Skandia

Adam Smears, formerly the head of investment research at Skandia, has joined Russell Investments to lead its fixed income research team.

A Ratner moment, Skandia cost cuts and more taxes on the rich all made our top ten list of best read stories on the Investment Week website this week.

Skandia will switch to its unbundled platform pricing model on Tuesday 18 December - two weeks before the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) deadline.

Old Mutual Wealth is planning to turn around its Skandia platform by halving costs as a proportion of FUM after the business made a £5m loss in the first half of 2012.

Old Mutual Global Investors has launched a four strong multi-asset fund range for John Ventre, which aim to beat inflation over the long term.

Old Mutual said it is "progressing well" with plans to build Old Mutual Wealth into a leading wealth management business, but is taking further steps to address its cost base.

Brett Williams, the former head of platform giants Skandia and Cofunds, has moved into the EIS market with a series of launches through his new venture Old Burlington Investments (OBI).

Adam Smears, head of investment research at Skandia, has left the group to pursue other opportunities.

Platform giant Skandia's sales force is understood to be facing a significant reduction in numbers after the group - now known as Old Mutual Wealth - revealed there will be 200 jobs lost across the business.

Barclays wealth arm is in talks with the regulator about charging asset managers administration fees when their funds are recommended for private client portfolios.