Author: Aisha Mahmood

Pension tax-free cash withdrawals surged dramatically in the 2024/25 financial year, with advisers now reporting that the anxiety driving those withdrawals has not fully subsided. New research from Aberdeen Adviser found that 96% of advisers are spending more time reassuring clients about potential pension tax reform, with tax-free cash the most commonly cited concern, raised by 56% of respondents, and inheritance tax changes to pensions cited by 30%. The scale of pension tax-free cash withdrawals in 2024/25 The volume of money leaving pensions early was substantial. According to ClearScore, tax-free lump sum pension withdrawals rose more than 60% in the…

Raymond James has appointed Anna Pollins as chief commercial officer in an expanded role that brings platform operations, financial planning and growth functions under a single executive, as the firm advances its strategy to build a more integrated UK wealth management business.Pollins will assume executive responsibility for the Raymond James platform business, business development, central financial planning, guidance services, Charles Stanley Direct and marketing. That breadth of remit is a deliberate structural choice. According to the firm, the consolidated position forms part of a wider strategy to strengthen the connection between its investment management and financial planning capabilities.What the Anna…

Invesco has launched its Invesco PIE behavioural platform, formally known as the Personalised Investor Engine (PIE), a technology designed to help banks and wealth platforms convert passive savers into active investors by addressing the psychological barriers that prevent financial action. According to Money Marketing, the launch includes a partnership with UK digital bank Zopa, making that institution an early adopter of the engine’s capabilities.For anyone managing a portfolio or advising on one, the question is straightforward: does this change the landscape for retail investment participation, and what does it mean for the institutions that serve savers?What the Invesco PIE behavioural…

The NatWest Evelyn Partners advice model is quickly becoming the clearest illustration of a structural shift in UK financial services, one that touches every saver, SIPP manager and retired investor who relies on professional guidance to protect their wealth. Mark Glover, managing director and head of UK and Ireland wealth management at Ortec Finance, describes this shift as the ‘advice continuum’: a spectrum running from bare execution-only transactions at one end to fully discretionary, holistic wealth planning at the other. Where the NatWest Evelyn Partners advice model fits on the continuum NatWest’s acquisition of Evelyn Partners has brought the banks…

The FCA protection market study has delivered a verdict that advisers can reasonably read as a vote of confidence: the regulator found that the distribution of pure protection products is, broadly, working well. Claims acceptance rates remain high, product choice is broad, more than half of premiums are ultimately returned to policyholders through claims, and new business volumes have held steady. For a market that has operated under increased scrutiny across financial services, that is a meaningful finding.What the FCA has chosen not to do is equally worth noting. The regulator found no evidence of market-wide harm from loaded premiums…

HMRC inheritance tax underpayment among wealthy individuals is suspected to have reached £392m in the year to 31 March 2026, a 14% increase on the £344m recorded the previous year, according to Money Marketing. For UK savers managing estates, SIPPs and intergenerational wealth transfers, the figures serve as a reminder that HMRC’s scrutiny of inheritance tax compliance is intensifying, not easing.Why HMRC inheritance tax underpayment is rising up the agendaThe figures come from TWM Solicitors, whose deputy head of private client and partner, Duncan Mitchell-Innes, has been tracking HMRC’s enforcement focus in this area. TWM said HMRC was likely to…

Inheritance disputes and family planning failures are becoming an increasingly visible pressure point for UK advisers as enormous amounts of wealth prepare to move between generations. Ministry of Justice figures, obtained by TWM Solicitors, show that 11,589 applications for probate caveats were made in the 12 months to 31 July 2025, up 12% from 10,313 the year before. A caveat temporarily halts the granting of probate while concerns about a will or estate are investigated. The numbers suggest this is no longer a problem confined to dynastically wealthy families. Why Inheritance Disputes Extend Well Beyond the Ultra-Wealthy TWM partner Stuart…

The FNZ leadership transition dominated headlines across UK wealth management this week, as chair Stephen Welch assumed the interim chief executive role following Blythe Masters’ departure from the global platform giant. Set alongside a Bank of England rate hold, a fresh inflation reading and a raft of C-suite moves, the week offered plenty for long-term investors and their advisers to weigh carefully. FNZ Leadership Transition: What It Means for Platform Stability Masters, who joined FNZ in 2024 as a replacement for the firm’s founder Adrian Durham, will move into an advisory role for six months to support a smooth handover…

The Financial Conduct Authority will assume responsibility for FCA AML supervision expansion across 60,000 legal and accounting entities from the end of 2028, absorbing a function that currently sits with 23 separate Professional Body Supervisors. For long-term investors and SIPP holders, the development is worth watching: the firms affected sit at the heart of estate planning, conveyancing and tax structuring, services that wealth in drawdown routinely relies upon. What the FCA AML Supervision Expansion Means in Practice Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, set out the rationale at the Law Society Economic Crime Conference…