For those of you who are fed up about news of the Royal Wedding (that other small scale event taking place this weekend), then it's time for the week in news. We haven't mentioned it once (promise).
1) Conference clarification from the FCA
Red tape around finance advice is tricky enough, so it is always good to see some of its being scrapped for a change. The Financial Conduct Authority is scrapping guidance relating to inducements and conflicts of interest in retail investment advice, which it stated has been superseded by the introduction of Mifid II earlier this year.
The news comes with some useful clarification for advisers, who had asked how the new rules on inducements and adviser charging apply to various scenarios and industry practices, particularly in the field of conferences and hospitality.
In response, the FCA stated: "These new rules do not prevent firms from organising or attending conferences, providing that their actions comply with applicable rules.
"We have amended our restrictions on the payments which can be received by firms providing investment advice to retail clients in the UK to apply in connection with firms' business of advising.”
The regulator will produce no more guidance on this issue, so that’s your lot, folks.
2) At last, something more to complain about
It’s a good week for complainers, especially those Waspi women - at least if you’re judging volume as a measure of likely success.
This group of women are campaigning against the way the state pension age was equalised and launched a campaign called Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi).
Kit Malthouse, minister for family support, said this week the Department for Work & Pensions had 2,841 complaints about the equalisation of the state pension age in the pipeline, at various stages of the process.
He also said the examiner has a dedicated team of three investigation case managers examining this group of complaints.
Meanwhile, over at the Pensions Ombudsman, there’s a rap over the knuckles for the complaint handlers involved in the case of Clare Knight.
The ombudsman has admitted errors in its handling of her case, concerning an offshore property scheme investment, after leaving her waiting for months before informing her it had lost vital parts of her complaint.
Ms Knight is not alone. In the last year the body received 58 complaints, mainly about delays and its processes, of which 51 were resolved.
3) Hammond seeks to reassure sector on post Brexit performance
In tough times, the reassuring voice of Spreadsheet Phil may not always be enough to steady the ship, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer is hoping that his words on the UK’s post-Brexit place in the world will provide calm.
On a visit to Halifax and Edinburgh this week he said the UK will remain a world leader in financial services after it leaves the European Union.
He said: "Over a million people across the country are employed in our financial services sector, and it is truly a nationwide industry, with two thirds of the jobs based outside London.
"It fuels growth across the regions and is a vibrant part of our economy.
“I am determined to maintain our world-leading position at what is a crucial period for the industry."Fintech is the answer, apparently, and Mr Hammond was announcing a new fintech envoy for Wales.: "Fintech is the future of financial services, and the UK leads the world in harnessing its power,” was his take on the matter.
4) Investors Aegonised over charges change
While we all enjoyed the May Bank Holiday, someone at Aegon was busy moving more than 400,000 users of the Cofunds retail platform and £37bn of assets to the Aegon platform.
Since then advisers around the country have reported difficulties using the revamped platform.
Another reason for Aegon finding itself under fire over its new platform is the recent announcement that it will levy charges based on the value of the portfolio on the last working day of the month.
This differs from the approach taken by Cofunds, which calculated the fees daily and then charged investors once a month.
While Aegon says it is important to be consistent, for some investors this could mean a 30 fold increase, advisers have warned.
Richard Cohen, adviser at Nsure Financial Planning in Worthing and user of the Cofunds platform, the change could potentially mean a 30 times increase in the month on ongoing charges for any of his clients who invest on the last day of the month.
5) Old Mutual takes Pryde in acquisition
In another consolidation move in the advice sector, Old Mutual Wealth has bought DG Pryde, based just outside Edinburgh, for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition adds £200m in assets under advice to Old Mutual Wealth Private Client Advisers, Old Mutual Wealth's national financial planning business.
Old Mutual Wealth Private Client Advisers was established in 2015 and employs more than 50 financial advisers across the UK.
The firm will change its name to Quilter Private Client Advisers later this year under Old Mutual Wealth’s flotation and rebrand plans.
