Investment

Volatile investment markets mean investors are becoming more cautious with their saving. Frank Morton tackles some of the issues

New Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rules have led some commentators to suggest that bonds are dead in the water. Stephen Hamp goes through what the changes really mean for investors and advisers?

Otto Thoresen's pilots for his new Money Guidance Service could be ideal as a testing ground for generic advice for the annuity open market option (OMO), according to pensions expert Dr Ros Altmann.

New research by Metlife has revealed that around 38pc of IFAs plan to advise clients to use guarantees in their pension planning this year, driven by an increasing interest in alternatives to conventional annuities.

Scottish Widows could be hit with a compensation claim which could cost it up to £1bn, following accusations it gave negligent advice to around a hundred final salary pension schemes.

Annuity rates have rebounded to beat the highs seen in December last year after faltering slightly during Q1 2008, according to Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts.

The cost of guarantees on variable annuity products should be kept at 1% or less of the fund value per annum for consumers to be willing to pay for them, according to three-quarters of attendees at a recent Watson Wyatt debate.

Pensioners with fixed rate annuities risk losing around a fifth of their purchasing power over the next five years due to rising inflation, according to Aon Consulting.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), a key source of pensions data, says it drastically underestimated private pension income because of a computer error.

The Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) has launched a new national standard for financial advisers who work with older clients.