Most of us have probably come across asset management fees in one way shape or form, and let’s face it is another of those ‘grudge purchases’ that we try and do away with or minimize as much as we can. Ironically, this distaste has not gone unnoticed in investments, and has led to the huge […]

Over the last few weeks markets and exchange rates have been exceptionally volatile as the horse-trading and negotiations around the GNU go on behind the scenes. While the ministerial positions have now been announced, this volatility is probably going to continue until everyone carves out their niches – and the ‘official opposition’ is not going […]

The podcast of the newsletter is available and you can download it HERE. We welcome all your input so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’ve got any queries or suggestions.   Dawn is going to be hosting Michael Avery’s Classic Business Radio show on Fine Music radio next week. You can stream it off the […]

Occasionally I am asked straight out what the value of a financial advisor is, and why they should be paying for the advice.  It’s not an unreasonable question given the experiences of some, especially those who had a product sold to them or where fees are still being collected from an investment product despite a […]

There has been plenty of press over the years on how high fees can impact on your investment – and has led to the trend toward ETFs, Trackers and DIY stock portfolios. It’s interesting to look back at the way the average person invests and how that has evolved over the decades. Before 1965 in […]

Have you ever looked back and remembered what your parents or grandparents were like at your age? While we might not have noticed it while it was happening, we humans are slowly evolving and changing. We just have to look back at our parents or grandparents and what their ‘retirement’ looked like to see how […]

Retirement revisited One of the conundrums of modern life is that we live longer due to better lifestyles, medical advancements etc. This is almost universally celebrated – we all enjoy the prospect of being around to see our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren grow up and be around for their milestones. There can be no […]

There have been a number of events and government proposals that have forced us to reconsider whether formal retirement savings, especially Retirement Annuities are still worth it. The Green Paper that was introduced and withdrawn a couple of weeks later is a case in point. This has been withdrawn and is not dead; I have […]

Retirement planning is a decades-long journey Saving for retirement is a frustrating decades long journey and it can be hard to stay enthusiastic, especially when life happens. So-called forced saving (pension and provident schemes) in companies can be exasperating, especially if money is very tight at home, but in the long term, it can be […]