• Newcastle Building Society has announced its final results for 2007. Group profit increased 52% to £17.6m, and total assets rose 9%. Gross lending exceeded £1bn for the first time, and the company confirmed it had no exposure to the US subprime market.

UK legislation that requires pensioners to annuitise at age 75 could face a legal challenge, due to its alleged incompatibility with European age discrimination directives.

The Tax Incentivised Savings Association (TISA) is lobbying the Treasury to change the rules on investment bond transfers, allowing investors to switch between them without being liable for tax.

Defaqto’s Investment Service 2008 report on investment bonds and platforms found the industry is failing to provide consistently good service to advisers.

• Wesleyan Assurance Society announced a 76% increase in sales of with-profit bonds during 2007. The society also opened a new brand during the year, Wesleyan for lawyers, and developed an in-house Sipp.

Falling service standards and inflexibility towards certain investments has forced SG Hambros Bank to launch an in-house self-invested personal pension (Sipp).

The traded life policy (TLP) market has doubled in just over a year, according to a new index produced by Managing Partners.

Lincoln Financial Group has argued that the retail distribution review’s (RDR) proposals for four different adviser roles will confuse consumers, and called for a simple divide between advice and sales.

• Baring Asset Management has appointed Nicola Barber to its private client team. She joins from Rothschild Private Management, where she was a director of private clients.

The past month has seen a rash of investment products designed to exploit changes in the markets and consumer demand.
Movements in the debt markets have finally made it possible for providers to develop income-producing structured products, and a new crop has been emerging.

Use of exchange traded funds (ETFs) has hit a record high in Europe, according to figures from Db x-trackers, Deutsche Bank’s ETF business. Total European ETF turnover is now over E2bn (£1.5bn).

Wealthy men are spending so much on high fashion that the contents of their wardrobe make up as much as a third of the value of the belongings in their home, according to insurance broker Aon Private Clients.

The retail distribution review, principles-based regulation and capital gains tax proposals will accelerate the increased use of platforms by intermediaries, according to CWC Research with BNP Paribas Securities Services.

What has been refreshing since the announcement of the retail distribution review (RDR) is the prominence that the profession and related qualifications have had.

Advisers shouldn’t recommend pension scheme transfers to Ireland to get around UK pension law, unless they have a genuine Irish trading company, Rowanmoor Pensions has warned.

Demand for alternative assets has propelled another provider into the market. Wealth management company Rensberg Sheppard has launched a segregated alternative assets discretionary management solution.

The Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) has launched an information service for retired advisers.
It will be available to exprincipals of firms who are no longer authorised, but still have liability for advice given during their career.

• The Isle of Man’s budget offered an increase for the Marketing Initiatives Fund to boost promotion of the island’s economy, including a new town and village centre regeneration fund, a rise in public service spending, and an energy initiatives fund. The full announcement is on www.gov.im.

The potential for BRIC economies to exceed even the experts’ predictions is high, but investors should still beware the risks.

Staff writer: Owen Walker

REVIEWER: Meera Patel
senior analyst,
Hargreaves Lansdown

REVIEWER: Marlene Shalton
managing director,
Chambers Morgan James Financial Management

REVIEWER: Dennis Hall
managing director,
Yellowtail Financial Planning

REVIEWER: Paul Monk
partner,
Balmoral Associates

REVIEWER: Mike Pendergast
IFA,
Zen Financial Services

The popularity of Sipps is unabated, but the range of investments varies widely across products. Pádraig Floyd dissects the responses from large scale providers, life offices and boutique companies across the board and reveals what products are available and the charges that are applied.

As with the recent cash injection in run-down east London for the 2012 Olympics, a wave of corporate immigration has flooded Hong Kong and mainland China, writes Ruth Emery.

Six of the industry’s best gather to discuss the portfolio potential of exchange traded funds in the UK with Pádraig Floyd.

Changes to capital gains tax will come into effect after April 6 that could have a significant impact on HNWIs, but there will be as many winners as losers, says John Barnett.

The sky-high volatility being experienced worldwide due to less than responsible lending
in the US perhaps provides the best environment to confront widely held knee-jerk reactions, writes Andrew Wilson.

As the UK property market continues to experience its fair share of ups and downs, Ernst-Jan de Leeuw describes the market’s movements since the introduction of Reits in 2007.

On the day Northern Rock is nationalised, Colin Jackson tells Owen Walker that he cannot recall a time when his knowledge was so in demand.

• Swiss private bank Union Bancaire Privée has moved to increase its standing in the UK institutional asset management market with the hire of Annabel Gillard as head of business development. She joins from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, where she was director in the UK institutional team.

Wealth management firm Citi Quilter has increased its investment management team to 31 following a brace of appointments.

Torquil Bebb has joined as an investment manager and vice-president at the firm’s London office. He will report to Stephen Vakil, managing director and head of London Investment Management.

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) – the investment arm of the Skandia Group – has continued its growth spurt with two senior hires.
Richard Vincent has signed up as product development director, having previously been head of fund group relationships for Skandia’s UK business. He will be responsible for the development of SIG’s product propositions.

Credit Suisse has poached Nick Keenan from rival private bank Coutts to strengthen its East Midlands presence.