Industry news and views from Panacea and our partners.
Panacea Comment_
Wheatley is pleading the fifth.
In the constitution of the United States when a suspect invokes his or her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, this is referred to in the vernacular as "pleading the Fifth." It should not by any means be taken as a sign of guilt, but it is generally portrayed as such in the movies when some criminal act is trying to be covered up in the hope it goes away.
FSCS, please stop wasting our money
The Mail on Sunday recently produced a guide to avoiding holiday horrors as well as giving an idiot guide to travellers with no brain at all regarding how much to tip, how to stay in touch on holiday and a number of other fatuous and non FSCS related matters.
Ah, welcome home Commander Bond
My son was telling me about a TV programme he saw on satellite TV about Barbara Perrys charming, fascinating, and charismatic late husband John Perry who presented himself as a retired US Navy rear admiral and the descendent of two infamous admirals named Perry/Peary. But the truth was that he was a con man wanted by the FBI for impersonating a US Navy officer.
Panacea Industry awards 2014
Getting recognised for what you do by your peers is something that really makes the chest swell.
A nice little earner Terry, but what about a slice for the FSCS
The FCA budget for 2013 was £432.1m with adviser contributions being £41.9m for this financial year, for the sector covering investment intermediaries who hold client assets they will be £45.3m.
MAS now grooming complaints?
Advisers, and others who fund the Money Advice Service will not be best pleased. I came across this by complete accident last week and it would appear that the MAS is trying to groom complaints, not quite what one should expect from such an organization is it?
I wanna tell you a story
I wanna tell you a story of how the world of easy mass-market access to advice, now in intensive care, will see the life support machine finally turned off.
Aberdeen Asset Management joins the Panacea Adviser community
Panacea Adviser , the online community and resource for financial advisers has announced Aberdeen Asset Management has joined its growing list of partners.
Hit me baby one more time
How much more must the world of financial advisers come under attack? Nearly 1,000 advisers have now voted on our poll Will the removal of trail commission have a negative effect upon your business?
Gertcha, cowson, gertcha
Its called the tipping point. Individually and as an industry we all have one, its the point when enough is enough and action has to be taken.
Please, please please STOP
There is a marvelous moment in Blackadder goes Forth where Capt. Blackadder, getting rather irritated by the lack of humour that he finds in Charlie Chaplin movies dictates a telegram for Bob to send to Mr. Chaplin.
Get well soon
Sir Hector Sants is taking a leave of absence from Barclays due to exhaustion and stress and is expected to return in the New Year. A headline that appears to have received little adviser attention but seriously needs some on a number of counts.
Your site, your choice v0.4 is here
We are delighted to announce that Panacea has been refreshed, with a focus as always, on bringing you more of what you want, more content variation and more choice.
Money for nothing and your cheques for free
The just published FCA thematic review on Inducements and Conflicts of Interest, a result of last years Dear CEO letters, does a lot to recognise that in the RDR world, support that networks and national advisers first requested many years ago, expected, then demanded and got from providers, is no longer compatible with the RDR ethos.
Protection from yourself
22nd August 2013: was this the day personal responsibility finally went out the window? It is reported that banks and credit card issuers are setting aside £1.3 billion as provision for compensation for the mis-selling of fraud and identity protection insurance.
Liar Liar pants on fire
When I started my own adviser practice I, along with just about anyone in the same situation, was very conscious about my professional image and that of the industry I work in. I was also very aware that criticising peers and competitors was not the way to go when trying to build my own brand or attract new clients, it was breaking the golden rule of not knocking the opposition.
Dont put your daughter on the stage Mrs Worthington
For many older advisers out there the memory of starting their own adviser business may be a little hazy but I think now is the time to put a reality check in place for those young gun entrepreneurs who may have been thinking this was a great idea for them to pursue today.
Panacea welcomes Canada Life to the community
Panacea Adviser is delighted that Canada Life has joined our growing list of partners.
Representative APR 2120 percent, financial adviser, you are having a laugh?
So Payday loans companies employ Financial Advisers, what next?
As American as Mom, Apple Pie and Baseball
A phrase often heard to describe something that is unique to the culture and society you live and work in, illustrating principles or values with which few disagree.
Named and shamed
Listening to recent reports, we hear that unless surgeons and consultants make public the death rate results of their labours, they will be named and shamed.
Stand well back, something nasty is about to hit the fan.
Well, it had to happen. The fan is about to be turned on and a very unpleasant mess could be getting carefully molded at Canary Wharf to hit it.
Stand well back, something is about to hit the fan.
Well, it had to happen. The fan is about to be turned on and a very unpleasant mess could be getting carefully molded to hit it.
Stupid is as stupid does
So if the Daily Mail is to be believed, the banks are about to embark on another compensation round, this time in relation to card fraud protection insurance. Unfortunately, even with a new regulator in place, this trend of retro-identification of miss selling will continue, and for years to come.
Adviser charging concerns, what if advisers sold paint
Customer: Hi. How much is your paint? Financial Adviser: Well, sir, that all depends on quite a lot of things. Customer: Can you give me a guess? Is there an average price? Financial Adviser: Our lowest price is £12 a litre and we have 60 different prices up to £200 a litre.
Its about the compensation stupid
We read that BP has launched an appeal against "fictitious" and "absurd" oil spill compensation payouts Matters have got so bad that they have asked a judge to temporarily halt the payments being made to businesses on an 'economic loss' basis.
New for Old
Many advisers are focusing more on protection this year as it has yet to shudder to the touch of the RDRs clammy hand.
Mr. Creosote regrets ..
We hear that ESMA (The European Securities and Markets Authority) the euro regulator, is looking to increase their Mr. Creosote dietary intake of cash.
Hotel California
I was watching a great two part documentary on the Eagles last week, singing along, There she stood in the doorway ..This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
Top Ten Stories from May 2013
Here is your chance to read our top ten partner articles from May in case you missed them!
Only 10 Percent?
I read with a mixture of incredulity and despair that discussions regarding ways to put an end to PPI claims have broken down with no positive outcome for those consumers miss-sold PPI.
When America sneezes
If ever there was an example of a sneeze in America resulting in flu in the UK, this is it. Only on this occasion nobody has an excuse for not knowing the sneeze has happened.
How much is that website in the window, the one with the bright shiny logo
Andrew Power, partner at Deloitte, was recently on record as saying that increasing regulation and its associated cost will certainly exacerbate the trend that sees advisers dealing with wealthier and wealthier clients as they need a certain weight of assets to get an income flow. He is also of the view that there may also be a back-lash against regulation.
A clear and present danger, but for who and in what form?
When I was a kid (very many years ago, but yes I was a kid once) the 1950s was a very different world to the one we see today. As was the sixties in my teen years- I must have been there too as I cannot remember it as the saying goes!
The person next to me smells
The power of the consumer to distribute the experience after a face to face financial interview or an online journey has never been greater.
Can somebody translate this FCA statement please into plain English?
A few months ago we highlighted concerns that regulation and the various diktats and tomes that accompany it would benefit from being put into plain English.
Things you dont know about Panacea Adviser?
The site today contains over 70,000 pages of content- a very rich research and knowledge resource.
The Highland Clearances revisited
Please forgive me for seeing some similarities between the recently discovered post RDR adviser number fallout, the pre RDR divisions of the anti and pro RDR lobbies, the so called silence of networks, AIFA (APFA) and the Highland Clearances.
Radar warning - a bad time to appear on the FCA radar
1st April saw the introduction of the new regulatory structure comprising the FCA, PRA and Bank of England. It has, thus far, passed off fairly quietly. Most of the rules in the FCA Handbook have remained the same or very similar and the new regulators have not yet had time to flex their muscles to exercise any new powers or even impose their regulatory stamp on the sectors for which they have assumed responsibility.