August top 10 stories

The Consumer Duty should end active management

The Consumer Duty, which sets higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services, should put an end to financial advisers putting their clients in active funds. This is because passive funds, which track a market index, have been shown to outperform active funds over the long term. Rockwealth head of client education Robin Powell said that it is becoming harder to make a case for active management, and that many financial advice firms are still advocating it despite the evidence.

Aegon UK takes on Nationwide’s financial planning service

Aegon UK has extended its strategic partnership with Nationwide Building Society to take on the building society’s existing financial planning service. The transfer is expected to be completed in early 2024, at which point the ongoing financial planning needs of around 90,000 customers will move to Aegon UK. Aegon UK will continue to be the Isa and general investment account provider of choice for all Nationwide customers.

State pension set to rise as wage growth hits 8.2%

The state pension is set to rise by £869 next April to £11,469, as average pay including bonuses hit 8.2%. The rise in average earnings between April to June 2023 could see the state pension increase by 2% higher than expected by the chancellor at the time of the Budget. The rate of increase will depend on the highest of three numbers: the rise in average earnings, the rate of CPI inflation and a floor of 2.5%. The rise in average earnings for the months May-July 2023 will be published in September 2023.

Hartley Pensioners will not be paid this year

Hartley Pensions clients are unlikely to be paid any money this year, according to its administrators UHY Hacker Young. This is due to a court application that aims to confirm the administrators have permission to impose wind up charges. The transfer out process is likely to commence from December 2023 onwards. The administrators are still working on the court application and expect it to be heard in November 2023.

Evelyn Partners completes succession deal

Evelyn Partners has announced the completion of a deal that will see the team from boutique wealth manager Millen Capital join its Liverpool office. The deal will see a total of five people move across from Millen Capital to Evelyn Partners, as part of its succession planning scheme for business owners. Evelyn Partners, which was created from the merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson in 2020, has deep roots in Liverpool with the former company having been founded in Liverpool in 1836.

Monzo moves into pensions market

Monzo is on the hunt for a pensions product manager to join its newest savings and investment team. The digital bank is looking to launch a pensions product in the next few months, and the product manager will be responsible for leading the development and launch of the product. The ideal candidate will have experience in the pensions industry, and will be able to build a product that is both user-friendly and meets the needs of Monzo’s customers.

Abrdn’s advice arm sees £600m in outflows

Abrdn’s financial advice business has reported net outflows of £600m due to tough “market conditions” and changed customer habits from the cost of living. The outflows were partly due to the short-term impact in H1 2023 from the “technology upgrade” of its Adviser Experience Programme in February.

Quilter edges ahead with platform assets

Quilter has edged ahead of Abrdn to become the largest advised platform in terms of assets under administration (AUA) over the past quarter. Quilter had £69.4bn AUA for the period ended 30 June, whereas Abrdn’s figure stood at £69.3bn. Quilter’s platform upgrade is believed to have helped with its performance.

FCA delays simplified advice plans

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has delayed plans to create a new “core advice” regime amid a lack of support. The FCA had proposed to introduce simplified advice for investing into mainstream products, specifically within stocks and shares Isas, but this did not receive backing from the industry. The FCA will now look at simplified advice in the context of a wider review about where the advice vs guidance boundary should lie.

Govt sets out plans to ban all cold calls for financial products

The government has launched a consultation to ban cold calls for all financial products in a fresh crackdown on scam calls. The consultation, which runs until 23 September, will look at banning cold calls for products such as pensions, insurance, mortgages, investments, and credit. The government says that cold calling is a “major source” of fraud, and that the ban would help to protect consumers.