Harry Bell CFP™

The Bank of England kept the interest rate at 5.25% last week. It is anticipated that the UK will not align with the Federal Reserve's decision, considering the recent inflation challenges faced by the US due to premature rate cuts. Find William Marshall's insights here: https://okt.to/sghonz #Investments #Inflation #InterestRates

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I'm always going on about objectives. Here's me going on about them a bit more. https://lnkd.in/eydz9eK2 #professionalparaplanner #paraplanning #objectives

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🙏 A gentle plea to financial advisers to look at the TOTAL COST of an investment solution rather than just assessing the headline DFM charge / AMC 💲Our MPS portfolios and Multi-Asset Funds have an AMC of 0.4%… this might seem dearer than many other our peers 🤔 However… Our MPS portfolios TOTAL COST (including AMC, underlying charges AND transaction costs) come in at 0.59%-0.61% 😮 We must be using passive strategies in our portfolios to get the total costs so competitive, right? No.. As (truly) active investment managers we invest in direct stocks and bonds. This means we are not paying third-party fund manager fees therefore keeping additional costs to a minimum. 🏃‍♂️Providing a solution that is 100% active means Waverton Investment Management can be an ideal diversifyer for the more passive strategies in your proposition. 📫If you would like to hear more about our approach please do send me a message! #mps #multiasset #investment

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Interesting outcome but not surprising from Professional Paraplanner . 60% of paraplanners feel "they are not valued in the same way as advisers and planners," and 70% of paraplanners want to be "viewed in the same vein as advisers and planners". Unfortunately, this isn't going to happen anytime soon! I've mentioned this before, and it often sparks controversy. But based on the research and what we need to do to gain the recognition paraplanners deserve, it shouldn't be contentious. The problem is that there are no clear definitions of what a paraplanner is; how can we therefore assign value to it? What one paraplanner does in one company can be completely different from another. Similarly, when anyone can simply label themselves as a paraplanner, how can we define its value or even describe it as a profession? Until we establish a clear outline of what constitutes a paraplanner, including minimum standards, the true value of a 'true' paraplanner will remain undervalued

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Some interesting changes in yesterday’s Finance Bill which will (arguably) increase complexity in the pension environment rather than achieve further simplification. Most importantly employer contributions into PRSAs will now be considered to be a BIK if they exceed an employer limit which is defined as 100% of an employee’s emoluments. So the generous pension funding regime that has recently been in place (i.e., no cap on employer contributions save for considering implications of the standard fund threshold) will come to an end once the Bill comes into law. This is likely to be 01st January 2025 although an amendment moving this date could be introduced as the Bill passes through the Dail over the coming weeks / months. Therefore employers who are still in a position to avail of the current pension funding regime should consider their options promptly as the clock is now ticking! Elsewhere the Bill confirms the Budget measures to increase the Standard Fund Threshold (SFT) for pension schemes from €2m to €2.8m by 2030. Thereafter the threshold will increase annually in line with inflation. RBC Brewin Dolphin Ireland's experienced financial planning team is here to guide you through the increasing complexity of the current and proposed pension environment. #pensions #retirementplanning #prsa #wealthmanagement #ireland

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Chief Investment Officer Ben Conway and Senior Research Analyst George Salmon, CFA offer their insights on the latest UK Budget, focusing on its potential long-term impact on investment strategy. Notable measures include capital gains tax rising to 18/24%, reduced Inheritance Tax relief on AIM shares, and an increase in the 'carried interest' tax to 32%. They discuss the implications for AIM markets, government bond yields, and UK corporates. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eUrXC9WE

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Struggling for reliable Paraplanning support? Worried about QOD? In-house paraplanning team struggling to keep up during busy periods? Check out the latest post from #parapool to see how it's helping others out of the same situation.

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Consumer Duty servicing evidence misunderstands financial planning We’ve seen some positive positive changes… (increasing transparency and decreasing fees) Also some ‘unintended consequences’ (bigger advice gap) I want to focus my attention on evidencing servicing. By far the most value a financial planner adds is when you are going through major changes: A divorce 💔 Career re-direction 🧑‍🎨 Starting a family / increasing the family 🐣 Education for children 🎓 Sudden wealth (eg business sale, inheritance) 🤑 A bereavement ⚰️ Starting a business 🏭 Scaling back work 💼 Moving home 🏠 Retirement 🏌️ The regulator appear to place no value on these events and the activities that surround them - as they solely focus on ‘State of the Union’ to evidence and ongoing service… Aka comprehensive reviews. A comprehensive review is a regular ‘am I on track’? Often they can result in helpful nudges… Or reminders to take care of important things (like Powers of Attorney) Working with a financial planner isn’t like going from economy class to business/first (ie focusing on the ongoing suitability of the products)… It’s more like hiring a private jet with a private pilot: you have a specialist helping you plan the journey and also with you, as a guide, helping in particular when life throws a curve ball and you need to make big financial decisions - sometimes involving scary things like tax, pensions, trusts and investments. I would love to see the regulator make some senior CFP hires… #regulation #cfp #consumerduty

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Every year we stagnate as a financial planning profession. 😔 The numbers of CAS Financial Planners remain static around 27,000! 🫤 So what are the pain points you face as an employer please? 🙏 Why is it that so few businesses develop and train their own next generation of talent please? 🙏 Is it 👇🏼 The cost? 🙋‍♀️ The risk of losing someone? 🙋 The time taken to train and develop? 🙋‍♂️ Is it a lack of talent out there? 🙋‍♀️ Something else? 🙋🏾 Possibly a combination of the above? 🙋🏽‍♀️ Please can you add your thoughts in the comments section or dm please. 🙏 It would be good to understand your thoughts to see if collectively we can relieve some of these pain points! 😅 Thank you ☺️ Rob 👍 #advicegap #advisorgap #nextgen #financialplannners #development

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Alternative Retirement Income Provision: Bespoke Bond Portfolio in Retirement Income Annuity The retirement income landscape has been going through a big change the last couple of years and alternative structuring and portfolio allocation has become normal. There are countless ways in which a retirement income portfolio can be enhanced outside the scope of the vanilla portfolio. As part of a larger portfolio, the below example can be an effective strategy to guarantee income over a specific term. The fixed annual interest rate is unaffected by fluctuations in interest rates, and the capital at maturity is guaranteed by Treasury. *This is not financial advice. Assumptions are made. #retirementplanning #bonds #interest #bespoke #investing

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This is a really interesting article from Samantha Secomb FPFS on the flaws of consolidation and how it might not be working for clients or advisers. I agree on many fronts and for a while now have promoting the idea that advice consolidators need to be focusing on using their size and scale to build a better client value proposition and crucially, a better adviser value proposition. Long-term adviser and client retention is key to making these deals work and to generate the success that the PE backers demand, yet finding the balance between investing in the proposition and making further acquisitions seems like a code that few, if any, have truly cracked. #wealthmanagement #advicematters #consolidation

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This week's Money Makers podcast episode features another round-up of recent market and investment trust news, with regular contributor Peter Hewitt, manager of the CT Global Managed Portfolio Trust (CMPG/CMPI), in the review chair this time round. We discuss how and why discounts have moved recently, why the investment trust index has performed better than most individual trusts, the issues facing renewables and other alternatives, and what may lie ahead in 2025. https://lnkd.in/dXuUy9ij

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Really interesting article from John Plender at the Financial Times discussing the pitfalls of pension de-risking (lifestyling) and whether this is in the best interest for clients approaching retirement or not. The below section of the article really stands out: “The worst of it is that the notion of bonds as safe assets is pure myth. Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh and Mike Staunton in the latest UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook point out that between October 1946 and December 1974 UK government bonds lost 74 per cent of their value. In fact, UK bond investors lost half their real wealth during the inflationary period between 1972 and 1974. Then in the bond bear market that began in May 2020 real bond returns fell by 52 per cent. Their conclusion: sovereign bonds are not “safe” assets and their real value can be destroyed by inflation. They add that historically such bond market retreats have been larger or longer than for equities. Nothing could more devastatingly highlight how mainstream economists, actuaries and regulators have lost the risk and return plot.”

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Have you seen Matthew Fowler, CFA FPFS chat with Sam Oakes on The Financial Planner Life Podcast? If not, click the link below to watch Matt discuss the key components of building a thriving financial business and why it’s important to invest in your employees. https://loom.ly/o1W57BY

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According to the latest data, the financial advice gap in the UK is over 20 million individuals and steadily growing. As a career-long Financial Planner, I have always advocated that everyone should have access to financial advice, regardless of the size of wealth or salary. Advisers are increasingly focusing on attracting wealthier clients due to additional requirements and increased regulation, exacerbating the advice gap. There is still a significant need for a financial advice proposition to cater to the masses. While digital services are valuable, human involvement remains crucial as advice requirements become more complex. I envision the future relying on an intuitive, hybrid-based proposition, with AI playing a pivotal role. #financialadvice #advicegap #millennials #investments #wealth #emergencyfund #AI #fintech #consumerduty

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If you were looking for a single place to find pensions related information ahead of, during and after the Budget, this is it. Scroll down the page to find links to "On the day" and "Post budget analysis". https://lnkd.in/e-a_KpPS

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