Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Monday 1 September 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Looking Ahead: From beach reads to Budget speculation
The out-of-office replies are fading, the inboxes are full and the beach reads have given way to Budget speculation (because that worked out so well last time).
Welcome back to the post-holiday sprint, where the financial advice sector – which, let’s face it, never really sleeps – resumes its usual pace of tax speculation, consolidation and generational wrangling.
In short, Money Marketing is getting back to business, with a sharp eye on the stories that shape the numbers.
Pilot launches discounted pricing scheme for early adopters
Pilot, a newly launched UK financial planning technology company founded by practising advisers, has announced the introduction of “The 100”.
This is a fixed-term introductory pricing scheme designed to attract early adopters of its new practice management platform.
The scheme will apply to the first 100 firms to subscribe, offering reduced rates compared to Pilot’s standard annual fees.
MM 40th anniversary: The editors remember – Part 1, Roger Anderson
September 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of Money Marketing‘s launch.
To mark the occasion, we’ve collected together some of the memories of the people who have edited the publication since its inception.
Kicking things off, this is the magazine’s very first editor, Roger Anderson, looking back at the moment of its birth.
Quote Of The Day
Few would deny the UK market today looks cheap, yet ‘cheap’ comes in two shades
– Schroders value fund manager and research analyst Tom Grady on whether UK equities are cheap relative to both history and their international peers
Stat Attack
Bereaved adults are feeling anxious due to high funeral costs, according to new research from MetLife UK.
The research, published ahead of Grief Awareness Day (30 August), shows:
64%
Almost two-thirds of bereaved individuals left stressed when thinking about how the cost of funerals would be covered.
20%
Of these, one in five felt extremely stressed.
£5,098
Those who have experienced bereavement in the last two years estimated that the average cost of a funeral was £5,098.
24%
However, almost one-in-four estimated it costing more than £6,000.
13%
revealed they don’t know how much a funeral costs, leaving them underprepared.
42%
of those who felt stressed about funeral costs, two-fifths said it was because they simply did not know how much it would cost.
30%
Financial insecurity was also a considerable factor, with almost a third (30%) unsure if they would be able to afford the funeral.
25%
did not know if a plan was already in place outlining what their loved one had wanted.
Source: MetLife UK
In Other News
Aviva Investors, the global asset management arm of Aviva plc, has announced two senior appointments to its Global Fixed Income team in London.
Anna Chong joins as sector lead, reporting to Gita Bal, head of fixed income research.
She will head the Resources, Industrials and Infrastructure hub and oversee the firm’s Fixed Income Early Careers programme.
Chong was previously head of corporate credit research at Federated Hermes, having joined from J.P. Morgan in 2017.
She becomes one of four sector leads within Aviva Investors’ restructured Fixed Income research team.
Michalis Ditsas has been appointed senior investment director, reporting to Shane O’Brien, head of investment specialists.
With over 20 years’ experience, he has held roles at J.P. Morgan, AllianceBernstein and most recently Federated Hermes.
Fraser Lundie, global head of fixed income, said the hires underline Aviva Investors’ strategy to enhance its research culture and strengthen its fixed-income capabilities.
Amova Asset Management Co Ltd, formerly known as Nikko Asset Management, has officially adopted its new name and unveiled a refreshed logo and brand identity.
Headquartered in Japan since 1959, the firm has grown into a global asset manager, and said the rebrand better reflects its evolving management policy and ambitions for further international expansion.
The name Amova combines references to ‘asset management’, ‘movement’ and ‘nova’, signifying adaptability and new horizons in a shifting investment landscape.
Its new logo features a stylised upward arrow shaped like the letter ‘a’, symbolising agility, precision and client care.
Alongside the rebrand, Amova has launched a redesigned website, with visitors to the old Nikko AM site redirected to global.amova-am.com.
The company remains a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, with no change to ownership or commitment to delivering investment solutions worldwide.
US court rules many of Trump’s global tariffs are illegal (BBC News)
Private sector set to shrink as Reeves warned against tax raid (The Telegraph)
French prime minister acknowledges talks this week may fail to save him (Bloomberg)
Did You See?
Three new UK advice businesses have achieved the exclusive CISI Accredited Financial Planning Firm status.
York-based Ardent Financial Planning, Birmingham-based Key Financial Planning and Pyrford Financial Planning, in Weybridge, have all been given the accolade.
The CISI now recognises these firms as leaders in the financial planning profession.
This brings the total number of CISI, UK-wide accredited financial planning firms to 55.
