Walnuts aren’t just a delicious snack—they’re also a skin-boosting powerhouse!
Packed with omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and essential vitamins, these nuts can help reduce inflammation, improve skin firmness, and give your complexion a radiant glow.
How Many Walnuts for Maximum Beauty Benefits?
While there’s no exact number for a beauty boost, nutrition expert Antonia recommends a small handful—around 30 grams—per day.
This is a perfect amount to enjoy the skin benefits without overdoing it.
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Walnuts are nutrient-dense, so even a small serving can work wonders for your complexion!
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Asset manager Jupiter has poached a team of fund managers overseeing £800mn of global equities from a smaller rival in a bid to cut its reliance on UK stocks, which have fallen out of favour in recent years.
The FTSE 250 asset manager has recruited the investment team from Origin, a London-based investment boutique focused on global equities, including emerging markets. As part of the deal, about £800mn of assets will be transferred to Jupiter.
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The move comes as Jupiter battles to cut costs and widen its range of assets. Like its mid-sized UK rivals, Jupiter’s business model has been undermined by the rise of cheaper, passive investing as well as UK investors wanting to diversify out of the London market.
The £800mn of assets Jupiter is acquiring as part of the Origin deal include funds from institutions in Europe, Canada, and Australia.
The Origin team joining Jupiter is led by Tarlock Randhawa and manages global emerging markets strategies as well as global smaller companies funds and international stocks. Origin was bought in 2011 by US firm Principal, which runs more than $500bn in assets.
Kiran Nandra, head of equities at Jupiter, said the deal meant Jupiter could start offering funds focused on global smaller companies while boosting its emerging markets exposure. Origin’s Randhawa said “the transition for our existing clients will be seamless”.
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The decision to recruit the Origin team comes as Nick Payne, Jupiter’s lead investment manager for global emerging market equities, plans to leave the asset manager.
Matthew Beesley, chief executive of Jupiter, told the Financial Times over the summer that he was seeking to make “bolt-on” acquisitions but ruled out larger deals.
Jupiter manages about £50bn in assets, of which £42bn is on behalf of individual investors.
The asset manager, which counts Silchester among its largest shareholders, acquired Merian Global Investors in 2020 for £370mn under Jupiter’s previous chief executive Andrew Formica.
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One of Jupiter’s top fund managers, Ben Whitmore, is set to leave at the end of the month. Whitmore, who was managing about £10bn for Jupiter, is leaving to set up his own firm.
Jupiter has poached Alex Savvides from JO Hambro Capital Management to manage Jupiter’s UK Special Situations fund.
Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Thursday 3 October 2024. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Royal London chair Parry stands down
Royal London chairman Kevin Parry has stood down from his role.
Parry has informed the mutual that he does not wish to serve beyond this year and the board said it has therefore accepted his resignation in line with his notice period.
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Current deputy chair Lynne Peacock will take on his responsibilities as interim chair, with immediate effect.
Abrdn Adviser has today (3 October) announced the appointment of Derek Smith to the newly created role of chief technology & product officer.
The CTPO role will bring together Abrdn Adviser’s technology and product teams.
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He will join in November from Morningstar Wealth, where he is currently chief technology officer.
ZeroKey appoints Mitchell to advisory role
ZeroKey has brought on board former FE fundinfo head of proposition Stephen Mitchell in an advisory role.
He previously spent 18 years at FE fundinfo and spanned both the asset management and financial advice sides of the business, including FE Analytics and FE CashCalc.
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Since leaving FE fundinfo earlier this year he has taken a variety of advisory roles, which he will combine with his latest role with ZeroKey.
Quote Of The Day
The FTSE 100 has set aside global tensions and opened with a small bump this morning.
– Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on global markets continuing to tread carefully with Middle East tensions in mind.
Stat Attack
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Many UK adults are unaware of Open Banking and its benefits, according to new research from Bluestone Mortgages.
60%
of the 2,000 people surveyed said they were not aware of the benefits of Open Banking.
31%
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of people would not trust sharing their bank statements or pay slips online with a mortgage broker or lender when applying for a mortgage.
20%
One in five wouldn’t be willing to use Open Banking to share their data even if they were asked to because of privacy concerns due to fraud and hacking.
22%
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More than a fifth of consumers say they use three or more individual bank accounts.
Source: Bluestone Mortgages
In Other News
WTW has acquired a stake in the UK-based advice-led wealth manager atomos.
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WTW provides atomos’ clients with access to a broader, more diversified range of asset classes and investment choices.
This next step in the partnership sees WTW acquire part ownership in the business, as well as providing additional capital designed to support further growth.
Through this investment, WTW boosts its presence in the UK wealth space.
WTW head of investments for Europe, Mark Calnan, said: “This is an incredibly exciting development for WTW which reinforces our commitment to the wealth markets, a strategic focus area for us and one that has driven significant growth for our business in recent years.
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“Our stake in atomos enhances our ability to shape how the industry services the needs and aspirations of savers in the UK.
“This is particularly important as individuals take increased responsibilities for their retirement through defined contribution schemes and personal savings.”
TIME Investments has hired Jonathan Roseweir as head of marketing.
Roseweir joins from Octopus Investments, where he was responsible for marketing its range of quoted funds and inheritance tax (IHT) services.
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Prior to that, he was at Miton Group and PSigma Asset Management.
He will be tasked with enhancing the TIME Investments brand and further develop its leadership position in the IHT services and property and infrastructure fund markets.
Sterling falls sharply after BoE Bailey remarks (Reuters)
Jupiter poaches team from rival Origin as part of push into global equities (Financial Times)
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Why India’s giant options market poses a danger to financial stability (Bloomberg)
Did You See?
The already fractious relationship between the Personal Finance Society (PFS) and the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has been ‘blown wide open’ once again.
The CII announced that its chief executive Matthew Hill and three other executives – Trevor Edwards, Mathew Mallett and Gill White – have been appointed to the PFS board.
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The move has further increased tensions between members of the PFS and its parent body, the CII.
The debacle started with the ‘Christmas coup’ in December 2022, when the CII imposed its own directors on the PFS board in a highly controversial move.
Mike Barlow with his late wife Laura. He wants GPs to offer face-to-face appointments to all patients
A woman who died of cancer could have lived longer had she been given a face-to-face appointment with her GP, rather than being misdiagnosed over the phone, her husband has said.
Laura Barlow, 33, was told she had endometriosis during a telephone call with a GP at Stickney Surgery, Lincolnshire, in October 2023.
In February this year, the mother-of-three, from Sibsey, near Boston, was told she was so ill she should go home from hospital to spend time with her family. She died three days later.
In a joint statement, the surgery and United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust said they could not comment on individual cases but would continue to speak to the family about their concerns.
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Mrs Barlow’s husband, Mike, is now calling for mandatory face-to-face appointments with GPs.
He believes opportunities were missed for his wife to start treatment for the cancer in November last year.
“I think if they’d seen Laura face-to-face they’d have seen how much pain she was in,” he said.
“Laura died because she was misdiagnosed over the phone. If blood tests had been done we’d have known what was happening.
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“Could we have had more time? Could the kids have had more time with their mum?“
Mike has also told the BBC that the lack of an inquest means the family is still uncertain about exactly what form of cancer Laura had.
Submitted
Mrs Barlow had three daughters, two with her husband. He says the girls tell their mother they love her every night
The couple met in 2020 when they were working together at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston.
They moved in together with Mrs Barlow’s daughter, now 10, and had two more girls, who are three and two.
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Mrs Barlow initially phoned her GP surgery after finding blood in her stool. She was diagnosed with endometriosis over the phone and given medication, Mr Barlow said.
An appointment was booked for her to visit the gynaecology department at Pilgrim Hospital in January, but in mid-December, she became ill at work.
Mr Barlow said he had tried to take her to the GP, but was advised to go to the urgent treatment centre at Pilgrim Hospital.
However, according to Mr Barlow, the hospital said because she was already under treatment for endometriosis, there was little they could do.
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Mr Barlow believes that had a blood test been taken at either the GP surgery or the hospital, the cancer could have been discovered.
Submitted
Mrs Barlow, right, with her sister Lisa and brother Wills
At the end of December, Mrs Barlow went back to A&E. On 2 January, she underwent an ultrasound, when lesions were found.
She was admitted to Pilgrim Hospital in mid-January and received a cancer diagnosis. On 2 February, the couple were told her condition was untreatable.
“They said: ‘There’s nothing we can do. Go home and spend time with your kids,” Mr Barlow recalled.
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“All the family came and we had to get the Macmillan nurses to come out. We got a bed made downstairs and had her in there.
“She was lying down and I slept with her. They woke me up and told me she’d passed away. And that was it.”
‘People are dying’
Mr Barlow wants GP surgeries to see all patients face-to-face and hopes a petition, started by a friend, will gather enough signatures to be discussed in Parliament.
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Ultimately, he hopes the government will support his proposal.
“I want that to be what happens in Laura’s name,” he said. “We believe in doctors and what they say. They’re the experts.
“They need to see patients face to face. It will save lives. People are dying because they’re not being seen.”
Mr Barlow had been married to his wife for less than a year when she died
Mr Barlow said his wife always put her daughters first.
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“We have pictures of Laura and the kids everywhere,” he said. “Every night when the kids go to bed they stop on the stairs and look at her photo and tell mummy they love her.
“The girls will ask me, ‘what happened to mum, how did she die?’
“I can’t give them an answer. I’ve got to tell them the truth. People failed her’.”
In their joint statement, ULHT, which runs Pilgrim Hospital, and Stickney Surgery said: “We would again like to offer our deepest condolences to Laura’s family.
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“We are unable to comment on individual cases but will continue to speak to the family about their concerns as appropriate.”
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, support is available via the BBC Action Line.
A body representing the customers of water companies says complaints have risen by almost a third because concerns are not being addressed.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) says it has handled 7,977 complaints in the last year from people who had “exhausted” their company’s complaint process.
It found Thames Water to be the worst performer, with Yorkshire Water and Cambridge Water also poor.
Thames Water and Yorkshire Water say they are working with CCW to make changes. Cambridge Water has been contacted for comment.
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According to CCW, there has been a 29% rise in complaints compared to the previous year, with households making 222,956 complaints to water companies in England and Wales during 2023-24.
Billing disputes made up more than half of complaints, though concerns about environmental performance, such as spills from storm overflows and pollution, increased by 217%. Complaints relating to water meters also rose.
Chief executive Dr Mike Keil said: “Households are having to waste far too much time and energy resolving complaints, which water companies should be getting right first time.
“Trust in the water sector is already badly fractured and the poor handling of complaints will only compound people’s frustration.
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“We’re particularly concerned to see a significant rise in complaints from customers with water meters who are questioning the accuracy of their bill.
“More companies are planning to roll out smart meters over the next few years, so they must listen and act on people’s concerns now or risk further damaging customer trust.”
CCW compared the performance of water companies on the number of complaints received per 10,000 household connections, and also assessed how well they were handled. Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Cambridge Water rated as poor on both counts.
However, Wessex Water and Portsmouth Water received top marks on the same metrics.
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David Bird, retail director at Thames Water, said: “CCW have recognised the collaborative approach we have taken and that the improvements we are making are showing promise. However, we recognise we have more to do.
“Our turnaround plan is focused on resolving customer complaints and improving the quality of their interaction with our business, from first contact through to resolution.”
He said the company had an “ambitious business plan” based on customer feedback and insight.
“Our customers told us to focus on delivering safe and resilient water supplies, address concerns over our overall performance including on customer service, and deal more effectively with wastewater,” he said.
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“Our aim is to always deliver excellent customer service, and we’re determined to do better.”
Imran Patel, group customer experience director at Yorkshire Water, said: “We work really hard to make sure we do the right thing for our customers and we’re continuing to invest in new systems, training for our customer experience teams and our reporting to ensure we improve the service our customers receive.
“We have worked closely with CCW to audit our complaints process and have received positive feedback for our customer-focused culture and the speed and effectiveness of complaints resolution.”
He said the company had a series of investments lined up to improve the customer experience, and that it was committed to “improving Yorkshire’s environment and ensuring no household or business should be without reliable, safe, clean water”.
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Water UK, the trade association for the water industry, said companies were working hard to “provide the drinking water that is independently rated the joint-highest standard in the world”.
It said a rise in customer complaints should be examined, but “not all complaints are necessarily evidence of poor service”.
It added: “A better measure is the number of complaints sent by the CCW to adjudication, which fell 37%, from 153 late last year to 57 for the equivalent period this year.”
It said firms were also being affected by funding cuts from water regulator Ofwat, which needed to “enable companies to provide [customers] with the service they rightly expect”.
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Water companies have put forward plans for bill increases, although Ofwat has made proposals to cap them. It is due to make a final decision in December.
Asda’s basket of 59 goods came in just a fraction more expensive than Aldi, costing £103.86.
Asda was next, with its shopping list costing £112.19.
Tesco’s basket, with Clubcard, was £112.96, and without loyalty pricing it was £113.35.
Sainsbury’s shopping basket, for Nectar Card customers, was £113.79, then Morrisons was next, coming in at £119.18.
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Sainsbury’s without a Nectar Card was £119.19, then Ocado and Waitrose came in bottom of the pack, with their baskets costing £125.16 and £130.37 respectively.
What are Aldi Specialbuys?
Ele Clark, Which? retail editor, said: “Our latest monthly analysis once again sees Aldi crowned as the UK’s cheapest supermarket.
“Given the ongoing strain of high food prices on household budgets, it’s understandable that many people are choosing discounters to cut costs.
“By switching supermarkets, consumers could save 21%, highlighting the advantages of shopping around.”
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It’s worth bearing in mind, the research carried out by Which? was based on prices for the list of 59 products across just September.
That means they are just a snapshot of what you might pay for them at different times of the year.
How to save money on your supermarket shop
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
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You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
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This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
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Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
Prices at supermarkets change frequently, sometimes daily, and you will find items on offer in one chain one week then in another the following week.
However, in Which?’s survey of a larger basket of goods it was Asda that came out top of the survey.
The comparison looks at 164 items – but it doesn’t include Aldi and Lidl as they don’t offer large enough ranges in shops.
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Asda came top of the list with this basket costing £418.88 – but Tesco (with Clubard prices) was just 1p more expensive.
An Asda spokesperson said: “Asda is consistently recognised as the best-value supermarket for the big shop in independent price comparison surveys, including the Grocer 33 basket comparison and the Which? monthly big shop trolley comparison.
“This is despite these surveys including other retailers’ loyalty schemes but not Asda Rewards.”
It’s also worth factoring in that Which? looked at loyalty pricing for Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose, but only Tesco and Sainsbury’s had items on its chosen shopping list with a loyalty price in September.
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Meanwhile, Asda doesn’t have two-tier loyalty pricing. Its loyalty scheme is based on points and personalised rewards, not lower prices for every scheme member which meant Which? didn’t include the retailer’s loyalty scheme prices.
It’s not the first time in recent months Aldi has come out on top of Which?’s cheapest supermarket survey.
The Sun asked Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Waitrose to comment.
A Morrisons spokesperson said it was “working hard to keep prices down and competitive for our customers”.
They added: “Our More Card members can also earn points on selected purchases, including fuel, and redeem those points for fivers off their shopping.
“They also benefit from market-leading discounts on over 2,000 branded and essential items across fridge, freezer and cupboard fillers as well as personalised offers and surprises.”
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A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We’re committed to keeping prices low for customers and remain focused on giving our customers great value for money.
“We have invested in prices without compromising on quality or our industry-leading animal welfare standards.
“Which’s price comparison also excludes multibuy offers, which are extremely popular amongst our customers for both our branded and own-branded products.”
The retailer added that it had reduced prices on its No.1 range which was recently relaunched.
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What is loyalty pricing?
Loyalty schemes are all the rage, but what is loyalty pricing? Here is everything you need to know…
Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons are three of the major supermarkets that offer customers loyalty pricing – where you can get discounts on certain products.
They’re all free to sign up to as well, so the obvious advantage is that you can save money without spending a penny.
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Different supermarkets will offer exclusive discounts on different products, so it’s worth seeing which suits your weekly shop the best.
Either way, be wary of supermarkets artificially inflating the price of their goods to make it seem like you’re getting a better deal than you are.
Consumer group Which? has previously found Sainsbury’s and Tesco to have increased the price of everyday goods then slapped loyalty prices on them thinking customers wouldn’t notice.
In any case, it’s worth shopping around even if you’re getting your weekly basket from a supermarket that offers loyalty pricing.
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Supermarkets change their prices all the time, sometimes multiple times daily, so it’s worth checking you’re getting the best price on an item.
You can use websites like Trolley to see how the major supermarket’s compare in terms of price on any number of goods.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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