Recently I had a first hand experience of how a small and entrepreneurial business, such as those run by many IFAs, can be affected by unexpected events.
In February I was struck down by what at first seemed an innocuous but annoying virus   Read more...

Over the coming months, I will be writing a number of articles looking at how traditional commission based advisers can change their businesses to the “New Model” of financial planning and successfully meet the requirements of the FSA Retail Distribution Review (RDR). In this series of articles, I will outline how my practice made the change from “Old Model” commission only to “New Model” fee based 10 years ago.  Read more...

One of the consequences of the economic turbulence has been growth in interest in non-standard investing. We regularly receive enquiries from IFAs whose clients are keen to make use of the self-directed element of their SIPPs by switching funds into gold bullion, hotel rooms, unlisted shares or to loans to third parties.  Read more...

Like everyone else, I have absolutely no idea what the best performing investments will be in the future. Many will do very well, others will not. Our role as financial advisers is to try to guide our clients towards safe profits and that usually means identifying a range of investments that we believe will collectively produce reasonable returns, whilst not exposing the invested capital to undue risk. Whilst experience plays an important part in the process, common sense and understanding are the essential components.  Read more...

Q. Last year my technology company successfully attracted the interest of more than one venture capital company. We selected one on the basis that they were prepared to allow us to move quickly in an early stage market that we believe will see good growth but will soon attract competitors as start up costs are not exorbitant. For us, staying one step ahead of the game is essential. However, our VC backers are now dragging their heels on strategic growth and are not as engaged with the company as we would like. How can I get them to engage more and back our plans for faster growth?  Read more...

The future direction of annuity rates is a staple topic of the financial pages, which is not surprising given the importance to the hundreds of thousands reaching retirement each year and needing to switch on an income stream.  Read more...