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“Should Rishi Sunak’s recent net zero pivot be of concern?'”
The answer to the headline question should be, of course, a big, fat ‘Yes!’ Of course you can, and many do, always say ‘Doesn’t matter what we do it’s China/America/Everyone Else who’s causing all the problems and making electric cars and all the electricity they use is just as harmful and even if we recycle stuff it all gets dumped in the sea in Third World countries anyway…’
“Are Brits too reliant on inheritance for their retirement plans?”
The answer is, in many cases, probably yes, and as less and less of the next generations have or are able to build pensions and other saving, more and more so. And it’s a double-edged sword.
“Gen Z turn to family and TikTok instead of advisers”
There was an interesting discussion on one of the many online forums for we advisers, on the rights and wrongs of our annual fees.
“UK economy slides by a steeper-than-expected 0.5% in July”
All sorts of mixed economic news for our little-old economy this week. There was ’negative growth’ (really?) in July. It’s not an official recession unless we have three of those in a row, so don’t panic yet, Capt Mainwaring (kids etc.).
Economic news
“UK economy slides by a steeper-than-expected 0.5% in July”
All sorts of mixed economic news for our little-old economy this week. There was ’negative growth’ (really?) in July. It’s not an official recession unless we have three of those in a row, so don’t panic yet, Capt Mainwaring (kids etc.).
“UK inflation falls more than expected to 7.9% in June”
There are as many versions of inflation in the big world of the economy as there are in our humble homes. There’s the ‘we really can’t afford that (insert expensive object or project which you don’t really want to be bought or to happen), have you seen the price of (your choice, but petrol and milk are always good) version.
“Interest rate hike triggers largest wealth decline for UK households since WWII”
You might not have realised it, but ‘over the past four decades, wealth has soared across Britain’. And the sudden and big jump in interest rates in the past few months will have long-term effects, £2tn-worth, it’s thought.
“Bank of England says UK economy coping with higher rates”
An ‘alternative’ (GB News) headline spoke of doom-mongering, Johnny-foreigners talking down our great economy. Yet on the same day The Economist told us that the US economy is going ‘from strength to strength’, and lies, damned lies and statistics aside, there’s no doubt we’re doing worse than most.
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Financial Services
“Timeline boss bullish about resilience of small and medium IFAs”
How we as advisers charge for our services has been the subject of navel-gazing debate in our profession for some time. Should we work on accountant- and solicitor-style hourly rates, charge a fixed subscription or have a menu of tasks and bill you accordingly.
“Will the Consumer Duty lead to an increase in advice fees?”
How we as advisers charge for our services has been the subject of navel-gazing debate in our profession for some time. Should we work on accountant- and solicitor-style hourly rates, charge a fixed subscription or have a menu of tasks and bill you accordingly.
“‘We have an opportunity to radically rethink our disclosure regime'”
Our mantra of ‘Straightforward Advice’ and ‘Money is only as complicated as we make it’ fall at the second or third hurdle, what is still bizarrely called the point of sale’ in the modern world in which we’re properly deemed advisers rather than salespeople.
“Investors split on whether home bias still does or should exist”
The worry and occasional happiness we hear from clients about the state of their investments often results from hearing on the news that ‘The FTSE rose (or fell) sharply today’.
“Advice firms show limited appetite for four-day working week”
I would say that our profession is ideally suited to flexible working. Our business in particular, as we all work remotely with no head office to which to troll every day and the theoretical ability to do most of our job (apart from sitting on your sofa) from any beach with a good wifi signal.
Stockmarket
“Coping with a correction – will stock market falls continue?”
There haven’t been any ‘markets plummet, £billions wiped of the value of your savings’ headlines this year. I guess there’s been other stuff going on to keep the headline writers busy. However, markets have fallen, the FTSE World index is down by more than 8% since...
“Asset managers ‘largely failing’ on ESG voting, research suggests”
If you own shares, you’ll know it’s pointless voting at shareholder meetings as it’s only the big fund managers who own big chunks of companies that can make things happen. It seems that, although they’re launching green funds left, right and centre and telling us...
Will the new Roaring ’20s end in a Crash?
The Great Gatsby was one of my favourite books, and I even had a soft spot for the Robert Redford movie (really don’t bother with the new one). All the fun and glamour was doomed to end, and we know how badly it ended, Gatsby in the swimming pool (spoiler),...
“John Lewis looks to tap into DIY investing boom with Nutmeg partnership”
M&S sold ISAs and pensions for while in the ‘90s. Richard Branson had a go. Halifax and the Pru made millionaires of quite a few estate agents when they bought them out, thinking it would be an easy way to flog mortgages and endowments. John Lewis has seen that...
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