• Mutual societies are rewarding members with payouts of up to 26% more than those from plcs, according to research by Investment, Life and Pensions Moneyfacts.

Lincoln Financial Group is the latest US pension provider to unveil a product which blends the guarantee of an annuity and the investment growth of drawdown in the UK market.

Friends Provident (FP) has entered the ongoing carve-up of the distribution market with the purchase of two UK financial intermediaries.

• Skandia UK has announced a 19% increase in total funds under management to £38bn. Skandia attributes this growth to increased pension activity post A-day and the success of offshore cross-border sales.

The honeymoon period for the development of the wrap platform industry is well and truly over as the initial excitement that wrap would liberate advisory companies and deliver value through new business opportunities wears off.

Members are being offered a rare investment opportunity by Hotbed, a private investor network.

• The top performing investment companies under Blair have been Gresham House, JPMorgan Russian Securities, Baring Emerging Europe and TR property investment, with a £100 investment now worth £8,036, £1,140, £832 and £785 respectively in the decade to April 30, 2007.

Alliance Trust’s new full Sipp illustration service is an attractive tool in the battle to win Sipp customers, but the company needs to ensure its accessibility and acknowledge its limitations, according to industry experts.

There has been an “explosion” in the number of HNW customers in the UK – with the market growing by 10% since 2006, according to Winterthur Life managing director, David Thompson.

The Birmingham office of investment manager Citigroup Quilter has announced that it now manages more than £1bn of funds under management.

• Scottish Life has turned to podcasting to communicate with advisers. The podcasts will carry latest industry news and are available from the company’s website.

Financial advisers have been reaping the rewards from the A-day changes to pensions regulation according to research from Alliance Trust.

Private investors fretting over whether or not they will have enough money for retirement, be able to bequeath enough to the children, or indeed go on that luxury cruise they have always dreamed of are in luck, because The Ansbacher Guide to Wealth Management promises that it can help you find your way out of the financial maze.

Online services are becoming increasingly important in winning new business, according to a survey by 1st, the software company.

A High Court ruling has closed a loophole protecting the shared assets of divorced individuals.

Bonds will always have a home as a stable investment, especially for those nearing retirement, even if they are not regarded as worthy of media hype

assistant Editor Ruth Emery

REVIEWER: Mike Pendergast
IFA, ZEN FINANCIAL SERVICES

REVIEWER: Marlene Shalton
Managing Director, Chambers Morgan James Financial Management

REVIEWER: Tim Sutcliffe
Chief Executive, pi financial dixon
sutcliffe & co

Are expensive supercars a good investment? Not particularly, according to Simon Kidston, who recommends you to buy one anyway – if you can afford it – and just have fun driving it

Jersey is amending its tax regime and trust laws, which are expected to have a massive impact on the island. Ruth Emery reports on the changing landscape for high net worth individuals

Michelle Cracknell gives Antoinette Odoi her diary of a trip to China to help run a communications course with Aegon, where she finds the will to succeed more important than language

Stochastic modelling is just one of the latest additions to the risk profiling toolkit that is being developed by financial planners to help them to deliver recommendations to their clients, writes Jackie Ison

Why take an holistic approach to corporate financial planning? Because incomplete information can lead to the wrong decisions being made, writes David Seato

Julie Hutchison outlines the opportunities and pitfalls for historic trusts in the changes to the status of gifts under last year’s Budget, particularly for IIP and A&M trusts, and what decisions must be made before April 6 next year

Despite seeming one of the tamest Budgets of recent years, Chancellor Gordon Brown’s 11th and (probably) final Budget speech on March 21 contained several important announcements affecting HNWIs, reports John Barnett

• Merrill Lynch has appointed Tim Bailey director of intermediary business development for its global private client group. Bailey joined Merrill Lynch Portfolio Managers earlier this year and brings 20 years of investment experience to the new role.

Standard Life International (SLI) has appointed a new chief executive in Craig Tunstall, replacing Murray Drummond.

Isle of Man Assurance (IOMA) has added to its group of consultants, to take advantage of the growing offshore life market.

Isle of Man Assurance (IOMA) has added to its group of consultants, to take advantage of the growing offshore life market.

Sarasin Chiswell has announced it will boost its activities in London this summer with the arrival of six new faces. Andrew Stewart, Mark Fairbanks Smith, Sam Jeffries, Nicholas Evans, David Vickers and Tina Plank will all join to assist international private client investment activities.