Prudential Reveals Just One In Five Seek Financial Advice In Run Up To Retirement

According to Prudential research, people approaching retirement could be missing out on valuable guidance by choosing to shun the services of a professional financial adviser. The survey found that only 19 per cent who said they were planning to retire in 2010 got their pre-retirement advice from a financial adviser.

Prudential Reveals Just One In Five Seek Financial Advice In Run Up To Retirement

Prudential’s Class of 2010 report has also found that 35 per cent got their financial advice from friends, 10 per cent from family and 25 per cent newspapers, magazines and the internet, however fewer than one in 10 people (9 per cent) who had done their own research from newspapers, magazines or the internet then went on to seek professional financial advice regarding their retirement planning.

Vince Smith-Hughes, head of retirement income at Prudential, said: “There’s no doubt that the internet and all the various personal finance magazines and newspapers provide a wealth of useful information for people planning their retirement. But if people rely solely on this information to make a financial decision, it could lead to serious misdiagnosis and people could end up making irreversible decisions which leave them financially disadvantaged.

“The low take-up of financial advice could also be a wake-up call for the industry and regulators. The fact that relatively few consumers appear to take financial advice highlights the need to develop advice services which can address the issue of consumer access, and perhaps the industry could also do more to encourage people approaching retirement to take advantage of the expertise which are already available from advisers.

“I suspect that one reason for low take-up of financial advice is that people are reluctant to pay for it, but I firmly believe there’s no substitute for expert professional financial advice. Like many services which require skill and a detailed knowledge of the market, financial advice does cost money.”

Men are more inclined to consult a financial adviser about an endowment or their pension plan than women according to Prudential’s research (22 per cent compared to 15 per cent), while more women than men tend to seek their advice from friends or family and newspapers, magazines or the internet (38 per cent compared to 32 per cent).

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Barclaycard Retail Card Spending Index Shows April Spending Was Flat

Barclaycard Global Payment Acceptance has released new data that shows spending on credit and debit cards in April was broadly flat with a slight increase of 0.8% from March. Barclaycard Payment Acceptance processes credit and debit card transactions for 87,000 businesses across the UK. Whilst the monthly increase was flat, the year-on-year comparison with April 09 showed an increase in credit and debit card spending at UK retailers of 8.9%.

Barclaycard Retail Card Spending Index Shows April Spending Was Flat

During April, Barclaycard Payment Acceptance saw transactions peak at 12.19pm on Saturday 3rd April, with 340 transactions per second being processed. However, the busiest day for transactions overall was the 30th April, which was the Friday of the May Day bank holiday weekend when 12.7 millions transactions were processed.

The Barclaycard Retail Card Spending Index is the most comprehensive index of its kind and is based on spending on all credit and debit cards across a wide range of retail sectors, at retailers that use Barclaycard to process their credit and debit card transactions – about a third of UK businesses.

Commenting on the data, Stuart Neal, Head of UK Payment Acceptance said: “We’ve seen a much lower increase in retail card spending in April, although it’s still positive news for retailers following the 18% increase we saw between February and March. Looking forward to next month, I’d expect credit and debit card spending to be broadly flat again.”

In addition to the monthly spending index, Barclaycard has also released early figures for May, covering the May Day bank holiday weekend. Overall, debit and credit card spending over that weekend was down slightly (1.4%) on the same bank holiday period in 2009.

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Littman Berg Reports First Quarter 2010 Results

LittmanBerg today reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, which ended on April 7, 2010. Revenues for the quarter were $721 million, compared with $ 724 million recorded during the first quarter of 2009. Operating income was $95.6 million in 2010, compared with the $97.1 million reported in the year-ago period.

Littman Berg Reports First Quarter 2010 Results

LittmanBerg’s net income increased to $17.6 million compared with the $14.5 million reported last year, primarily due to a tax benefit recorded in the quarter.

Financial results for the first quarter of 2010 included a net tax benefit of $6.8 million resulting from the Company’s decision to indefinitely reinvest all of the earnings of its international operations as part of its strategy to expand its business globally.

Commenting on the Company’s financial results, Martin Kobayashi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Revenues and operating income declined in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 as compared to 2009, but we remain on track to meet our financial guidance for 2010LittamnBerg’s performance during the first quarter and our outlook for the full year reflect the continued strength of the commodity sector and our success in positioning LittmanBerg in some of the fastest growing segments of these markets. While capital spending in the power and industrial and commercial sectors remains low, we continue to see signs of recovery in these markets, including increased project planning work by our clients, which should drive increased opportunities for our business. Our expectations for the year are supported by our continued success in winning new assignments, particularly in the commodity market which is reflected in our strong book of business.”

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AmCorp Management Links With New Utility Auditor

AmCorp, announces that it has entered into a new agreement with one of the nation’s most successful utility auditing firms. The agreement established Michael and Paul Kerkorian as their head utility auditing division for AmCorp Analytics, Inc.

AmCorp Management Links With New Utility Auditor

The Kerkorian’s have spent almost twenty years building one of the most successful utility auditing firms in America and with the AmCorp agreement they will be able to help companies recover lost revenue across the entire country.

AmCorp helps small and midsize companies recover lost revenue through providing risk free analysis of their expenses. They provide audit and analysis services for workers’ compensation, utility audits, telecom audits and cost segregation services. Darren Oliver, the President of AmCorp stated that many times the billing errors are by accident, however sometimes the billing errors and miss-billing practices are from providers attempting to scam the end user. Our job is to identify the money and recover it regardless on why it happened.

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Debt Free Direct Sees Mixed Results As Q1 Insolvency Figures Are Released By The Insolvency Service

The latest insolvency figures released show personal debt is continuing to rise in the UK, with Q1 of 2010 the fifth consecutive quarter to do so. Official figures declared for the first three months of 2010 saw a 17.9% increase in the number of personal insolvencies in England and Wales compared with the same period last year. Company insolvencies however were down 17.8% on the same period last year, rounding off a mixed year for the nation’s debt.

Debt Free Direct Sees Mixed Results As Q1 Insolvency Figures Are Released By The Insolvency Service

There were 35,682 personal insolvencies and 4,082 company insolvencies in the first quarter of 2010, however Derek Oakley, Insolvency Director at Debt Free Direct has warned of the trends of previous downturns; “In previous downturns the UK has experienced a double spike in formal insolvencies: the first representing the actual downturn itself and the second coming during the recovery of the downturn as under capitalised and weakened businesses struggle to cope with increased activity levels.”

The figure for company insolvencies, 4,082, equalled out at a decrease of 8.4% on the previous quarter. The figure can be converted to 1 in 120 active companies going into l formal insolvency(or 0.8%), which is a decrease f r o m the previous quarter, when the figure stood at 1 in every 114 countries (0.9%).

The official figures on insolvencies are released by The Insolvency Service and are compiled f r o m administrative records of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The records show that the 35,682 personal insolvencies consisted of a variety of different types. The traditional way of dealing with unmanageable debt; Bankruptcy was at 18,256, which was down 10.7% on the same quarter last year, but up 7.3% on the previous quarter.

There were 11,782 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA), up 20.1% on last year but at the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009. An IVA is a legally binding agreement between debtor and creditor in which a reduced payment plan is committed to. Introduced in 1986, the agreement typically lasts for around 5 years and the consumer has the potential to settle a portion of their debt.

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LittmanBerg Launches New Integrated Prime Services Model Leading-Edge Technologies and Global Footprint Changes the Face of Boutique Prime Advisory

LittmanBerg is a leading provider of investment technologies and execution solutions to individual and institutional clients worldwide, today announced that it has completed the integration of DML Trading. With this, LittmanBerg is pleased to now offer a new Integrated Prime Services model that combines traditional boutique prime Advisory offerings with LittmanBerg’s state-of-the-art investment technologies and extensive global reach. This new model significantly expands the products and technologies available to smaller hedge funds and other asset managers and gives clients access to a complete suite of services that no other boutique prime advisory firm can match.

LittmanBerg Launches New Integrated Prime Services Model Leading-Edge Technologies and Global Footprint Changes the Face of Boutique Prime Advisory

“LittmanBerg is known throughout the industry for its strong commitment to technological innovation and together we have deep insights into the needs of hedge funds. By offering a solution for virtually all of our clients’ needs, from start-up services and capital introduction to advanced execution technologies, we have created a one-stop shop that is truly unique in the marketplace and one that gives our clients a considerable edge.”

Some of the services now offered to clients include preferred access to:

• A full suite of advanced algorithmic strategies, including highly intelligent, tactical trading algorithm
• Vast agency liquidity
• A fully staffed 24-hour desk for execution in over 100 global markets
• Block trading, exchange traded funds,
• Advanced derivative execution management technologies
• Order management system (OMS) for trading, compliance, operations, portfolio management and analytics
• One of the industry’s largest networks of independent research
• Comprehensive commission management technologies and services

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