Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Wednesday 6 August 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Quilter reduces ongoing advice compensation
Quilter has reduced the amount of compensation it expects to pay out to customers for historic ongoing advice charges by £6m, following a comprehensive review.
In its preliminary results in March, the firm said it had set aside £76m for potential client refunds.
However, in its half-year results published this morning (6 August), it said it now predicts this ongoing advice provision would be £70m.
Legal & General profits jump
Legal & General saw both pre-tax and core operating profits grow in the first half of 2025 as it focused on international growth.
Core operating profits rose 6% to £859m, while IFRS pre-tax profits surged 28% to £406m.
This was helped by a strong performance in its institutional retirement segment, which saw double-digit profit growth and over £5bn in new business written.
Direct platform assets surge on market rebound
Direct platform assets surged by 8.2% during the second quarter of the year to a record £441bn, new research bu Fundscape has revealed.
After Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs sent markets into meltdown, they rebounded to new highs by the end of June.
AJ Bell, interactive investor and InvestEngine were home to the strongest growth, demonstrating that a range of strategies can deliver in the D2C market.
Quote Of The Day
Investing doesn’t need to start big—it just needs to start
– Nigel Green, CEO of global financial advisory deVere Group, on the importance of getting people investing
Stat Attack
Wealthy parents are increasingly donating more to charity amid a rising inheritance tax (IHT) burden and concerns about the impact of leaving too much money to their children, a new study from Rathbones has revealed.
It found:
75%
Three out of four wealthy parents believe leaving too large an inheritance can be a curse and are considering ways to avoid it.
53%
More than half of wealthy parents have increased their charitable donations over the past two years.
61%
Over three fifths are concerned that money left to children will be used irresponsibly.
57%
Nearly six in 10 parents say their adult children already have enough money and there are better uses for their wealth.
65%
Nearly two-thirds would make inheritance access conditional on achievements like qualifications.
13%
Over one in eight plan to leave money directly to grandchildren.
26%
A quarter of parents worry about the impact of divorce on inheritances.
13%
13% of wealthy parents admit to having strained relationships with their adult children.
£3.075 million
The average value of estates owned by survey respondents.
Source: Rathbones
In Other News
Wealth management and financial planning firm Advies Private Clients has announced the acquisition of Nicholas Trayford.
The deal adds £100m in assets and 100 clients to the company.
The acquisition marks a strategic step in Advies’ long-term growth plan to expand its financial planning capabilities.
James Wills, partner at Advies Private Clients, said: “Advies is built on a strong advice-led culture, robust financials and a clear commitment to delivering lasting value to our clients.
“Nick’s business is a natural fit, sharing our values and client-first approach. We’re pleased to welcome Nick and his clients to Advies.”
Trayford added: “Advies offered a truly unique proposition in the market—something I couldn’t find anywhere else.”
Thousands of company directors leave UK after Labour’s tax changes (Financial Times)
Reeves heading for ‘impossible’ choices in this year’s budget, think tank says (Reuters)
Novo Nordisk’s growth sputters as US competition dents demand (Bloomberg)
Did You See?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued provisional fines against fund manager Neil Woodford and his former firm, Woodford Investment Management (WIM), for serious failings in their handling of the Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF).
Woodford is facing a fine of £5.9m and a ban from holding senior management functions or managing retail investment funds. WIM is to be fined £40m.
Both parties have referred the FCA’s findings to the Upper Tribunal, meaning the sanctions are not yet final.
The FCA concluded that between July 2018 and June 2019, Woodford and WIM made inappropriate investment decisions that significantly undermined the liquidity of the WEIF.
