Press Releases

Financial services is such a quickly evolving world that it is rarely surprising when some new piece of terminology suddenly starts being bandied about within the marketplace. Anyone with even a passing interest in the SIPP market cannot have failed to notice that one of the terms of the moment is “esoteric investments”.

www.mailonsunday.co.uk - Pension payouts slashed by a third as drawdown savers are hit by more eurozone chaos

www.financialplanneronline.co.uk - Cover feature: Sipps and RDR

www.thisismoney.co.uk - Is your low-cost investment up-to-scratch? How to pick a tracker fund that does what it say on the tin

www.ftadviser.com - A platform for debate

The FSA has published a number of RDR related documents covering platforms over recent years with the latest paper in the consultation process being released in late June.

www.telegraph.co.uk - DIY pensions to cut costs and boost your retirement fund – not fat cats' bonuses

www.telegraph.co.uk - Income drawdown Pensioners face further cuts

www.ftadviser.com - Standard Life launches fully unbundled share class

www.financialplanneronline.co.uk - Sippcentre comments on FSAs platform paper

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Andy Bell: The FSA must not stop at Platforms

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - FSA looking at widening rebates ban to life offices

A J Bell today announces the appointment of Mike Morrison as Head of Platform Marketing.

www.spliceconsulting.co.uk - Strike One to AJ Bell’s Sippcentre in Battle for Mid-Market SIPPs

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Mike Morrison quits Axa Wealth for AJ Bell

www.citywire.co.uk - AXA Wealth's Mike Morrison joins AJ Bell

www.financialplanneronline.co.uk - Advisers favour Standard Life and Sippcentre as Sipp providers - poll

www.ftadviser.com - Mike Morrison to leave Axa Wealth to join AJ Bell

www.ifaonline.co.uk - Mike Morrison quits Axa Wealth for AJ Bell

www.ftadviser.com - Advisers like the idea of unbundling: AJ Bell

www.ifaonline.co.uk - IFAs reveal SIPP Market Choices

www.citywire.co.uk - Outsourcing Investment: Why Ebor uses Close Brothers

www.mailonsunday.co.uk - Time called on 'free investing' as FSA moves to ban platform commission but it will mean more upfront fees for investors

Research announced today by A J Bell shows that clean unbundled pricing will be favoured by the majority of advisers post RDR.

www.ftadviser.com - Two thirds of advisers prefer unbundled pricing, study

www.citywire.co.uk - Wrap factfiles Sippcentre at a glance

www.thriveinsurance.com - An overview of how Sippdeal SIPP works

www.investorschronicle.co.uk - De-Risking your ISA or SIPP

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Charging confusion after HMRC has costs rethink

Andy Bell, Chief Executive of platform provider A J Bell has launched a new monthly newsletter providing a round-up of his views on some of the key issues being faced by clients of the adviser community.

The eagerly anticipated “Platform” paper recently published was broadly as expected. It is hard to be critical of the FSA as the consultation is borne out of a desire to genuinely understand the platform market.

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Amps rejects FSA Sipp disclosure proposals

www.ftadviser.co.uk - Market view: Misplaced focus on projection rates?

Before debating the case for a change to the rules on how drawdown income is calculated, it’s necessary to understand the true nature and scale of the problem. A client scenario that we dealt with earlier this year should help to set the scene.

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Bankrupt thinking

www.ft.com - Debate: Are drawdown limits too low?

www.ifaonline.co.uk - Is income drawdown a ticking timebomb?

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Skandia assets top £40bn as total platform assets near £200bn

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Moret wants Sipp scope to be restricted

www.citywire.co.uk - The Wrap Factfiles: All you need to know about Sippcentre

www.pensioncalculator.org - SIPPs: More Protection for Bankrupt Investors

www.ifaonline.co.uk - The case for income drawdown

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - FSA gets tougher on DB transfers

I remain firmly of the view that the current rules are overly harsh and believe drawdown limits need to be fundamentally reviewed to ensure the balance between flexibility of income and risk protection is appropriate.

Income withdrawal or drawdown pension remains a popular retirement option despite a number of high profile policy and regulatory issues that seem to be hogging the headlines.

www.telegraph.co.uk - What's best? An ISA or a pension?

www.ft.com - Pension savers choose the DIY route

www.citywire.co.uk - Five minute adviser profile: Mark Begg of Mark Begg Asset Management

www.telegraph.co.uk - SIPP - a low-cost way to save for your future

www.ft.com - Government urged to act on savings

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Nest to simplify its projection rules

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Platforms confident on equal treatment on payments ban

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - We need a fundamental review of projection rates

www.ftadviser.com - SIPPs can provide safety from bankruptcy rules

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - PwC survey backs cut in regulator's projection rates

www.thisismoney.co.uk - Pensioners who saved diligently for years to see payout income slashed by up to 60%

Platform provider A J Bell has today highlighted a potential benefit of investing through a SIPP or SSAS following the Raithatha vs Williamson bankruptcy ruling at the High Court.

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - ABI plea to ease drawdown rules

www.citywire.co.uk - SIPP providers plan standard illustration to allay FSA concerns

www.money-marketuk.com - Investor's Corner: Maximising income from your pension fund

A J Bell today announces the appointment of John Cummings as a Consultant within the firm’s Platinum SIPP and SSAS consultancy team.

As we approach the end of the second year of the Coalition Government it does feel a little like pensions, as an industry, has survived for another year. This is in spite of the fact that most, myself included, are positive about the changes the Government has introduced.

www.PensionCalculator.org - Pension Release: 10 Year Moratorium on Changes To Pensions

www.Pensions-Insight.co.uk - AJ Bell appeals for moratorium on pension change

www.mooreandsmalley.co.uk - ISAs: Have you made the most of your allowance?

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - AJ Bell appeals for moratorium on pension change

www.pensionsworld.co.uk - ISAs top personal pensions

www.ActuarialPost.co.uk - AJ Bell calls for a pension moratorium

www.ftadviser.com - 50 for 50: Andy Bell

www.investorschronicle.co.uk - Shopping for the best ISA provider

www.professionalpensions.co.uk - Budget 2012: What to watch out for

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Annual allowance cut would be another blow to DB schemes

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Industry dismay at FSA SIPP disclosure plan

www.ifaonline.co.uk - Are SIPPs the answer to the public savings problem

www.ftadviser.com - AJ Bell warning on plan to cut pension tax relief

www.pensionsage.com - Moratorium on pension rule changes key to future success - Bell

www.ifaonline.co.uk - HMRC urged to clarify annual allowance charge rules

www.menmedia.co.uk - AJ Bell chief in warning to George Osborne over pension tax relief

Andy Bell, Chief Executive of platform provider A J Bell has today called on the Government to include a moratorium on changing key pension rules, to last for at least a decade, in the forthcoming Budget.

www.citywire.co.uk - Pensions vs ISAs: which is best for retirement?

www.ft.com - Savers rush to beat pension cap

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Equity ISAs gaining ground on pensions

www.ft.com - Pension contributions offer mixed blessings in Budget

www.ftadviser.com - Complex pensions fall behind stocks and shares ISAs - ONS

www.ft.com - Pension tax breaks on Osborne's radar

In response to the FSA’s Consultation Paper 12/5, platform provider A J Bell today urges the FSA to extend its disclosure proposals further. A J Bell recommends that the FSA extends the rules to cover all investment vehicles with similar charging models, and which may also be used for long term/retirement savings, such as platforms, ISAs, General Investment Accounts, investment bonds and discretionary fund management services.

www.ftadviser.com - FSA urged to extend disclosure rules beyond pensions

www.thisismoney.co.uk - Savers reject pensions in favour of 'simple' ISAs by diverting billions of pounds

www.investorschronicle.co.uk - Jump-start your JISA

www.moneyfacts.co.uk - ISA funding storms past pensions

www.moneywise.co.uk - Investors shun pensions for simplicity of ISAs

www.which4u.co.uk - Brits investing more into ISAs than pensions

Choosing the right retirement product for a client is one of the hardest decisions an adviser will face when constructing a portfolio. Gareth James looks at the SIPP vs PP debate uncovering why SIPPs can be a lot more cost-effective than first thought.

For the first time since 2001/2, Britons saved more into stocks and shares ISAs than personal pensions last tax year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics released today showed that £14.28bn was saved into personal pensions (excluding stakeholder) in the 2010/11 tax year compared to £15.837bn saved into stocks and shares ISAs in the same tax year.

Platform provider A J Bell today welcomed the Chancellor’s Budget confirmation that pension tax reliefs would not be subject to significant reform.

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - HMRC concern at low take-up of pension protection

www.telegraph.co.uk - Tax breaks on up to £18000 lump sums for traditional couples from 'triviality rules'

www.citywire.co.uk - Adviser Week: SIPP suitabililty under the microscope

www.moneymarketing.co.uk - Head to head: Has the SIPP market plateaued?

www.telegraph.co.uk - 10 last-minute tips to cut your tax bill