AXA Wealth saw assets on its Elevate platform rise by 75 per cent to £1.3bn in 2011, according to its full-year report released today.

The average retirement age has risen to 65 years for men and 62 years for women, according to the Office for National Statistics.

A new series of workshops for advisers are being held during March on investment suitability best practice.

The Institute of Financial Planning has added programmes from Sipp and Ssas provider Hornbuckle Mitchell and Baigrie Davies to its IFPTV channel.

The very first IFP Financial Planning One Day Conference will take place in London this week.

Aviva is targeting advisers in its next phase of its campaign to raise awareness of families’ protection needs.

Santander has been fined £1.5m by the Financial Services Authority for failing to clarify the Financial Services Compensation Scheme’s cover on its structured products.

AXA Wealth is to launch a new direct platform called AXA Self Investor in response to adviser demand.

Some 850,000 tax penalties have been issued to people who failed to complete their 2010/11 self-assessment on time, according to HM Revenue and Customs.

AXA Wealth has secured a new long-term agreement with platform technology provider FNZ to provide more support on the Elevate platform.