New service to aid money matters

A new service that aims to help people manage and understand their pensions, savings and investments has been launched.

The Lifetime Group has created The Bigger Picture, a service which aims to simplify information for investors by offering them an online wrap platform from which they can track their money matters.

The service was created following research which revealed that over half of British investors (52 per cent) do not know how much money there is in their savings, investments and pensions.

Over one in five investors (22 per cent) do not find it easy to check the performance of their investments.

"We firmly believe that there are four simple questions which all investors have a right to find answers to - what have I got, how is it doing, am I on track, what do I do next?" explained the chief executive of Lifetime Group, Jeremy Bradburne.

"Historically, providers and financial advisers have often struggled to help clients answer these key questions. With the advent of wraps in the UK, they now have a simple and cost-effective solution," he said.

The study also found that 41 per cent of adults have savings and investments with more than one financial service provider, which adds to their confusion. Only one person in three (32 per cent) found checking up on the performance of these products easy.

Wrap products bring together information on varied different investments in one place, as well as enabling investors to see how much they are paying for advice, administration, and investment management.