This is by way of a Memo for the noticeboard.
This Resolution business buys-up distressed policies - so called Zombie Funds (really?), that have underperformed for the policy-holders.
The hope is that by cutting costs some good will come of it.........but you and I know that once someone else has control of your money, suddenly it starts to misbehave; like an nephew you never knew.
No doubt the magement will be full of Shareholder value and policyholder improvements, but I remain to be convinced and wonder why so many of our respected Institutions ever bothered with policies that didn't perform.....were they advertised as such, or given a great gloss as the salesmen collected their fees?

New highs again.

JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral 279.40 273.00 302.00 Reiterates

Berenberg Hold 0.00 287.10 270.00 285.00 Retains

2 year high.

Nomura Neutral 316.15 308.00 250.00 311.00 Upgrades

New high @324.90p

Interims on Thursday I believe.

Stan - 13th August - Financial calendar

hangon - any chance of a chart in the header?

Thanks Skinny, me getting mixed up with RSA

Half Year Results

Strong financial performance and improving cash generation

· Sustainable free surplus £147 million, up 23% (30 June 2012: £120 million)

· IFRS based operating profit before tax of £191 million (30 June 2012: £163 million)

· IFRS based operating earnings per share up 17% to 13.26 pence (30 June 2012: 11.32 pence)

· MCEV operating profit before tax of £214 million (30 June 2012: £235 million) reflects expected impact of long-term interest rate environment

Strong capital base underpins dividend

· Available shareholder cash £839 million (31 December 2012: £850 million)

· Group IGCA surplus(i) £2.1 billion, coverage ratio 222% (surplus at 31 December 2012: £2.2 billion, 221% coverage ratio)

· Economic capital surplus(ii) £3.7 billion, coverage ratio 192% (surplus at 31 December 2012: £3.5 billion, 194% coverage ratio)

· Interim dividend of 7.05 pence per share (30 June 2012: 7.05 pence per share)

Improving new business performance

· Strong growth in UK division; value of new business of £89 million, up 41% and at an IRR of 16.7%

· International division core value of new business £21 million (30 June 2012: £22 million) reflecting resilient performance in difficult markets

· Total Group VNB £97 million; Group new business IRR of 11.2%; Group margin increased to 2.8%

Operating highlights

· Successful recapture of an additional £7 billion of assets by in-house asset manager FLI

· Corporate Benefits performance exceeds expectations with 30% increase in VNB, strong pipeline of new schemes and auto-enrolling clients for the rest of the year

· £154 million of cost savings secured at 30 June 2013 (96% of 2015 target)

· Good progress made on delivering the International strategy with controlled exit from German manufacturing to be completed in third quarter 2013 and all other non-core exit actions completed

4 year high 342.40.

Just added here.

Canaccord Genuity Buy 322.75 328.00 325.00 355.00 Reiterates

Citigroup Neutral 315.15 318.70 261.00 314.00 Reiterates

Goldman Sachs Neutral 323.85 323.80 316.00 325.00 Reiterates

3+ year high @343.

4+ year high @356.80p

Q3 Interim Management Statement

Continued strong UK new business growth and resilient performance in core International division

· Strong growth in the UK division with value of new business ("VNB") up 41% to £133 million driven by good performance across all business units:

- Retirement Income VNB of £64 million, up 78% compared to prior year
- Protection VNB up 14% to £50 million
- Corporate Benefits VNB up 36% to £19 million with continued good progress on auto-enrolment; 146 schemes of 97 employers staged by the end of September
· Core International division results reflect resilient performance in challenging market conditions with VNB of £25 million (30 September 2012: £27 million)

· Group VNB at £136 million (30 September 2012: £138 million) including £(22) million VNB from the Heritage division and non-core International business

· Group PVNBP margin1 at 2.7% (30 September 2012: 2.4%), with UK division margin up at 4.5% (30 September 2012: 3.3%)

Strong capital position maintained and continued focus on cash generation

· The Group's capital position remains strong with an IGCA surplus2 of £2.1 billion

· Group available shareholder cash of £821 million (30 June 2013: £839 million)

Operational highlights

· 2013 run-rate savings target of £126 million achieved three months early

· New business sales in International non-core markets ceased in September 2013

· Programme to reallocate circa £2 billion of annuity reserves from the with-profits to non-profits fund completed in September

· Significant enhancements delivered across protection propositions

JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral 350.70 302.00 368.00 Reiterates