Five things your clients will call you about this week

Nationals round-up: ETFs came under the microscope following the UBS scandal, while downturn-beating funds, retirement income and Halifax's savings accounts also featured.

ETFs

The recent UBS rogue trading scandal was linked to exchange traded funds (ETFs), so it was no surprise to see they came under scrutiny in the Guardian. One of the experts cited by the paper is "convinced ETFs have been mis-sold to the retail market". It also speculated that, should a UK bank with a big retail arm be affected in the future, the taxpayer will once again have to pick up the tab for any gambling.

Retirement income

There was yet more bad news for anyone getting ready for retirement with a report on how the rising cost of day-to-day bills will swallow up many people's income. The Mail on Sunday explained how inflation rates have been particularly high for the items and services needed by pensioners, such as food, energy bills and transport. Prudential predicted spending power will be cut by 60% over the next 20 years if inflation remains unchanged.

Downsizing

With the aforementioned problem with retirement income, downsizing property may seem like an attractive option to clients but, as the Sunday Express reported, it may not always pay off. It looked at research which showed the average homeowner actually ends up with less cash than they expected, with many spending more on a new property than initially expected. Renting a new property was presented as an alternative, as was equity release, while the key message was to ensure people have other sources of retirement income.

Beating the downturn

With the FTSE 100 suffering another terrible week, the search was on for funds to beat the downturn in the Sunday Times. It explained how hedge funds have been outperforming the market this year, while multi-asset funds, income funds and bond funds were also presented as alternatives. However, braver investors were encouraged by experts to pick up high-yielding defensive stocks which have been dragged down by the recent turmoil

Halifax savings

If some clients feel surprisingly excited about leaving their money in a savings accounts, they may well be Halifax customers. As the Independent on Sunday reported, the bank is launching a monthly draw, similar to Premium Bonds, which could see depositors win up to £100,000. However, as one expert explained to the paper, savers could be missing out on better savings rates elsewhere, especially if they are not among the lucky few winners.