Investment Bonds

With the Bank of England's Quarterly Inflation Report talking about a fall in the headline inflation rate in the medium term and a significant snap-back in the oil price, bond markets were quick to price in two, possibly three, rate cuts in the next 12 months.

Standard Life International has announced that sales of its portfolio International Bond have reached £593m, with sales for the first six months of 2008 totalling £270m. This compares with sales of £284m in the whole of 2007.

Britannia has launched a new range of Guaranteed Capital Bonds, including a brand new inflation-linked product.

With effect from today, Monday 21 July 2008, Nationwide will offer a new Legal & General (L&G) Capital Guaranteed Multi-Index Equity Bond (GEB).

In the complicated world of investment not all customers are the same and one size certainly does not fit all! People have different investment needs, expectations and attitudes to risk, which is why Legal & General is launching an improved onshore investment bond - the new Portfolio Bond.

Egg, the Citi owned UK online bank, is launching a new three-year Guaranteed Equity Bond paying a 26% return (equivalent to 8.01% AER) in the event of ANY growth in FTSE 100 over the next three years, with no risk of losing capital invested if the bond is held for the full investment term.

Skipton Building Society is launching a new issue of its Guaranteed Double Asset Bond (GDAB). The bond splits the customer's investment between cash and an index-linked bond and is available from Monday 2 June.

Despite the writedowns across the banking sector, Paul Brain, Director of Investment Management at Newton Investment Management, believes now is a positive time for bondholders, with attractive valuations and a paradigm shift in the way banks run their businesses.

Figures from Merchant Investors show the combined sales of their investment bond products (the Versatile Investment Portfolio [VIP] and Investment Portfolio [IP]) have increased by 17%, which when the market is seeing a 30% reduction is a great shift.

NS&I (National Savings and Investments) is to launch a new issue of its Guaranteed Equity Bond on 21 May 2008. This will offer a gross return that matches any FTSE 100 Index growth, up to a maximum return of 75%, over the five-year term of the Bond, without any risk to investors' capital.

Investors who are being advised to switch out of insurance bonds following the Budget tax changes could be worse off after taking tax and charges into account warns AWD Chase de Vere.

Hartford Gold continues to deliver further peace of mind and investment choice to customers with two new asset classes and seven new funds.

Corporate bonds should bounce back in 2008, after a year of significant underperformance, but a flexible approach will be needed to continue providing investors with a consistent income.

Many people choose to invest their money in cash funds when the market goes through a period of uncertainty.

AEGON Scottish Equitable has launched Investment Control, an onshore bond offering investors a wide choice of funds, control over how the bond is paid for and certainty of money-back guarantees.

Lincoln Financial Group is urging advisers to focus on the IHT and tax planning benefits of investment bonds following the Government’s confirmation in the Budget that the proposed changes to Capital Gains Tax (‘CGT’) of introducing a flat rate of 18% and removing taper relief and indexation allowances, will take place.

Friends Provident, the FTSE 100 life and pensions company, has added a multi-income option to its recently launched FRIENDS Wealth Solutions Bond, as part of its plans to boost its investment bond offering.

Investors who switch from bonds into other types of investment product for tax advantage are likely to be no better off in most cases - and may actually be worse off in some instances - according to research by Standard Life.

A key announcement in Alistair Darling’s budget speech was that the rules regarding Capital Gains Tax (CGT) for collectives will change from April 2008.

NS& I (National Savings and Investments) is to launch a new issue of its Guaranteed Equity Bond on 12 March 2008. This will offer a gross return that matches FTSE 100 Index growth, up to a maximum return of 70%, over the five year term of the Bond, without any risk to investors' capital.

Winterthur announces its entry into the offshore market. Winterthur International, the new offshore Winterthur business, launches this week with the International Investment Bond provided by AXA Isle of Man.

Fidelity FundsNetwork is set to launch its Investment Bond Spring Sale with a double special offer for advisers and their clients to take advantage of.

Barclays is launching a new investment plan paying an annual income of 7.25 per cent as IFA demand for products with quantifiable risk / return profiles continues to mount.

In its latest report, “Unit Linked Bonds in the UK 2007”, Defaqto examines the pressures that are undermining these saving instruments and how they will affect their appeal to investors.

Friends Provident, the FTSE 100 life and pensions company, has added a further 18 new funds to its recently launched FRIENDS Wealth Solutions Bond, as part of its plans to boost its wealth management offering.