I often talk about the fact that investment markets can fall as well as rise, and that holding a long-term position and not panicking about market dips is key to a successful investment strategy. However, as an investor myself, I know that what your logical brain ‘knows’ doesn’t always tally with the way you ‘feel’ when you see your hard earned capital falling in value. I wanted to let you know that we are actively monitoring the ever evolving situation, as are our investment

Media hype about stock market falls can make even the most calm and collected investors start to feel nervous. When stock markets experience volatility, it can be easy to panic and make decisions that you might end up regretting, as this client story highlights... Kerry and Dan had secured lucrative contracts overseas and were earning five times the amount they needed to cover their living expenses. They had invested the excess in a high risk investment linked savings plan. T

Ever since a disastrous period for early unregulated schemes in the late 1980s and early 1990s, equity release has continually suffered from suspicion and distrust among homeowners. Many have been scared away as a result of publicity surrounding losses and anguish suffered by equity release customers. Things have undoubtedly improved significantly since then and now the most common types of equity release scheme - lifetime mortgages are regulated by the Financial Services Aut

I was completely overwhelmed by the response to my last blog ‘5 Lessons I have learnt from Cancer – So Far’. I have received many kind messages of support and they all mean a great deal to me. A number of people have asked me to keep them up to date with progress in my treatment, so here goes… When I last wrote I was recovering (slowly!) from a sentinel lymph node biopsy - an operation where they removed 4 of my lymph nodes to check whether my cancer had spread. The good news

I am a great believer in seeing the positive in any situation – but I have to admit that, over the last couple of months, my ability to ‘keep positive’ has been challenged at times! That said, I think I am working my way through the myriad of conflicting emotions that is inevitable with any cancer diagnosis. I would like to say that I diligently perform the recommended breast checks on a regular basis, but the reality is that the discovery of the small lump in my right breast

It seems like only a few days ago that we were preparing for the Christmas break and thinking ahead to plans for the new year, but here we are in March already. I haven’t been writing the blog as regularly as I had intended because we have had a busy start to the year and client work has had to take priority. We have also been making efforts to improve our internal process and support systems to ensure that, as we grow, we continue to be able to deliver the levels of service

Your net worth and access to financial resources are very different to your ability to take control of your finances and manage your money. Rather than being about how much money you have, your financial capability is concerned with understanding how to manage your finances, including debt and savings, and making appropriate financial decisions as well as identifying appropriate products and services. It really comes down to control. The more financially capable we become, t

There has been much debate over when the Bank of England will raise interest rates and this month is tipped to be the month by many industry

As a company, our purpose is to enhance levels of well-being in society by aligning personal finances with personal values. There is a danger that, as modern day society encourages us to drive for ‘bigger’, ‘better’ and ‘more’, we view our finances as a means to pursuing social ideals, rather than as a mechanism for achieving the lifestyle we truly desire. The result is that our personal finances have become disconnected from what is truly important to us as individuals. Cons

Life seems to become ever busier and I usually find myself rushing from one activity to the next without much choice over what comes next. With a minute to stop and think as I sat down to my desk on Friday morning I found myself with a dilemma, which task should I tackle first. I could continue with the client report I had almost completed the previous day, I could start formalising the marketing strategy I have been contemplating, I could review the first draft or my book or

Since writing this post the Government has confirmed it will reintroduce all the measures dropped from the Finance Bill 2017. It also intends to stick to the original implementation dates. As a result of the early general election and with Parliament due to be dissolved on 3rd May, there is now insufficient time to get the full Finance Bill on to the statute book. A number of measures have been removed from the current Bill. The two measures most relevant to our clients are:

This week saw the introduction of the new Lifetime ISA, we have had a number of enquiries from clients interested in learning more so I thought it would be a useful topic for this week’s blog. What is a Lifetime ISA The Lifetime ISA (being referred to as the Lisa) was announced by George Osborne in his 2016 budget as an investment vehicle for a younger generation of savers wishing to save for a first home or save for retirement. Only those aged between 18 and 39 are eligible

It’s Sunday and it’s mother’s day, if ever I had an excuse to laze about in bed then today was the day. But instead I woke up early, keen to get going, motivated about the day ahead and what progress I could make. I managed to sneak downstairs without waking my children and set to work reviewing the first draft of my book with a nice cup of tea. Having secured my first ‘test reader’ yesterday (eeek!) I have renewed incentive to maintain progress. I’m on a mission to connect p

The fun and festivities of Christmas give most of us a break from the routines that occupy our daily lives. Before we get too far absorbed back in to the daily grind, the new year presents an ideal time for us to take a step back and consider whether there is anything we can change in our daily lives to make them more fulfilling and in tune with our higher values. Identifying what you value most in life and how you can therefore adapt life for the better isn’t as straightforw

With more than slight trepidation I have started planning my first book! Over 15 years of advising clients I have become aware of a real disconnect between people’s personal values and their personal finances. The pressure placed on us by society to achieve material goals leads us to pursue extrinsic goals and neglect those goals that are intrinsic to us. With our attention continually drawn to materialist values it is easy to lose sight of what is truly important – the great

I can’t claim to know much about any particular religion, I didn’t attend church as a child and my lasting memory of RE lessons at school was watching E.T. on an old fashioned tube TV that got wheeled round from classroom to classroom, but I can’t help thinking that there is something in the idea of us all having a ‘spirit’, ‘soul’ or ‘true-self’, an innate human ‘essence’ that is individual and unique. Have you ever felt uncomfortable with something without being able to put

In his 2014 Reith lecture Series, Dr Atul Gawande explores the nature and progress of failure in medicine. I listened to the lectures on recommendation from a friend and was struck by how neatly the points being made by Dr Gawande applied to the financial planning profession and financial services generally. In his third lecture “The Problem of Hubris” Dr Gawande tells the story of Peg, his daughter’s piano teacher, her battle with terminal cancer and how she chooses to spend

My first experience of Independent Financial Advisers was what ultimately led me to a career in Financial Planning. Not because the experience was a good one, in fact the opposite. It was summer 2002 and I had just finished university. I had secured a job on a graduate trainee scheme with a leading actuarial consultancy which I was due to start in the September. My now husband and I were looking to buy our first property and were put in touch with an independent mortgage brok