St Albans-based Financial Planning firm Lumin Wealth has merged with Swiss financial services provider VZ Group in order to boost organic growth and acquisition activity.

The Government is to give its Insolvency Service greater powers to tackle firms that try to ‘phoenix’ by setting up near identical new businesses to avoid liabilities and will also target directors who deliberately dissolve firms to avoid bills.

Goldman Sachs is to launch a robo advice app for UK users of its digital bank Marcus and plans to offer automated investment management by the first quarter of next year.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has welcomed the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consultation paper tackling phoenixing saying it will help “keep bad actors out of the market”.

A trio have been sentenced for their involvement in a number of insurance fraud plots led by boxer Hamid Sediqi.

The new issue of Financial Planning Today Magazine is out and features an exclusive report on how the SIPP sector is coping with a regulatory earthquake. 

New research has revealed that 33% of people who retired earlier than they expected did so due to ill health.

Andy Bell, CEO of platform and SIPP firm AJ Bell, has warned that proposed new anti-scam rules on pension transfers risk undermining thousands of legitimate transfers.

The Personal Finance Society says it has received up to 40 complaints in 1 week about CMC ‘phoenixing.’

The FCA will seek to ban failed financial services firms from working with Claims Management Companies (CMCs) to target former clients.