Rally fails to lift with-profits

most life office solvency situations will remain unchanged following allocation to bonds

Non unit-linked with-profit funds will struggle to generate a return of 2% in 2003, despite this year's double-digit stock market rally, according to industry analyst Ned Cazalet. Based on research by Cazalet Financial Consulting for its Life 2003 Directory, the majority of life companies' solvency situations will also remain unchanged from this time last year, owing to ill-timed asset allocation shifts and rising business costs. Although the FTSE All-Share has rallied by 14.5% over the calendar year to 6 November, the equity quotient of the average with-profits vehicle has fallen from 6...