Author: Adiantku

Mr Morris has 20 years of industry experience and was previously a Chartered Financial Planner at Broadstone (formerly BDO Investment Management).

The wealth manager has also hired Johnny McGrath as a client adviser for the same branch. He has 26 years of experience in private banking and joins from UBS. He is a Chartered Fellow of the CISI.

Brown Shipley is owned by Quintet Private Bank.

The new joiners are the latest in a number of new hires for the wealth management firm.

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In May 2020 Brown Shipley reshuffled its senior executive team by appointing BNY Mellon veteran and CISI chairman Michael Cole-Fontayn as its new chairman in a move which will saw former chair Rory Tapner become chair of parent

The three men were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court earlier this month for their involvement in supplying cocaine.

Overall 41kg of cocaine was found in the rear of a white van used by the gang and, in total, 49kg of cocaine was seized with an estimated street value of almost £6m.

Ex-Schroders employee Joe Sawyer, 26, of Fieldhouse Close, Redbridge was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role

Co-defendant Lazarus John Loizides, 27, of St. Anthony’s Drive, Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced to 11 years’ in prison and co-defendant Robert Beckley, 31, of Church Road, West Malling, Kent, was given four years and four months’ in prison.

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The three were caught with a substantial

The launch of Unique Wealth follows the merger of Unique and part of Bright Blue Wealth (BBW), a Surrey-based wealth manager founded in 1999. 

Both businesses are part of the Openwork network.

As part of the move, Bright Blue founder and owner Rhiannon Vallis and three Bright Blue advisers have merged with Unique to create Unique Wealth, based in a new office in Weybridge, Surrey.

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Ms Vallis, who has more than 20 years’ financial service experience, and her team will focus on HNW individuals looking for “generational planning services” and wealth preservation advice.

The merger will increase Unique’s assets under influence to just under £700m and expand staffing to 32 advisers across five locations in Dorset, Surrey, Hampshire and Wiltshire.

Stewart Williams, CEO of Unique Financial, said: “We are

The company says the new tool is aimed at consumers who cannot afford Financial Planning or are not yet aware of the benefits it offers.

The provider of Truth software to Financial Planners believes the new simplified cashflow tool – truthaboutmoney.co.uk (TAM) – will encourage more consumers to plan their finances better.

The initial roll out is direct to consumers but next month Prestwood will launch a version for Financial Planners who want to link their website to the free consumer website.  After consumers have entered their details, they can allow planners to import their fact find details straight into the comprehensive planner version of Truth.

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Consumers can use the tool to evaluate the impact of key changes to their finances such as spending less, retiring later or increasing pension contributions.

Ritchie Walton, managing director of

They are working with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) to find new members for a “trailblazer” group that will review the Financial Adviser and Paraplanner apprenticeship standards to ensure they are “fit for purpose.”

They want participants who are experts in financial advice and able to review the current apprenticeship standards to consider whether the “knowledge, skills and methods of assessment” currently used need to change. 

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Members of the group will need to attend quarterly two-hour-long meetings until the completion of the review and revision process. 

If the review determines revisions are necessary, a working sub-group consisting of five people will be created. The sub-group would need to meet monthly for two-hour-long meetings for a minimum of six months.

Manuel Thompson-Oloko, the CII’s

With Royal Assent granted, after two year the Pension Schemes Bill has finally become law bringing into force a raft of new measures.

According to pensions minister Guy Opperman, the measures are designed to make Britons’ pensions “safer, better and greener”

Measures in the new Bill include legislation enabling the creation of long-awaited pensions dashboards.

There has been much debate over the timeline and coverage dashboards should aim for to ensure people can trust the information as accurate and complete.

The launch of the dashboards is scheduled for 2023 to allow the inclusion of DB schemes and older-style pensions.

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The Act also brings into force new rules around climate change reporting for defined contribution schemes. The Act places a new emphasis on schemes to consider

Because of the exit the next batch of new structured products, being launched from 15 February to 1 April, will be Investec’s last.

The company says it is shifting its focus away from structured products towards services for financial advisers, including Discretionary Fund Management and Managed Portfolio Services (MPS) on platforms.

Investec has been one of the biggest players in the retail structured product sector and has been in the market since 2008.

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The company said current plans (including investments into Investec’s range of plans) are not affected by exit. They will continue to operate and preserve clients’ encashment rights. 

Investec will also continue to support all existing plans as they continue over the coming years.  

Investec said the move was “a reflection of its shift

Mike Morrow is chief commercial officer at adviser network Openwork. During his career he has held senior wealth management roles at AXA, HSBC and Ascentric before joining Openwork as wealth director in June 2015.

In his current role, Mr Morrow provides a focal point for Openwork’s proposition development and contractual relationships with adviser firms and third parties as well as leading the development of the wealth platform.

Mr Morrow said he hopes to use his time at PIMFA to help the wealth management industry have greater influence over financial market developments.

He said: “The Wealth Management industry generally, and the advice profession specifically, needs to exert greater influence over how the market should develop at this critical juncture, harnessing the role of traditional advice and digital opportunity.”

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Ciaran Whelan is managing