Building a successful advice business is not rocket science but it does require a clear vision, strategic objectives and the adoption of big data. Old Mutual Wealth’s head of international distribution development, Mike Leeson, offers a road map to success.
Financial advisers expect a boom in demand for inheritance tax (IHT) advice and are looking to strengthen business partnerships with lawyers to help them cope.
Twenty-four victims of pension fraud lost a record £8.6m ($11.1m, €10.1m) in March 2017, a 10-fold increase from the previous month, figures from the City of London police reveal.
UK consumers withdrew £10.8bn ($13.8bn, €12.7bn) from their pensions during the first two years of the pension freedoms.
The UK’s financial regulator plans to put a greater focus on the drawdown phase of the pensions market in the current financial year, and has promised to do more to tackle pension scams.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed the tactics used by investment fraudsters to deceive the over 55s, as it urges the demographic to check investment opportunities are genuine before parting with their money.
The UK’s radical pension freedom reforms have led to over £9.2bn (€10.7bn, $11.5bn) getting encashed from pension plans since April 2015, HM Revenue & Customs revealed on Wednesday.
Nearly two years after the UK pension freedoms were introduced, the British government believes the current massive scale of scamming activity surrounding the industry warrants new laws to limit the rights of savers to transfer money out of existing schemes for their own protection.
Ahead of Wednesday’s Autumn Statement, alternative assets platform CoInvestor has urged UK chancellor Philip Hammond not to backtrack on pensions freedoms.
Almost a quarter of over-50s in the UK plan to cash in their pension even after withdrawing their 25% tax-free lump sum, accord to a survey by Retirement Advantage.
Nearly £7.6bn ($9.2bn, €8.5bn) has been paid out of UK pensions since reforms came into effect in April last year, according to the latest figures published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Two-thirds of recent UK retirees who took cash from their pension pots during their first year of retirement did so without seeking any professional advice.
