Friends Provident

Corporate wraps will not pose a threat to adviser firms but will instead complement their services, according to Friends Provident.

Sesame has stressed it sees platforms as "very important" to the future of retail distribution as the final details on a takeover of support services provider Bankhall are hammered out.

Clive Cowdery is nothing if not determined. Two years after jilting Friends Provident at the altar for a better offer from rival closed-life firm Pearl Assurance, he has returned to hunt down the insurance firm in a new guise.

Friends Provident has signed a contract with technology provider FNZ to provide an enhanced workplace platform to be delivered during 2010.

Sesame made a £1m loss in the first half of 2009, while parent company Friends Provident increased its underlying profits by almost 200%.

Friends Provident's board has recommended shareholders accept the latest acquisition offer from Resolution.

The FTSE 100 has fallen sharply in opening exchanges following reports Lloyds may tap shareholders for funds to reduce the cost of participating in the Government's toxic asset scheme.

Friends Provident has once again entered discussions with Resolution Limited after receiving a "sufficiently improved" bid from the Clive Cowdery-led acquisition vehicle.

A one-size-fits-all approach to adviser charging principles for group personal pensions must be avoided.

John, 45, is an office manager looking for protection. He has a £200,000 mortgage and two children that he has custody of following his divorce two years ago. He does not exercise and although he had an alcohol problem four years ago, he does not drink....