Professional Adviser

IFAs swamped as clients try to beat the Budget - papers 17th March

  • By Johanna Gornitzki
  • LinkedIn  
  • Google plus  
0 Comments

A MAJORITY of Independent Financial Advisers will have to delay their St Patrick's Day celebrations as a flood of consumers are seeking their advice in an eleventh-hour rush to avoid the changes expected to be announced by Gordon Brown later today.

According to The Times, the traditional pre-Budget trip to the off-licence and petrol station has been replaced by last-minute visits to accountants and advisers in a bid to try to avoid new legislation coming into force today.

Adding to that, some estate agents have also reported an upturn in activity amid fears about rises in stamp duty.

LEAVING THE Budget, The Scotsman reports several fund managers caught up in the split capital trust scandal failed to sign up to compensation talks by FSA's deadline last night.

This will leave 50,000 small investors no closer to getting their money back.

The failure to meet the deadline comes, according to industry sources, as fund managers remained concerned over their liabilities if they signed up for the proposals.

The FSA yesterday admitted its initial deadline had been postponed. A spokesman told the paper: "Our past experience of these things is that deadlines can often slip a little and we were prepared for that. We need to take stock over the next couple of days."

YESTERDAY ALSO came as a big disappointment for Equitable LIfe policyholders as the Treasury slashed their last hopes of government compensation, says the Daily Telegraph.

The revelation comes as Ruth Kelly MP appeared before the Treasury Select Committee to respond to Lord Penrose's report published last week.

However, while Kelly firmly ruled out the possibility of government compensation, the Committee members accused her of encouraging Equitable Life policyholders to "sue themselves".

Instead of offering policyholders compensation, Kelly said the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has assured her it can deal with more claims for compensation.

But Norman Lamb MP said: "The more claims that are successful through the FOS, the more in jeopardy Equitable Life is. Advocating that policyholders sue themselves through the FOS means there is a greater chance of Equitable becoming insolvent."

IFAonline

  • LinkedIn  
  • Google plus  

More news