Under penalty of death

(Mark writes: this is Terry’s very first blog as a feline at the lang cat – we’re chuffed to have him here. You can email him at terry@langcatfinancial.com) After last week, we’ve now had two budgets in a row, and a not really in autumn statement in between, that have changed the savings landscape forever. […]

It’s all getting real – Hargreaves puts its vest(ing) on

I’ve always liked those moments when big, abstract concepts become real and commercial. A-Day was like that – it was fun debating what was going to happen, but much more fun when you started to see how providers, advisers and clients were going to relate to it in real life. An important step towards this […]

It’s all getting real – Hargreaves puts its vest(ing) on

I’ve always liked those moments when big, abstract concepts become real and commercial. A-Day was like that – it was fun debating what was going to happen, but much more fun when you started to see how providers, advisers and clients were going to relate to it in real life. An important step towards this […]

The freedom to get screwed

We measure out our lives by different things. J Alfred Prufrock measured his out by coffee spoons. For many of us our lives are marked out by Christmases, Hogmanays, birthdays and anniversaries. But in financial services, our lives are marked out by two things: politicians dicking around with pensions, and mis-selling scandals. This being an […]

The freedom to get screwed

We measure out our lives by different things. J Alfred Prufrock measured his out by coffee spoons. For many of us our lives are marked out by Christmases, Hogmanays, birthdays and anniversaries. But in financial services, our lives are marked out by two things: politicians dicking around with pensions, and mis-selling scandals. This being an […]

Pensions: we’ve got your best interests at heart

Harrumph! That’s the sound from the pensions industry and a good part of the advice profession in respect of the idea that pension savers might take their pots and run. And harrumphing turned to apoplexy the other day when some upstarts from a firm called Wise Pensions noised things up with talk of a pensions […]

Pensions: we’ve got your best interests at heart

Harrumph! That’s the sound from the pensions industry and a good part of the advice profession in respect of the idea that pension savers might take their pots and run. And harrumphing turned to apoplexy the other day when some upstarts from a firm called Wise Pensions noised things up with talk of a pensions […]

A mini-series on charges

Mark Polson has been talking to Emma Wall at Morningstar on fund fees and the pension charge cap. As part of Morningstar’s ongoing ‘ask the expert’ video series. Your browser does not support HTML5 video. What are fund fees? What does the pension charge cap mean for you?

A mini-series on charges

Mark Polson has been talking to Emma Wall at Morningstar on fund fees and the pension charge cap. As part of Morningstar’s ongoing ‘ask the expert’ video series. Your browser does not support HTML5 video. What are fund fees? What does the pension charge cap mean for you?

Kind of a big deal – Budget musings

No-one expected that. Budget? we thought. ‘Meh,’ we thought. We were wrong. This is the most impactful budget in terms of personal finance for a long time; certainly since the A-Day days, and maybe since I joined the industry in the mid 90s. Industry response has been feverish and has had us thinking of Anchorman […]

Impact of poor service

/ White papers

The Impact of Poor Service

We provided the research for a report, in conjunction with Parmenion, which reveals how far short of expectations many adviser platforms are falling. The research found that over the last 12 months, 88% of advisers needed to apologise to at least one of their clients on behalf of a platform, and that poor service delivery from platforms impacts 91% of advisers every day.

Impact of poor service

/ White papers

The Impact of Poor Platform Service

We provided the research for a report, in conjunction with Parmenion, which reveals how far short of expectations many adviser platforms are falling. The research found that over the last 12 months, 88% of advisers needed to apologise to at least one of their clients on behalf of a platform, and that poor service delivery from platforms impacts 91% of advisers every day.

/ White papers

Answering the Call

Service means a lot of things to a lot of different people. It’s so subjective it can be hard to put your finger on. This paper aims to challenge the status quo and inertia that’s built up in the sector for many years.