News

The Bank of England (BoE) has kept interest rates at the historic low of 0.5% for the 33rd straight month, and held fire on additional quantitative easing measures after pumping an extra £75bn into the facility last month.

Pensions minister Steve Webb has highlighted the role of IFAs in making pensions reform a success, but said he anticipated it would be difficult communicating the changes to the public.

Pensions minister Steve Webb has hinted at the potential development of a national transfer system to help consolidate small pension pots.

Zurich has urged advisers to be prepared for the impact of gender neutrality on their clients and business.

The FSA is consulting with the industry on whether to include the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Pensions Management Institute as accredited bodies.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has proposed new guidance outlining how product providers can facilitate the payment of adviser and consultancy charges to intermediaries.

Wealth manager Bestinvest has launched an investment advisory and discretionary managed portfolio service which it says will drive down the price of advice for customers.

An index that ranks countries on both wealth and well-being shows Slovenia, Czech Republic and Poland outperforming so-called PIGS countries. France is also showing a decline similar to the PIGS.

RBC Wealth Management, part of Royal Bank of Canada, has appointed Wayne Pearson and Roberta Ruddy as US-based directors to its International Solutions Team.

A significant proportion of advisers do not know if their business is ready to meet the FSA's new transparency requirements as set out in the retail distribution review (RDR), according to research.