DFM

Wealth manager and pensions consultancy Mattioli Woods is preparing for the launch of a discretionary portfolio management service after securing investment permissions from the FSA.

INVESTMENT

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has expressed concerns about the quality of advice around firms' use of 'centralised' investment solutions after a thematic review flagged widespread failings at some firms.

Rachel Dalton finds out why more adviser firms are turning to white label SIPPs to boost their service proposition.

Tony Hales, managing director of Stadia Trustees, looks at where SIPP investors have put their money since the start of the year.

Trust providers still have to battle a number of misconceptions before advisers can truly understand the benefits of closed-ended structures, writes Ed Morse, head of investment trust business development at F&C Investments.

Platform FundsNetwork is developing functionality to allow advisers to declare whether or not their post-RDR activities constitute "advice" in a bid to clear up ambiguities surrounding legacy commission.

Could 2012 be the year low cost active funds emerge as a savvy way to keep charges down, or will they be exposed as a get-out clause for managers trying to gain space in the post-RDR world?

Almost a third of discretionary fund managers (DFM) cannot deal with direct investments into structured products, according to an analysis of the market.

Adviser support specialist Parmenion has linked up with Sarasin & Partners, to provide a range of investment portfolios.