The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is reporting a fall of 44 per cent in the number of mortgage endowment complaints in it’s Annual Review. For the first time since the Service was set up mortgage endowments aren’t the most complained about investment, although they still receive large number of cases. more.. »
Some have described the £1.5b compensation payout for Equitable Life Policyholders as a victory, however the truth is many policyholders will be left with major losses. more.. »
There are warnings from financial advisers that a letter sent by Scottish Life to clients with maturing endowments could lead to endowment claims. The letter explains that Scottish Life is investigating with-profits endowments sold between 1988 and 1995 due to the methods used by advisers to calculate rates.
The letter asks client for a copy of the original illustration of possible policy maturity values provided by their financial adviser “to assist in our investigation of the premium calculation basis adopted by advisers.”
Although the letter appears to suggest there may be room for clients to investigate the possibility of a complaint, Scottish Life were quick to clarify the reason for the letter. A spokesman explained they were trying to identify liabilities arising from allowing endowments to be sold using misleading LAUTRO rates, adding that no responsibility would lie with advisers.
Problems with LAUTRO rates of return quoted prior to 1995 have arisen before although these often concerned issues of charges not included in the LAUTRO rates provided.
It’s clear that Asia is still the focus of attention for the Prudential and despite the AIA fiasco, CEO Tidjane Thiam still seems to think it was a good idea. Better than expected profits and a lower cost of the failed takeover of AIA allowed Prudential to raise half-year dividends by 5 per cent. more.. »
Equitable Life policyholders look more likely to get compensation after a coalition Government announcement. more.. »
It now looks like Prudential will launch the £14bn rights issue it needs to buy AIA by next week. The FSA had blocked purchase of AIG’s Asian Insurance arm (AIA) due to concerns the deal would leave Prudential with insufficient capital to satisfy IDG rules. more.. »
Despite an 16 per cent rise in the £61 billion Prudential with profits fund, mortgage endowment policies values have fallen again. Their Scottish Amicable policies have also fallen. more.. »
Misleading marketing material for the Standard Life Pension Sterling Fund attracted a £2.45m fine from the FSA. The 98,000 retail pension customers invested in the Fund risked unexpected capital losses as a result of the material. more.. »
Standard Life announced that 97 percent of its mortgage endowment policies will fail to pay off the mortgages they were supposed to cover. more.. »