Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Tuesday 24 September 2024. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Annuity comparison quotes hit new highs in 2024
Pensions technology provider iPipeline has reported a significant rise in demand for annuities among financial advisers.
In the first half of 2024, annuity quotes increased by 12% compared to the same period in 2023, marking the highest demand since iPipeline began tracking in 2013.
This follows a record 60% year-on-year rise in adviser annuity comparisons on its platform in 2023.
Transact adopts electronic Cash ISA transfer service
Transact has become the first intermediary platform to adopt an electronic Cash Isa transfer service via Pay.UK (BACS) and Equisoft.
This simplifies the transfer process by enabling seamless information exchanges between Transact, banks and building societies, removing the need for paper-based transfers.
Previously, transferring a Cash Isa required sending paper instructions to banks, locating processing teams and manually completing the steps.
Financial Adviser 2B: Questions to ask prospective employers in a job interview
There is often a point during job interviews where the candidate is asked if they have any questions to put to the employer.
This part of an interview can be overlooked during preparations — but asking the right questions can help a prospective employee decide if the role is a good fit for them, while showing the employer that the candidate genuinely wants a career in advice.
So, what are the best questions to ask?
Quote Of The Day
She left the conference in no doubt that painful decisions are coming – although the country remains in the dark on where exactly the axe will fall
– Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, comments on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ conference speech ahead of the 30 October Budget
Stat Attack
New research from talent solutions firm Robert Walters reveals that 52% of Gen-Z professionals reject the idea of becoming middle managers, a phenomenon dubbed ‘conscious unbossing’.
72%
of Gen-Z professionals would choose an individual route to progression over managing others.
63%
of professionals think senior professionals value middle management more than their younger peers.
69%
of Gen-Z professionals say middle management is too ‘high stress, low reward’.
Double the amount
of Gen-Z professionals would opt for a flat structure over a hierarchical one.
89%
of employers still think that middle managers play a crucial role in their organisation.
Source: Robert Walters
In Other News
Unbiased, the UK’s top platform for finding financial advisers, has announced a new integration with intelliflo.
This upgrade automatically transfers accepted leads to an adviser’s intelliflo account, improving efficiency by reducing manual tasks.
The feature is available to firms on Standard, Enhanced, Premium and Enterprise plans.
Iain Thomson, chief product officer of Unbiased, said: “We are dedicated to enhancing our platform so that we can offer the best possible experience to our customers.
“This integration with intelliflo is a demonstration of our ongoing efforts and investment in improving our offering and supporting growth in the industry.
“The API will help make converting leads into clients even easier with faster contact rates and improved cadence.”
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has released a new report in its Market Insights series, focusing on the growth of sustainable equity UCITS.
Titled ‘Sustainable equity UCITS: promoting sustainable business models’, the report offers an in-depth look at market trends and investor behaviour.
Sustainable equity UCITS now account for 24% of all sustainable UCITS, up from 15% in 2019, with net assets growing from €0.6trn to €1.3trn over the past five years.
Despite economic challenges and market volatility, these funds have shown resilience, particularly in 2021, when net inflows reached €231bn. While inflows dipped slightly in 2022 and 2023, demand remains strong.
The report highlights that 70% of these funds are classified as Article 8 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), with 20% falling under the stricter Article 9 category.
This distribution reflects investor caution due to ongoing regulatory uncertainty, though the SFDR review is expected to offer greater clarity.
Sustainable equity UCITS have also delivered positive net performances, on par with their non-sustainable counterparts, while often offering cost advantages.
The report underscores the growing investor confidence in sustainable investment as a viable and profitable option.
Vera Jotanovic, senior economist at EFAMA, commented: “Sustainable equity UCITS not only encompass a wide range of sustainability themes catering to varied investor preferences, but are also a resilient investment product with competitive returns. This makes them an attractive option for investors.”
Anyve Arakelijan, policy adviser at EFAMA, added: “As the regulatory landscape evolves, we expect the sustainable finance framework to become more investor-centric, resolve inconsistencies with other EU regulations, and provide greater support for transition finance, further driving sustainable progress and achieving the EU’s long-term sustainability goals.”
China unveils raft of measures to boost economy (BBC News)
Growth softens across UK businesses in September, PMI shows (Reuters)
‘Get a grip’: why has the UK’s Labour government been so bad at politics? (Financial Times)
Did You See?
The Platforms Association launched yesterday (23 September) to represent and provide a voice to the £1trn investment platform sector.
The launch marks a step change in how the platform industry will engage with regulators and policymakers.
It aims to bring a united voice to co-ordinate and promote industry interests.
Several high-profile investment platforms, including Abrdn, Aegon, Fidelity, Quilter, Seccl and SS&C, are represented on the board and leadership council
Membership will be open to UK and European regulated firms whose primary activities are the settlement, custody and safe keeping of retail investor assets.
It will also be open to regulated sub-custodian firms providing dealing and safe-keeping services to organisations acting on behalf of retail investors.
Read the full story here.
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