Tag Archives: Financial adviser

The RDR has scotch’d the snake not killed it!

Posted on December 31, 2012 by henry tapper

the FSA has “scotched the snake not killed it”. Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, governance, Martin Lewis, pensions, poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why we don’t need to fear a pension “advice gap”.

Posted on November 28, 2012 by henry tapper

Last night it was the House of Lords, this morning it was a Parliamentary Select Committee. Both were concerned that an “advice gap” has been created that will mean poor people do not get financial advice on retirement planning. The argument goes that … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, dc pensions, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Popcorn Pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The New Dawn Fades (for IFAs)

Posted on September 2, 2012 by henry tapper

For twenty five years we have been sold the need for independent financial advice. I was an IFA once and never for a moment reckoned I was offering independent advice – one product looked pretty much like another and if product … Continue reading →

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Advice in the workplace is 20% cheaper

Posted on February 21, 2012 by henry tapper

I’m grateful to Paul Taylor of McCarthy Taylor for an excellent article on the current VAT treatment on the provision of free standing versus product related advice. His point is that when advice is linked to a VAT exempt product, the product can be used … Continue reading →

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Don’t tell me what to do – give me advice!

Posted on January 2, 2012 by henry tapper

In a recent polldaddy poll I asked whether people would pay for advice to get information, find out their options or to be told what to do. 60% of people wanted options , 30% wanted to be told what to do and 10% … Continue reading →

Posted in corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, pensions, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Why pay for advice? Take the poll!

Posted on November 26, 2011 by henry tapper

[polldaddy poll=5703072] This is a question that troubles me – not surprising as I’m a pensions adviser who reckons his job is to get people to the point when they can manage their pension affairs by themselves. If advisory self sufficiency is … Continue reading →

Posted in corporate governance, dc pensions, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement, social media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Alan Higham’s open letter to Steve Webb

Posted on November 7, 2011 by henry tapper

There is a simple solution worth trying to the persistent problem of people wasting billions of pension savings each year at retirement. Continue reading →

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DWP – Do some Work for your Pensions.

Posted on November 5, 2011 by henry tapper

Higham said it was a ‘disgrace’ and asked the DWP for an explanation but said he had not received a satisfactory answer. Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, Church of England, dc pensions, de-risking, Facebook, Martin Lewis, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Perverse incentives; Sexycash or prudent pension?

Posted on October 29, 2011 by henry tapper

The problem we all face when we are asked to choose between cash or pension is very complicated. It is possible to put a cash price on a pound’s worth of pension but that’s just the beginning of the story. … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, mallowstreet, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement, social media | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Small businesses wanting to avoid small pensions

Posted on October 17, 2011 by henry tapper

In September we sent out 80,000 e-mails to companies in the UK with between 5 and 100 staff, the sort of companies that will be obliged to auto-enrol their staff  between 2014 and 2015 and are today obliged to offer their staff a … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, dc pensions, EU Solvency II, Facebook, NEST, Retirement, social media, Treasury | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments