Author: Aisha Mahmood

Iress UK earnings rise has arrived in headline fashion: the technology provider’s UK business posted a 43% increase in adjusted EBITDA to £4.6 million in the first half of 2026, driven by a combination of disciplined cost management and continued investment in product development and AI capabilities.UK recurring revenue grew 3% year-on-year, while operating expenses fell 5.3% over the same period, according to the company’s half-year results published on 17 August. For portfolio holders in the wealth-management software space, those two movements together tell an instructive story: top-line growth remains measured, but margin expansion is doing real work.Xplan platform consolidates…

A decade of hard-won progress on pensioner poverty has gone into reverse, with the single pensioner poverty rise now most acute among divorced women and those who never married, according to fresh research from consultancy LCP. For anyone building a retirement income strategy, the data is a reminder that household structure is not a peripheral detail: it is central to sequencing risk and income adequacy.What the LCP Data ShowsLCP’s paper draws on a previously unpublished breakdown of official Department for Work and Pensions data. It reveals that overall pensioner poverty climbed from 15.7% in 2012/13 to 18.6% in 2023/24, reversing…

The connection between mini milestones and financial advice is not one that features in most practice development guides, yet it may be one of the most practically useful ideas for advisers working with clients who are approaching or navigating later life. The events that move us most are not always the ones that come with a formal agenda.It is the large, scheduled transitions (retirement, divorce, inheritance) that traditionally prompt people to seek professional financial guidance. Those moments carry obvious financial weight, and the advice profession has built its client-engagement model around them. But a quieter category of life event sits…

The week’s most consequential story for retirement savers concerns the pension inheritance tax reforms set to take effect from 6 April 2027, with AJ Bell warning that HMRC’s proposed framework could expose estates to effective tax rates far beyond the headline 40% IHT rate. For anyone managing a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) or drawing on pension freedoms, the implications deserve careful attention well before that date arrives. The Pension Inheritance Tax Reforms: What Is at Stake From 6 April 2027, unused pension funds and death benefits will no longer be exempt from inheritance tax, a change that GoCardless estimates will…

Aviva’s half-year results for the first six months of 2026 show a 24% increase in group operating profit to £1.326bn, with the Aviva operating profit surge drawing on broad-based growth across the insurer’s wealth, general insurance and retirement divisions. For long-term investors, the question is not simply whether the numbers are large, but whether the earnings quality and divisional mix support sustained, reliable income.Wealth Flows and the Direct Line EffectThe headline figure is supported by a strong underlying trend in the wealth division. According to Investing.com, wealth net flows climbed 32% to £7.6 billion in the period, a pace that…

UK advice gap demand remains robust, data from lead generation specialist Inzuzo shows, even as the proportion of UK adults actually receiving regulated financial advice stays persistently low. The firm tracks around 150,000 online searches each month across financial advice-related terms, covering enquiries about financial advisers, pension consolidation and accessing tax-free cash.Retirement is the single largest driver of that demand, accounting for more than half of all enquiries Inzuzo receives. The core age group searching online is 54 to 66, with demand peaking among 64 and 65-year-olds as retirement decisions become pressing. For portfolio-builders watching longer-term demographic trends, that pattern…

The Money Marketing Awards 2026 have confirmed Transact as the winner of the Best Platform category, offering retirement-focused investors and their advisers a data point worth weighing when reviewing their platform arrangements. For DIY SIPP managers and those in drawdown, platform quality sits close to the centre of any sensible portfolio review.What the Money Marketing Awards 2026 actually measureThe Money Marketing Awards are judged annually and carry weight across the UK adviser community, assessing platforms on criteria that span technology, service reliability, and the breadth of investment options available to advisers and their clients. Winning the Best Platform category is…

PensionBee AUM growth 2026 has come in ahead of what many observers might have anticipated, with the online pension provider reporting a 37% increase in group assets under management to £8.6bn for the six months ended 30 June 2026. The results, published on 30 July, give long-term investors a useful data point on whether the platform’s growth story is broadening or narrowing.Group net flows of £493m underpinned the advance, drawn from both new and existing customers. Group revenue rose 40% to £26.4m, and group annual run rate (ARR) revenue increased by an equivalent 40% to £55.8m. For a provider still…

Private equity firm WestBridge has agreed to take a WestBridge Beckett majority stake in financial planning group Beckett Investment Management, subject to regulatory approval. The transaction, the fifth deal from the WestBridge III fund, sees existing backer Foresight Group partially exit while retaining a meaningful minority interest to support Beckett’s next phase of growth. A decade-and-a-half of growth rewarded For investors assessing what private equity backing can do to a regional wealth manager, the numbers from Foresight’s holding period deserve a close look. Foresight Group, which invested in Beckett in 2021 through its Foresight East of England Fund, said the…