Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Thursday 30 January 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
SJP ongoing advice update
St James’s Place has said work to review its ongoing advice charges is “progressing as planned”.
It gave the update in its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2024, which were published today (30 January).
Fintel completes RSMR deal
Fintel has completed the purchase of Rayner Spencer Mills Research (RSMR) for an initial net cash consideration of £5.2m.
In a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2024, the firm said the expected EBITDA contribution for 2025 is around £500,000.
National Shackleton cuts fees
National advice firm Shackleton has cut its platform fees for existing and new clients on the Shackleton Hub and reduced the overall cost of its funds.
The changes will come into effect on 1 February 2025.
Quote Of The Day
Lloyds is trying to stay lean as it deals with a few cyclical headwinds
– Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on the news that Lloyds will close 136 branches
Stat Attack
Almost half a million pensioners in the UK still have not paid off their mortgages, according to the latest research from over-50s experts SunLife.
69%
are homeowners.
23%
atill have a mortgage.
£67,478
What they owe on average.
86%
of those with outstanding mortgages are still working.
14%
of those still paying off their mortgages are retired.
5%
The proportion of pensioners in the UK who are still burdened with paying monthly mortgage payments.
Source: SunLife
In Other News
CISI Future Foundation has provided nearly £250,000 to three UK charities promoting financial education.
The charities – Get Set Girls, RedSTART Educate, and Crosslight Advice – will put their grant money towards providing financial literacy programmes to disadvantaged people.
Get Set Girls receives £39,589 for its ‘Empowered and Enriched’ programme, RedSTART Educate receives £100,000 for its ‘Change the Game’ programme and Crosslight Advice receives £105,000 for its ‘Money Skills’ programme.
Get Set Girls provides opportunities for personal growth to disadvantaged girls. This includes training, skills and social activities. The organisation also works in collaboration with local colleges to deliver additional training and courses.
RedSTART Educate delivers financial education through progressive learning to disadvantaged primary school children aged 4–11 throughout the UK.
Allfunds has appointed Pascal Duval as senior adviser for France and Benelux.
His extensive experience in asset and wealth management will play a key role in supporting the company’s ongoing growth and innovation.
A highly respected industry leader, he brings decades of expertise and deep market knowledge, further enhancing Allfunds’ ability to deliver integrated solutions for both fund houses and distributors.
Duval will bring his deep expertise in open-architecture solutions to support Allfunds’ three leading marketplaces – mutual funds, ETPs and private markets – with a strong focus on France and the Benelux region.
His experience will help drive innovation and accessibility across the platform globally.
From Elsewhere
SoftBank in talks to invest up to $25bn in OpenAI (Financial Times)
Deutsche Bank posts weaker-than-expected profit and ditches 2025 cost target (Reuters)
Powell signals Fed on hold as Trump’s economic policies take shape (Bloomberg)
Did You See?
Last year, the Financial Conduct Authority set out three proposals for reforming the boundary between advice and guidance: clarifying the advice/guidance boundary, introducing a simplified advice option and establishing a targeted support regime.
We now have consultation focusing on the latter related to pension planning.
These proposals are undoubtedly a step in the right direction, says Quilter chief executive Steven Levin. But for the financial-advice profession, they carry both opportunities and risks.
It is therefore important for the sector to engage with the consultation to ensure we get the right regulatory framework to both help more consumers and allow advice to thrive.
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