FTAdviser Podcast

Private equity interest in adviser platforms has continued to grow over the past year or so.Recently Novia, James Hay and Parmenion have all been bought by private equity firms and according to analysis by the Lang Cat, the proportion of platform assets owned by private equity has gone up from 2 per cent in 2016 to 15 per cent in 2021. Meanwhile life companies, which have traditionally owned platforms, have fallen from 55 per cent to 17 per cent over the same time period.So what does this mean for platforms and, by extension, advisers?This week FTAdviser digital editor Damian Fantato discusses this issue with Dan Marsh, head of customer at Seccl, and Martin Jennings, chief executive of Parmenion.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The steep rise in popularity of sustainable investment solutions has led to a similar rise in valuations in many of the qualifying asset classes.On top of this many of the companies which address environmental or social problems tend to be technology businesses - which are more attractive for their growth characteristics rather than for their value.In this special episode of the FTAdviser Podcast, sponsored by Schroders, special projects editor David Thorpe talks to a panel of experts about where to find value when constructing a sustainable investment portfolio.He is joined by Roberta Barr, head of ESG in Schroders's value team, Ben Palmer, head of responsible investment at Brooks Macdonald, and John Leiper, chief investment officer at Tavistock, to discuss these issues.They discuss avoiding how investors can avoid bubbles when a sector is attracting the level of flows which the ESG sector has seen recently, how it's possible to find value in this area, how it's possible to achieve diversification and what impact the market cycle has on this.The FTAdviser Podcast is the podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The self-employed - and particularly younger gig economy workers - desperately need some solid pension solutions to help them make long-term provision for their retirement. Joining Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor for FTAdviser, are some of the pensions world’s great and good: Jamie Jenkins, director of policy and external affairs for Royal London; Jonathan Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter; and Nigel Peaple, Director of Policy & Advocacy for the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association.This podcast also features a short report from Joy Brooks-Gilzeane, who is interning with FTAdviser, examining why the self-employed need urgent pensions attention from industry and government alike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding new clients at any time in a financial adviser’s working life can be a challenge, but imagine having to do that at the beginning of your career, at the start of the lockdown last year.This week, deputy features editor Ima Jackson-Obot talks to Emma Prince, an adviser at Quilter Financial Advisers, who previously worked in banking, and James Wallace from David James Wealth, a former pensions lawyer, about their first year as financial advisers - which happened to coincide with a global pandemic.They discuss why they became financial advisers, how they transitioned into advising during 2020, how they built their client bases, despite not being able to meet clients face-to-face, and why they think a hybrid model of advice is the way forward.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the FTAdviser Podcast speaks to Keith Richards, the chief executive of the Personal Finance Society, who will be standing down at the end of this month after nearly nine years in the role.During this time he was involved in the Financial Advice Market Review process, he established the PFS's pro-bono advice schemes and helped set up the European Financial Planning Association.He joins FTAdviser digital editor Damian Fantato to discuss his time at the PFS and what comes next for the organisation and the advice profession.They discuss the FAMR process, why it didn't live up to expectations and whether the government is likely to take another look into reforming the advice market. They also discuss the growth of professionalism in the advice sector and what it ought to focus on next. Richards also touches on the future of the PFS and seeks to reassure advisers over what might come next.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This FTAdviser In Focus podcast aims to do two things: to look at the reason why investment trusts have proved to be good income plays for pension investors, and to understand why the investment trust universe can provide sustainable long-term returns. Joining Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor of FTAdviser, on this podcast is Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director for the Association of Investment Companies; Tim Morris, financial adviser at Russell & Co; and Simon Clements, manager of the soon-to-be launched Liontrust ESG Trust. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The government is looking to make it mandatory for providers to issue simpler statements for certain defined contribution pension schemes used as part of auto-enrolment. But as the proposals stop short of making providers include costs and charges, there still remains disparity across the industry.This week reporter Amy Austin is joined by Claire Trott, head of pensions strategy at St James’s Place, and Jessica List, pensions technical manager at Curtis Banks, to discuss the impact of these proposals.They also discussed the disparity between the Financial Conduct Authority's expectations and the Department for Work & Pensions expectations, as well as the use of pensions terminology. They also discussed the proposals which would allow transfers to be red-flagged to prevent scams.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Property investment - be it buy-to-let or commercial property funds - has had a rough time over the past few years. Questions over the liquidity not just of pure bricks and mortar but also issues with daily dealing property unit trusts have caused a lot of concern to investors. There have been fund suspensions following the Brexit vote in 2016 and then again in 2020 as Covid bit into market valuations.And there has been so much tax twiddling that buy-to-let as an investment has become unattractive for all but the most professional investor. So what is left? Is it one's house? Yet as our panel explains, you cannot just rely on the value of your home to provide a lump sum on the sale of it in retirement; and there's also equity release to factor into the equation.This panel of experts tells FTAdviser In Focus how property in its various forms might not be the sole pensionable asset on which you can rely, but can still play a part in a diversified pension plan.Joining Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor of FTAdviser, is Darius McDermott, founder of FundCalibre; Martin Stewart, director and co-founder of The Money Group; Andrew Tully, technical director for Canada Life; and James Burns, partner, investment management, at Smith & Williamson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Financial Conduct Authority has published proposals for what it calls a "new consumer duty" which it says will set clearer and higher expectations for firms' standards of care towards consumers.The regulator has said it is concerned about firms providing information which is misleading or difficult to understand, and products or services which don't represent value. It says it wants firms to ask themselves 'would I be happy if I were treated like this?' or 'would I recommend this service to my friends and family?'.This week FTAdviser digital editor Damian Fantato is joined by Sally Plant, head of financial planning at the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments, and Stefan Fura, co-founder of advice firm Furnley House.They discuss whether the FCA's proposals are a good idea, how advisers can demonstrate they are taking their duty of care towards consumers seriously, and what changes advisers might need to make if this "new consumer duty" becomes reality.The FTAdviser Podcast is the weekly podcast for financial advisers, brought to you by FTAdviser. Each week, FTAdviser is joined by guests from the industry to discuss the week in news and pressing industry issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victims of defined benefit transfer misadvice are facing a double whammy when it comes to compensation calculations.According to campaigners supporting those who have been found by the regulators and compensatory bodies to have been wrongly advised to transfer out, not only do they face wildly differing levels of compensation, depending on when the calculations are carried out, but they also have to bear all the investment risk themselves.This FTAdviser In Focus podcast looks at why the calculation methodology used by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme could leave some former DB pension members with redress worth up to 40 per cent less than peers in a similar situation, and what can be done to ensure the optimum retirement income for these victims. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.