People who care what their hard earned cash gets up to behind their backs and would prefer it to be ‘doing good’ have been turning in increasing numbers to ethical investment funds to generate a return on their savings. Faced with the range of ‘sustainable investments’ and ‘socially responsible’ funds available, knowing where to begin…
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‘What did the Romans ever do for us?’ is the entrée to a classic Monty Python sketch. One of the things they did do is introduce one of the first recorded pensions, by way of an annuity to Centurions who had finished their service. Subsequently people relied on savings, or more likely being looked after…
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We are all familiar with the nuisance associated with unsolicited cold calls, but these unwanted conversations can have more serious consequences. It’s an unfortunate reality that scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it very difficult to distinguish a genuine caller from a fraudster, who can often appear completely credible and friendly. Cold calling techniques…
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Gone are the days when men made most of the financial decisions in a household. When I was growing up, my mum looked after the family and my dad looked after the finances, and this was certainly not uncommon. But things have changed and women should rightfully expect that the wealth management industry is keeping…
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By most measures, the strategy of automatically enrolling eligible employees into a company sponsored pension scheme is regarded as a success. Before auto enrolment, employees had to ‘opt in’ to work based pensions but now the principle is that employees must make a conscious decision to ‘opt out’. A Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)…
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In January 2018, the Markets in Financial Instruments II (MiFID II) rules came in to force. One of the outcomes was that all advisers must provide clients with a breakdown of the total costs and charges they pay for the investments they hold. These disclosures are required whenever we provide our clients with a new…
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There can seldom have been such little interest in a set piece UK Government announcement as was afforded the Chancellor’s Spring Statement yesterday. Large spaces on the green benches in the House of Commons, reduced to an afterthought on the main news channels last night and a lack of column inches in today’s newspapers tells…
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Wednesday, 6 March marked another important milestone in Dundee’s continued journey into becoming a great place to visit – and in this case, work! A scheme has been launched to make Dundee the UK’s first ‘living wage city’ and we’re delighted that we’ve been asked to be part of an action group to try and…
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AIM company research is a key part of our service, particularly given the stringent rules around business relief qualification. Our AIM Portfolio Managers meet or speak with senior company management at least once a year to learn what plans the company have for growth and development and crucially, whether any future action may invalidate business…
Continue ReadingCharacter design and manufacture toys and games, mainly under licence, and distribute them both in the UK and internationally. They also partner exclusively with international toy producers to distribute their products in the UK. I recently visited Character’s head office in New Malden, Surrey where I met with the joint managing directors Kiran Shah and…
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