Comment Archive

For over 20 years, Australia has been the most popular destination for British retirees seeking sunshine in the twilight of their years. However, a recent change in Australian legislation means that...

Last month the government announced the closure of the MAS thus bringing an end to one of the more disgraceful and cack-handed episodes of government supposedly trying to help the public. The...

With effect from Monday 8th March a new regulatory regime came into force which holds top executives responsible for failures in banks. There is even a new criminal offence ‘of failure to prevent a...

Time should not let us forget the damage that Gordon Brown did to our previously sacrosanct private pension system when in 1997 he imposed a tax on pension funds. This in spite of the long...

Tracy McDermott, the former head of enforcement at the FCA, who was made stand in CEO when Martin Wheatley was unceremoniously given the heave-ho, let it be known that she did not want the top job...

Looking back over 2015, there can be little dispute that the major event in financial services was the surprise introduction of ‘pension freedoms’. These freedoms though came with their own problems...

This legislation, which came into force on the 1st October, is all encompassing. It replaces the Sale of Goods Act, The Supply of Goods and Services Act and, most importantly from the Financial...

Regulations forbid the promotion of ‘esoteric’ or ‘non mainstream’ products to customers unless they can be classified as either ‘High Net Worth’ or ‘Sophisticated’ investors. The criteria for these...

Local Authority spending in England was cut by 20% between 2010 and 2015 which leaves what is nicely called a ‘funding gap’. Authorities do not have the money to fund social projects to the extent...