Two men sentenced to nine years in prison for £5m investment scam

Fraudster spent £2m of investors’ cash on his extravagant lifestyle. 

FCA simplified advice guidance a 'missed opportunity'

Experts say finalised guidance fails to give firms the clarity they need. 

West Brom wins High Court battle over buy-to-let rate hike

Building society hiked buy-to-let tracker rate for 6,700 customers. 

FCA cracks down on 181 financial promotions

Almost a quarter of actions relate to investment promotions. 

Clydesdale raises proc fees as lenders bow to broker pressure

Lender has moved away from a tiered fee structure to paying a flat fee to ARs and DAs.

Pension freedoms 'second line of defence' extended to trust-based schemes

DWP working Pensions Regulator to translate rules for trusts.

MAS directory excludes non-advised brokers

Pension scammers could take advantage of “mid market” people who don’t want full advice, experts warn.

Treasury settles on 'accidental landlord' definition

Legislation states broker firms will be responsible for regulatory compliance, not individual advisers.

Tilney Bestinvest's Spot the Dog catches 20% more hounds

The number of underperforming funds named in the Tilney Bestinvest Spot the Dog report has spiked by a fifth on last year to 60.

Ian Kennedy named as Hermes COO

Kennedy co-founded of InvestMe Financial Services in Dubai before returning to London to work for Hermes Investment Management.

Barclays introduces blanket LTI cap

The lender has applied a cap of 4.5 times income on all loans.

Experts call for caution on ECB's QE injection

The European Central Bank’s €1.1trn quantitative easing programme may neither prevent an extended bout of deflation nor revive the eurozone economy.

Reaction: Experts call for caution on ECB's QE injection

The European Central Bank’s €1.1trn quantitative easing programme may neither prevent an extended bout of deflation nor revive the eurozone economy according to Capital Economics’ chief European economist Jonathan Loynes.

Pension freedoms add 'layer of complexity' to divorce cases

Lawyers say new cash option makes divorce proceedings unpredictable.

Trevor Greetham to head up new RLAM multi-asset push

Fidelity’s former asset allocation director Trevor Greetham is going to work for Royal London Asset Management.

Report lays bare model portfolio due diligence concerns

It is impossible for IFAs to do whole-of-market analysis of models portfolios due to opaque and inconsistent data, a Lang Cat and CWC Research report argues.

Jonathanfry acquires Harry Katz's Norwest Consultants

Veteran adviser Harry Katz’s business, Norwest Consultants, has been acquired by adviser firm jonathanfry for an undisclosed sum.

Reckitt Benckiser hit with £540k FCA fine

The FCA has fined Reckitt Benckiser Group £539,800 systems and controls failings.

Two men jailed over £1.2m boiler room fraud

Two men face a total of four years in prison for swindling more than £1.2m from over 30 victims through a Madrid-based boiler room.

Survey reveals £200m rise in individuals' overpaid tax

Poor planning will lead to £4.9bn in overpaid taxes in 2015.

Zurich increases bonus rates for 50,000 with-profits customers

But bonus rates at conventional with-profit pension plans remain nil.

Zurich increases bonus rates for 50k with-profits customers

But bonus rates at conventional with-profit pension plans remain nil.

Financial Limited seeks investment after posting £105k loss

FCA imposed recruitment ban on network last year. 

PPI: Disengagement and inertia 'key risks' in pension reforms

Pensions industry needs to address “key risk” of disengagement and inertia, says think-tank.

Old Mutual Wealth launches adviser-led self service option

Service developed to ease adviser fears of execution-only exodus.

Hargreaves under fire over 'portfolio transfer delay'

Hargreaves Lansdown took four months to transfer a portfolio to another platform, but is refusing to compensate the client’s adviser for hours spent chasing them up, the adviser claims. 

M&G apologises for 'complacency' and underperformance in £9.5bn fund

The firm acknowledges M&G Global Dividend’s 2014 underperformance and vows to make amends in the coming year.

Remortgage sector continues its slump with loans down 16%

Purchase and remortgage lending down year-on-year.

Fidelity recruits former TD Direct chief ahead of brokerage launch

Welch appointment to continue Fidelity drive for UK brokerage exposure.

House prices grow at their slowest pace since April

Prices up 10 per cent year-on-year in April.

Schroders looks to launch European Real Estate IT

Schroders is looking to raise up to £150m for a new income-focused European commercial property fund.

IFA Centre founder Gill Cardy joins Defaqto

Defaqto has recruited former IFA Centre managing director Gill Cardy as insight consultant (wealth).

Aviva Investors recruits Louise Kay as global sales head

Aviva Investors has appointed of Louise Kay as global head of sales.

Savers to raid £6bn from pensions following Budget overhaul

Consultancy urges industry to develop tools to stop pensioners “over-eating” their savings.

Age UK: Pensioners at risk of running out of cash a decade early

Charity backs calls for charge cap on drawdown products.

Trader convicted of fraud in £5m investment scam

Trader found guilty in conviction brought by the FCA. 

Ombudsman ruling deals blow to providers in pension liberation fight

Member complaints rejected but providers should have undertaken more analysis before blocking transfers, says pensions ombudsman.

Kames' Stephen Adams promoted to head of equities

Adams will remain at the helm of the £372m Kames UK Equity fund alongside Peter Shaw.

Steve Webb ‘sceptical’ about bigger role for income protection

Pensions minister questions whether a Government subsidy for income protection would be well spent. 

Standard Chartered cuts equities division and 2,200 jobs

The banking giant’s share price has jumped 2.9 per cent as it details loss-makers it intends to strip.

Transact prepares for float after sale falls through

Flotation is most appropriate exit strategy for the business, says CEO Ian Taylor. 

CEBR: London slump to drive UK house price decline in 2015

CEBR analysts have forecast UK house prices to fall 0.6 per cent in 2015, led by a 3.3 per cent fall in London.

Rathbones hires ex-Brewin Dolphin director to head new Glasgow office

Rathbone Investment Management has hired Angus Kerr, formerly of Brewin Dolphin, to lead its new Glasgow office.

Leeds becomes the latest lender to increase proc fees

Brokers to receive an extra 3 basis points.

Fleet Mortgages opens its doors for lending

New buy-to-let lender is now accepting applications for business.

Virgin and Skipton increase proc fees

Virgin Money will now pay 0.45 per cent to brokers, while Skipton BS has increased fees to 0.4 per cent for residential deals.