Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Thursday 8 December 2022. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Wren Starling acquisition trail
National IFA the Wren Sterling Group has bought Morfitt & Turnbull, which boasts around £270m of client assets.
Its managing director Gareth Shaw and his six-strong team will work from Wren Sterling’s new North-West office in Wilmslow.
Solla worth the slog
It was recently time for me to reapply for the Later Life Adviser Accreditation with the Society of Later Life Advisers (Solla), five years since last doing so.
This was the second time I had to go through the reassessment after becoming accredited 10 years ago. It is quite some process. I am now far older and wiser but various wear and tear of the body and mind has made preparing for things like this a good deal harder.
Quote Of The Day
Some of the best investments I have ever made were in a period when it felt quite uncomfortable – as was the case in 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
– Ken Wotton, manager of Strategic Equity Capital plc, comments on the changing market paradigm over the coming years.
Stat Attack
New research from behavioural finance experts Oxford Risk reveals that most of European wealth managers believe emotional decision-making costs investors investment return.
73%
Of European wealth managers believe emotional decision-making costs investors investment returns
Two-thirds
Believe emotional decision-making costs the average investor over 100 basis points of investible wealth each year
15%
Believe the cost is over 200 basis points on an annual basis
65%
Of wealth managers questioned in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Ireland said their clients frequently make investment decisions based on their emotions compared to just 11% whose clients don’t do this
One in four
Were neutral on the issue
Three-quarters
Of wealth managers surveyed see one of their key roles as helping their clients manage their emotions when making investment decisions
3%
Don’t believe this is part of their role
21%
Are neutral about whether it is or not
Source: Oxford Risk
Nucleus Financial Platforms Group (Nucleus) has announced the launch of the Nucleus Foundation, a dedicated philanthropic arm.
The Nucleus Foundation will be launched with £750,000, entirely funded by the business and governed by a committee of independent and staff trustees.
Nucleus is appointing eight employee trustees from across the business that represent its locations in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Salisbury. It also includes remote workers.
Nucleus received Charity Commission approval for the foundation earlier this month, meaning it can now officially begin work as a registered charity.
The foundation will focus its efforts on five core areas across some of the issues and causes most important to the business and its people: supporting local community causes, encouraging more women into financial advice careers, help make retirement more rewarding, employee sponsorship and donations and targeted support for employees.
Man Group head of responsible investment research Jason Mitchell has been appointed as the chair of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF).
He replaces Michael Meehan, managing partner at TCR Innovations.
UKSIF’s chair is a key individual within the organisation who fulfils a leadership role on the board.
The chair also works closely with the chief executive to ensure that the board’s decisions are implemented and that the organisation’s strategic goals are met.
BlackRock’s LifePath UK investment strategy has formally incorporated an environmental, social and governance (ESG) policy.
It includes a climate objective and other sustainable related objectives, into its fund prospectus.
Launched in 1997, the LifePath UK strategy is a Defined Contribution (DC) default strategy in the UK market.
For each LifePath UK vintage, the update includes the aim to achieve an absolute reduction of 50% in carbon emissions intensity by sales over a 10-year period (starting from July 2019).
It also aims to achieve a lower portfolio carbon emissions intensity by sales relative to a reference comparator, such as a composite non-ESG benchmark.
The strategy will invest a minimum of 80% of the assets held in corporate issuers in ESG screened or optimised strategies and at least 80% of the assets held in sovereign issuers in strategies with an ESG sovereign rating of BB or higher
The update aill also provide additional flexibility to invest in non-index funds.
From Elsewhere
Millions cannot afford to heat homes as UK faces Arctic cold snap (The Guardian)
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is said to face market manipulation inquiry (The New York Times)
Did You See?
Hartley Pensions took client money without their consent and failed to meet liquid capital requirements, the FCA says.
These details are mentioned in a Financial Conduct Authority document seen by Money Marketing that sheds new light on why Hartley Pensions was stopped from conducting any new business in March.
It explains how the firm ended up where it did after failing to answer key concerns from the regulator about its solvency.
These concerns centred on rescue plans the management of Hartley Pensions proposed to the FCA.
The rescue plans involved intercompany loans that Hartley Pensions claimed it would be able to recoup from affiliated companies [Wilton UK (Group) Ltd and Wilton & Partners Ltd] to meet liquid capital requirements (LCR) and solvency issues.
