Jean-Hugues De Lamaze: Is Hormuz the New Fukushima?
A blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has halted roughly a quarter of global oil output and significant LNG volumes, creating the worst energy shock on record, according to the IEA. The disruption mirrors the systemic shock of Fukushima but arrives at a moment when renewable power and electrification are cost‑competitive and ready to replace fossil fuels at scale. Analysts argue that the crisis will accelerate policy moves to reduce import dependence and spur a decisive reallocation of capital toward electricity‑focused assets. Investors are therefore urged to tilt portfolios toward renewables, storage and grid infrastructure to capture the emerging upside.
Millions Turn to AI for Mortgage Advice Despite Concerns
A Barratt Homes‑commissioned survey reveals that nearly one‑quarter of Britons have turned to AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Grok for mortgage advice, yet only 7% are very confident in the accuracy of the information. Respondents use AI to...
The Morning Briefing: Dynamic Planner Strengthens AI Leadership Team; There’s No Such Thing as Passive
Dynamic Planner, a financial‑planning technology firm, has bolstered its AI leadership by appointing Rory McLaren as chief technology officer and promoting long‑time tech veteran Piers Lawson to a newly created chief architect role, signaling an accelerated AI‑driven growth phase. The moves come...
Ben Gilbert: There’s No Such Thing as Passive… at Least Not for Multi-Asset Investors
Ben Gilbert argues that true passivity is a myth for multi‑asset investors, as even index‑based strategies embed choices about geography, size and sector exposure. He warns that a surge of price‑indifferent capital can distort liquidity, inflate correlations and hide risk,...
Dynamic Planner Strengthens AI Leadership Team
Dynamic Planner announced three senior hires to accelerate its AI‑led growth strategy. Rory McLaren, former Kaizen Reporting AI manifesto author, joins as chief technology officer, bringing over 20 years in regulated fintech. Long‑time leader Piers Lawson moves into a newly created chief...
‘We Want to Build Something Advisers Genuinely Love Using,’ Says Marloo Co-Founder
Marloo, an AI‑driven platform for financial advisers, closed a $10 million seed round led by Blackbird Ventures, bringing total funding to $12.7 million. The company now serves more than 650 paying firms across six countries, reporting average monthly revenue growth of about...
‘We’ve Got a Curiously Cautious Government with Failing Politics, Not Economic Ambition’
Professor Anand Menon warned that the United Kingdom’s economy has been under pressure since the end of the 2008 financial crisis, with wages barely rising for almost two decades. He linked prolonged stagnation to voter frustration, noting that many voted...
The Morning Briefing: Reassured Debuts SAINT.AI to Cut Non-Disclosure Risk; Sir David Attenborough and the 100-Year Client
Reassured, a UK protection‑market specialist, has launched SAINT.AI, a generative‑AI engine designed to scan medical questionnaires and flag potential non‑disclosure gaps before underwriting. The platform promises faster, more accurate risk assessment, aiming to cut underwriting time by up to 30%...
Reassured Debuts SAINT.AI to Cut Non-Disclosure Risk
Reassured, the UK’s largest life‑insurance broker, has launched SAINT.AI, a generative‑AI tool built with FOIL AI and Microsoft. The platform scans unstructured call transcripts and cross‑checks them against application data to flag medical disclosure gaps before underwriting. By surfacing inconsistencies early,...
Rob Gardner: Sir David Attenborough and the 100-Year Client
Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday underscores the need for truly long‑term financial planning. Advisors must now factor physical climate and nature risks—flooding, drought, ecosystem decline—into retirement and investment strategies. The UK Environment Agency flags over six million properties at flood risk,...
‘The Idea Women Don’t Want to Be Advisers Is Ridiculous’
At the MMI Leeds conference, industry leaders rejected the notion that women lack interest in financial‑adviser roles, citing structural and cultural barriers instead. Speakers highlighted that women comprise only about 18% of advisers, yet programmes like the Verve Foundation’s talent...
Pensions IHT Shake-Up Is ‘Not a Tweak, but a Reset’
Financial advisers have just 11 months to prepare for a sweeping overhaul of how inheritance tax (IHT) applies to pensions, set to take effect in April 2027. Industry leaders at MMI Leeds 2026 highlighted that HMRC will soon release detailed...
Absolute Expands with Four North-West IFA Deals
Absolute Financial Group has acquired four North‑West independent‑financial‑adviser (IFA) firms—Allied Financial Services, RSJ Financial Planning, Millcroft Wealth Management and Mackenzie Financial Planning—adding roughly $735 million in assets under advice. The acquisitions push Absolute’s total assets under advice above $2.7 billion, cementing its...
CII Warns Advice Sector Is Underprepared for Great Wealth Transfer
The Chartered Insurance Institute warns that the UK’s upcoming Great Wealth Transfer—estimated at £5.5 trillion (about $7 trillion) by 2050—has left the financial‑planning sector under‑prepared. Only 44 % of advisory firms have a formal intergenerational strategy and fewer than 40 % actively engage adult...
Leader: Should Financial Advice Formalise the Transfer of Agency?
The financial‑advice industry has no standard process for transferring agency when clients switch advisers, leaving critical client information behind. This gap creates a "starting cold" scenario for incoming advisers, risking weaker advice and unnecessary product changes. Professionals argue that a...
Iress Partners with Thoughtworks on AI and Platform Push
Iress has struck a strategic partnership with technology consultancy Thoughtworks to modernize its wealth‑management platforms and embed artificial‑intelligence capabilities. The collaboration will streamline Iress’s technology architecture, starting with its flagship Xplan platform, and aims to deliver a more modular, AI‑enabled...
LV= Names Jonathan Pears as Non-Executive Director
LV= has appointed Jonathan Pears as a non‑executive director, pending regulator sign‑off. Pears, who joined the board in April, will be formally introduced at the AGM later this year. He brings more than 25 years of experience across life insurance,...
British Friendly Enhances IP Offering with Gender-Specific Added-Value Services
British Friendly has upgraded its income protection (IP) offering, raising benefit limits and adding a flexible deferred‑period option. The insurer introduced gender‑specific added‑value services to tailor wellness support. Its existing Symbio health service has been rebranded as the My HealthHero...
Isio Agrees Collidr Deal to Enhance Adviser Offering
Isio announced a deal to acquire UK fintech and investment manager Collidr, integrating its AI‑driven technology and model‑portfolio capabilities into Isio’s adviser solutions. Collidr currently oversees more than £3.8 bn (approximately $4.8 bn) in assets, offering both bespoke and ready‑made portfolios. The...
Gregor Sked: What a Children’s Story Tells Us About Protection
Gregor Sked warns that the 2026/27 tax year will see dividend tax rates rise while personal allowances stay frozen, tightening take‑home pay for both employees and business owners. The squeeze on income, higher minimum wages and modest Statutory Sick Pay...
Off the Record: Chris Eastwood, CEO, Penfold
Chris Eastwood, CEO of Penfold, warned that the UK pensions system rests on a fragile contract where individuals trust professional trustees to act in their best interests. He argued that government should provide regulatory guardrails, tax incentives and stable rules,...
Dr Tom Mathar: Why Chaos After Death Is No Longer an Exception
Probate lawsuits in the UK hit a record 1,200 in 2025, a 13% increase, underscoring a surge in estate disputes. The inheritance‑tax framework is tightening: the £325,000 ($413,000) nil‑rate band has been frozen since 2009 and, from April 2027, unused pension...
John Buttress: Consumer Engagement and the Pension Industry’s Missed Moment
The FCA’s March 2026 review warned that firms cannot treat silence as proof of consumer understanding, a point that hits the pensions sector hard. Around 10‑11 million people receive monthly pension payments, creating roughly 126 million moments each year when members are...
Clifton Wealth Partnership Completes Acquisition of Hertfordshire-Based Firm
Clifton Wealth Partnership has completed its acquisition of Dukes IFA, adding about 170 client households and £43 million ($55 million) in assets under management. Dukes IFA, a Hertfordshire‑based adviser with a tightly local client base, will be led by veteran Adrian Duke‑Cohan...
The Week in Brief – 27 Apr to 01 May
The UK Parliament cleared the Pension Schemes Bill, setting the stage for sweeping reforms across defined‑contribution and defined‑benefit markets as Royal Assent looms. FCA data showed total consumer complaints climb to 1.87 million, with a 10% surge driven by insurance and...
Tony Blair Institute’s Radical Pension Proposals Criticised as ‘Deeply Troubling’
The Tony Blair Institute has unveiled a "Lifespan Fund" proposal to replace the UK state pension with a flexible, credit‑based system. The plan would scrap the triple lock, linking future pension growth to earnings and allowing early or interim withdrawals....
Jenny Segal: Firms Should Measure Culture in the Same Way as AUM
Jenny Segal argues that financial firms treat culture like an operating system and should measure it with the same rigor as assets under management. She cites research showing top workplaces generate twice the revenue per employee and outperform the Russell 1000...
Shackleton Buys Surrey IFA to Boost Sports Advice Capability
Shackleton, the UK wealth‑management firm launched in December 2024, has completed the acquisition of Surrey‑based Arundel Wealth Management. The deal, cleared by regulators, adds more than £200 million (about $254 million) in assets under advice and management, and brings a niche sports‑advisor...
Reaction as Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75%
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 8‑1 to keep the Bank Rate at 3.75% on 30 April, matching market expectations. Inflation eased to 3.3% year‑on‑year, but persistent price pressures and geopolitical uncertainty kept the committee from cutting rates. Analysts...
Isa Reforms Unlikely to Shift Saver Behaviour, Firms Warn
Wealth‑management firms doubt the UK government's ISA reforms will move savers from cash to equities. While 36% of respondents see the reduced cash‑ISA allowance as the most significant change, only 7% believe it will actually spur investment. A majority (62%)...
Scottish Friendly Records Highest Sales in 164-Year History
Scottish Friendly posted record overall sales of £56.1 m (≈ $71.8 m) for 2025, the highest in its 164‑year history. Core ISA products surged 60% year‑on‑year, while £23 m (≈ $29.4 m) was returned to members, including £4.9 m via its ProfitShare scheme. Assets under management climbed...
FNZ Appoints Ex-Rathbones COO to Head up UK Business
FNZ has named Andy Brodie, former chief operating officer of Rathbones, as group head of its UK business, replacing Alastair Conway who moves to a vice‑chairman role overseeing global client coverage. Brodie joined the firm two months ago after a...
Ed Dymott: Trail Commission Isn’t the Problem
Fourteen years after the Retail Distribution Review forced a shift to fee‑based advice, the FCA is consulting on a ban of trail commissions that still flow from legacy insurance bonds and with‑profits funds. Ed Dymott argues that while trail commissions...
The Exeter Pays £71m as Health Claims Surge
The Exeter paid out roughly $90 million in claims for 2025, with health insurance accounting for about $66 million of that total. Over 16,500 new health‑related claims were recorded, driven mainly by musculoskeletal, connective‑tissue and cancer conditions. Income‑protection payouts rose 12% to...
Pension Schemes Bill Finally Passed After Period of ‘Ping Pong’
The Pension Schemes Bill cleared the Commons‑Lords “ping‑pong” and is now poised for Royal Assent. A 12‑ to 24‑month rolling consultation programme will follow, covering value‑for‑money, consolidation, decumulation and defined‑benefit end‑game strategies. Industry leaders say the reforms must keep member...
Rose St Louis to Join Canada Life as First Chief Customer Officer
Rose St Louis will join Canada Life as its first chief customer officer in July 2026, pending regulatory approval. The newly created role will steer the insurer’s customer strategy, unifying experience for policyholders and adviser partners. St Louis arrives from Scottish Widows, where...
IPipeline Updates SolutionBuilder with Visual Feature Badges
iPipeline has refreshed its SolutionBuilder sourcing portal with visual feature badges that can display up to 12 icons on each provider quote. The badges let advisors instantly spot key product attributes and compare protection offerings against client needs. The rollout...
MWA Completes Acquisition of Hawthorn Financial Services
MWA Financial Advice completed its acquisition of Wiltshire‑based Hawthorn Financial Services on April 28, 2026, adding over 70 family units and roughly £26 million (about $33 million) in assets under advice. The deal brings MWA’s total AUA to approximately £950 million (around $1.2 billion)...
Era of Buying Advice Firms Simply for Scale Is over, Says NextWealth
NextWealth’s latest Consolidation of Advice report declares that buying advisory firms solely for scale is a thing of the past. The study highlights data quality and cultural alignment as the new gatekeepers of successful deals, superseding sheer transaction volume. It...
Melo Launches Platform for Firms Looking to Buy and Sell
Melo, a UK M&A broker, is launching Project Exit, an independent marketplace for buying and selling financial‑planning firms. The platform lets sellers input details once, receive a free indicative valuation, and manage buyer interest centrally, aiming for greater transparency. Melo...
AI Could Cut Adviser Admin From Hours to Seconds, Says Bravura
Bravura Solutions says AI agents could shrink core adviser tasks from hours to seconds, starting with single‑agent tools that still keep a human in the loop. The firm showcased end‑of‑tax‑year ISA planning, where an AI could identify eligible clients, calculate...
The Morning Briefing: AJ Bell and GBST Sign Decade-Long Technology Extension; New Tax Year, New Rules, New Opportunities
AJ Bell has signed a 10‑year extension with technology provider GBST, keeping the Composer platform as the backbone of its wealth administration. The platform currently oversees £109 bn (≈$139 bn) in assets for about 723,000 customers across advised and direct‑to‑consumer channels. The new...
Julia Peake: New Tax Year, New Rules, New Opportunities
The 2026‑27 tax year resets key UK allowances, including an ISA limit of £20,000 (≈ $25.4k) and a £3,000 (≈ $3.8k) capital‑gains‑tax exemption. Dividend tax rates rose on 6 April 2026, prompting a review of salary versus dividend mixes and pension contributions. Updated gifting...
Advisers Seek Co-Manufactured MPS to Better Meet Client Goals
Advisers are increasingly demanding co‑manufactured managed portfolio services (MPS) that align with client objectives, with 91% valuing a strategic partner for such solutions, according to Charles Stanley of Raymond James Wealth Management. The survey highlights that alignment with target‑market suitability (34%), ability...
Legacy Rules ‘Undermine’ Consumer Duty Goals, Research Finds
Broadridge Financial Solutions’ research shows that legacy disclosure rules in the UK dramatically limit customer comprehension of financial communications, even though most users rate the messages as clear. In a randomized trial of 1,500 savings customers, only 15% answered key...
The Morning Briefing: Savvy the Squirrel Leads £10m Industry Drive to Close UK ‘Investing Gap’; Why Three Groups Are Tightening...
A coalition of 20 financial firms, HM Treasury and the FCA has launched the £10 m ($12.8 m) Invest for the Future campaign, fronted by a mascot called Savvy the Squirrel, to turn 10.1 million cash‑rich savers into investors. FCA data shows 7 million...
Savvy the Squirrel Leads £10m Industry Drive to Close UK ‘Investing Gap’
A coalition of 20 financial firms, HM Treasury and the FCA has unveiled the £10 million (≈$12.8 million) “Invest for the Future” campaign, fronted by a mascot called Savvy the Squirrel. The multi‑year drive aims to convert 10.1 million reluctant savers—about 7 million of...
Richard Jones: Unconstrained in the Face of Uncertainty
Advisers face heightened client anxiety as markets wobble, making it hard to keep portfolios fully invested. Richard Jones argues that unconstrained global fixed‑income strategies can broaden opportunity sets while preserving diversification and resilience. By stepping outside traditional benchmarks, these funds...
Absolute Financial Group Buys Hampshire Advice Firm
Absolute Financial Group, a UK IFA consolidator, has acquired St George’s Financial Services Ltd, a Hampshire‑based advice firm. The deal is the first under Absolute’s new ‘Partnership Programme’, which provides an initial minority investment followed by a staged buy‑out. St George’s will...
Advisers Raise Concerns over CGT Reporting Gaps on Platforms
Advisers are flagging persistent gaps in capital gains tax (CGT) reporting on investment platforms after recent UK tax changes expanded client coverage. The Lang Cat’s State of the Platform Nation report shows over 30% of advisers saw a rise in CGT...