Monday, February 20th, 2012
RDR is clearly a major regulatory event for IFAs, comparable perhaps with depolarisation in December 2004 and polarisation before that in 1988.
Depolarisation essentially offered advisers a choice of staying fully Independent by offering products from the whole of the market; going multi-tied or going Tied to one single provider. In reality most IFAs simply stayed Independent while a small number of major distributors set up ‘mini-ties’ with a small number of providers.
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
When the new income tax rate for earnings over £150,000.00 was introduced in April, HMRC announced that its systems were unable, at that time, to handle a tax code D1 for the employees affected. For the 2010/11 tax code, the correct liabilities for 50% tax payers will be assessed.
Historically, when there were several different higher rates of tax, a number of “D” tax codes were used – D0 (which is still in use), D1, D2, etc. HMRC has since announced that, from the 2011/12 tax year, D1 will be introduced and issued on P9 coding notices in advance for employers to apply from the start of the tax year.
As a consequence of these amendments we are ensuring that Imago can accept and calculate the new tax code accordingly.
Friday, September 4th, 2009
In the recent pensions thematic review, the FSA has found that a number of operators were unable to demonstrate that they are treating their customers fairly in administering their sipp.
It says certain providers wrongly believed that the responsibility for the quality of the Sipp business they administer lies solely with advisers. I suspect this will be a big surprise to a lot of the smaller SIPP providers, that they also have a responsibility to TCF. Even those whose business model is built upon external distribution models with significant internal SIPP expertise
The regulator also uncovered problems with firms’ systems and controls, including their training and competence regime, the accuracy and transparency of illustrations and the disclosure of charges.
I guess this is where we come in, I would like to think that Dunstan Thomas Imago Front Office has been consistent over the past decade in the production of illustrations for the SIPP market that disclose FULLY, effect of deductions, the role of reduction in yields, type A ans type B critical yields and flexibility on projection rates used by asset classes.
I suggest more SIPP providers look us up and have a chat.
Sunday, October 21st, 2007
Well there are a number of new entrants now in the provision of technology solutions for the WRAP market. Of course there is always the do-it yourself community and most notably there are providers of technology which have come from the Antipodes, James Hay, Standard Life and Nucleus are all users of these platforms.
UK based solutions I am sure are under development, the Blue Button technology from Ascentric for instance. In the case of our platform (Imago), we know where our core competency is. Over the years we have developed Illustration engines for a number of product wrappers. The WRAP market itself provides a further opportunity for our technology. We look forward to working with all of our peers in the provision of technology solutions for the market.
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