Research from Prudential has found that nearly two out of five advisers (40%) are working longer hours this year due to business growth and more compliance.

Consumer research by a financial provider has found that eight out of ten over-50s (78%) “significantly underestimate” how long they are likely to live - a gap that means many could run out of pension cash.

West Midlands-based Financial Planning firm Newell Palmer has acquired Bromsgrove-based IFA Haven Financial Services.

Fund manager BlackRock’s iShares arm has launched a new exchange traded fund (ETF) investing in global bonds and offering investors exposure to fixed income indices.

Blackrock says the iShares Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF (AGGG) is a way to achieve diversified exposure to investment grade bonds, spread across currency, region and sector.

The fund holds the underlying bonds of the index, rather than applying synthetic replication, and has a total expense ratio of 0.1%. The fund launches with currency-hedged share classes, including US Dollar, Sterling and the Euro.

The fund tracks the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index - a measure of global investment-grade debt from 24 local currency markets that is widely followed, says the company. The index provides exposure to treasuries, government-related, corporate and securitised fixed-rate bonds from both developed and emerging markets companies.

Brett Olson, head of iShares Fixed Income EMEA, said: “Investors are increasingly diversifying their bond allocation to protect their portfolios from potential sudden market moves. This ETF provides access to broad fixed income exposure meaning investors can avoid the time and resource-consuming task of picking out individual bonds.

“As the broader fixed income market continues to evolve, investors are increasingly seeking the diversification and flexibility that ETFs can offer, and using them alongside traditional security selection.”

A recent survey by KPMG found that 60% of the wealth managers and advisers polled used fixed income products in portfolio construction, says Blackrock, and to date approximately £107bn has been invested globally in bond ETFs.

The Personal Finance Awards have taken place in London this week with top awards announced plus a number of special awards made.

Aviva is to give all parents employed by Aviva in the UK - both male and female - 26 weeks leave at full basic pay on the arrival of a new child, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation or how they become a parent.

To coincide with the Black Friday shopping frenzy today, pension and software provider Selectapension is offering financial advisers up to £100 off all new subscriptions.



The latest edition of Financial Planning Today magazine, our popular publication for Financial Planners, Paraplanners, Wealth Managers and IFAs, has been published and is available to read online.

Old Mutual Global Investors is exiting the ISA and investment account markets and planning to transfer most of its 8,300 clients to Hargreaves Lansdown.

The Personal Finance Society has awarded a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award to pensions legend Mike Morrison who died suddenly aged 55 recently and whose funeral took place this week.