FT Adviser

With the stamp duty holiday at an end and the Budget taking place next week, what does the future hold for stamp duty?

Regularly referred to as the UK's "worst tax", stamp duty is regularly seen as in need of reform. But did the Covid-19 stamp duty holiday, which ended this month and saw receipts increase to £12.3bn, make reform any likelier?

Hosted by Damian Fantato, digital editor at FTAdviser, this week's podcast explores what the future of the stamp duty land tax looks like, and how its future could impact the housing market. He is joined by Mark Hayward, chief policy advisor at Propertymark, and David Hollingworth, associate director of communications at L&C Mortgages.

They discuss whether the stamp duty holiday has demonstrated this tax is in need of reform, how the end of the holiday will affect the housing market, and whether the government might tie stamp duty to environmental standards.

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.

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As long as there have been financial advisers, there has been debate about how to plug the advice gap.

But research has found that some 39m people have never sought any professional advice or guidance for their finances, and one in five advisers won't serve someone with less than £100,000.

So there is clearly a gap to be plugged, but does the plugging of it fall to advisers? What role do providers have? And do the rules around advice and guidance help providers support their clients?

This week Damian Fantato, digital editor of FTAdviser, is joined by Jamie Jenkins, director of policy at Royal London, and Prakash Chandramohan, director of strategy at Tisa, to discuss this.

They discuss how the boundary between advice and guidance can be improved, how greater personalisation can help support savers who don't necessarily need advice, and why providers err on the side of caution when it comes to supporting their clients.

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.

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Breaking up is always difficult. Quite apart from the emotional aspects, the financial aspects are particularly difficult for both parties, with division of assets often needing solicitors and court orders. Although there is a need for professional advice, too often people think they will simply split the assets - the man gets the pension; the woman (especially if she is the primary carer for the children) gets the house. Or the house might be sold and the equity split between the two. But these are not always the best courses of action; and while it may be a stereotype that the woman ends up with the house and the children, it is also true in the majority of cases. And this comes with its own problems on affordability, especially if the partners were not married. Talking to FTAdviser's senior editor, Simoney Kyriakou, about the issues facing women on divorce and separation are Abbie Hookway, managing director of touchstone education; Preeti Ferrier, area director for Just Mortgages; and Catherine Beaumont, independent mortgage adviser at London Money.

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the past four months, the rate of inflation has beaten the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target. 

Despite saying that this rise will be “transitory”, the central bank has warned inflation might soar over 4 per cent before the end of the year - meaning it could reach its highest point in a decade, and so far governor Andrew Bailey has not confirmed that rates will rise in order to tackle this.

This week, senior reporter Sally Hickey speaks to Lawrence Cook, head of UK intermediary distribution at Sanlam, and Michael Copeland, senior area manager at Wesleyan, about how advisers should be planning for high inflation.

They discuss whether inflation will continue to rise, how advisers should plan for it and which assets they should and shouldn’t hold.

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.

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Markets have been going through a turbulent period in recent weeks and, in part, this has been down to events taking place in China.

Chinese equities have lost 11 per cent over the past three months because of concerns about an ongoing regulatory crackdown in the country. But these worries have been exacerbated by the liquidity crisis facing property giant Evergrande. Both of these developments have combined and rippled through global markets.

What does this mean for investors, emerging markets and portfolios?

This week FTAdviser special projects editor David Thorpe is joined by Mark Williams, manager of the Somerset Asia Income fund, and Abhi Chatterjee, chief investment strategist at Dynamic Planner.

They discuss whether the turmoil represents a 'new normal', what lessons investors can take from this episode about China in particular and emerging markets in general, and whether the events of the past few months will have any long-term impact on portfolios.

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.

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've all heard the phrase 'people buy people'. But does this really apply to advising different genders? After all, a great financial adviser can deliver great financial advice to any client, regardless of their gender. But it is also true that there are additional benefits to an advice firm that can be gained by having a more diverse team. Moreover, there are sometimes particular sensitivities that women might face which would mean they are more comfortable with a female financial adviser. Talking to Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor for FTAdviser, for this In Focus podcast are Paula Hodge, chartered financial planner at Old Mill, and Zoe Dagless, senior financial planner for Vanguard Europe, who explain that greater diversity can bring greater strength.

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next year will see the launch of collective defined contribution pensions - at least one will come into existence when Royal Mail 160,000 employees move into this new type of scheme, but will others follow?

CDC pensions aim to bridge the gap between defined benefit and defined contribution by having all employees pay into one massive pot from which their benefits are drawn.

This week reporter Amy Austin talks to Simon Eagle, chairman of Willis Towers Watson's CDC working party, and Tim Middleton, director of policy and external affairs at the Pensions Management Institute, about what advisers need to know about these schemes.

They discuss how many CDC schemes are likely to come into existence, transfers in and out of CDC schemes might work and whether CDC pensions are likely to be higher or lower than DB or DC pensions.

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.

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After plenty of waiting, the government has finally unveiled a plan which, it says, will solve the UK's social care crisis.

On this week's podcast, senior reporter Amy Austin is joined by Steve Webb, former pensions minister and partner at LCP and Tony Mudd, divisional director for tax & technical support at St James’s Place. They discuss the government’s social care plans and how it is unlikely there will be any new products in the immediate future due to timing issues.

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.

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know there is a gender pay gap - and therefore there is a gender pension gap that needs to be filled. But often we forget that this lack of funding for women in retirement can also lead to a poorer outcome for women needing care in later life. So how can advisers help women get on a better financial footing in retirement? And what is needed to help educate female clients about their financial needs later on in life? Joining Simoney Kyriakou, senior editor of FTAdviser, to discuss these questions is Ben Mason, chief executive of Kinherit; Will Hale, chief executive of Key; and Tish Hanifan, founder of the Society of Later Life Advisers. 

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Consolidation in the digital mortgage space has spiked in recent months as larger companies buy up the technology to service their own customer bases. Having attracted some hefty investments over the last year too - most notably the in August 2020, how much of a threat are these digital brokers?

On this week's FTAdviser Podcast, reporter Ruby Hinchliffe is joined by Charlotte Nixon, mortgage adviser and protection proposition director at Quilter, and Billy Grimley, chief commercial officer at Smartr365.

They discuss whether the rise of digital brokers is good for the mortgage industry, how big they might become in the mortgage broking market, what traditional mortgage brokers can learn from them and whether technology can help bridge the protection gap.

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.

The FTAdviser Podcast is designed to inform regulated UK advisers on a range of topics, covering investments, pensions, regulation and other key issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.