeconomic update, but the war in Ukraine and spiralling cost of living meant chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak had to take action. This he did by cutting the national insurance contribution threshold by £3,000, cutting fuel duty by 5p a litre and pledging to cut the base rate if income tax to 19p in 2024. In this week'...

UK investors put £37bn into environmental, social and governance funds during 2021, continuing the trend of these funds attracting huge amounts of money. But at the start of 2022, rising inflation and interest rates meant the growth stocks which tend to populate ESG funds underperformed. Indeed the MSCI ACWI ESG Universal index has outperformed the MSCI World index in each of the past five years b...

Impact investing is a term within the ESG eco-system which describes investing only in the instruments of companies that have a measurably positive impact on society.  This distinguishes impact investing from other forms of ESG, which can be more focused on excluding companies on the basis of specific harm caused.  But impact investing does have the same challenges as any other kind of E...

This month, the government has finally succumbed to pressure from the industry and included paid-for adverts in the scope of the online safety bill. Essentially, this means social media platforms and search engines will have a legal duty to prevent paid-for fraudulent adverts appearing on their services. This is in the hope that fewer people will be scammed via this method. This week FTAdviser new...

On this episode of the FTAdviser In Focus podcast we discuss how advisers can use Venture Capital Trusts and Enterprise Investment Schemes to make some last minute tax savings for their clients as we approach the tax year end. Both offer generous tax breaks while promising to be socially rewarding. But what are the perks and pitfalls of working with these assets, and should you ever let the tax ta...

It is no secret the UK housing market is facing one of its biggest supply crises yet. At the start of this year there were 350,980 properties for sale in the UK, 36 per cent fewer than at the start of 2020. As the number of houses available to buyers remains low, house prices have simply continued to rise. In this podcast, FTAdviser is joined by Imran Hussain, a Nottingham-based broker at Harmony...

Allowances and exemptions can amount to considerable savings and should be considered by every adviser looking to optimise tax savings ahead of the tax year end. But what's on offer, how can they be combined and should advisers prioritise one over the other? Carmen Reichman chats to Shaun Moore, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, about which allowances advisers should be looking at and...

Abridged advice was launched in 2019 to help clients decide whether to go ahead with a defined benefit transfer as part of the Financial Conduct Authority's bid to put an end to unsuitable DB transfers. But has it worked? This week FTAdviser news editor Amy Austin is joined by Fiona Tait, technical director of Intelligent Pensions, and Simon Harrington, senior policy adviser at trade body Pimfa, t...

We are fast approaching the end of the tax year. The tax burden is at its highest in 70 years and from April household incomes are further squeezed by higher rates of National Insurance, higher energy bills and a stubbornly high inflation rate. So what do advisers make of this? What are the tips and tricks for some last minute savings and what does every adviser need to know about the tax year end...

Justin King, chartered financial planner at MFP Wealth Management, Philip Martin, managing director at Unique Financial Planning and Christian Tomaszewski, financial planner at Timothy James & Partners joined Sonia Rach, senior reporter at FTAdviser, to discuss how inflation impacts financial planners. Martin said the industry, and media, needs to think more long-term when it comes to inflatio...