Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Tuesday 17 June 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
New Iress partnership promises seamless adviser workflows
Financial technology firm Iress has launched the Iress Partnership, a new strategic initiative aimed at strengthening its UK Wealth business by creating deeper, more collaborative integrations with selected third-party technology providers.
Rather than simply enabling connectivity between systems, the Iress Partnership involves co-designing end-to-end solutions with chosen partners, aligning roadmaps, technical resources and training across teams.
Why advisers should start thinking about their exit sooner
Advisers are often told to start their businesses with the exit in mind – but many don’t, writes Amanda Newman Smith.
While the logic is clear, often framed in clichés like “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”, it still feels counterintuitive to think about stepping away from something that’s only just begun.
So, what does realistic succession planning look like, and why shouldn’t advisers keep pushing it down the to-do list?
Amanda Cassidy: Volatility is inevitable, but panic doesn’t have to be
The Trump tariff announcements have once again reminded us just how quickly markets can turn, writes Amanda Cassidy, managing director of Quilter Financial Advisers.
Volatility like this often triggers understandable anxiety among investors, and we’ve seen that in recent weeks.
Many of our customers have been in touch, worried about their portfolios and questioning whether now might be the time to disinvest. This is exactly the kind of environment that reminds us of the value of advice.
Quote Of The Day
It’s another shock to the stability of the US-led global economic order at a time when there were already a lot of questions
– Mohammed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, on the escalation of conflict between Israel and Iran
Stat Attack
Do you trust your spouse enough to give them savings and investments to hold for tax purposes? The answer, it seems, varies depending on age, gender and life circumstances:
74%
of people trust their spouse enough to share assets for tax-planning purposes.
79%
of men trust their spouse, compared to 69% of women.
66%
of people aged 35–54 trust their spouse, making them the least trusting age group.
82%
of those aged 55 and over trust their spouse, making them the most trusting age group.
73%
of people under 34 in a relationship say they would trust their spouse.
79%
of savers and 84% of investors say they would share assets to cut their tax bill.
95%
of additional rate taxpayers trust their spouse enough to share assets.
82%
of higher-rate taxpayers would do the same.
74%
of basic-rate taxpayers also say they would trust their spouse.
Source: Hargreaves Lansdown
In Other News
More than one million UK gig economy workers cannot afford to save into a pension, according to new research from PensionBee.
The survey of 1,000 non-contributing workers found 57% of temporary workers cite affordability as the main barrier, with the figure rising to 60% among the self-employed and 57% for unpaid carers.
The findings support PensionBee’s call for a ‘universal pension’ system that would give every worker automatic access to a pension, regardless of income, hours worked or employment status.
The research marks the launch of PensionBee’s Invisible Worker campaign on National Freelancers Day, highlighting gaps in pension access for non-traditional workers, including freelancers and those on zero-hours contracts.
Nearly 70% of respondents said pensions should be universally available, while over one in three have felt excluded from the system at some point.
PensionBee says the current model fails to reflect the realities of modern working life.
Trump says UK is protected from tariffs ‘because I like them’ as trade deal is signed off (The Guardian)
UK’s FTSE 100 joins global rally after reports Iran seeking truce with Israel (Reuters)
Reeves weighs reversing non-dom inheritance tax changes (Bloomberg)
Did You See?
The UK government’s plan to compel pension funds to invest more heavily in private equity and infrastructure is being sold as a boost for economic growth, notes Blake Anthony Reddy, co-founder and principal adviser at K2 Private Wealth.
But beneath the headline lies a significant shift in how retirement savings are managed and who controls them. For pension savers and trustees alike, this signals the beginning of a new and uncertain era where political priorities increasingly encroach on fiduciary duties.
In the forthcoming Pension Schemes Bill, the Treasury will take reserve powers to set “binding asset allocation targets”, effectively mandating that pension schemes commit a portion of their portfolios to private markets.
This follows the Mansion House Accord, where 17 large defined contribution (DC) pension providers voluntarily agreed to allocate at least 10% of assets to private markets by 2030. The tone has quickly shifted from voluntary participation to coercion.
The move raises serious concerns. At the heart of the UK’s pension system is the principle of fiduciary duty: that trustees and managers must act solely in the best interests of their members. By setting mandatory investment allocations, the state is not just nudging capital; it is assuming a role that has traditionally belonged to investment professionals.
