Well, there we have it folks, the nation spoke on Saturday and it spoke in a clear and resonant voice. We not only saw a convincing Labor win, with the party forming a majority government, we also saw a sizeable shift away from traditionally held Liberal seats toward both ‘teal’ independents and the Greens. For […]
Archives for 2022
Brooks Macdonald to acquire £250m Midlands IFA
Wealth manager and Financial Planner Brooks Macdonald is to acquire Nuneaton-based Integrity Wealth (Holdings) Limited – which has £250m in funds under management – for an undisclosed sum. The deal, subject to regulatory approval, will see Brooks acquire Integrity Wealth (Holdings) Limited together with its IFA subsidiary, Integrity Wealth Solutions Limited. Integrity Wealth Solutions has around […]
FCA chair: Pension Freedoms caused problems
Outgoing FCA chair Charles Randell – in one of his last major speeches before he stands down – has said that in hindsight “more could have been done” to protect people from the negative impacts of the Pension Freedoms which were introduced in 2015. The freedoms, introduced by then Chancellor George Osborne, have been both […]
The 3 Domains Of Financial Advisor Value: Why Human Advisors Continue To Thrive Amid Competition From Robos
The arrival of robo-advisors into the financial technology landscape more than a decade ago led many to believe that the combination of (relatively) low fees and digital presence offered by robos would entice many consumers to eschew human advisors and turn to these automated tools. However, since the introduction of robo-advisor technology, client behavior has […]
Big news: Reckon sells accounting division for $100 million
Following a massive development this week, Reckon can proudly announce that its Accountants Group has been sold to The Access Group, in a $100 million deal. The Accounting division of Reckon provides products such as APS practice management software and Reckon Elite. Reckon remains as a stronger company and as a result of the deal […]
Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (May 21-22)
Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that a court ruling has called into question the Securities and Exchange Commission’s use of its own judges for adjudicating enforcement actions. The court order could pave the way for those advisers ever accused of violating […]
Editor’s Comment: A tighter FCA ship?
One of the biggest problems with UK financial regulation is that it is reactive, not proactive. The watchdogs wait for a ‘crime’ to take place before moving in. That’s always been the way. Despite what consumers may think there is no financial supremo checking financial products before they are unleashed on the public, no financial […]
380K Kubernetes API Servers Exposed to Public Internet
More than 380,000 of the 450,000-plus servers hosting the open-source container-orchestration engine for managing cloud deployments allow some form of access.
Aegon launches protection dashboard for advisers
Aegon UK has launched a new dashboard for financial advisers which will enable them to add all protection applications onto one online platform. The company says the new dashboard will enable advisers to complete and submit applications fully online. They can also track applications in real-time and provide a policy start date on the dashboard. […]
Platform engine FNZ appoints new CEO
FNZ, the platform ‘engine’ behind many UK investment platforms, has appointed Alastair Conway as its new CEO for the UK and South Africa. Mr Conway, a former CEO of James Hay, has 25 years of experience in financial services. He joined FNZ in April 2021 to work on a key project before becoming CEO of […]