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Created on Tuesday, 05 March 2013 16:54

Parmenion, the award winning provider of investment solutions to Financial Advisers, is relocating from Bath to new offices in central Bristol.  The move comes after a year of exceptional growth in 2012 which saw a fourfold increase in new business.

From Monday, 4^thFebruary 2013, the 40 strong Parmenion team will be moving to 2 College Square, Anchor Road, Bristol.

Since it was established in 2006 by Managing Partner Richard Mein, previously head of operations at Rowan & Co Capital Management PLC, the business has gone from strength to strength.  Parmenion now has in excess of half a billion of assets (£500m) under management with over 1,600 Financial Advisers using its range of investment services.

The firm has won a host of prestigious industry awards, including The Best DFM/Outsourced Provider 2012 (The Professional Adviser Multi-Asset Awards); DFM Platform of the Year (Investment Adviser)and a 5 Star Rating from Defaqto.

Parmenion has developed a comprehensive range of investment solutions for Financial Advisers which can be implemented within their businesses to support their Centralised Investment Propositions (CIP).    The solutions are managed within a sophisticated risk framework by a highly qualified team which specialises in investment risk expertise.  They are accessible through multiple wrappers including ISAs, Offshore Bonds and SIPPs, and all solutions are governed under a single discretionary mandate.

Commenting on the growth of the business and relocation, Patrick Ingram, Head of Corporate Relationships at Parmenion says: “The move to Bristol and to a larger office reflects the exceptional growth and success we have experienced in the last few years”.

“The financial advice market is undergoing a sea change with the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review.  Our service has been ahead of the curve in meeting the new regulatory framework and charging structures that Advisers are now working to.  We attribute our success over the last few years to the constant innovation in our technology, exemplary client service and our unique approach to managing risk.  We’re very proud of our achievements to date”.

“We’re entering a new phase in Parmenion’s growth with the move to Bristol’s financial district which will enable us to continue our ambitious growth plans for the next few years.”

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Created on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 16:05

Parmenion, the award winning provider of investment solutions to Financial Advisers, is calling for industry alignment on the issue of VAT following a formal consultation with international accountancy and investment practice Smith & Williamson.

Head of Compliance and Partner at Parmenion Jeanette Cook says: “It’s vital, at a time of major change, that the industry supports Advisers with a clear and concise message on when VAT should be charged. 

“This issue has been subject to confusion and that is why at Parmenion we have developed a clear position on VAT through formal consultation so that we can support our Advisers and their clients.  Our position was publicly endorsed at a recent TISA conference by Barbara Farndell, HMRC’s VAT and IPT Policy Manager.”

Confusion has arisen on the contrast between charges levied for the introduction of a client to a discretionary manager and the intermediation of a discretionary service.

For the VAT exemption to apply the Adviser must play their part in an advice process through which transactions occur in exempt products.  Therefore, the litmus test Advisers should apply is to look at the proposed outcome of their advice; if this is relates to exempt products – then the exemption will apply.   

According to official guidance from the HMRC (VATFIN7600) VAT should be charged where “Discretionary investment management services are provided to a private investor.”  For VAT exemption to apply the Adviser must qualify as an ‘intermediary’.  If an Adviser is charging a fee for an introduction to a discretionary service then VAT should be applied.

Parmenion position on VAT:

Where VAT exemption applies:

Adviser fees are exempt from VAT where the Adviser undertakes to arrange a transaction in an exempt financial product.  This is fundamental.  It is the Adviser’s participation in the procurement of a VAT exempt product that enables VAT exemption.

Where VAT must be charged:

Advisory services are not, and have never been, VAT exempt.  Anyone offering pure advice to a client will charge VAT.   In this respect the abolition of commission has not changed the VAT treatment.

Where advice on an exempt product does not lead to acquisition:

If advice is given in relation to exempted products – regardless of whether the client takes up the product – VAT is not chargeable on the advice given.  This is because the advice given was expected to lead to a transaction in an exempt product.

Ongoing services/annual portfolio reviews:

The same principles extend to on-going and periodic reviews offered by an Adviser which are intended to facilitate rebalancing and/or ‘topping up’.  Provided it is clear in the documentation that this is the extent and purpose of the service, the related Adviser Charge will be an exempt intermediary supply.

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Created on Thursday, 29 November 2012 15:24

Parmenion, provider of investment services to Financial Advisers, has integrated with the leading provider of pratice management solutions, IntelliFlo to offer instant electronic valuations from within IntelliFlo’s award winning Intelligent Office system. 

The integration allows Advisers who insource Parmenion’s investment management services to receive electronic valuations for their clients’ portfolios from within IntelliFlo. The information returned from Parmenion can be used as part of Intelligent Office’s comprehensive client reporting functionality and forms part of a robust Financial Planning process. Receiving valuations electronically is not only vastly quicker than performing the task manually but the integrated capabilities also mean that re-keying data is unnecessary, eliminating human error and dramatically reducing time spent on administrative tasks. This means that Advisers can devote more time to important value-added advisory work.

Richard Mein, Parmenion Managing Partner at Parmenion said:

“Parmenion’s business continues to go from strength to strength as more advisers choose our services to deliver outstanding investment propositions to their clients. By integrating with IntelliFlo, Advisers using Intelligent Office will be able to receive instant valuations from Parmenion enabling them to have everything in one place, deal with clients in a more timely way and provide far greater management information.

Nick Eatock, CEO of IntelliFlo commented:

“We are very pleased to confirm this partnership with Parmenion, a firm who share many of our values: providing exceptional service to financial advisers, helping them remain profitable and importantly, preparing them for the challenges of the industry post-RDR. We continue to, invest very heavily in ensuring that Intelligent Office is the go-to service for financial advisers looking to maximize their valuable time in profit-making endeavors post-RDR.”

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Created on Wednesday, 24 October 2012 09:01

Parmenion, provider of investment services to Financial Advisers, has announced two senior appointments to its Parmenion Fund Research business.  Emily Booth, Senior Investment Managerand Peter Dalgliesh, Investment Director will report to Richard Mein, Managing Partner of Parmenion and join with immediate effect.

Emily joins from Sun Life Financial of Canada where she was an Investment Manager.  Prior to this she held roles at Goldman Sachs JBWere and Deutsche Asset Management.

Peter joins from F&C Asset Management where he was a Director in the emerging markets team and ran the F&C Pacific Growth Fund.  Prior to this he held positions at Gartmore and Jupiter Asset Management.  

Richard Mein, Managing Partner at Parmenion, said: “With the continued emphasis on managing risk and helping Advisers build outstanding investment propositions, it is important we continue to strengthen our investment team.  Emily and Peter will deepen our investment capabilities with their extensive experience.  We look forward to working with them.”

Emily Booth, Senior Investment Manager, Parmenion said: “Parmenion provides an extensive range of risk-graded investment solutions for Advisers’ clients, underpinned by state of the art technology and award-winning service.  Working within an organisation that places so much importance on managing risk is a unique and exciting opportunity.”

Peter added: “There is a significant shift in Advisers in-sourcing investment expertise into their business to free them up to focus on clients and grow their business.  With just a few months until the implementation of RDR and with massive changes in the way Advisers interact with their clients, it is refreshing to be working with a forward looking organisation such as Parmenion.”

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Created on Wednesday, 17 October 2012 11:16

c. £30million inflows per month

New business and staff numbers up 70%

Assets under administration exceed half a billion

Parmenion, provider of investment services to financial advisers, has today announced that it has reached another milestone as it exceeded half a billion assets under administration.  New business has reached c.£30m per month in new business, 4 times as much as this time last year, and the number of advisers now using Parmenion’s investment services currently exceeds 450.

Richard Mein, Managing Partner at Parmenion, said:

“Parmenion has always strived to provide the best possible investment services and support to advisers in today’s competitive and challenging environment. We help advisers build outstanding investment propositions and grow their businesses by providing investment solutions that can be tailored to the needs of individual clients.  Our investment risk expertise, intelligent technology and award winning service mean that advisers are supported through the entire investment process, freeing them up to concentrate on planning for their clients’ futures and running successful businesses.” 

Parmenion’s average case size has increased 50% in the past year, noticeably since July when it introduced a market leading, tiered charging structure for its Administration and Custody Charge.  The existing 0.30% charge was replaced with a tiered scale which slides from 0.30% down to 0.15% depending on the size of an individual client’s portfolio, making it far more attractive to larger case sizes.

Richard said:

“As advisers have continued to use our services to underpin their own centralised investment propositions, they are increasingly using us for much larger portfolios and it has become clear that the charging structure needed to change to accommodate this.”