The unSecret Adviser [4 Jan '23]

The first day back in the office for Richard was yesterday but I’m in Scotland so I took advantage of their extra New Year Bank Holiday. Having spent my whole working life in England it never occurred to me exactly what holiday the Scots were giving up in exchange. It turns out its Easter Monday. It certainly seems a fair exchange immediately following two days of New Year partying however I think I’d miss the long Easter weekend…so I’ll make sure I’m in England for April 10.

The week between Christmas and New Year is always a good time to reflect on the business year past and set goals for the coming one. While 2022 was certainly challenging from an investment point of view, it was a particularly rewarding year watching Alex’s progression; from a wet behind the ears school leaver, through the completion of his apprenticeship, to seeing him fly the nest securing his first City job with a great alternative investment provider and employer, Triple Point.

Our investment proposition also strengthened over the year with the addition of our new passive ESG portfolio range, plus investors now have access to their portfolios through a new App (see here).

We also increased our client numbers through several referrals (thank you).

With the tax return deadline looming, January is also a time for us to be at the ready for last minute re-requests of information. These requests usually come with apologies, but we don’t see it that way. That’s exactly what we’re here for, we don’t care how many times we’re asked. Everyone assumes they’re the most unorganised person in the world and that everyone else must be so on top of their financial affairs.

This of course is not the case.

There are certainly some that are well prepared, but it’s human nature to leave things like this to the last minute, especially when it comes to paying HMRC. Don’t concern yourself with being last minute, you’re in good company.

Today we provided tax return packs detailing income and gains from our platforms, as well as a lost P60 from a pension provider. Remember, we retain all correspondence, so don’t waste time searching, ask us as your first port of call, or have us speak directly with your accountant.

Next task for the day is preparation! At the start of each year, we meet with our external compliance consultancy Simplybiz for our Regulatory MOT.

As a small business we rely on third parties to ensure we can continue to provide a comprehensive wealth management service. Whether it’s Simplybiz for compliance, regulation and ongoing training, Parmenion for investment portfolio services, Financial Express and The Lang Cat for fund investment and platform research, Prestwood for financial cashflow planning, Watermark for document management and Technical Connection for up to the minute technical knowledge.

While there may only be two of us, we are punching well above our weight with some real strength and depth in our corner.

A quick review of our files and it appears there isn’t too much to do in advance of the MOT. There is one large piece of work this year the FCA have laid at every regulated firm’s door. It’s called The Consumer Duty and it comes into force on 31st July 2023. It requires all firms to be ready to deliver…wait for it…good outcomes for retail customers.

MOT preparation complete, I finished the day a little early and dropped in on my 92 year old grandfather to wish him Happy New Year. Not much conversation as I had to be quiet because the snooker was on. I was relegated to tea boy (“and a slice o’ dumpling on the side as well mind!”) while he watched Ronnie demolish his latest opponent.

“There haven’t been any good Scottish players”, he said disappointedly. “What about Stephen Hendry?” “Never heard of him!” “John Higgins?” “No”.

Dementia can be like that. He remembers me, but not his brother…or my brother come to that. He remembers bringing his family up in Rhodesia, but can’t name all his children.

Diagnosing capacity is not an easy thing as dementia slowly takes hold and it can be hard on families, especially ones that are scattered all over the world.

We have Power of Attorney for him thankfully, although judging by the number of lottery tickets on his side table, he is still making some financial decisions himself.

It reminds me though I still must complete the paperwork to finalise my parents Powers of Attorney. And there we come full circle. It’s not just you that leaves things to the last minute, that puts things off, convinced there will be plenty time. It’s us all.

He does have a fantastic memory for things way in the past though.

He looks up from the TV. “I was a bit of a snooker player in my day”, he recalls. I know this all too well. His was not a generation to “let the children win a little”. No prizes for second place in our family.

While stationed at RAF Hemswell, he struck up a playing partnership with an all-round English sportsman and they regularly cleared tables of balls and pockets of shillings.

“No-one could beat us. He played a bit of cricket for England as well…Freddie he was called”.

A bit old to have been stationed with Freddie Flintoff I assumed he was getting mixed up from watching a recent episode of Top Gear.

But Google exists to prove you wrong.

A quick “cricket, Fred, RAF” search comes back with one direct hit. Fred Trueman.

“A bit of cricket” indeed!