Category Archives: Assets

Assets, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Insurance, Insurance Services, Money

Learn How to Customize Business Insurance Policies

With any insurance policy, the consumer should take the time and care in making a checklist with their insurance agent to make sure all their bases are covered. Only a personally tailored business insurance policy stands the chance of being efficient while also providing the necessary amount of coverage, according to an article recently published on InsuranceAgents.com.

“When venturing out and starting your own business, it’s important to financially protect it with a quality business insurance policy,” states the article titled, ‘Make Your Own Business Insurance Policy Checklist.’ “Having all of the right coverage options and necessary inclusions will protect you from serious financial loss later.”

Here are several necessities that should be included in any business insurance policy. Without these, a business insurance policy is pretty much obsolete. Depending on the nature of the business, some types of coverage should be emphasized while others should be minimal. Talk to a licensed professional about the needs of your specific business.

-Reparation/replacement coverage for any damaged property or assets
-Liability coverage with high enough limits
-Reimbursement of any income loss if the company temporary ceases productivity (this is known as interruption insurance)
-A deductible that fits within the framework of the company’s budget
-Optional: workers compensation and health insurance for employees

Via EPR Network
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Anti-Money Laundering, Assets, Business, Financial, Financial Services, Money, Security

Identity Checks Supplier Continues To Expand

Leading suppliers of identity checks and anti-money laundering services, Tracesmart, are to expand their workforce which will help manage the increasing demand for their services. The expansion will specifically involve the administration, sales and IT teams.

Identity Checks Supplier Continues To Expand

Tracesmart is currently active in a number of industries however the key B2B markets in which it operates include pensions and debt collection. Both these sectors use the company’s data cleansing and consumer location services to trace people in order to re-establish contact. The pensions industry further utilises Tracesmart’s Existence suite of services which can be used to identify scheme members who have relocated or are deceased, this helps pension schemes better manage their member payments, and protect themselves and their members against fraud.

Demand for Tracesmart Corporate services has already prompted the company to recruit seven new members of staff over recent months. They now plan to recruit a further eight to strengthen their numbers and continue their expansion within their core and new commercial arenas. Tracesmart’s employee levels will soon total sixty, and the company headquarters still has capacity for further growth as their Business Support Manager, Rebecca Westlake, commented,

“We recently completed the refurbishment of our newly expanded Cardiff head office. In line with our expansion plans, the improvements have allowed us to develop and deploy individual teams efficiently and effectively to optimise our work environment.”

With close ties to both his front line staff and the company’s major clients, Tracesmart’s Managing Director, Mike Trezise, is fully aware of how and when the company will continue to expand. Commenting on his company’s development Trezise stated,

“We continue to reap the rewards of our ongoing marketing and sales campaigns within our core sectors. Demand has further led us to increase our staff to meet current and new client needs. We will continue to ensure our clients receive the best possible service and I’m confident that we’ll experience sustained growth in 2010.”

About Tracesmart:
Established in 1999, Tracesmart Ltd is a leading provider of consumer intelligence services. It specialises in the provision of data cleansing, consumer tracing and identity verification.

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Assets, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Investment, Money, Personal Finance, Security

According To A New Research Dads Worth An Additional £17,000 To Families

According to new research by the leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider, The Children’s Mutual, today’s dads undertake a wide variety of tasks in and around the home, such as cooking, assembling toys, acting as the children’s taxi service, doing the school run, organising family finances and doing DIY. This unpaid work is worth up to £17,000 a year, and is on top of the contribution to family life that a working dad’s salary provides.

It is the children that really benefit from dad’s helping hand, as their number one activity during the week is spending time with their children (4hrs6mins). This is followed by cooking (3hrs19mins), DIY (3hrs11mins) and arranging family finances (3hrs9mins).

David White, Chief Executive of The Children’s Mutual, said: “Dads play such an important role within the home and in the lives of their children – our calculations show the additional monetary value that dads now have around the home, quite apart from the emotional value that they have, supporting their partner and children. It’s great that looking after their children is so high on dad’s agendas, but it’s also really encouraging to see just how high up arranging the family finances are.

“Even in the current climate, dads are still looking to the future with 23% of working dads saying that saving for their children’s futures is a top priority. Currently 57% are working on this by trying to save what they can regularly. Contributing towards a CTF is one of the ways dads can save for their children’s futures. By saving regularly, and over the long-term, dads can help to give their children a financial springboard into adulthood that could be worth up to £37,100 when they reach age 18. This could be a massive help towards the cost of university or a deposit for their first home”.

Child Trust Funds are designed to provide a tax efficient, long term savings vehicle for all eligible young children. Each eligible newborn child (born on or after 1 September 2002) receives £250 (£500 for low income families) from the Government when their parents register for Child Benefit. The Government will make a second contribution of £250 (£500 for low income families) when the child reaches seven and is considering a third in the child’s teenage years. Parents, family and friends can all then add to this account up to a maximum value of £1,200 each year. The Government’s preferred option is a Stakeholder Child Trust Fund account which is subject to strict guidelines governing investment type and charges. The Child Trust Fund provider manages the account until it matures and becomes available to the child when they are 18.

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Assets, Business, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Statements, Funding, Investment, Money, SME, Stocks, Trading, Venture Capital

St Peter Port Capital Limited, An AIM Listed Investment Company Announces Its Preliminary Results For Its Second Year Of Investment

St Peter Port Capital Limited (the “Company” or “St Peter Port”), the AIM listed investment company whose aim is to generate value by investing predominantly in growth companies shortly before an initial public offering (“IPO”) or other exit event, announces its preliminary results for its second year of investment..

St Peter Port Capital Limited

Highlights

• 36 investee companies at year end

• realised to date, £22.5m in cash f r o m investee companies, generating a gain on investment of 39%

• following the year end, a further £5.67m invested in five companies, two of which are new to the portfolio

• NAV of 105.6p per share, up 3.1% over the year

• profit of £877,000 (2008: £3.69m), eps of 1.2p (2008: 4.9p)

Bob Morton, Chairman of St Peter Port, said:
“I am pleased to report that the Company has weathered the storm and maintained the net a s s e t value of the portfolio. We believe that many of the companies within the portfolio have considerable upside potential in a portfolio of high risk/high reward companies.”

Tim Childs, Chief Executive of St Peter Port Investment Management Limited, said:
“As at the 14 July 2009, we had £16.6m to invest in new opportunities and follow-on investments. Competition is limited and we are therefore being offered these on attractive terms.”

St Peter Port Capital Limited floated on AIM on 16 April 2007, raising £75m in new equity. The Company is a Guernsey registered closed-ended investment company. The Company’s objective is to achieve returns f r o m the uplift on or shortly after IPO, but the exit f r o m the investment could also be a trade sale. The universe for investment is principally companies across a broad range of sectors and geography expecting to conduct an IPO or achieve a trade sale or other liquidity event in the months after the Company’s investment. However, in current conditions, it may also include companies which are already public whose value is not properly recognised by stock markets. The initial focus is on companies targeting UK, US and Commonwealth stock markets although pre-IPO companies looking to float on other exchanges will also be considered. The Company appointed St Peter Port Investment Management Limited, a joint venture between Broughton Investments Group Limited (“Broughton”), a company in which Tim Childs is interested, and Shore Capital Limited (“Shore Capital”), the absolute return fund management specialist which currently manages approximately £1.4 billion, to act as its investment manager (“the Investment Manager”).

Learn more about Shore Capital :
Google: Shore Capital share price info –
Linkedin:Shore Capital information –
FT: Shore Capital Profile –
Puma Hotels:Shore Capital

Chairman’s Statement

Introduction

Although our second year of investment was a year of unprecedented difficulty for financial markets around the world, I am pleased to report that the Company has weathered this storm well. It has maintained the net a s s e t value of its portfolio which includes a number of companies with considerable upside potential.

Investment Environment and Portfolio Composition

St Peter Port was relatively fully invested at the start of 2008/9, having invested most of the funds raised at flotation in the previous year. A number of companies in which we had invested were coming to market shortly or otherwise close to a liquidity event such as a trade sale. The portfolio accumulated in the first year was weighted its towards three sectors: oil and gas exploration and production; mining and resources and renewable energy/clean technology, reflecting suitable opportunities which had been identified for St Peter Port’s strategy. At the start of 2008/9 St Peter Port held stakes in 41 companies.

During the earlier part of 2008/9, commodity prices remained high, giving rise to a number of flotations and other exit opportunities. Wherever possible, as described in the report below, the Investment Manager took full advantage of these to release cash. Over the same period the Company redeemed nearly all its hedge fund holdings other than one much reduced holding in a third party fund of funds which has staged redemption arrangements. However, after the banking crisis became extreme in September 2008 the opportunities for achieving exits vanished and only began tentatively to return since the year end.

Given the extent of the turmoil in financial markets, and its impact on the global economy, the Company refrained f r o m making any further investments in the second half of 2008/9. This reflected the conditions for a number of months in which markets – were unable to find any sort of equilibrium.

Investments and Realisations during the Year

During the first half of 2008/9, the Company invested a further £14.9m in nine companies, two of the investments being follow-ons. The focus of these investments shifted f r o m a possible exit through flotation to investments where there was a credible expectation of a liquidity event in any form within a relatively short period, such as a trade sale or repayment of a loan.

To date the Company has realised over £22.5 million through disposals (over £22 million in 2008/9), generating a gain on investment of 39 per cent. This was largely derived f r o m six investments which were wholly or substantially realised during the year and one other which was partially realised.

Share Buy-Back

Shortly before the year end the Company bought back 1.95m of its own shares at 30p per share. These shares are currently being held in treasury. As discussed below, the effect of this buy-back was to enhance net a s s e t value per share.

Basis of Valuation for Financial Results

Determining the Company’s financial results for the year is an exercise largely dependent on an assessment of the fair value of each investment held. Where investments are now quoted, there is an external basis for determining fair value and we have valued holdings at the bid price of the shares. Where this is not available IFRS rules require us to select a fair value.

Values of our oil and gas and resource stocks are influenced by a number of factors, including company progress, exchange rates and commodity prices. Where we have invested in a mining or petroleum project, when the company receives positive results f r o m drilling geological investigation this should lead to a rise in value. We report in sterling but many of our investments were made in foreign currency. Even where this was not the case, the value of the investment is frequently determined by reference to dollar values rather than sterling. We have also taken account of any pre-defined uplift on a liquidity event; in some cases we have written investments down heavily and in others written them up.

Financial Results

The Company made a profit in the year of £877,000 (2007/8: £3.69m), generating earnings per share of 1.2p (2007/8: 4.9p). Income arose largely f r o m the net gains in fair value of investments of £2.51m (2007/8: £4.57m).

Net a s s e t s at year end were largely unchanged f r o m the previous year at £77.13m (31 March 2008: £76.84m). However, net a s s e t value per share increased by 3.1 per cent to 105.58p (31 March 2008: 102.45p), largely as a result of the share buy-back.

Balance Sheet

As at 31 March 2009, the Company held £54.3m in investments in companies, being equity investments and loan instruments (31 March 2008: £55.9m). Nearly all of the remaining balance sheet was in cash, £22.6m (31 March 2008: £12.5m – including commercial paper), the principal difference being that £8.7m was held in hedge funds at 31 March 2008, which was reduced to £130,000 at the year end.

Activity since the Year End

Since the year end conditions have become more stable and the Company has resumed making new investments, described below in the Investment Manager’s report. Three of these investments are follow-ons into companies in which we were already shareholders and the other two are new investments. The pricing of each of these reflects the depressed market conditions which currently prevail and offer the prospects of significant uplifts on exit.

As a result of these investments since the year end, the Company, as at the 14 July 2009, held £16.6m in cash and available for investment. We therefore have the cash to cherry pick f r o m the best of our existing portfolio and new opportunities at a time when many potential participants are illiquid.

The investment climate has become less volatile and commodity prices have recovered substantially since their lows around the turn of 2008. Competition in our area f r o m other funders is limited. We believe that many of the companies within the portfolio have considerable upside potential in a portfolio of high risk/high reward companies. The Board views the future with confidence.

Bob Morton
Chairman

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Assets, Bonds, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Funding, Interest Rate, Loans, Money, Stocks

Securities Based Funding, Inc. Announces A Unique Financing Advantage To Borrowers Against The Value Of Their Securities Portfolio

Securities Based Funding, Inc. announces a unique financing advantage to borrowers against the value of their securities portfolio at below-market, simple interest, fixed rate loans ranging from 2.5% to 4.5%. These non-recourse loans will assist buyers, sellers and developers of properties worldwide. The loan proceeds can be used for any purpose except to buy securities or carry securities in a margin account.

Securities Based Funding, Inc.

Despite the credit crunch and while access to liquidity through traditional capital markets is difficult in today’s uncertain economy, security-based loans enable borrowers to access liquidity at below-market rates by pledging the securities they own as collateral for the loan.

Eligible securities are publicly trades stocks, bonds, tradable mutual funds, unit investment and real estate investment trusts as well as foreign positions on international exchanges. Ineligible securities include, privately held stocks, securities held in retirement accounts, such as, IRAs and 401Ks. The borrower retains all upside market appreciation and receives any dividends or interest to which the securities are entitled. Loan to security values (LTV) range from 35% up to 80%. The more liquid and actively trades the securities, the higher the LTV.

Securities Based Funding, Inc. represents a full-service, private, nonpurpose, direct lender that specializes in securities-based lending with investors in need of prompt funding. Terms are based on the evaluation of the risk and future performance associated with the stocks, bonds or U.S. Treasuries to be pledged as collateral to maximize and maintain complete yet proprietary flexibility of the equity-loan process.

Successful stock-lending transactions have been executed involving the American Stock Exchange, NASDAQ National Stock Market, NASDAQ Small-Cap Stock market, New York Stock Exchange, Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board and foreign exchanges.

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Assets, Checking & Savings, Costs, Debts, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Law, IRA, Money, Mortgage, Personal Finance, Retirement, Taxes

Divorce Survival Kit Released as Ultimate Divorce Resource

The Divorce Survival Kit has just been released as the ultimate comprehensive resource for people experiencing divorce. The Divorce Survival Kit was developed by Carol Ann Wilson, one of the nation’s foremost experts on divorce and finances. The Divorce Survival Kit consists of a four (4) CD audio set and complete workbook filled with examples, forms and checklists. The product took over a year to complete, and it represents a great wealth of Carol Ann’s vast knowledge and experience. The Kit contains everything you need to know if you are going through a divorce and are concerned with how to survive financially.

The topics covered in the Divorce Survival Kit include:

  • Marital vs. Separate Property: Learn the truth about marital and separate property and how to keep what is yours. Don’t surrender it if you don’t have to!
  • Alimony/Maintenance: Find out if you are likely to receive alimony and how much. If you have to pay alimony, understand how to best protect yourself and minimize your losses.
  • Health Insurance: Did you know you could become uninsurable after your divorce? Protect yourself and your children.
  • Child Support: Learn what you need to know about the Child Contingency Rule that could save you from owing the IRS thousands of dollars.
  • Asset Division: Don’t ruin your financial future by failing to consider hidden assets and tax consequences. Discover the best ways to divide all your assets.
  • Dividing Retirement Accounts: This is often the biggest asset in the marriage. Avoid some common mistakes and make the most of this valuable asset.
  • Settlement Alternatives: Courtroom battles can be costly and expensive, but there are alternatives. Mediation, arbitration and collaborative divorce are explained.

Carol Ann Wilson, a Certified Financial Divorce Practitioner, is the founder of the profession of divorce financial planning. She has been working with divorcing clients and their attorneys for over 20 years.

Carol Ann’s dedication to helping couples financially survive their divorce has driven her to continuously develop more ways to help them. In addition to the Divorce Survival Kit, Wilson has authored many books and articles on divorce, has served as an expert witness in court for over 120 divorce cases, has developed software for professionals used in determining financial results in divorce settlements, and has trained thousands of divorce financial planners around the country how to work with divorcing clients to achieve fair and equitable divorce settlements.

Currently, Wilson is the president of the Financial Divorce Association, located in Longmont, Colorado, and an owner of the Academy of Financial Divorce Practitioners in Chicago. Her expertise, as the founder of the profession, is highly sought-after, and Wilson continues to consult with divorcing clients today.

“The Divorce Survival Kit is going to help a lot of people,” Carol Ann says. “I am excited to be able to offer all of my knowledge and experience in one complete package, that is affordable to anyone. I like to say that you get my 24 years of experience for less than the cost of 30 minutes with an attorney.”

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Assets, Business, Financial, Financial Services, Money, Security

Battle Against Mortality Fraud Intensifies

In order to offer their customers increased protection against impersonation of the deceased (IOD) fraud, Tracesmart have considerably increased the coverage of mortality data they hold. The consumer data specialists have now incorporated the General Register Office (GRO) death indexes for England and Wales from 1980-1983 into their Tracesmart Corporate suite of services; this being only the beginning of their comprehensive death index digitisation project.

The GRO has collated registers of important civil events, such as births, deaths and marriages, since 1837, but it was not until 1984 that they began to digitise records. All registrations prior to 1984 are held on microfiche. In 2005 the GRO initiated the ‘Digitisation of Vital Events’ (DOVE) project to digitise the birth, death and marriage indexes, but unfortunately following major delays the project was put on hold, with only birth records up to 1934 and death records up to 1957 having been digitised; it is not known when the project will recommence.

Death index data is a pivotal tool in the fight against IOD fraud. With a lack of historical death data available electronically and having acquired microfiches holding all deaths registered in England and Wales covering 1960 – 1983, Tracesmart embarked on a comprehensive death index digitisation project. Utilising an offshore service provider, the company are ensuring 99.95% accuracy on all records digitised through a strict quality control procedure and, when completed in 2010, the project will yield approximately 14,500,000 death records in a digital format.

Tracesmart have completed the initial stage of this project and the 1980 – 1983 death indexes (some 2,500,000 records) have already been integrated into their mortality database. These additions make it both the most comprehensive and extensive commercially available mortality database in the UK.

Whilst the 1980 – 1983 death indexes will be essential for conducting comprehensive identity checks and data cleansing exercises, they will also play a significant role when financial institutions wish to trace people as part of an asset reunification program. From their considerable experience in tracing dormant account holders, Tracesmart know that many of the missing individuals will transpire to have died prior to 1984. Whereas to identify such events previously involved labour intensive research, it can now be done at the click of a button.

Commenting on how the new death records and their ongoing digitisation project will help their customers Mike Trezise, Managing Director of Tracesmart, noted,

“Following on from the integration of death registration information into our anti-fraud services last year, we are continuing to enhance our mortality database. From a service standpoint this data means we can improve and enhance much of our portfolio, especially our identity verification and mortality screening services. This, in turn, allows our clients to better defend against mortality related fraud, protecting both the company and consumer alike.”

About Tracesmart

Tracesmart Limited was formed in 1999 and supplies a diverse range of consumer data cleansing, identity check and people tracing tools to a wide variety of industries. The company’s client base ranges from SME to Blue Chip, who are all recipients of bespoke solutions, built around their specific needs.

Mike Trezise is the founder and Managing Director of Tracesmart. With over 25 years tracing and fraud analysis experience his unrivalled knowledge provides the company with a distinct competitive advantage.

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Lloyds TSB Insurance Reports Rogue Traders On The Rise

Lloyds TSB Insurance has revealed that more than 4.6 million ‘botch’ home jobs have been reported in the past 12 months, as a growing army of unqualified traders target unsuspecting homeowners.

New research from Lloyds Home Insurance reveals that one in 10 Brits has been forced to correct sub standard work in the last 12 month – a 16 per cent increase on last year – costing an average of £460 to put right.

The rash of ‘rogue’ trading is being fuelled by a tougher economic climate, as unqualified workers seek out ‘cash in hand’ maintenance work and homeowners look for the lowest possible price.

With nearly a third (32 per cent) of victims admitting that they made no checks at all on workers’ qualifications, the insurer is urging homeowners to confirm traders’ full credentials and avoid the false economy of unqualified labour.

The research shows that Britons view the initial quote they get as the full amount they will eventually pay, without considering any additional costs should the job need correcting. Unhappy customers were forced to pay an average of £1,250 to amend botched conservatories, £840 to correct building work and £640 on roofing.

Those aged 45 – 54 are the worst affected, paying an average of £900 to correct the botch jobs done to their property, with West Midlands residents most affected (20 per cent), followed by those in the East of England (12 per cent).

Commenting on the research, Lloyds TSB Insurance Managing Director, Phil Loney said: “Rogue traders are on the increase and costing unsuspecting homeowners thousands. To help the public feel more confident about employing traders, we’ve produced a comprehensive guide to ‘rooting out the rogues’ which is available on the Lloyds TSB Insurance website.”

Research was commissioned by Lloyds TSB Insurance plc and conducted by YouGov in April 2009.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total online survey sample size was 2,404 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken in April 2009. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+)

About Lloyds TSB:
Lloyds TSB offers customers a wide range of current accounts, savings accounts, travel and homeowners insurance, home contents insurance, personal loans and credit cards, investment and cash ISA accounts designed to meet different customers’ needs.

Lloyds TSB Bank plc and Lloyds TSB Scotland plc are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and signatories to the Banking Codes.

Lloyds TSB Bank plc Registered Office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN.
Registered in England and Wales no. 2065. 

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LV= Life Insurance Online Customer Experience Score Continues To Improve

LV= has been recognised as one of the leading online life insurance providers by independent customer experience benchmarker, Global Reviews. The news comes hot on the heels of the launch of LV=’s redesigned website,

Against 13 competitors in the Q1 2009 online life insurance provider category*, LV= came second for its overall content, with a customer experience score of 57%. LV= topped the study for its online claims information, and its life insurance tips and advicesection. LV= was ranked second for the customer support and prospective customers categories.

Overall, the LV= Customer Experience score was 57%, an increase of 4% from Q4 2008, and 10% higher than the online life insuranceindustry average.

LV= ecommerce director Paul Wishman said: “We are delighted to receive such positive external feedback about our website, particularly after a major redesign and re-launch. Slick online purchasing capability is increasingly important in today’s financial services marketplace and we are committed to continually developing content and usability to enhance the overall online customer experience.”

LV= re-launched its website in March 2009. New features include a ‘top tab’ navigation system giving users ‘one-click’ access to all products, and a financial advice tab which consumers can click on to complete an online financial health check and book an appointment with one of LV=’s financial advisers.

Notes to editors:

* Independent research company Global Review measured LV=’s life insurance website against more than 650 criteria across 34 categories, interviewing more than 1,000 people to find out how they rated the experience during Q1 2009.

About LV=
LV= is a trademark of Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Limited (LVFS) and LV= is a trading style of the Liverpool Victoria group of companies.

LV= employs more than 3,800 people, serves around 3.5 million customers and members, and manages around £7bn on their behalf. LV= is also the UK’s largest friendly society (Association of Friendly Societies Yearbook 2006/2007) and a leading mutual financial services provider. LV=’s services include car, travel, pet and home insurance, financial advice and retirement plans.

LVFS is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and entered on the Financial Services Authority Register No. 110035. LVFS is a member of the ABI, AMI, AFS and ILAG. Registered address: County Gates, Bournemouth BH1 2NF.

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£611 Billion Equity In Homes Owned By Over 65s

Prudential has revealed findings from its latest Equity Release Index* which show that despite falling house prices and the current economic climate, homeowners aged 65 and over have £611.5 of equity in their property.

These significant amounts of property equity contrast with the current squeeze on retirement income being seen in today’s volatile market and economic conditions where rates on annuity and income drawdown products are falling.

Individuals buying guaranteed annuities, for example, have seen rates fall by up to 10 per cent since the middle of last year and Prudential believes this fall emphasises the need for pensioners to look at all potential sources of investments and retirement income.

Property equity can deliver a valuable income, especially against the current backdrop of low interest rates and equity price falls of around 30 per cent over the past two years which have hit many pensioners’ non-pension savings.

Prudential’s Index, which tracks the amount of home equity owned by people aged 65 and over in England and Wales, found that 42.5 per cent of this equity belongs to those living in London and the South East.

The Index also reveals that the value of property equity belonging to homeowners aged 65 and over fell by £80.6 billion between October 2008 and January 2009, with the average homeowner over 65 seeing the value of equity they have in their home fall by £21,377.

London homeowners aged 65 and over saw the highest decline for any region in England and Wales with equity in their homes falling by £38,057 while those in Yorkshire and Humberside experienced a decrease in value of £13,028.

Keith Haggart, Director of Lifetime Mortgages at Prudential, said: “Every homeowner is being affected by falling property prices, but it’s important to remember that many people, especially retired homeowners, bought their homes years ago and have benefited from past growth in the housing market. Even in this depressed market, the vast majority of retired homeowners still have considerable wealth tied up in their properties.”

He continued, “Equity release has an important role to play in providing retirement income particularly when other sources are under pressure.

“Annual figures from SHIP (Safe Home Income Plans) show that equity release sales in 2008 were almost £1.1 billion and were just nine per cent lower than 2007, despite the collapse in the wider mortgage market.”

Equity release schemes can be an excellent way to help retirees to secure an income, and any provider who is SHIP registered provides a no-negative equity guarantee as well as guaranteeing that the mortgage interest rate is fixed for the term of the loan.

 

* Prudential’s Equity Release index tracks the amount of equity held in property by people over 65 years old in England and Wales. Figures are based on Prudential’s analysis of data from the ONS Family Spending Report (2006), the Land Registry House Price Index (August 2008) and GfK NOP (2007). Specifically, weighted number of households data is taken from the ONS Family Spending Report 2006. Home ownership data is taken from the NOP data. Average house price per region is taken from the Land Registry Index.

About Prudential:
“Prudential” is a trading name of The Prudential Assurance Company Limited, registered in England and Wales. This name is also used by other companies within the Prudential Group. Registered Office at Laurence Pountney Hill, London EC4R 0HH. Registered number 15454. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Find out more on Prudential’s product range including endowments and equity release schemes, including equity release mortgages on the Prudential website, www.pru.co.uk.

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Unfair Blacklisting Due To Id Fraud Is Set To Boom Warns LV=

A new report* released by LV= shows that the number of Brits whose credit rating has been badly damaged by identity theft is likely to almost double within the next five years, with up to 240 people a day being affected.

The new research by home insurer LV= shows that nearly half of all Brits (46%), have experienced some sort of credit problem**, with 27% blaming mistaken identity, and 29% said they had no idea why they had encountered a problem.

LV= is warning people that if they believe they have been refused credit unreasonably, they should investigate it further. It could be a sign that they have become a victim of identity theft.

To help assist the growing number of people affected by this problem, LV= home insurance now offers customers free access to an Identity Fraud Helpline. The helpline is staffed by specially trained expert advisers who will explain what people can do if they think they have been a victim of identity fraud.

The LV= research, undertaken by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), includes views from over 6,000 adults who were questioned about their experiences in applying for credit cards and other services. The research shows that as many as half a million adults* have been ‘blacklisted’ as a result of being hit by identity fraudsters, with the figure predicted to rise by a further 440,000 over the next five years.

In the past decade identity fraud cases have rocketed, rising on average by 33% annually for the past eight years***. The research also reveals that victims of identity fraud face costs of over £2,100 to clear their name.

John O’Roarke, managing director of LV= home insurance, said: “In the last ten years we’ve seen a massive increase in the number of people targeted by fraudsters, illustrating the importance of vigilance in protecting personal information and monitoring for any problems that might prove to be a ‘symptom’ of identity theft.

“Our research shows that an unfair credit rating is a common problem for many and more worryingly, identity fraud is likely to rise sharply in the coming years. That’s why we’ve set up the LV= identity fraud helpline, free to all our home insurance customers, so that anyone who thinks they might have become a victim of identity theft has somewhere to go for help and support.”

* Opinium research indicates 2% of people have been a victim of identity fraud. UK adult population is 47.9 million (derived from the Labour Force Survey); CEBR predicts cases will rise by 440,000 cases in the next five years.
** Credit problems are defined to include being denied a loan (including mortgage), credit card, utility or service contract, being investigated by bailiffs, incorrectly receiving a court summons or unpaid bills.
*** CEBR analysis based on CIFAS data: in 1999 there were 9,000 reported cases of identity fraud, rising to 77,500 in 2007.

About LV= 
LV= is a registered trade mark of Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Limited (LVFS) and a trading style of the Liverpool Victoria group of companies.

LV= employs over 3,800 people, serves around 3.2 million customers and members, and manages around £7 billion on their behalf. We are also the UK’s largest friendly society (Association of Friendly Societies Key Statistics 2008, total net assets) and a leading mutual financial services provider.

LVFS is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority register number 110035. LVFS is a member of the ABI, AMI, AFS and ILAG. Registered address: County Gates, Bournemouth BH1 2NF.

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Tracing Specialists Set Up Office in the City

Tracesmart Ltd, leading suppliers of people tracing services, electronic identity checks and data cleansing systems, have this week established a new London office in 30 St Mary Axe, widely known as ‘The Gherkin’. The Cardiff based company has procured an office in the City due to an exponential growth in the number of clients based in and around London.

The Gherkin is situated where The Baltic Exchange was previously located and at 180 metres tall is the second tallest building in the City of London. In 2005, following a survey of the world’s largest firms of architects, The Gherkin was voted the most admired new building in the world; this allure and presence in the City were part of the reason Tracesmart chose it as their secondary base of operations as Mike Trezise, Tracesmart’s Managing Director, explained,

“The Gherkin is one of the best known and most revered buildings in London and as such was the ideal choice for our new office. Its location also played a considerable part in our decision to locate there – we currently have a large number of City-based financial clients and having an office in the heart of London’s financial district will enable us to better interact with them and meet their needs.”

The ever growing number of London and South of England clients who employ the company’s Tracesmart Corporate suite of services, was, as Trezise noted, a key factor in the decision to set up a London base. These clients include financial institutions who call upon Tracesmart to locate dormant accounts with unclaimed assets, high profile pension sector companies that utilise the company’s pension tracing services and life assurance companies wishing to conduct existence checks. Commenting on Tracesmart’s prestigious new office Chris Rothwell, Sales Director for Tracesmart, highlighted the role it will play,

“My team and I currently travel across the length and breadth of the UK to meet clients, yet we’ve noticed that more and more were requesting meetings in London; as such the next logical step was to locate an office in the City. Our new office in The Gherkin is a key part of our business development strategy as it will enable us to reinforce our current client relationships and nurture new ones by offering a geographically preferable meeting spot for those in the South East.

Cardiff will remain the headquarters for Tracesmart and we will continue to hold many meetings there. Our current offices are always well received by clients; as well as giving them the opportunity to see the company in action, many people have commented on how pleasant a business environment our offices are with the spectacular views of Cardiff Bay.”

Tracesmart’s new London office is located at:

Floor 28
30 St Mary Axe
London EC3A 8BF
Tel: 020 7469 4204
Fax: 020 7469 4001

About Tracesmart:

  • Tracesmart Limited was formed in 1999 and supplies a diverse range of consumer data cleansing, identity check and tracing tools to a wide variety of industries. Their client base ranges from SME to Blue Chip, who are all recipients of bespoke solutions, built around their specific needs.
  • Mike Trezise is the founder and Managing Director of Tracesmart. With over 25 years tracing and fraud analysis experience, his unrivalled knowledge provides the company with a distinct competitive advantage.
  • Chris Rothwell previously worked in both the financial markets and tracing industry. With a wealth of knowledge and experience, Chris is well placed to head up Tracesmart’s corporate sales team.

 

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Anti-Money Laundering, Assets, Debts, Financial Services, Money

Cardiff Based Suppliers Of Data Cleansing And People Tracing, Tracesmart, Have Launched A New Online Service To Combat Money Laundering

Tracesmart are renowned for their tracing expertise as they currently help reunite unclaimed assets with their rightful owners and offer a variety of pension tracing services. However the company also offers a host of other provisions via its Tracesmart Corporate division, not least of which is their electronic identity verification facility, ID. Identity checks are an essential part of current anti-money laundering (AML) legislation and as such, ID is currently used by a vast range of businesses as part of their AML measures.

Previously, Tracesmart customers using ID, needed to select multiple tabs and verification criteria to conduct an identity check as part of AML procedures. This is no longer the case, as Paul Weathersby, Technical Director for Tracesmart explained, It was noticed by our technical team that to conduct a thorough AML search using ID meant that multiple search tabs had to be utilised and what Tracesmart’s customers really needed was the means by which multiple tabs could quickly be searched simultaneously. As such, we have developed AML – allowing users to swiftly and confidently verify client identity. We have also created an improved interface to make this an easy and straight forward task.

Money laundering is considered to have a massive negative financial impact upon the UK economy and the addition of Tracesmart’s new AML service is another means of combating the problem, fighting those who use the money to fund criminal activities.

Speaking about the new service, Mike Trezise, Managing Director for Tracesmart, added, Our new AML service is further proof of our commitment as a company to product development, improved customer service and most importantly, confirmation of our responsibilities as a data company that we continue to fight any form of identity related crime. We strive to improve our services so that we can protect our customers, and in turn, their customers, f r o m the negative impact of identity fraud.  

    • Tracesmart Ltd was formed in 1999 and supplies a diverse range of consumer data cleansing, identity check and tracing tools to a wide variety of industries. Their client base ranges f r o m SME to blue chip companies; allrecipients of bespoke solutions, built around their specific needs.
    • Paul Weathersby – Tracesmart’s Technical Director, Weathersby is the driving force behind the development and production of Tracesmart’s suite of web-based services, and manages and directs their experienced IT team.
    • Mike Trezise is the founder and Managing Director of Tracesmart. With over 25 years tracing and fraud analysis experience, his unrivalled knowledge provides the company with a distinct competitive advantage.

     

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    Anti-Money Laundering, Assets, Debts, Financial Services, Money

    J2 Solutions Sign With Tracesmart

    Leading suppliers of debtor tracing and data cleansing services, Tracesmart welcome the award winning J2 Solutions to their continually expanding list of tracing agency clients. J2 Solutions will be utilising the company’s online people tracing system with a view to improving their already high levels of trace success.

    Operating in a variety of industries, J2 Solutions are based in Northwest England and currently employ over 30 highly trained and dedicated telephone tracing agents. The company was established in 2004 by their Managing Director, Gary Jones, who joined the debt collection industry as a doorstep collector at the age of 18, before progressing to generalised investigations and then specialising in telephone tracing.

    Jones was recently appointed to join the board of the Credit Services Association (CSA), the official voice of the UK debt collection industry, following a substantial level of involvement with the organisation and in particular his role as the driving force behind the CSA Tracing Code of Conduct. Commenting on the code of conduct and why his company has opted to use Tracesmart, Jones noted,

    “The debt collection industry has endured more than its fair share of negative press over recent years in regards to ethical debtor tracing. I fully support the CSA’s Tracing Code of Conduct and implore tracers to only conduct debtor tracing exercises using fully legitimate and ethical means. As part of our commitment to ethical tracing, J2 Solutions only utilise appropriate sources of information – one of the reasons we have opted to sign up with Tracesmart. We also hope that in using their system we can continue to improve our trace success rates and further cement our place in the top flight of tracing.”

    J2 Solutions join Tracesmart’s diverse client base, which include the likes of renowned financial institutions who use the company to reunite individuals with unclaimed assets, and solicitors who use their online systems to conduct identity checks as part of compliance measures. Tracing agencies are, however, some of the company’s key clients and Tracesmart helps these organisations to efficiently and ethically trace people; commenting on these core clients Chris Rothwell, Sales Director for Tracesmart noted,

    “Tracesmart has a proven track record with tracing agencies and our services are utilised by a wealth of companies from sole traders right the way through to blue chip. A comprehensive working knowledge of tracers’ needs and continual development of our services, ensure our clients have an effective, reliable and ethical tool to use when conducting positive and negative traces. We fully support the work of Gary Jones and the CSA’s Tracing Code of Conduct, and are now proud to welcome J2 Solutions as a client.”

     

    J2 Solutions – One of the UK’s leading tracing agencies, J2 solutions deliver professional tracing services to a wide range of sectors including; legal services, private sector, public sector, credit industry and private individuals. In 2008 they won the inaugural “Tracing Agency of the Year” title, at the Credit Today Awards.

    Tracesmart Ltd, Formed in 1999, Tracesmart supplies a diverse range of consumer data cleansing, identity check and people tracing tools to a wide variety of industries. The company’s client base ranges from SME to Blue Chip, who are all recipients of bespoke solutions, built around their specific needs.

    Gary Jones, J2 Solutions Managing Director, Gary is renowned as one of the country’s leading trace specialists. A member of the CSA board, his extensive knowledge played a key role in the development of the CSA’s Tracing Code of Conduct.

    Chris Rothwell, Tracesmart’s Sales Director, Chris previously worked in both the financial markets and tracing industry. With a wealth of knowledge and experience, Chris heads up Tracesmart’s corporate sales team in addition to providing tracing consultancy.

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    Assets, Business, Financial, Financial Services, Money

    Tracesmart Sign the Personal Information Promise

    Cardiff based Tracesmart, leading suppliers of consumer tracing and data cleansing services, have signed the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Personal Information Promise. Tracesmart have pledged their support and compliance with the ICO initiative as part of their companywide commitment to the ethical and compliant use of personal data.

    The Personal Information Promise was launched on the 28th January 2009 by the ICO to celebrate European Data Protection Day. The aim of the Personal Information Promise is to improve compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and help restore public faith in organisations that hold personal information. Public trust in bodies holding such information has been tarnished in recent years following multiple instances of data breaches and many organisations displaying an apparent lack of diligence when it comes to data security.

    Tracesmart are keen to demonstrate their commitment to the proper use of personal data as it is at the heart of all the company’s services. This includes their online consumer site, which members of the public use to trace people; and their Tracesmart Corporate suite of services, which are employed by various public, private and third sector organisations to reunite individuals with unclaimed assets, conduct online identity checks and cleanse consumer data.

    Mike Trezise, Managing Director at Tracesmart, was the company’s official signatory and he highlighted how signing the ICO’s Personal Information Promise is very much in line with the company’s data protection culture,

    “Our signing of the Personal Information Promise further reinforces our commitment to ethical data usage and corporate social responsibility. As a company Tracesmart goes to great lengths to guarantee that not only is the data we supply accurate, but also stored securely and used responsibly; both internally and by our customers. Ethical data usage is paramount in our business activities and we welcome any opportunity to build both consumer and commercial confidence in companies that handle personal information.”

    About Tracesmart

    • Tracesmart Ltd was formed in 1999 and supplies a diverse range of consumer data cleansing, identity check and people tracing tools to a wide variety of industries. The company’s client base ranges from SME to Blue Chip, who are all recipients of bespoke solutions, built around their specific needs.
    • The ICO is the UK’s independent public body set up to promote access to official information and protect personal information by promoting good practice, ruling on eligible complaints, providing information to individuals and organisations, and taking appropriate action when the law is broken.
    • Mike Trezise is the founder and Managing Director of Tracesmart. With over 25 years tracing and fraud analysis experience, his unrivalled knowledge provides the company with a distinct competitive advantage.