I once tried to advise someone who had just been made redundant from Kodak. He had a decent sized lump sum in his bank account from them but was too young to retire yet. Having spent all of his years, man and boy, working for the same firm, he didn’t have a job to go […]
Sometimes it is Just Too Good to be True Read More »
I read commentary this week from my favourite political analyst Ian Dunt. He is a brilliant writer, author and commentator on UK politics; blunt, sweary and honest. In his piece he was articulating his surprise that stockmarkets weren’t reacting more to the US attacks on Iran. As he comes from a politics specialism it is
Why Investors Shouldn’t Care About War Read More »
When my father died (earlier and then faster than expected), I really struggled with what to say at his funeral. I didn’t take my chance to talk to him about many things when he was still here. He was the kind of man who lived through his work, both paid and latterly charitable. In the
Should You Write Your Reverse Obituary? Read More »
As Financial Adviser we are always fond of telling people not to time markets. I haven’t yet met anyone who has timed markets well, either getting out or getting in at the right time. It remains true that the best time to invest was twenty years ago and the best time to invest is now.
What is The Worst Investment You Have Made? Read More »
The best thing you can do for your wealth is to win the lottery, the worst thing is to live next door to someone who wins the lottery. At Altor we have two advisers who used to work with Camelot advising their lottery winners. This work led me to explore the psychology of lottery winners
Has Your Neighbour Won The Lottery Read More »
No one wants or needs a financial services blog from an England Rugby fan right now, but it’s a fallow week in the 6 Nations and I get precious little else from watching them play. So tough. When kicking a penalty the number 10 (don’t @ me, I know it isn’t always the ten) used
Visualise Your Retirement Like a Penalty in Rugby Read More »
In our job as financial advisers we see more than our fair share of dysfunctional family relationships. Sometimes it is clear that there has been some egregious behaviour by parent or adult child but most often it is a mix of poor communication, stubbornness, pride and the usual human failings. There are very few examples
Is it Ever Okay to Leave More in Your Will to One Child? Read More »
In a former life, myself and a colleague spent several years helping Kodak in their shutdown process. Crippled by the digital camera they shrunk from 8,000 UK staff to just 25. We ran their Retirement and Redundancy seminars, helping hundreds of staff with the basics of financial planning. The transition from a life-long career with
The Future Won’t Always Look Like The Past Read More »
We have written in the past about research that suggests that, by the age of 10 we have formed our money attitudes. In his book The Soul of Wealth, Daniel Crosby likens this to ‘folie a deux’ or ‘the madness of two’. This is a defined psychological condition where two people who are close to each other (often
Why Do I Act Like a 10-Year-Old Around Money? Read More »
Being successful in business involves multiple different factors that you control and a dose of luck. Some of the attributes of running a business, such as building a senior leadership team and constantly reviewing the company’s performance are crucial to success. However they don’t necessarily translate into how to run a successful retirement. When you
Don’t Run Your Retirement Like You Did Your Business Read More »
