Australian wealth manager AMP has introduced a new service model with its aligned advice network in a bid to transform its advice business.

The move comes as the firm looks to demerge its infrastructure and property units to create further value in the private markets business.

Through the new financial advice model, AMP aims to offer increased choice, flexibility, and transparency to advisers on how they partner with it.

It will support delivery of quality advice, enhance practice efficiency, and help advisers grow their businesses.

Global investment firm Fidelity International has become the first asset manager to commit to the Fintech Pledge, an initiative supported by HM Treasury and Tech Nation. The pledge aims to provide clear guidelines for collaboration between financial institutions and tech start-ups to accelerate growth in the fintech sector.

Signatories to the pledge must commit to its five principles, the first of which is to have a dedicated page on their website explaining their onboarding process to tech firms. They are also required to provide a named contact in charge of this process, provide clear feedback and guidance, encourage good practice within the industry; and commit to implementing this process six months from signing the pledge.

Fidelity currently has a dedicated venture capital team that invests in fintechs called Fidelity International Strategic Ventures. It also has several existing fintech partnerships, including with compliance technology and data analytics firm SteelEye and digital investment platform Moonfare.

UK-based wealth management business Cazenove Capital has appointed James Burley as a portfolio director in Edinburgh.

James has over 14 years’ experience in strategic planning and investment management advice. He joins from Kleinwort Hambros in Edinburgh. His appointment, follows other strategic hires in the Midlands and North West as part of Cazenove Capital’s strategy to better service clients in those regions.
Bob Hair, wealth planning director and head of the Edinburgh office said he was ‘delighted’ to have James on board.

“Scotland is home to a vibrant and diverse group of individuals, families, entrepreneurs and businesses requiring wealth management support, who continue to seek out our investment insight and personalised approach to wealth management. Each of our clients has unique individual requirements, so working with people they trust and who share their long-term goals and visions is a common ambition.

“Our team has a strong track record of servicing clients in Edinburgh for almost three decades, and I’m delighted to welcome James as we continue to grow and attract top industry talent. We look forward to working closely with him and to drawing on his experience in our drive to preserve, grow and protect wealth for more individuals, entrepreneurs, business owners and families across Scotland.”

As part of this regional strategy, Cazenove Capital has also announced a move to a new office in Charlotte Square for the Edinburgh team. The office will be larger, more sustainable and will be set up to allow for more blended in-person and video meetings, to reflect the post-pandemic shift towards flexible working.

Italian fintech Fabrick, a firm focusing on Open Finance, and consulting, software, and research company Prometeia have launched Global Investment Portfolio, a digital wealth management solution.

The solution utilises artificial intelligence and open banking and was created through a strategic partnership between the two firms. Global Investment Portfolio is a wealth management platform that mergers an investor’s overall financial portfolio through the aggregate analysis of the bank accounts held by them across institutions.

In addition, the solution is claimed to be unique due to the artificial intelligence algorithms developed by Prometeia. The AI works by inferring and spotting information generation by asset management activities run by other banks without the need for direct access to all of an investor’s separate investment accounts.

Global Investment Portfolio is already integrated into Prometeia’s Digital Wealth Management Platform as a cloud service. It also uses Fabrick’s PSD2 Gateway in order to facilitate a multi-bank experience and viewing all information in a single touch point.

The UK’s financial watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said it will be cracking down on bad firms and tackling “an epidemic” of online scams.

“We are going to test our powers to the limit,” said FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi, who was speaking at the company’s online launch of its business plan.

“To act decisively – and to be clear about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and where the limitations lie..”

Rathi said that he FCA will be spending £120m ($165m) over three years to improve its data strategy to tackle fraud better. He also announced an £11m digital marketing campaign targeted at younger consumers buying cryptocurrencies.

“Modernising our systems – including becoming one of the first regulators in the world to move to the cloud – will give us the platform to succeed. Not only enabling us to scale our operations but to share intelligence more easily within the FCA and with our partners across responsibilities and jurisdictions,” he said.

The government has faced calls to force companies to stop investment fraud facilitated through online advertising as part of its Online Safety bill. But it has rejected the idea, saying there would be a consultation on online advertising regulation later in the year.

The FCA’s focus on protecting vulnerable consumers could mean wealthy investors will find it harder to get compensation. There will be a review of compensation criteria used by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, Rathi said.