Informed Choice Radio Personal Finance Podcast: Recent Episodes
Martin Bamford
Welcome to Informed Choice Radio, the personal finance podcast all about achieving your financial goals in life. New episodes are published every Friday, featuring expert interviews and practical tips for making the most of your money. Your host for Informed Choice Radio is Martin Bamford; a Chartered Financial Planner, Fellow of the Personal Finance Society and personal finance author. Contact Martin at martin@icfp.co.uk with any comments or questions. You can find show notes and archived episodes at https://icradio.co.uk/episodes/.
In today's episode, we have two very special guests joining us, James Ellis and Jason Shaw, the founders of Elevated Food for Life.
Elevated Food for Life is a groundbreaking platform that can be best described as the Netflix of healthy recipe sites. With over 200 mouthwatering recipes and an extensive library of video instructions, this platform is revolutionising the way we approach healthy cooking.
James Ellis, a nutritionist, and Jason Shaw, a professional chef, joined forces to create Elevated Food for Life. James, who left a successful career on Fleet Street, pursued his passion for health by becoming a clinical nutritionist and gaining an MSc in Nutrition. He's also a health coach and conditioning coach, with a keen interest in biohacking, enabling him to achieve a metabolic age 22 years younger than his actual age.
Jason Shaw, our other guest today, developed his culinary skills in the kitchens of the acclaimed Trust House Forte Hotel in Bramhope, Leeds. Over the years, he has worked alongside some of the biggest names in the business, including culinary legends Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsey, and Raymond Blanc. Now, an industry consultant, Jason brings his wealth of experience and expertise to Elevated Food for Life.
During our conversation, James and Jason will take us behind the scenes of Elevated Food for Life and explain how they developed this innovative platform. We'll delve into the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, exploring the nutritional aspects and discussing how to save money on quality ingredients.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed in the kitchen or struggled to find healthy recipe ideas, this episode is for you. James and Jason are here to inspire and educate us on the art of healthy cooking and the importance of nourishing our bodies.
So, without further ado, let's dive into my conversation with James Ellis and Jason Shaw, the founders of Elevated Food for Life, in episode 597 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Allison Baggerly, the author of Money Made Easy and the founder of Inspired Budget.
Allison is a former teacher turned money coach who has helped countless women break free from the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and take control of their finances.
During our conversation, Allison shared her personal story of how she and her husband paid off over $111,000 of debt on two teachers' salaries while raising their family. Her insights into goal-setting, sticking to a budget, and staying motivated throughout the process were incredibly valuable.
We talked about the importance of identifying your "money pattern" and developing a plan to pay off debt, save money, and invest for your future.
Allison's book, Money Made Easy: How to Budget, Pay Off Debt, and Save Money, is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their financial situation. Whether you're just starting out or you're a seasoned pro, her insights and strategies will help you achieve your financial goals.
I hope you enjoy this episode of Informed Choice Radio and find it as valuable as I did.
Here's my conversation with Allison Baggerly in episode 596 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I’m speaking with Karen Mooney, the Founder and CEO of Sara Eden, the UK’s leading matchmaking agency.
Karen started Sara Eden back in 1988 after hearing from too many friends about the difficulties they faced in finding a partner.
Since then, she has been responsible for thousands of marriages and long-term relationships, becoming a trusted adviser to her clients along the way.
In this episode, Karen shares her insights on the matchmaking industry, her clientele of successful professionals and retired professionals up to their late 80s, and how her business has changed since the pandemic.
Karen also talks about the importance of financial compatibility in relationships and how she helps her clients navigate this often tricky topic.
So, whether you’re single and looking for love or just interested in learning more about the matchmaking industry, you won’t want to miss this episode.
Here’s my conversation with Karen Mooney in episode 595 of Informed Choice Radio.
Our guest today is Countess Jennifer Walderdorff, a fashion merchandising and retail expert, and the author of “Look at the Labels”.
Jenn’s passion for fashion was instilled in her by her Nigerian parents and she’s always had a natural sense of style.
After working part-time while studying, Jenn began her career in Fashion Retail Merchandise Planning, before starting her own successful company, Cheeky Poppins Shoe Clips.
Jenn eventually left London for Italy to pursue her dreams in the fashion industry and while there, she wrote her book “Look at the Labels”.
In this episode, we will be discussing the role of fashion in the global economy, how to make ethically responsible fashion choices, and what it means to be a toxic shopper.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s dive into the world of fashion with Countess Jennifer Walderdorff, in episode 593 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, we’re joined by Charlie Lamdin, the founder of BestAgent.co.uk and a renowned economic and political commentator in the housing market.
Charlie left a successful career in the city to become a tech founder, and he has a passion for uncovering the truth about how the property market functions. His dream is to end homelessness (something we discuss later in this episode), and he’s a straight-talking, eloquent, and forthright voice in the industry.
In this episode, Charlie shares his unique insights into the property market, gained from his twenty years on the inside of the estate agency world as a supplier of tech to agents of all sizes across the country.
He’ll also discuss how he aims to undermine all the backhanded conduct in the property sector with his new national property website, BestAgent.co.uk, which is weighted in favour of home movers, rather than estate agents.
Charlie is a consumer champion for home-movers and shares his insights with his followers across all social media platforms on the “Moving Home with Charlie” channels.
So, if you’re thinking about buying or renting a property or simply interested in the housing market, you won’t want to miss this episode.
Stay tuned for an informative and thought-provoking discussion with Charlie Lamdin, in episode 592 of Informed Choice Radio.
In today’s episode, we have a very special guest – Peter Komolafe, an author, and finance expert with a story that will inspire you to take charge of your finances.
Peter is more than an expert in money; he has been through the ups and downs of financial instability, and his personal experience gives him a unique perspective on the subject.
In this episode, we’ll learn more about his incredible journey and how he overcame financial challenges to become a successful executive in a Fortune 100 company.
We chat about Peter’s journey from homelessness to financial success, the mistake that drew him into financial services, coping with the cost of living crisis, and much more.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your finances, this episode is for you.
Peter’s journey is an inspiration, and his practical advice will help you take the first steps towards financial security. So, grab a pen and paper, and get ready to take some notes!
Here’s my conversation with Peter Komolafe, author of The Money Basics, in episode 591 of Informed Choice Radio.
Would you like to repay your mortgage faster?
For many homeowners, that's the dream, especially during this period of rising interest rates.
But mortgage overpayments can be complicated, with terms and conditions to navigate and sometimes complex calculations to understand the best approach.
My guest on the podcast today aims to simplify mortgage overpayments, with his app Sprive.
Sprive is designed to create smart overpayments that chip away at your mortgage balance, reducing lifetime interest costs and bringing that repayment date closer.
Jinesh Vohra is CEO and founder of the fintech firm Sprive, following a career at Goldman Sachs managing global teams.
In this episode, I chat with Jinesh about the inspiration for Sprive, what drives the ambition to pay off a mortgage faster, and how to make this possible during the cost of living crisis.
Here’s my conversation with Jinesh Vohra in episode 590 of Informed Choice Radio.
What's the secret to taking every Friday off, so you can spend more time with your family and doing the things you love?
My guest on the podcast today is Dustin Serviss, and he appears to have cracked the code for work/life balance!
Dustin built a wildly successful businesses in the wealth and lifestyle design space. He's a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Investment Manager, and Certified Health Specialist.
In this conversation, we chat about his secret for never working on a Friday, how this is linked to his money mindset, and the importance of a 'never retire' strategy.
Here's my conversation with Dustin Serviss in episode 589 of Informed Choice Radio.
The Bank of Mum and Dad is becoming a major casualty of the cost-of-living crisis, as parents are under growing strain to support their adult children.
That’s according to new research from law firm Irwin Mitchell, which found 6 in 10 are currently financially supporting adult children, with more than a third saying they would not be able to make ends meet without this support.
Joining me in this episode is Christine Thornley, Head of the Tax, Trusts and Estate team in the firm’s Manchester office.
I chat with Christine about why so many adult children are still financially dependent on their parents, the impact of this financial burden on our own plans, and the importance of seeking expert advice before giving money to adult children.
Here’s my conversation with Christine Thornley from Irwin Mitchell in episode 588 of Informed Choice Radio.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the government’s auto-enrolment policy.
Since its introduction in 2012, more than 10 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme.
But, with a cost of living crisis and challenging economic times ahead, what are employers and pension providers able to do to support continued saving?
My guest today is Jason Green, Head of Research at Benefits Guru, an independent technical resource to support advisers and employers.
We chat about how auto-enrolment works, things employers need to consider about their workplace pension schemes, and why financial wellness is becoming a key part of the pensions conversation.
Here’s my conversation with Jason Green from Benefits Guru in episode 587 of Informed Choice Radio.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the government’s auto-enrolment policy.
Since its introduction in 2012, more than 10 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme.
But, with a cost of living crisis and challenging economic times ahead, what are employers and pension providers able to do to support continued saving?
My guest today is Jason Green, Head of Research at Benefits Guru, an independent technical resource to support advisers and employers.
We chat about how auto-enrolment works, things employers need to consider about their workplace pension schemes, and why financial wellness is becoming a key part of the pensions conversation.
Here’s my conversation with Jason Green from Benefits Guru in episode 587 of Informed Choice Radio.
What happened when a GP went on a mission to learn about money management?
My guest today is Dr Nikki, aka The Female Money Doctor, a financial empowerment coach for women.
As a Certified Money Coach, Nikki is helping women from all over the world to improve their mental health and well-being, through getting organised with their finances and building wealth for the future they truly deserve.
Dr Nikki is also a GP with over 13 years of experience as an NHS doctor and women’s health specialist, and in that role she sees first hand the impact poor money management skills have on the mental health of her patients and colleagues.
During this conversation, we chat about the link between money management and our health, the impact of the current cost of living crisis, and some steps we can all take to boost our incomes during these difficult times.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Nikki aka The Female Money Doctor, in episode 586 of Informed Choice Radio.
Welcome to the Metaverse.
You may have come across augmented reality before, but what happens when this cutting edge technology becomes an ordinary part of our daily lives?
My guest on the podcast today is Marcel Stotzel, portfolio manager of the FTSE 250 listed Fidelity European Trust PLC.
Marcel covers European Software and IT Services as an analyst, and we have a good conversation about investment opportunities in the emerging Metaverse space.
Did you know that 10% of luxury sales are forecast to be entirely digital by 2030?
It seems clear that the world is changing, and Europe is conveniently positioned to take advantage of the opportunities created by the Metaverse.
Here’s my conversation with Marcel Stotzel, portfolio manager of the Fidelity European Trust PLC, in episode 585 of Informed Choice Radio.
With 60% of UK adults not having a valid Will in place, a charity campaign coming up later this year is more important than ever.
Will Aid is a special partnership between the legal profession and nine of the UK’s best-loved charities.
Together, they raise vital funds for these wonderful causes, while ensuring that people in the UK gain the reassurance of knowing they have a professionally written Will.
I’m joined today by Lauren Smith, a solicitor at Taylor Bracewell, and supporter of the Will Aid scheme.
Here’s my conversation with Lauren in episode 584 of Informed Choice Radio.
We need to get smarter about home energy consumption.
With rising wholesale prices and concerns about the capacity of the National Grid, could your battery electric vehicle be part of the solution to a smart energy future?
In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Mark Harrison from dcbel, who are bringing to Europe their smart home energy technology.
dcbel sits at the nexus of residential solar power, electric vehicle charging and prosumer-centric energy systems. Its AI-driven sustainable energy technology puts the power into the hands of customers to fuel their car, home, and lifestyle with solar energy.
I’m fascinated by new technology, especially where it has the prospect to save money, lead to a more sustainable future, and secure access to energy in an increasingly uncertain world.
Here’s my conversation with Mark Harrison from dcbel in episode 583 of Informed Choice Radio.
The world of energy is changing, with a dramatic shift towards sustainability.
At the same time, the price of wholesale energy went through the roof as the economy returned to normal levels of activity post-pandemic.
Joining me for this episode is Tom Holl, co-manager of the BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc and a member of BlackRock's Natural Resources team.
Tom is responsible for the nutrition strategy, the gold and mining sectors, and co-manages a number of the team's gold and mining portfolios as well as income strategies.
Mining and energy companies lie at the heart of the global economy, helping fuel economic activity. Mining companies provide the resources to build new infrastructure, while energy companies drive growth.
In this conversation, I chat with Tom about the factors behind current high prices, the three transition 'buckets' in the energy sector, and why the UK has some amazing opportunities during this transition.
Here's my conversation with Tom Holl, co-manager of the BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust, in episode 582 of Informed Choice Radio.
How can we make our lives easier?
My guest on the podcast today is Chris Westfall, a business coach, author and speaker.
In his latest book, Chris writes about ways to make your work life work for you.
Easier is the hold-your-handbook on coaching, leadership and resilience, offering insights on creating the future of work, finding connection and guidance, and finding ways to make everything in life easier.
Chris Westfall is one of the most sought-after coaches and keynote speakers in the world.
He has helped launch over five dozen businesses and has appeared on ABC News, NBC TV, and CNN. His clients have appeared on Shark Tank, Dragons Den in Canada and Shark Tank - Australia.
In our conversation today, we talk about turning frustration into transformation, why service and creation are our purpose on earth, and what makes self-leadership essential.
Here's my conversation with Chris Westfall, author of Easier, in episode 581 of Informed Choice Radio.
Anyone who began working 20 or 30 years ago has witnessed astonishing changes in the workplace during their career.
When the global pandemic hit, older workers fortunate enough to retain their jobs once again had to navigate enormous upheaval, virtually overnight.
Working from home, often in isolation, over-fifties found themselves facing daunting technological and social challenges.
My guest on the podcast today is Kerry Hannon, author of In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work.
Kerry Hannon is a leading authority and strategist who has spent more than three decades covering all aspects of careers, business, personal finance, and retirement as a columnist, editor, and writer for leading media companies.
In her new book, In Control at 50+, Kerry illustrates how COVID-19 changed the nature of work, provides a compellingly optimistic vision of the future, and highlights opportunities and specific action steps for achieving success.
Here’s my conversation with Kerry Hannon, author of In Control at 50+, in episode 580 of Informed Choice Radio.
Private equity was once an investment niche.
Today, the wealth controlled by its leading firms surpasses the GDP of some nations.
My guest on the podcast today is Sachin Khajuria, author of the first true insider’s account of private equity, revealing what it takes to thrive among the world’s hungriest dealmakers.
A former partner at Apollo, Sachin gives readers an unprecedented view inside this opaque global economic engine, which plays a vital role underpinning our retirement systems.
He brings the traits, culture, and temperament of the industry’s leading practitioners to life through a series of vivid and unvarnished deal sketches.
Here's my conversation with Sachin Khajuria, author of Two and Twenty: How the Masters of Private Equity Always Win, in episode 579 of Informed Choice Radio.
What part should gold play in your investment portfolio?
My guest today is Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, the world’s largest online marketplace for gold, silver, platinum and palladium.
Looking after £3 billion of precious metal for more than 100,000 customers, BullionVault offers private investors access to the whole bullion market with online trading, instant settlement, and low-cost storage in secure vaults.
Winner in April 2022 of a third Queen’s Award for Enterprise, BullionVault has been a full member since 2008 of professional trade body the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and was chosen in 2017 as online vaulted bullion partner of the mining-industry backed World Platinum Investment Council.
During our conversation today, we talk about the factors influencing the price of gold, why silver is called The Devil’s Metal, and what Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means for the palladium market.
Here’s my conversation with Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, in episode 578 of Informed Choice Radio.
Do you want to live your life well and enjoy financial security while leaving a legacy for family members?
My guest on today’s show is Marlene Outrim, author of Cascading Your Wealth, a comprehensive guide to putting your affairs in order and making the right choices now about how to pass on your wealth without compromising your current lifestyle.
Marlene is a Certified Financial Planner, Fellow of the CISI, Chartered Wealth Manager and Chartered Financial Planner, as well as holding numerous other professional qualifications and designations.
Her new book discusses the practical, emotional and psychological factors that affect intergenerational wealth and explains the six steps to creating a clear and detailed Family Wealth Plan.
During this conversation, we chat about Marlene’s two rules for cascading wealth, the right time to start thinking about this planning, and some of the complexities associated with wealth transfer planning for blended families.
Here’s my conversation with Marlene Outrim, author of Cascading Your Wealth, in episode 577 of Informed Choice Radio.
Energy bills are soaring and many of us are wondering what, if anything, we can do to ease the burden.
My guest today is James Sommerville, Head of Business Development at AgilityEco.
AgilityEco is on mission to play a major role in eliminating fuel poverty, to deliver better outcomes for low income and vulnerable families and to prepare Britain’s homes for Net Zero.
They have a vision for a warm, efficient and healthy home for everyone.
By reducing energy bills through energy efficiency and helping people stay warm and well, they will be able to support the most vulnerable in society.
In our conversation today, we talk about some of the government grants available to households who want to reduce their energy use, the steps to consider before installing solar panels, and how we can all address the cost of energy crisis.
Here’s my conversation with James Sommerville, Head of Business Development at AgilityEco, in episode 576 of Informed Choice Radio.
The financial services profession is often accused of being male, pale and stale.
Things are changing (for the better!) with greater diversity and a younger cohort becoming Financial Planners, bringing with them a valuable perspective and experiences.
My guest on the podcast today is Makala Green, the first Black Female Chartered Financial Planner.
Makala has an extraordinary track record of success, working her way up from a cashier position age 16. She has transformed lives and businesses, working with entrepreneurs, sportspeople, professionals and multi-million-pound companies.
Makala knows how empowering it is to be in control of your finances. She understands how managing your money can change everything for the better. So, Makala has written The Money Edit, her first book, to make great financial planning accessible to everyone.
The Money Edit is a jargon-free, straight-talking guide, giving us the confidence and clarity to understand money and make smarter choices at every stage in life. The book answers all the most common questions Makala has encountered from clients over the years, covering everything from budgeting and investing to buying property and preparing for the future.
During this episode, we chat about what drove Makala’s career success, how we can attract more diversity in financial services, and the mindset required to manage money well.
Here’s my conversation with Makala Green, author of The Money Edit, in episode 575 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, we're talking about how to think critically about the news and information that you come across every day.
With today's guest, Helen Lee Bouygues, we're chatting about something really important: critical thinking skills.
It seems like more and more lately we're coming across fake news and information that's simply not true.
It can be really hard to tell what's real and what's not, but with some simple techniques, you can start thinking critically about the news you digest, and get a better understanding of what's going on in the world.
Helen Lee Bouygues is one of the most successful women in business transformation. She has served as interim CEO, CFO, or COO for more than a dozen companies. Helen is the founder of The Reboot Foundation, a columnist at Forbes, and currently working on a book on critical thinking.
The Reboot Foundation is dedicated to supporting efforts by individuals and organizations to better integrate critical thinking into our daily lives. They conduct surveys and opinion polls, lead their own research, and support the work of university-affiliated scholars in a shared goal to help improve critical thinking.
In our conversation today, Helen explains why social media is harming our critical thinking skills, how to improve our media literacy, and why the Pope endorsing Donald Trump for his presidency (spoiler alert: he didn't) was the modern birth of what we all know as fake news.
Here's my conversation with Helen Lee Bouygues, founder of The Reboot Foundation, in episode 574 of Informed Choice Radio.
How do you manage an ‘all-weather’ global equity portfolio in 2022?
My guest on the podcast today is Matthew Tillett, Lead Portfolio Manager of The Brunner Investment Trust.
The Brunner Investment Trust has been around since 1927, and invests in companies all over the world.
The Trust favours large, well-financed businesses with global reach, pricing power and brand strength.
Prior to joining AllianzGI, who run the Brunner Trust, Matthew worked at Datamonitor and the Office for National Statistics.
He graduated from Bristol University with a first class degree in Economics and Economic History. He also holds a masters (with distinction) in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.
In this conversation, we talk about what to look for in a superior business model, some of the key themes for change in the future, and how the war in Ukraine is affecting the portfolio.
As ever when I speak to fund managers on this podcast, the usual disclaimers and risk warnings. This conversation is not an endorsement of a particular investment fund or a recommendation to invest. The value of your investments can go down as well as up, as can dividend income, and past performance is no guarantee of future returns.
With that said, here’s my conversation with Matthew Tillett, lead portfolio manager of the Brunner Investment Trust, in episode 573 of Informed Choice Radio.
Imagine a life where you are financially savvy and independent, living with purpose and generosity while inspiring others.
That’s what Holistic Wealth is all about.
My guest on the podcast today is economist Keisha Blair, the bestselling author of Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons To Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity and Happiness.
Keisha’s story started with tragedy, the sudden death of her husband in 2009.
Her experience became a viral article for Thrive Global, “My Husband Died at 34; Here Are 40 Life Lessons I Learned From It”, and the basis for her excellent book.
Holistic Wealth teaches you how to find prosperity in key aspects of life, from financial stability and physical health to your emotional and spiritual connections with others.
Cultivating these strengths will build the mental toughness and grit you need to weather life’s inevitable storms and setbacks.
Here’s my conversation with Keisha Blair, author of Holistic Wealth, in episode 572 of Informed Choice Radio.
I imagine you've heard of NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens are the latest hot digital property, but what are they, how did they evolve, and why do they have value?
My guest on the show today is Matt Fortnow, entertainment lawyer turned entrepreneur.
Matt is co-author of The NFT Handbook: How to Create, Sell and Buy Non-Fungible Tokens.
He's become increasingly enamored by digital art and non-fungible tokens and has created the official NFTs for iconic brands such as The Three Stooges.
Last year Matt discussed NFTs on Marketing for the Now with Gary Vaynerchuk.
I entered this conversation with a degree of, hopefully healthy, scepticism. Regular listeners will be aware that I hold some strong views when it comes to all things cryptocurrency.
But Matt helped me overcome some of my fears about NFTs, and shared what I believe was a useful conversation about their value.
Here's my chat with Matt Fortnow, author of The NFT Handbook, in episode 571 of Informed Choice Radio.
Make more money. Change the world. Live the life you deserve.
Sounds good, right?
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Derrick Kinney and he is all about changing how you feel about money.
Derrick believes money is not bad and good people should have more of it. After applying these proven principles with thousands of clients, Kinney sold his multimillion-dollar business to teach these success steps to you.
His new book is Good Money Revolution: How to Make More Money to Do More Good, in which Derrick explains why you need to add meaning to your money.
In this conversation, we talk about why money isn’t the root of all evil, the importance of tracking your key financial metrics, making more money with a side hustle, and much more.
Here’s my conversation with Derrick Kinney in episode 570 of Informed Choice Radio.
Soaring wholesale energy prices are squeezing household budgets, with higher costs for gas and electricity bills this winter.
Many smaller energy providers have gone bust, with more expected to fail in the coming months.
In this episode, I’m joined by Kevin Pratt, personal finance journalist and editor of Forbes Advisor UK, to discuss the drivers of these rising prices, what steps we can take to keep our bills manageable, and whether now is the right time to invest in renewable energy production at home.
Kevin has been writing about all aspects of household finance for over 30 years, aiming to provide information that will help readers make good choices with their money.
Here’s my conversation with Kevin Pratt in episode 569 of Informed Choice Radio.
Do you think of yourself as climate-conscious?
With the COP26 climate change summit drawing to a close, I catch up with Sarah Pennells from Royal London to discuss responsible investing with your pension.
Their new research found more than three-quarters of us claim to be climate-conscious, but more than two-thirds of pension savers are unaware their pension could be used in the fight against climate change.
Pensions have the power to protect the future of the planet, but first we need to understand what responsible investing involves and how we can identify suitable responsible investments.
If you want to harness your pension investments to help secure the future of the planet, this podcast episode is a great place to start.
Here’s my conversation with Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist at Royal London, in episode 568 of Informed Choice Radio.
An ever-increasing number of young adults are living in debt, with minimal financial knowledge and without the skills to build long-term wealth.
My guest on the podcast today wants to empower parents to teach their kids how to form life changing money habits.
Through his work and new book, Will Rainey is teaching kids the basics of all money related topics that they will need to be financially secure when they become adults.
Will is a qualified actuary and award-winning investment consultant. His new book is called Grandpa's Fortune Fables.
He's the father to two young daughters, and has always tried to make sure they feel comfortable talking about money.
In our conversation today, we chat about forming money habits at an early age, why debt is like invisible slime, and how not talking about money in front of our kids is the same as telling them money is bad.
Here's my conversation with Will Rainey, author of Grandpa's Fortune Fables, in episode 567 of Informed Choice Radio.
What happens when someone dies and their family disputes the terms of their will?
My guest on the podcast today is Samara Dutton, a contentious probate litigator at Collyer Bristow.
Samara is a key member the contentious trusts and probate team at Collyer Bristow. She specialises in all categories of trust disputes, acting for both trustees and beneficiaries in breach of trust claims, applications for removals and other disputed aspects of trust administration, including cross-jurisdictional issues.
In our conversation today, I chat with Samara about why so many people continue to put off making a will, what it is about second (and subsequent) marriages that can lead to inheritance squabbles, and the thorny issue of mental capacity when making a will.
Here’s my conversation with Samara Dutton, Partner at Collyer Bristow LLP, in episode 566 of Informed Choice Radio.
Whatever financial freedom means to you – living the life you want, not working to someone else’s timetable, not worrying about money ever again, or some other dream – the way to get there is through investing.
My guest on the podcast today is Robin Powell, co-author of Invest Your Way to Financial Freedom.
Robin and his co-author Ben Carlson share in the book the path to financial freedom through sensible saving and straightforward investing.
In our conversation today, we talk about the importance of starting early, why you should strive to improve your earnings potential, and the difference the right and wrong financial adviser.
Here’s my conversation with Robin Powell, co-author of Invest Your Way to Financial Freedom, in episode 565 of Informed Choice Radio.
We know that scams are increasingly prevalent during the pandemic.
With a growing number of people falling victim to Ponzi schemes, corporate fraud and other nasty scams, what action can you take if you lose money?
My guests on the podcast today are Tim Carter and James Lister from Stevens & Bolton LLP.
Tim advises on all aspects of restructuring and corporate and personal insolvency, including distressed business sales. His clients range from insolvency practitioners, corporates, stakeholders and other investors to directors and individuals. He has particular expertise in matters involving insolvency litigation.
James specialises in private wealth disputes, dealing with trust, estate and succession matters within the UK and internationally. James also deals with disputes where trusts and private wealth issues are involved in wider commercial disputes, such as fraud and asset recovery.
In this episode, we discuss how HMRC is cracking down on Covid loan scheme fraud, what attracts people to Ponzi schemes and how to avoid them, steps you can take if you have been the victim of fraud, and much more.
If you're a trustee, you need to know about the Trust Registration Service.
My guest on the podcast today is Adrian Moss, Trusts and Tax Director at Penningtons Manches Cooper.
Adrian manages the Penningtons Manches Cooper trust and personal tax administration team which provides an accurate, efficient and cost-effective accounting and tax compliance service to clients.
The team is involved in over 500 active trust administrations and the preparation of over 150 personal tax returns.
As a specialist in the taxation of UK trusts, individuals, beneficiaries of non-residence trusts and remittance basis-users, Adrian applies his expertise to a wide variety of family situations, allowing the firm to provide a full legal and administrative service to trustees, executors and individuals.
In this episode, Adrian explains the background to the Trust Registration Service, everything trustees need to know, and why privacy concerns are perhaps a little overblown.
Here's my conversation with Adrian Moss, Trusts and Tax Director at Penningtons Manches Cooper, in episode 563 of Informed Choice Radio.
The meaning we attach to money becomes the lens that we think, feel and behave with money.
My guest on the podcast today is Catherine Morgan, an entrepreneur, keynote speaker and multi-award winning money coach.
Catherine is host of the In Her Financial Shoes podcast which helps you to get in control of money, gain financial confidence, learn how to invest and save money.
In our conversation today, we discuss the imprinting period in childhood that forms many of the emotions around money, why were are naturally attracted to people who have the opposite relationship to money, and the impact of Covid on our financial attitudes.
Here’s my conversation with Catherine Morgan, host of the In Her Financial Shoes podcast, in episode 562 of Informed Choice Radio.
Do you ever dream about upping sticks and moving to a different country?
Perhaps you have one eye on the future and want the security of a second passport, 'just in case' things go wrong in your home country.
My guest on the podcast today is Brandon Miller, founder of Maple Immigration Services, a boutique immigration practice in Toronto, Canada.
Brandon is author of Second Passport: Your guide to have a secure alternative home for you and your family, just in case...
When he graduated from University, Brandon left Canada for South Korea, a journey which changed his life forever and started him on a path to helping others obtain a second passport.
He has helped countless people find their way to Canadian shores and settle in successfully to their new homes.
During our chat today, we discuss what Brandon calls the Canadian Ponzi scheme, some of the benefits of living in Canada, and why you need a plan before applying for a second passport.
Here's my conversation with Brandon Miller, author of Second Passport, in episode 561 of Informed Choice Radio.
Getting divorced can be an expensive business.
Where divorcing parties end up in court to settle their financial arrangements, those legal expenses can become substantial.
My guest on the podcast today is Charlotte Plowman, an Associate Solicitor at Family Law Partners in Horsham.
Charlotte has specialist expertise advising in all aspects of family breakdown and divorce, dissolution or separation, including the financial aspects and arrangements for children.
She provides advice in cases which involve significant and complex financial assets held within the UK and internationally. Such cases often include foreign assets, pensions, business interests and dissipation of assets.
In our conversation today, we look at what divorce means for your money.
Charlotte explains the various options for negotiating and reaching a financial settlement, and why ending up in front of a judge is likely to be a very bad idea.
Here’s my conversation with Charlotte Plowman from Family Law Partners, in episode 560 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the podcast today is Jonathan Satovsky, the CEO and Chief Behavioral Coach of Satovsky Asset Management.
Jonathan provides leadership, coaching, advanced financial planning, and oversight across client relationships and business operations.
Jonathan has spent more than 25 years in the wealth advisory business. He wears two hats in his company as both the CEO and the Chief Behavioral Officer.
During our conversation today, Jonathan explains why controlling and fully understanding our behavior us just as important as understanding the accounts. He offers the easy steps they we take immediately to begin investing mindfully for both the short and long-term.
We talk about an effective process to determine goals in life, the value in taking an improv class, and the three pillars of wealth we all need to consider.
Here’s my conversation with Jonathan Satovsky, chief behavioural coach, in episode 559 of Informed Choice Radio.
Do you ever feel like you’re going through the motions, at work or at home?
It’s common to feel jaded and unhappy with the various organisations of which we are a part.
Life doesn’t have to feel like this.
My guest on the podcast today is Sharath Jeevan, Founder and Executive Chairman at Intrinsic Labs.
Sharath is one of the world’s leading experts on how to practically re-ignite the inner-drive (or intrinsic motivation) in our lives.
In his new book, Intrinsic: A manifesto to reignite our inner drive, Sharath uses motivation thinking not just to accurately diagnose the problems so many feel, but to find solutions.
During our conversation today, he makes some suggestions for how we can achieve more lasting fulfilment and success in our work, careers, relationships, parenting, and as citizens.
We’re talking today about working in a winner takes all culture, why there is no such thing as work-life balance, and the value in finding a nurturer.
Here’s my conversation with Sharath Jeevan in episode 558 of Informed Choice Radio.
Anyone who has learned a financial lesson the hard way has probably thought, "I wish I knew that sooner".
We've all got financial regrets, some big and some small.
My guest on the podcast today wants people to have access to the right financial information at the right time, before they do the wrong thing.
Sten Morgan is a Certified Financial Planner and founded Legacy Investment Planning as an alternative to traditional financial advisers.
He's on a mission to bring creativity back to the financial industry and to help as many people as possible avoid the financial regrets that come from wishing they would have known sooner.
In our conversation today, we discuss the importance of focusing on the big financial decisions, why the cash emergency fund needs an urgent rethink, and how the pandemic has influenced our financial decision making.
Here’s my conversation with Sten Morgan, author of Wish I Knew That Sooner, in episode 557 of Informed Choice Radio.
Crypto is always in the headlines, with a growing number of people speculating on Bitcoin, Ethereum and other tokens.
But, along with the rest of the financial industry, scams are rife.
Thousands of people lost billions of dollars in the OneCoin scam, masterminded by the now infamous Missing Cryptoqueen, called 'one of the biggest scams in history'.
How can you protect yourself from losing out?
My guest on the podcast today is Erica Stanford, a crypto expert and educator.
Erica is author of Crypto Wars: Faked Deaths, Missing Billions & Industry Disruption, highlighting the real stories behind some of the biggest crypto scams in the world.
She's founder of crypto networking and events organisation the Crypto Curry Club, and a lecturer at Warwick Business School.
In this conversation, I chat with Erica about distinguishing between the use case for crypto and the scam element of the industry, what some of the crypto scams look like, and the things you need to watch out for to avoid being scammed.
Here's my conversation with Erica Stanford, author of Crypto Wars, in episode 556 of Informed Choice Radio.
What has the pandemic taught us about wealth and what my guests today refer to as 'funded contentment'?
I'm delighted to welcome back to Informed Choice Radio two of my favourite people from the world of behavioural finance.
Brian Portnoy is one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of money.
He has written multiple bestselling books, including The Geometry of Wealth, and has 20+ years of experience as investor and educator in the hedge fund and mutual fund industries. He is a CFA Charterholder and earned a PhD at the University of Chicago.
Neil Bage is an expert at bridging complex behavioral science with practical, tech-enabled application.
He has served as a Chief Behavioral Officer for a UK-based financial planning firm and was the founder of an award-winning behavioral technology business. Neil has presented to thousands of business professionals around the world on human evolution, human biology, and behavioral psychology.
As experts in psychology, finance, technology, and learning, Brian, Neil and their colleagues at Shaping Wealth combine science and story to show people how to underwrite a meaningful life. It’s what they call "funded contentment."
Here’s my conversation with Brian Portnoy and Neil Bage of Shaping Wealth, in episode 555 of Informed Choice Radio.
The recent high-profile ITV documentary ‘Kate Garraway: Finding Derek’ highlighted the severe issue of losing mental capacity.
This documentary is about Kate’s struggle to support her Husband Derek, in a year-long battle with Covid-19, has been only complicated by the lack of legal protections.
Kate has been unable to manage her husband’s care or manage his finances. She did not even have the right to see his medical information.
But what happens when you or a loved one loses mental capacity, and you can’t make financial or healthcare decisions on their behalf?
There is an effective legal tool available, the Lasting Power of Attorney, that can prevent a great deal of stress and cost at what is already a challenging time.
My guest on the podcast today is Emily Taylor, Partner at BDB Pitmans.
Emily specialises in tax planning, trusts, estate administration and drafting of wills and powers of attorney.
She has a wealth of experience dealing with a wide range of private client matters in particular high net worth estates including those with foreign property.
She also deals with Court of Protection matters and is a Court Appointed Deputy with clients all over the UK.
In this conversation, Emily explains how a Lasting Power of Attorney works, why we are thinking more about this legal instrument in light of Covid, and the practical steps to follow when putting your LPA in place.
Here’s my conversation with Emily Taylor, Partner of BDB Pitmans, in episode 554 of Informed Choice Radio.
Businesses in England could stimulate the economy by as much as £61 billion by 2025, if they proactively develop new wellbeing strategies and improve underperforming ones.
With many employees thinking about a return to the workplace in the coming months, wellbeing will be front of mind during this critical transition.
My guest on the podcast today is Vicky Walker, Head of People at Westfield Health.
Vicky has more than 25 years’ experience in HR. She believes it is the role of HR to act as the conscience of an organisation and the voice of its employees in the boardroom.
In this episode, we discuss the findings of the new report, Coping with Covid: The Hidden Cost to Businesses (and their People), which takes a look at business attitudes towards wellbeing and its role in the workplace.
Here’s my conversation with Vicky Walker, Head of People at Westfield Health, in episode 553 of Informed Choice Radio.
4 in 10 women struggle with their financial wellbeing as a result of a focus on short-term finances.
According to the latest Aegon Financial Wellbeing Index, women wait until later in life than men to determine what they truly want from their finances.
In this episode of Talking Money, Martin and Hannah discuss why women's financial wellbeing is suffering because of a focus on short-term finances.
They also look at the new rules being introduced by the FCA to stamp out the systematic scam of insurer price walking, and they talk about new research that suggests we are counting our inheritance chickens before they hatch.
Welcome to episode 20 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
My guest on the podcast today found himself deeply in debt, despite earning significant amounts of money in his career.
He came to realise that what he didn't understand about money was really hurting him. It was the right time to get a strong financial education.
Dave Mason is the author of The Cash Machine, a novel that charts the rollercoaster relationship of characters Amber and Dylan, teaching the reader hundreds of money lessons along the way.
In our conversation today, we talk about the importance of money in relationships, why you need a clear purpose before seeking financial independence, and the secret to finding the answers you already know.
Here's my conversation with Dave Mason, author of The Cash Machine, in episode 551 of Informed Choice Radio.
The absence of a renewed economic strategy in the UK risks creating a relative decline in the coming years. That's according to a new report from the Resolution Foundation, The UK's Decisive Decade.
In this episode of Talking Money, Martin and Hannah discuss the five seismic changes to our society and economy that require a clear strategy to avoid disaster.
Also in this episode, why the latest official payroll data looks good but hides some worrying numbers, and how one business is measuring the carbon footprint of its staff who are working from home.
Welcome to episode 19 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
The pandemic has forced a huge number of people to work from home.
In some cases, this enforced change in our working practice has been a revelation; life became instantly better overnight, with distractions removed and hours each day saved in commuting time.
For others, working from home is a living nightmare, and they can’t wait to get back to the office.
My guest on the podcast today has written the book about working from home productively.
Cynthia Spraggs is a nomadic traveller who got her Masters degree in telecommuting in the mid-90s, when remote working was still an alternative approach.
She has worked remotely exclusively since 1993, from all over the world. As President and CEO of Virtira, she leads a team that implements processes, standardised tools and facilitators to make sure that everyone, no matter where they are, stays on track and accountable.
In our conversation today, Cynthia explains why some people are suited to remote working and why others are most definitely not; we talk about Zoom fatigue and how to overcome the exhaustion that comes with being on camera; and we discuss how a hybrid working pattern might work – or might fail spectacularly.
Here’s my conversation with Cynthia Spraggs, author of How to Work from Home and Actually Get Sht Done, in episode 549* of Informed Choice Radio.
The post-pandemic rental market outlook is clouded by economic uncertainty and shifts in housing preferences. In this episode of Talking Money, Martin and Hannah discuss new figures showing a decline in the private rented sector, following almost two decades of rapid expansion.
Also in this episode, why the new Breathing Space scheme for those in problem debt comes at the perfect time, and the jobs outlook for older workers as the furlough scheme comes to an end.
Welcome to episode 18 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
Our global economic system is broken.
The experience of the past 12 months, living through an unprecedented global pandemic, has illustrated the need to find a new way.
My guest on the podcast today is Peter Vanham, co-author of Stakeholder Capitalism, written with his World Economic Forum colleague Professor Klaus Schwab.
Stakeholder Capitalism explores why things need to change and how we can create a global economy that works for progress, people and the planet.
It’s all about eliminating rising income equality (a problem that has become dramatically worse throughout the pandemic), and also reducing the dampening effect of monopoly market power wielded by large corporations on innovation and productivity gains.
This manifesto for change also addresses the short-sighted exploitation of natural resources; something that is corroding the environment and affecting the lives of many for the worse.
Peter is Head of Communications, Chairman’s Office at the World Economic Forum. He’s an economist, entrepreneur and freelance journalist.
During our conversation today, we discuss the role of modern unions, whether moving to Stakeholder Capitalism requires The Great Reset, and some examples of Stakeholder Capitalism already in action.
Here’s my conversation with Peter Vanham, co-author of Stakeholder Capitalism, in episode 547 of Informed Choice Radio.
The UK property market is red hot right now, with the latest data from property portal Rightmove showing a record high for asking prices and a rapid turnaround for property sales. Does the launch of low-deposit mortgages this week add more fuel to the property fire?
Also in this episode of Talking Money, Martin and Hannah discuss a looming price war in the financial advice market, thanks to Vanguard introducing a digital advice service for users of its platform, and why the government is planning to compensate investors in the failed mini-bond scheme from London Capital & Finance.
Welcome to episode 17 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
It's been a funny old year for investments.
As investors shifted their attention to high-growth tech stocks, perhaps better suited to our new way of life during the pandemic, and central banks unleashed a 'wall of cash', more traditional, so-called cyclical stocks were left behind.
But could that all be about to change, as the global vaccination programme roll-out gathers pace, and we contemplate a return to a new normal?
My guest on the podcast today is Alasdair McKinnon, Manager of the high-conviction, global contrarian Scottish Investment Trust.
The Scottish’s team recently made some meaningful changes to the portfolio which reflect their contrarian view that investors are deeply underestimating the potential for certain stocks to benefit from the economic recovery.
Alasdair sees this as “the start of a multi-year turnaround” for some investments that have been overlooked in recent years and that have been temporarily impacted by the pandemic.
In our conversation today, we cover a lot of ground, including some very important thoughts from Alasdair about why oil and gas are not going away anytime soon.
Here's my conversation with Alasdair McKinnon, manager of The Scottish Investment Trust, in episode 545 of Informed Choice Radio.
We’ve saved an average of £1,744 each since last March, spending 65% less overall on typical day-to-day expenses. But what would happen if we invested these lockdown savings for the future?
Also in this episode of Talking Money, why first-time buyers are better off than renters to the tune of £800 this year, and the surprising financial and mental resilience demonstrated by the over-50s during the pandemic.
Welcome to episode 16 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
What does it take to live with purpose and retire with confidence?
Our lives have changed dramatically, with the steady employment and affluence enjoyed by the post-war baby boomer generation replaced by a more transient approach to work today.
My guest on the podcast today is Patrick Rush, who shares in his new book Gain Big and Give Back the simple, age-old, established rules for saving and investing.
Patrick has worked across different parts of the financial services profession and now runs his own independent wealth management firm.
He shares his playbook for becoming wealthy and using that wealth to live with purpose.
In our conversation today, we cover the importance of making a financial plan to understand how much you can afford to give, why open conversations with your family are so important, and what to look for when working with a professional adviser.
Here's my conversation with Patrick Rush, author of Gain Big and Give Back in episode 543 of Informed Choice Radio.
With the one-year anniversary of the first national lockdown, it’s a time for reflection. In this episode of Talking Money, we look at new research into how our shopping, spending and television viewing habits have changed in the past 12 months.
We also discuss the revelation that some analysts at investment bank Goldman Sachs are working 95 hour weeks, with a detrimental impact on their physical and mental wellbeing. And new research has shown that Gen Z and millennial generations have been forced to borrow thousands and seen their lives set back years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Welcome to episode 15 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
Do you want to live a fulfilled and purposeful life?
Are you unsure how to create the fulfilled life that you’re seeking?
My guest on the podcast today is Jonathan Gibson, a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and Certified Financial Planner professional.
Jonathan is the author of Purposeful Wealth, where he shares the key financial and wealth planning strategies you need to focus on.
At the heart of Jonathan’s work as a Financial Planner is a belief that real wealth is about much more than money and possessions.
In this conversation, we discuss the importance of placing purpose ahead of money, what our enforced lifestyles during the pandemic can teach us about what we most value, and why authentic investing is the best approach to support a purposeful life.
Here’s my conversation with Jonathan Gibson, author of Purposeful Wealth, in episode 541 of Informed Choice Radio.
Inflation basket changes can have a big impact on your finances. Here’s what you need to know about why these changes are happening and how they may affect your personal experience of price inflation in 2021.
We also talk about why the pandemic has pushed our spending closer to home and how nearly half of defined benefit pension schemes closed to future accrual in the past year - with significant consequences for those building an income in retirement.
Welcome to episode 14 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
In this episode of Talking Money from Informed Choice Radio, why women need to find an additional £100,000 in time for retirement, to match what men typically save.
We also discuss the latest 5-year forecast for rising house prices across the UK and why the future of working is likely to be a hybrid arrangement, with some time working from home and a few days each week at the office.
Welcome to episode 13 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
In this episode of Talking Money from Informed Choice Radio, we look at the Budget. The good, the bad and the bits that it will take more time to understand!
We cover everything from extended furlough, more self-employed income support, sneaky stealth taxes through frozen thresholds, a longer stamp duty holiday, government backing for low-deposit mortgages, a corporation tax hike, and freeports.
Welcome to episode 12 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
If you’re a business owner with a dream of selling your business, so you can enjoy financial freedom, then you need a plan.
Knowing your number – how much you need to realise from the sale of your business – is essential.
Equally as important is knowing what you will be doing next with your life.
My guest on the podcast today is Adam Carolan, a Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of the Personal Finance Society.
Adam is author of Wealth Planning for Business Owners: Know your number, plan your exit and enjoy financial freedom.
In our conversation today, we cover:
-Adam’s Two Circles Principle, understanding the importance of connecting business goals and personal financial goals.
-Why you need a Pitch Deck not a business plan
-An effective framework for realising the value of your business and achieving your personal objectives too.
-The importance of core value in your business and in your life.
And much more too.
Here’s my conversation with Adam Carolan, author of Wealth Planning for Business Owners, in episode 537 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of Talking Money from Informed Choice Radio; Bitcoin has gone a bit nuts this week after setting a new record high of $57,000 and then crashing by 20%. But what does the future hold for the volatile cryptocurrency?
We also talk about the latest unemployment figures and the roadmap to economic recovery.
Welcome to episode 11 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
In this episode of Talking Money from Informed Choice Radio; fallen star fund manager Neil Woodford has issued an apology and revealed plans to return to investment management, but might have incurred the wrath of regulators in the process.
We also talk about the factors driving detached house price growth into double figures in the past year, and why bereaved families are being let down by banks at an especially difficult time.
Welcome to episode 10 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
Where is the best place in the UK to invest in a buy-to-let property?
Aldermore’s Buy to Let City Tracker, analysing 50 cities across the UK to understand the top places for landlords to invest in, has found Manchester, closely followed by Cambridge, to be the best.
The Tracker, which has been expanded from 25 cities in 2019 to 50 cities, was determined by analysing and assessing five key indicators that impact desirability; average total rent, the best short-term returns through yield, long-term return through house price growth over the past decade, the lowest number of vacancies as a proportion of total housing stock, and percentage of the city population in the rental market.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Jon Cooper, head of mortgage distribution at Aldermore.
With a high level of uncertainty for landlords since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the private rented sector has never been more important.
Renters have changing needs, which is creating investment opportunities for landlords.
Here's my conversation with Jon Cooper in episode 534 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of Talking Money from Informed Choice Radio; fears of a tax raid on pensions and pensioners in the Budget next month.
We also talk about how Covid financial support has been skewed in favour of men, and why not knowing how much is in your partner's pension pot isn't necessarily a bad thing this Valentine's Day.
Welcome to episode 9 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
Younger people have flocked to platforms like Robinhood during the pandemic, making trading the pandemic hobby of choice.
But how does Robinhood make its money? If something is free, there’s every chance that you are the product.
My guest on the podcast today is Dr Richard Smith.
Known as “The Doctor of Uncertainty”, Dr Smith has spent his life comprehending market risk, empowering traders to become savvy investors.
Richard studied mathematics at U.C. Berkeley and earned his PhD in Systems Science from the Watson School of Engineering at SUNY Binghamton under the late Professor George Klir.
Richard is also Chairman of the Board and CEO of Foundation for the Study of Cycles, an international nonprofit that promotes and conducts research of cycles and how they can be used to make the world a better place.
His commentary has been featured in Forbes, CNN, BBC, MarketWatch and many others.
During this conversation, I chat with Richard about how loss aversion influences our investment decisions, how Robinhood is making its money, the insurgency against Wall Street being coordinated on Reddit, and much more.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Richard Smith in episode 532 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of Talking Money from Informed Choice Radio; what on earth is going on with the GameStop saga as the Reddit bros continue with their battle against Wall Street?
We also talk about the proposed regulated of buy-now, pay-later services, like Klarna. And we cover the Advertising Standards Authority rapping Ryanair over the knuckles for their irresponsible 'Jab and Go' advertising campaign.
Welcome to episode 8 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
Amateur retail investors have attempted a 'short squeeze' designed to punish the hedge funds they hold responsible for the global financial crisis. But is there more behind this story?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wants to regulate the providers of buy-now, pay-later services, including Klarna. It's probably a good idea, with the use of these services quadrupling in 2020, as 5 million Brits borrowed £2.7 billion from currently unregulated lenders.
With one in 10 of these borrowers already in debt arrears elsewhere, it's time for the FCA to step in.
Ryanair got in trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority after screening their 'jab and go' television advertising campaign. Summer holiday in 2020? Probably not.
My guest on the podcast today became financially free at age 35, following a wake-up moment as he was following the traditional path of school, career and retirement.
Todd Miller, also known as Tightwad Todd, is a money coach and thrifty saver.
He grew up with a fascination about how money works, influenced by the frugality of his grandmother, who grew up during the Great Depression.
After graduating with a degree in finance, Todd started working for a Fortune Global 500 company, but was laid off less than a year later at the start of the global financial crisis.
This experience prompted the start of a 12-year journey to financial freedom.
During our conversation in this episode, I chat with Todd about why the traditional career path is so risky, how wealth is something you can’t see, and why hedonic adaption creates a barrier to happiness with our spending.
Here’s my conversation with Todd Miller in episode 530 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of Talking Money from Informed Choice Radio; the Bank of England faces criticism for its financial support of high-carbon businesses, there’s a chance to the self-assessment deadline, and Covid income inequality needs to be tackled.
Welcome to episode 7 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
The Bank of England has been criticised by the Environmental Audit Committee of MPs, after providing emergency funding to 230 large companies, more than half of which are high-carbon firms.
While protecting jobs is the priority for today, is the future all about Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) investing?
HMRC has pushed back the deadline for self-assessment, from 31st January to 28th February. But the deadline extension isn’t as straightforward as it first appears.
Oxfam has published a damning report, The Inequality Virus, which reveals rising levels of income inequality in every country across the world.
Are we living with a rigged economic system, with no recession for the richest?
The clock is ticking, with the self-assessment tax deadline coming up this Sunday, 31st January 2021.
With the deadline looming, millions of people will be scrambling this week to finalise the information needed to complete and file their tax returns.
Self-assessment can be a challenge at the best of times, but throw the pandemic into the mix, and more than a quarter of self-employed people have admitted they will find it harder to pay their tax bills.
Pauline Green is Head of Product Compliance at Intuit QuickBooks, and I spoke to her ahead of the deadline to discuss what you need to know about self-assessment this year.
In this episode of Talking Money from Informed Choice Radio; an indication that the house price boom might be over; TikTok influencers talking utter rubbish about trading stocks; and the closure of more local bank branches.
Welcome to episode 6 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
Property prices appear to be in decline, after property portal Rightmove reported a drop in asking prices.
Between 6th December and 9th January, the asking prices for flats and houses listed for sale were 0.9% lower than a month earlier.
The fall in asking prices means that the annual measure of growth fell from 6.6% to 3.3%.
Social media platform TikTok is home to some highly entertaining but also quite scary investment influencers.
The Twitter account @tiktokinvestors highlights some ridiculous examples of terrible investment advice, which Martin and Hannah discuss in this episode.
Banking giant HSBC has announced plans to close another 82 branches this year.
With a new report from consumer group Which? suggesting a further decline in cash accessibility, is this the end of cash as we know it?
Welcome to episode 4 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
Funeral costs have risen again in the past year, now up nearly 40% in a decade.
We talk about the latest Cost of Dying report from insurer SunLife and why death needs to be less of a taboo topic.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued as strong warning to anyone investing in crypto assets, including Bitcoin; you could lose everything!
While some have managed to save money and repay debt during the pandemic, it has been a challenging experience for many others.
In their Pandemic Pressures report, the Resolution Foundation looked at the different financial pressures caused by the lockdown.
Welcome to episode 4 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
Nigel Farage has launched a subscription newsletter service, calling it Britain’s Great Wealth Revival.
But what red flags should you look out for before signing up?
At the time of recording this episode, the UK and EU still don’t have a trade deal for the end of the transition period.
Martin and Hannah come from opposite sides of the Brexit debate, but they agree that starting 2021 without a trade deal is bad news for our money.
We’ve heard this week that some sectors risk the double-whammy of redundancies due to the pandemic and losing jobs as automation becomes more widespread.
What will machine learning, artificial intelligence and automation mean for the way in which we lead our lives in the future?
What does an international tax lawyer think about the introduction of a one-off wealth tax in the UK?
The Wealth Tax Commission has published proposals to bring in the tax as a way to balance the public books following the coronavirus crisis.
Marilyn McKeever is a partner at BDB Pitmans in their private wealth team, specialising in international and UK tax planning.
She works primarily with international individuals and families, and in this episode of Informed Choice Radio, explains how a one-off wealth tax might work in the UK.
Here's my conversation with Marilyn McKeever in episode 524 of Informed Choice Radio.
With V-Day this week and the start of a mass vaccination programme to bring the coronavirus under control, what do 'covid cards' mean for your rights to work, travel or enjoy a drink in the pub?
We also chat about plans to ban younger players from the National Lottery, as part of a broader reform of gambling legislations.
And will the mysterious metal monoliths appearing across the world turn out to be a PR campaign? We look at attitudes towards brands based on their behaviour during the pandemic.
What do people think about the rich?
While the study of stereotypes and prejudices directed at women, people of various races or nationalities, and even the poor are well documented, there has only been sporadic research into stereotypes about the rich.
There are various examples throughout the 20th century of deadly persecution directed at wealthy groups.
My guest on the podcast today is historian and sociologist Dr Rainer Zitelmann.
In his new book, The Rich in Public Opinion: What We Think When We Think about Wealth, Rainer examines attitudes about wealth and the wealthy in four industrialized Western countries: Germany, the United States, France, and Great Britain.
His book includes never-before-seen data commissioned by the polling firm Ipsos MORI and from the Allensbach Institute, which conducted identical surveys of residents of four countries regarding various aspects of their attitudes toward wealth.
People often admire the wealthy, but Zitelmann shows that people can also envy them, which can sometimes become toxic and even put lives at risk.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Rainer Zitelmann, author of The Rich in Public Opinion, in episode 522 of Informed Choice Radio.
Welcome to episode 2 of Talking Money, with Martin Bamford and Hannah Godfrey.
In each episode of Talking Money, we take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
This week, we look at the collapse of Arcadia and Debenhams; what it means for the High Street, employees and pension funds.
We also chat about electric vehicles, with new research suggesting that a third of people believe they will never be able to afford to buy a new or used electric car.
Finally, we end on an optimistic note, talking about the regulatory approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which will start to be administered as early as next week. But what does it mean for the markets and the economy?
The number of trusts in use across the UK appears to be in decline.
With tougher tax rules and more reporting requirements, is there still a role to play for these legal instruments?
My guest on the podcast today is Emily Taylor, Partner at BDB Pitmans.
Emily specialises in tax planning, trusts, estate administration and drafting of wills and powers of attorney.
She has a wealth of experience dealing with a wide range of private client matters in particular high net worth estates including those with foreign property.
She also deals with Court of Protection matters and is a Court Appointed Deputy with clients all over the UK.
In this conversation, we go back to basics and explain what a trust is, before Emily explains why the number of trusts in the UK is in decline, why trusts sometimes receive negative coverage, and why they continue to play a valuable role.
We also discuss mental capacity, and why a Lasting Power of Attorney is more important now than ever.
Here’s my conversation with Emily Taylor, Partner at BDB Pitmans, in episode 520 of Informed Choice Radio.
Welcome to Talking Money from Informed Choice Radio.
In this new Friday format for the podcast, I’m joined by Hannah Godfrey, an experienced freelance finance journalist and reporter at City AM.
Coming up in this episode of Talking Money:
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has spoken about an ‘existential threat’ to central London, as city-workers start a mass exodus from the capital, in favour of living and working in the suburbs.
It’s Black Friday today. New research from consumer group Which? has found that nearly nine in 10 Black Friday products were the same price or cheaper at some point during the past year. How can you get a good deal from Black Friday?
We also chat about sinking UK consumer morale, falling to a 6-month low in November.
What would you like to hear about in future episodes of Talking Money? Get in touch with your suggestions.
In each episode of Talking Money, we plan to take a topical look at the big money stories of the week, putting our personal spin on the news.
FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) is a ‘game of optimisation’.
That’s according to my guest today, Logan Leckie, who is developing an app designed to aid in that FIRE optimisation process.
Topia is the UK’s long-awaited answer to popular US personal finance apps, with the intention of simplifying the metrics that sit behind the FIRE movement.
In this conversation with Logan, we go back to basics to talk about what the FIRE movement really means, before talking about the ‘three levers’ we all need to optimise to accelerate our savings rate, and then how the Topia app is designed to aid in that process.
Here’s my conversation with Logan Leckie, founder of the Topia app, in episode 518 of Informed Choice Radio.
As a nation, we are notoriously secretive about our money.
Yet, while the Covid-19 pandemic is causing financial uncertainty for many of us, it is better to build resilience now by opening up to someone about money worries, to help us cope better with what the future may throw at us.
My guest on the podcast today is Sarah Porretta, Strategy and Insights Director at The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).
Prior to MaPS, Sarah was Head of Financial Inclusion and Education at Lloyds Banking Group, where she created a group-wide, multi-brand strategy for financial inclusion and education. During this time, she also chaired UK Finance’s Financial Inclusion and Capability Forum.
In this episode, we chat about new research which found that 30% of people say their other half does not know how much their annual income is. In fact, 38% of us stay completely silent about money worries because of embarrassment or fear of being judged.
Here's my conversation with Sarah Porretta, Strategy and Insights Director at The Money and Pensions Service, in episode 517 of Informed Choice Radio.
One feature of the Covid-19 pandemic is a huge shift towards working from home.
With government advice to work from home if you can, millions of people are facing this reality for the first time.
But what are some of the challenges associated with remote and flexible working?
My guest on the podcast today is Karen Mangia, author of Working from Home: Making the New Normal Work for You.
As a member of the leadership team at Salesforce, Karen has played a pivotal role in creating technology-enabled, virtual experiences and insights.
We know that offices are carefully planned work environments, that emphasise focus and productivity. But what happens when you’re trying to get work done at home when the kids are off school and the dog is barking?
And what happens when you take working from home to the next extreme and decide to relocate to a different part of the country, or to a different part of the world, to secure an even better work-life balance?
Here’s my conversation with Karen Mangia, author of Working from Home, in episode 516 of Informed Choice Radio.
Have you ever thought about building a legacy?
Maybe you’ve wanted to start your legacy but don’t know where to start.
My guest on the podcast today is Samuel Knickerbocker, author of Fuel Your Legacy: 9-Pillars to Build a Meaningful Legacy.
Sam specialises in 21st-century financial strategies which are focused on helping you establish a legacy of meaning.
Because, as you will hear in our conversation today, your legacy is not dependent on your wealth.
Sam grew up in poverty, his family relying on government and church aid.
Despite earning good money from a young age, it was a change in his mindset that allowed a fundamental shift from poverty to legacy to take place.
Sam’s book, Fuel Your Legacy, is the ideal place to start identifying the identity of what your legacy could be.
Here’s my conversation with Sam Knickerbocker, author of Fuel Your Legacy and host of The Fuel Your Legacy Show, in episode 515 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the podcast today has developed an original and compelling approach to forecasting the future and beating investment markets while doing so.
Marko Papic is a Partner and Chief Strategist at Clocktower Group, an alternative investment asset management firm based in Santa Monica, California.
He leads the firm’s Strategy Team, providing bespoke research to clients and partners on geopolitics, macroeconomics, and markets.
Marko holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Texas at Austin and an MA from the University of British Columbia.
He’s the author of Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future, a book that introduces his constraints-based framework to investors; something we discuss in this episode.
Geopolitical Alpha posits that investors should ignore the media-hyped narratives, insights from “smoke-filled rooms,” and most of their political consultants and, instead, focus exclusively on the measurable, material constraints facing policymakers.
Here’s my conversation with Marko Papic, author of Geopolitical Alpha, in episode 514 of Informed Choice Radio.
We hope you enjoyed today’s episode.
Do check out our show notes at icradio.co.uk for useful links, including a link to Marko’s new book, Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future.
Here at Informed Choice, our Financial Planners help remove stress about money by offering a clear explanation of your choices and options.
We help people just like you find the answers to the big financial questions, making sure you can live a meaningful life as a result.
Please do subscribe to Informed Choice Radio in your favourite podcast player, to get a notification each time a new episode is published.
If you enjoy listening to our podcast, please consider leaving a written review or star rating. You can listen to entire back catalogue of more than 500 podcast episodes at icradio.co.uk, and find out more about Informed Choice at icfp.co.uk.
Thank you again to Marko for being our guest today. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.
Our producer for this episode was Emma Hill and our editor is James Spooner.
Until next time, I’m Martin Bamford and this is Informed Choice Radio. And remember, when it comes to your money, the more you know, the faster it can grow.
My guest on the podcast today came up with the idea for her latest book while hiking the mountain in her backyard.
She wanted to share the truth about what it really takes to opt-out of expectations, change paths, and live a more intentional life.
Cait Flanders is the author of Adventures in Opting Out: A Field Guide to Leading an Intentional Life.
It's fair to say that we should all follow our own path in life.
In reality, too often we spend time doing what is expected of us or following well-worn paths that lead to what is culturally acceptable.
By understanding and then connecting with our values, we can make more conscious decisions and lead a more intentional life.
Here's my conversation with Cait Flanders, author of Adventures in Opting Out, in episode 513 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the podcast today is Dan Warburton.
Despite his great ambition to create, live and share an extraordinary lifestyle, Dan spent most of his life dealing with sadness, anxiety and frustration.
He struggled to fit in at school and college, failed in numerous business ventures, and couldn't find a way to make his father proud.
Dan went on a mission of discovery, to learn why he found himself continually failing in various aspects of his life.
After reading hundreds of self-development books, and even heading into the Himalayas for a retreat, Dan implemented what he learned and created the life he wanted, and a proven system for creating a dream entrepreneur lifestyle.
Dan wrote Dream It, Choose It, Live It, where he shares his story and the key insights from his process of self-discovery, along with his 5-step transformation process.
In this conversation today, I chat with Dan about the mental baggage which can so often hold us back, sometimes without us realising. We discuss the importance of silencing the distractions and loved-ones who hold us back from leading the lives we want, and also the importance of kaizen - continuous self-improvement.
Here's my conversation with Dan Warburton, transformational coach, in episode 512 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the podcast today is Dr Margaret Curlew.
Margaret is a professional, mompreneur and a real estate investor.
She’s a firm believer in the principle that we can all influence our destiny through vision, execution and hard work.
After fleeing from the civil war in Sierra Leone as a teenager and becoming a refugee, Margaret studied in France and then relocated to Canada.
Her story is fascinating and packed full of lessons about overcoming adversity, learning from mistakes, and building generational wealth.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Margaret Curlew, in episode 511 of Informed Choice Radio.
How do you strike the right balance between the competing financial needs of today and tomorrow?
My guest on the podcast today is Lynn Beattie (also known as Mrs MummyPenny), author of The Money Guide to Transform Your Life.
We get pretty personal in this conversation, chatting about Lynn’s emotional spending and spiral into debt after she started her business, as well as how to best approach weathering the coming economic storm.
Lynn’s new book gives you the tools you need to manage your money now (today), and in the future (tomorrow).
As a gifted mathematician, accountant and personal finance expert, Lynn talks about some of the struggles she has faced with money, and the steps she took to overcome these struggles, transforming her life in the process.
Here’s my conversation with Lynn Beattie, Mrs MummyPenny, in episode 510 of Informed Choice Radio.
We all know just how challenging it can be for a first-time buyer to get on the property ladder today.
But what if a solution that’s used in countries across the world could help buyers here?
My guest on the podcast today is Matthew Addison, CEO and co-founder of StepLadder.
Communities around the world have used this approach for decades to reach their savings goals faster.
Some communities call it partner, others call it Chit Fund. But, in essence, it’s a way to support each other towards your savings goals and hopefully get there faster.
Before we get into this conversation, I need to give the usual disclaimers. Our discussion today is not a recommendation to use a specific product, simply something I wanted to explore in this podcast after hearing about it on the radio a few weeks ago.
StepLadder members are not covered by the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), therefore your capital is at risk.
Here’s my conversation with Matthew Addison from StepLadder, in episode 509 of Informed Choice Radio.
How can you become a better steward of your money?
My guest on the podcast today is Jonathan Krueger, CEO of Lionsgate Advisors, and host of the Living a Richer Life by Design podcast.
In each episode of Living a Richer Life by Design, Jonathan and his guests discuss a variety of subjects including fulfilling relationships, vibrant health, community engagement, social impact and stewardship of your finances.
In this conversation, we talk about the ‘slight edge’ that disciplined people enjoy when it comes to their money and their life.
We also get into a conversation about why we are witnessing the perfect recipe to bankrupt the global economy – and what investors should do about it.
Here’s my conversation with Jonathan Krueger, in episode 508 of Informed Choice Radio.
Everything in the world is made up of energy.
Our thoughts, feelings and emotions are made up of energy. The things that people do or say also have energy.
But what happens when our experiences in life leave energy behind, in some cases deep into our subconscious where they cause energy blocks?
My guest on the podcast today is Gull Khan, international speaker, podcaster, a Barrister, an Attorney with New York Bar Association, and a Solicitor.
Gull is a money mindset expert and, in today’s conversation, we discuss how energy clearing and removing unseen money blocks can help us reach our full potential.
Here’s my conversation with Gull Khan, money mindset expert, in episode 507 of Informed Choice Radio.
Do work and money have you tied up in knots?
Job stuff, money stuff, and personal stuff — not only is it all linked, but it can feel impossible to disentangle.
My guest on the podcast today is Roger Ma, an award-winning Financial Planner and a publisher strategist at Google.
In his new book, Work Your Money, Not Your Life, Roger cuts through the confusion by serving as your all-in-one guide to career and financial satisfaction.
He offers secrets on how you can enjoy your career, gain financial comfort, and achieve peace of mind.
Something Roger said during our conversation really stood out for me; It’s easy to get distracted by shiny objects when you don’t know what you want for yourself.”
Here’s my conversation with Roger Ma, author of Work Your Money, Not Your Life, in episode 506 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of the podcast, we continue exploring FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) principles.
My guests are Financial Father and his son, Jay.
Financial Father is a relatively latecomer to the FIRE movement, but has embraced it wholeheartedly and now shares FIRE conversations with his son in their podcast episodes.
You will notice in this episode that I refer to Jay and Jay’s Dad, not naming Financial Father, at his request. When you’re on the FIRE journey, confidentiality can be important, especially if you’re still employed. I hope that explains why we’ve kept Jay’s Dad’s name out of this episode.
We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, including the importance of financial building blocks, how time and patience are your allies, and why we typically waste as much as 15% of our lifetime income on scams.
Here’s my conversation with Financial Father and Son, in episode 505 of Informed Choice Radio.
In the world of personal finance, the biggest challenge is the sense that there’s never going to be enough.
It is this mindset of scarcity, and not the amount spent on lattes, that holds people back the most from achieving their financial dreams.
My guest on the podcast today is Leisa Peterson, and she is on a mission to help 1,000,000 people elevate their financial consciousness.
As a money coach, business consultant and spiritual teacher, Leisa hosts the Mindful Millionaire podcast as well as virtual workshops and deep-dive retreats.
Her masterful blend of sound financial strategy and mindfulness training helps people break free of patterns of lack, scarcity and money fears, allowing them to finally lead the rewarding, fulfilling, and abundant lives they most desire.
In her book The Mindful Millionaire, Leisa uses techniques she’s developed as a financial planner and spiritual coach to guide you to dig deeper and discover the root of your financial thinking to change not just the way you save and spend, but the way you live your life.
Here’s my conversation with Leisa Peterson in episode 504 of Informed Choice Radio.
Life insurance and other types of financial protection form the cornerstone of sound Financial Planning, but do we focus enough on these valuable products?
My guest on the podcast today is Tom Baigrie, Founder and CEO of LifeSearch.
Raised in apartheid South Africa, Tom emigrated to the UK in 1981 aged 20 and got a start as a self-employed insurance salesman.
He sold savings, investments, pensions and tax, but life insurance was the product he most believed in.
LifeSearch proper began in 1998 when Tom and business partner Arthur Davies decided to build a financial services company that would avoid the tricks and the shortcuts, the hustle and the squeeze. They would do right by the customer.
In this conversation, Tom runs us through the three most important forms of individual insurance, and some of the things to think about when taking out cover.
We also chat about financial protection for business owners in these difficult times.
Here’s my conversation with Tom Baigrie, Founder of LifeSearch, in episode 503 of Informed Choice Radio.
Living your best life someday starts with saving smarter for retirement.
My guests on the podcast today are Allison Tom and Dylin Redling, authors of Start Your F.I.R.E.: A Modern Guide to Early Retirement.
Allison and Dylin are a married couple who achieved financial independence back in 2015, in their early 40s, following a couple of important wake-up moments, which we talk about in this interview.
They launched the website RetireBy45.com to provide inspiration, tips, and resources for retiring early.
Allison and Dylin have been featured in Forbes, CNBC, Investor’s Business Daily, Business Insider, and Yahoo Finance. They live in Oakland, California.
Their book features customisable principles and in-depth insights, describing a concise path to financial freedom through smart spending, low-risk investing, creating multiple incomes, and maximizing savings.
Here’s my conversation with Allison Tom and Dylin Redling, authors of Start Your F.I.R.E, in episode 502 of Informed Choice Radio.
If you’re thinking about or are in the process of splitting up with your partner, this podcast episode is for you.
Laura Naser is a Senior Associate Solicitor in the family law department at Penningtons Manches Cooper.
She’s the recipient of the Lexis Nexis Family Law Awards Commentator of the Year 2019, and has won Family Lawyer of the Year – Senior/Managing Associate 2019 (Gold), and Innovative Individual of the Year 2019 (Silver) at the Citywealth Future Leaders Awards.
Laura is author of The Family Lawyer’s Guide to Separation and Divorce: How to Get What You Both Want.
When a relationship breaks down it’s hugely stressful and emotional – and often very confusing. Who gets to keep what? Will I ever see my kids? What needs to happen and when? What if things get nasty?
In this conversation, I chat with Laura about the practicalities of divorce during the Covid-19 pandemic, how separated couples can work amicably together, and how a new law will remove the blame game from the divorce process.
Here’s my conversation with Laura Naser, author of The Family Lawyer’s Guide to Separation and Divorce, in episode 501 of Informed Choice Radio.
The German poet Theodor Fontane once wrote: A good aphorism contains the wisdom of an entire book in one sentence.
In his new book, The Art of a Successful Life, Dr Rainer Zitelmann goes a step further, collating a myriad of quotes all of which offer insights to inspire you to think about yourself, your life and your goals, and to give you the confidence and strength to cope with difficult situations.
Rainer has curated quotes from a range of thinkers; from the physicist Stephen Hawking to the artist Michelangelo, and from entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett to Confucius and Schopenhauer.
In bringing them together, he provides an original and practical guide to everyday life.
In this conversation, I chat with Rainer about looking for opportunities in times of crisis, why failure isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and how we can apply the wisdom from others in our daily lives.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Rainer Zitelmann, author of The Art of a Successful Life, in episode 500 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the podcast today is Michael Houghton, host of The Irish FIRE Podcast.
Michael originally hails from New Zealand, but has lived in Ireland for the past decade.
He graduated from the University of Auckland in 2005 with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Management and Entrepreneurship.
In the time since, he’s established businesses in a variety of industries including e-commerce, IT services, financial trading and forestry.
I’m a huge fan of having conversations about FIRE, and I’m increasingly learning that no two FIRE practitioners follow the same path.
In our conversation today, we touch on a couple of really important points.
Firstly, the importance of not exchanging your time for money. Michael describes Financial Independence (FI) as a time/freedom journey.
Secondly, we talk about legacy, making the best possible use of that time and freedom.
Michael is active within his local community, establishing new junior hockey clubs, as well as establishing new native forests in Ireland.
Unlike many FIRE practitioners, Michael believes in taking a more hands-on approach to investing.
Here’s my conversation with Michael Houghton, host of The Irish FIRE Podcast, in episode 499 of Informed Choice Radio.
When you think about new investment trends, what pops into your head?
Bitcoin? Renewable energy? Cannabis?
Today on the podcast we’re talking about investing in medical marijuana, with my guest Stuart Forbes.
Stuart is a co-founder of Rize ETF and their product lead.
Rize ETF develop Exchange Traded Funds offering access to investment megatrends. They are creating a new way of investing; one that enables investors of all stripes to invest in the future whilst remaining on the right side of history.
Stuart is a qualified solicitor and was previously Head of ETF Product Development at Legal & General Investment Management, and prior to that, at ETF Securities, where he was responsible for ETF development and structuring, platform management and legal.
Here’s my conversation with Stuart Forbes, co-founder of Rize ETF, in episode 498 of Informed Choice Radio.
We know that the global pandemic has disrupted life as we know it.
None of us could have imagined the scale and nature of the changes to our daily lives experienced in the past few months.
As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, many of the lasting changes from the virus will remain.
We all need to consider what will happen next.
My guest on the podcast today is Beth Kempton, author of We Are in This Together; a fantastic new book designed to help you prioritise different things and feel less vulnerable to sudden change in the future.
Beth is an award-winning entrepreneur and self-help author. Her books have been translated into 24 languages,
She describes herself as a wanderer, an adventurer and a seeker of beauty, with an incurable addiction to chocolate and Japanese stationery.
As Founder of Do What You Love (dowhatyouloveforlife.com) Beth has produced and delivered online courses and workshops that have helped thousands of people all over the world to discover their passion, explore their creativity and live a more inspired life.
This conversation is for you if you’re feeling anxious about the uncertainty and long-term implications of the pandemic.
Here’s my conversation with Beth Kempton, author of We Are in This Together, in episode 497 of Informed Choice Radio.
We all lead increasingly hectic lives, in many cases shaken up beyond recognition today during the Covid-19 pandemic.
My guest on the podcast today is Gail Golden, author of a leadership development guide called Curating Your Life.
Gail describes a new approach to finding work-life balance.
In the same way a museum curator creates a beautiful and meaningful exhibit by sorting, selecting and arranging artifacts from the museum’s collection, curating your life is about sorting, selecting and arranging your commitments.
The end result should be a the alignment of productivity with personal fulfillment and joy.
Gail has helped hundreds of business leaders achieve high levels of success by teaching them to curate their choices about where to spend both their time and, more importantly, their energy.
She’s the Principal of Gail Golden Consulting, LLC, a management psychology firm specializing in executive coaching and organizational consultation on leadership development.
Gail earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Indiana University. For the first half of her career, she led a psychotherapy practice, taught in the psychology department and the medical school at Western University, and wrote an advice column in The London Free Press.
In mid-career she was ready for a new professional challenge, so she went back to school to earn her MBA from Western University. She combined her clinical experience with her business expertise to become a management psychologist in Chicago.
Here’s my conversation with Gail Golden, author of Curating Your Life, in episode 496 of Informed Choice Radio.
How much is your life worth? And why?
Everyday decisions made by governments, businesses and individuals place a price on human life.
Your personal price tag is made up of the economic and social value, but the calculations behind these figures can be complex.
My guest on the podcast today is data scientist and health economist Howard Friedman.
His academic work includes teaching at data science, statistics, and program evaluation at Columbia University.
Howard has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific articles and book chapters in areas of applied statistics, health economics and politics.
In his new book, Ultimate Price: The Value We Place on Life, he explains in simple terms how economists, corporations, regulators, and insurance companies make and use these price tags. He illustrates how chauvinistic, white supremacist, or elitist values are reflected in the value we place on life.
Here’s my conversation with Howard Friedman, author of Ultimate Price, in episode 495 of Informed Choice Radio.
There's no getting around the fact that tough times hurt.
Right now, we're all living through some pretty tough times.
My guest on the podcast today is Suzy Reading.
Suzy is a chartered psychologist (B. Psych (Hons), M.Psych (Org)) and qualified yoga teacher from Australia, specializing in wellbeing.
In her latest book, Self-care for Tough Times, Suzy offers a gentle yet powerful process for developing a self-care toolkit to call on during difficult periods.
As Financial Planners, we often witness the tough times in life experienced by our clients; relationship breakdown, illness or death in the family, financial strain, times of change and transition.
During these times, and indeed at all times, self-care is so important.
The practices I discuss with Suzy are designed to promote healing and hope, and many are quick and easy for times when you feel exhausted or vulnerable so that you can both cope in the moment during tough times, then recover and restore after these difficult chapters of life.
Here's my conversation with Suzy Reading, author of Self-care for Tough Times, in episode 494 of Informed Choice Radio.
Lockdown life has given many of us a glimpse of what our retirement might look like.
What will you do with your free time when you retire?
My guest on the podcast today is FIRE practitioner Fritz Gilbert.
Fritz retired early after more than three decades in corporate America, where he progressed through the various levels of a multinational corporation serving the global aluminium industry.
He’s the founder of award-winning FIRE blog, The Retirement Manifesto, which is focused on helping people achieve a great retirement.
I spoke to Fritz from his idyllic cabin in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
In this conversation, he explains why accurate assumptions about retirement spending are essential, how right now is the perfect opportunity for a ‘test retirement’, the importance of finding structure in your day, and much more.
Here’s my conversation with Fritz Gilbert, author of Keys to a Successful Retirement, in episode 493 of Informed Choice Radio.
What financial support is available for individuals and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic?
In this special episode of Informed Choice Radio, I'm joined by Philip Wise to discuss the ins and outs of the various government schemes.
Phil is a Chartered Financial Planner and Retirement Income Planning Director at Informed Choice.
Within our discussion, we cover the full raft of financial support measures in place, including some little-known issues with these schemes.
Every day, financial technology (or fintech) is creating seismic changes within the banking and finance sector.
My guest today is author of the dramatic story of fintech’s major players, exploring how these disruptions are transforming even money itself.
Dan Simon is chairman of the Museum of American Finance communications board and CEO of Vested, a global financial communications firm.
He represents some of the most recognizable brands in finance and fintech, including Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg L.P., and Goldman Sachs.
Dan is author of The Money Hackers, focusing on some of fintech’s most powerful disruptors.
He describes these disruptors as a ragtag collection of financial outsiders and savants, telling their incredible stories to explain how the technology works and how it is changing the entire industry.
Here’s my conversation with Daniel Simon, author of The Money Hackers, in episode 492 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this special episode, Martin talks to Informed Choice managing director Shelley McCarthy.
They chat about what the coronavirus crisis means for life at Informed Choice, how the teams are working remotely and adapting to this new way of life.
Martin and Shelley also talk about the impact of the virus on the markets and economy, and what could happen next.
You receive investment advice from a financial adviser, your tax return is completed by an accountant, and your estate planning is carried out by a solicitor.
When was the last time these three key consultants got together to discuss your overall financial game plan?
My guest on the podcast today believes you’ve taken all the right steps, yet the mousetrap has been set.
You’re basically working with three blind mice, and that can end up being very costly to you … because the blind mice don’t pay the price; you do.
Scott McLean has worked in the financial services sector since 1983. He founded McLean Advisory Group in 2008. Since then, McLean Advisory Group has become known for helping individuals and families in the Jersey Shore area plan for life events.
In his new book, Three Blind Mice, Scott supplies the understanding you need to keep your key consultants connected and operating off the same financial game plan—because your financial future depends on it.
Scott is the host of the weekly educational radio show, *Financial Insanity*, on WBNJ and he has also appeared on numerous radio and TV shows as a guest or host.
Here’s my conversation with Scott McLean, author of Three Blind Mice, in **episode 491** of Informed Choice Radio.
We could all do with a little self-nourishment right now.
My guest on the podcast today is Dr Alka Patel.
Alka is a GP, lifestyle medicine physician and health coach.
She's been a medical doctor for more than 20 years but realised her professional career meant her own health was placed on the backburner. The resulting burnout left Alka in a hospital bed.
Alka discovered the hard way that her career in isolation wasn't supplying her with the energy, resilience, strength and happiness she needed. And that prioritising her health was by far the most important thing she needed to do to help her career flourish.
According to Alka, creativity, productivity and longevity are all achieved when you give yourself the self-nourishment you need to feed your professional soul.
Here's my conversation with Dr Alka Patel, in episode 490 of Informed Choice Radio.
Life is too short to put up with a job you hate.
My guest today is happiness consultant Samantha Clarke, who wants you to say goodbye to the dread of Monday morning.
Samantha is author of Love It Or Leave It, in which she helps you figure out ways to find that work-life balance and be happier and more fulfilled at work.
As a happiness consultant, she is on a mission to liberate individuals from work they no longer love to find a path to true work happiness.
Samantha is also a faculty lecturer at the School of Life and The Guardian Masterclasses, where she facilitates workshops on career potential, building a portfolio career, managing stress, confidence and authentic leadership.
Her podcast series “Conversations with Samantha&” – sees Samantha geek out with philosophers, technologists, heads of people & talent, startup founders and communication experts on the impact of technology on our happiness in work, life and our cities.
Here’s my conversation with Samantha Clarke, author of Love It Or Leave It, in episode 489 of Informed Choice Radio.
If you’re looking for fulfillment outside the day job, you might start a side hustle.
But what happens when you have an idea but don’t know where to start, or you are held back by a lack of confidence, experience, time or money?
My guest today is Bec Evans, a writer, speaker and business founder. With a background in innovation she turned her side hustle into a startup and now helps people make their ideas happen.
Her first book *How to Have a Happy Hustle* is a finalist in the Business Book Awards 2020, and has been reviewed by the Financial Times, The Stylist and Red Magazine and been featured on The Lean Startup podcast and at The RSA.
Here’s my conversation with Bec Evans, author of How to Have a Happy Hustle, in episode 488 of Informed Choice Radio.
Why do even the smartest among us make dumb mistakes with our money?
I’m sure we all know someone who is super intelligent, has a successful career, maybe a graduate degree, but they keep on making the same dumb mistakes when it comes to their money.
Maybe that ‘friend’ is you!
My guest today is Jill Schlesinger, an Emmy-nominated and Gracie Award Winning Business Analyst for CBS News.
She appears on CBS radio and television stations nationwide covering the economy, markets, investing and anything else with a dollar sign. Jill translates complicated business and economic news into understandable, relatable topics for everyday viewers and listeners.
Jill’s first book, The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money: Thirteen Ways to Right Your Financial Wrongs, was published in February 2019 by Ballantine Books, and recently came out in paperback.
Here’s my conversation with Jill Schlesinger, author of The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money, in episode 487 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the podcast today is Andy Ramage.
Andy’s background in professional sport and running a busy financial brokerage in London has created a unique set of skills and experience that flow through his work. His love of learning and a masters degree in positive psychology and coaching psychology add a scientific approach to his upbeat, positive coaching style.
Andy’s latest book, ‘Let’s do this’ is designed specifically for all those who struggle with willpower and who can’t quite achieve those new years resolution type goals. Which is almost everyone. Because willpower doesn’t work.
Let’s do this is a 28-day masterclass that will show the reader how to master their motivation – because motivation is a skill that anyone can learn when they know how. Andy walks the reader through a motivational journey that will show them an exact process for achieving any goal.
Andy is also a master practitioner of NLP, a mindfulness-based awareness coach, a much sought-after speaker, author and podcaster.
Here’s my conversation with Andy Ramage, author of Let’s Do This, in episode 486 of Informed Choice Radio.
“In this rapidly changing world, spending your life pursuing security in the hope of winding up with freedom is insane”, says my guest today. “If you want to be financially free, you’ve got to start by getting free first.”
A self-made millionaire in his early twenties, Matthew Klan walked away from a professional career and the promise of financial security and chose his freedom instead.
He discovered along the way the power that freedom has to create prosperity, a universal principle that everyone can apply.
Matthew is an author, entrepreneur, forecaster, investor and sought after public speaker.
His new book is Freedom First: Escape the Income Trap, Unlock Your Potential and be Financially Free, Now.
Freedom First challenges you to rethink your ideas about how to become financially free.
Drawing on historical financial insights as old as Confucius, as well as lessons gleaned from modern psychology and economics, this book explores a counter intuitive approach to wealth creation: if you want to become financially free, you need to become free first.
Here’s my conversation with Matthew Klan, author of Freedom First, in episode 485 of Informed Choice Radio.
Every investor makes mistakes. Private or professional, amateur or experienced, there is no exception.
And many of these are common mistakes. Whether or not they want to admit it, many investors have committed the same errors.
How can you avoid these mistakes? How can you distinguish yourself as an investor and improve your performance?
My guest today is Joachim Klement, research analyst and former Chief Investment Officer with 20 years’ experience in financial markets.
His new book is Seven Mistakes Every Investor Makes (And How To Avoid Them). It calls upon years of experience and scientific research to deliver expert insight into the most common mistakes plaguing investors.
From there, Klement outlines his personal tools and techniques, developed, refined and successfully implemented over many years in the finance industry, to help avoid and mitigate such mistakes. His ultimate aim: to help you help yourself.
In this conversation, we touch on a handful of these mistakes, including home bias, overconfidence, and short-termism.
Here’s my conversation with Joachim Klement, author of Seven Mistakes Every Investor Makes, in episode 484 of Informed Choice Radio.
If you are in debt, bad with money, or looking for a straightforward way to take command of your finances, my guest today has written the book for you.
This isn’t just another personal finance book or budgeting guide telling you how to live like someone else. Instead, his book is designed to give you the framework for success from dozens of people who have found their own path to financial independence.
Chris Mamula is the author of Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.
Chris writes about financial independence while expanding the conversation around what retirement is and can be at CanIRetireYet.com. His articles have been featured on MarketWatch, DoughRoller, and Business Insider.
He achieved financial independence and retired from his physical therapy career in 2017, at the age of 41.
In addition to writing, he now focuses on being a dedicated husband, stay at home dad and dirtbag/ski-bum depending on the season at his home in the mountains of Utah.
Here’s my conversation with Chris Mamula, author of Choose FI, in episode 483 of Informed Choice Radio.
What are the most important prosperity life lessons we should pass on to the next generation?
My guest today has experienced hardship, faced challenges, and found the mindset required to achieve financial freedom.
John Soforic is a real estate investor from Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
He's author of The Wealthy Gardener, a heartwarming series of stories and practical wisdom on entrepreneurship and wealth. John wrote The Wealthy Gardener for his son, as a way to share his prosperity life lessons.
The parable of the Wealthy Gardener is far more than an admonishment to earn more or spend less; it is about timeless principles.As his lessons reveal, financial freedom is a means to power and control over our lives. Without money, we are subject to the demands and whims of others. With money, we are sheltered from the storm, and we can extend that shelter to our loved ones.
Poised to become an intimate financial classic, The Wealthy Gardener inspires readers to find their own noble purpose and relieve their money worries once and for all.
Here’s my conversation with John Soforic, author of The Wealthy Gardener, in episode 482 of Informed Choice Radio.
In today's podcast episode, I chat with Simon Gergel, head of the UK Equity team at AllianzGI, all about value investing.
Simon manages The Merchants Trust and specialises in managing UK equity income portfolios.
He joined AllianzGI in April 2006 from HSBC Halbis Partners where he managed over £900m in high income funds as well as core institutional and life UK equity portfolios.
Prior to joining HSBC in 2001, Simon worked for 14 years at Phillips & Drew Fund Management / UBS Asset Management where he was involved in all aspects of UK equity fund management, including research, portfolio management and account director roles.
He graduated in 1987 from Cambridge University with an honours degree in mathematics and is an associate of the UK Society of Investment Professionals.
Merchants was established in 1889. Today the Trust invests in a diversified portfolio of large, well-established and well-known UK companies. These companies are able to grow their sales over time or cut costs in order to preserve or improve their profit margins. This enables them, in general, to maintain and increase their dividends over time.
Here’s my conversation with Simon Gergel, portfolio manager of The Merchants Trust Plc, in episode 481 of Informed Choice Radio.
How did Warren Buffet go from $100m to $2bn?
In this episode of the podcast, I chat with Glen Arnold, author of The Deals of Warren Buffett.
In the second volume of the book series, Glen describes how Warren Buffett made deals over the course of two decades as he became a billionaire.
It’s arguably the most exciting stage of Buffett’s career, during which time shares in his business Berkshire Hathaway jumped 29-fold from $89 to $2,600.
Buffett made investments in GEICO, ABC, Disney, Coca-Cola, Gillette and several others during this period of his career.
Investing expert and Buffett historian Arnold takes a deep dive into the process followed and individuals involved, to understand how Warren Buffett became arguably the greatest investor of all time.
Here’s my conversation with Glen Arnold, author of The Deals of Warren Buffett, in episode 480 of Informed Choice Radio.
Richard Branson once said: “No goal is beyond our reach and even the impossible can become possible for those with vision and belief in themselves.”
In his third guest appearance on Informed Choice Radio, I chat with Dr Rainer Zitelman about his new book, Dare to Be Different and Grow Rich: The Secrets of Self-Made People.
In the book, Rainer unpicks the lives of 50 extraordinarily successful women and men.
Most of the subjects in his book are entrepreneurs, but he also studies top managers, athletes, entertainers and others, all to discover what makes them stand out and the lessons we can all learn.
Rainer concludes that what really sets these highly successful and rich individuals apart is their courage to be different from the majority of those around them.
They challenge traditional ways of thinking and they set their goals and ambitions considerably higher than most people. Their stories serve as powerful guidelines for anyone who wants to aim higher and achieve much more than those around you.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Rainer Zitelman, author of Dare to Be Different and Grow Rich, in episode 479 of Informed Choice Radio.
It’s fair to say that money matters are the cause of stress and anxiety of a great many people.
When you don’t fully understand the decisions you need to make, or where to go for help making those important decision, it’s no surprise that anxiety ensues.
My guest today is Harry Stout, a senior leader in the global financial services business.
He’s got 25 years of expertise in the US and globally, with experience in all key business areas.
Harry’s new book is called The FinancialVerse; it presents a straightforward, easy to read explanation of what you can expect to experience at each stage of your financial life.
The book is made up of the knowledge, decisions, resources, risks, and tools you are likely to encounter during your financial journey.
In this conversation, with talk about those different stages, what Harry refers to as the adulting, striving and fulfilling stages of life.
Here’s my conversation with Harry Stout, author of The FinancialVerse, in episode 478 of Informed Choice Radio.
How’s your financial literacy?
As a listener to Informed Choice Radio, I’m guessing it’s pretty good! Certainly better than average!
But, for most people, a lack of financial literacy is a serious challenge. After all, money can be complicated!
My guest on the podcast today is Tina Hay, founder of Napkin Finance.
Tina explains that two-thirds of Americans can’t pass a basic financial literacy test. Nine in ten believe that personal finance should become a required subject in school.
When she attended Harvard Business School, Tina struggled to keep up with her classmates when it came to understanding jargon and numbers-heavy concepts.
As a result, she developed a visual learning strategy using sketches and infographics, which helped her succeed in her studies and master even the most complex financial topics.
Tina went on to create Napkin Finance, a thriving company built around the concept of taking seemingly overwhelming topics – including budgeting, investments and retirement planning – and turning them into simple, skimmable explanations.
Her new book, also called Napkin Finance, includes dozens of individual learning modules, covering everything from credit scores to paying off student loans, to economics and blockchain.
Here’s my conversation with Tina Hay, author of Napkin Finance, in episode 477 of Informed Choice Radio.
What are the habits you need to adopt so you can build and retain sustainable wealth?
In this episode of the podcast, I’m joined by Nigel Cumberland, international bestselling author of 100 Things Successful People Do.
In this new book, 100 Things Millionaires Do, Nigel turns his attention to wealth.
The book distills all of the wisdom and knowledge of a lifetime of starting and selling businesses, and coaching hundreds of wealthy leaders, into 100 short chapters of advice on building and retaining sustainable wealth.
Nigel explains this isn’t a get rich quick book. Instead, it’s about the habits, tools, techniques and mentality of self-made millionaires.
The book mixes simple instructions with activities to get you started, with mindsets, habits, and techniques to help you get the results you want.
Nigel is a leading executive coach and leadership facilitator, having spent the past decade successfully coaching a range of local and expatriate leaders through a range of challenging transitions.
This work built on 25 years of global corporate experience in Asia, Europe and South America, where Nigel held Finance Director and Managing Director roles with a range of multinationals.
In this conversation, we cover the main ways to get wealthy, why you need to think beyond £1m, and the role of drive and ambition.
Here’s my conversation with Nigel Cumberland, author of 100 Things Millionaires Do, in episode 476 of Informed Choice Radio.
Are you trapped in a financial prison camp of your own making?
My guest on the podcast today didn't realise he was part of the wider FIRE movement until a chance encounter with the work of Mr Money Mustache.
In this episode, I talk to Barney Whiter AKA The Escape Artist about the career crisis which served as his catalyst to create a freedom fund.
We also cover why everything flows from motivation, how debt is a form of slavery, and the best way to convince a significant other to join you on the path to financial freedom.
Here’s my conversation with Barney Whiter, The Escape Artist, in episode 475 of Informed Choice Radio.
Financial independence is a super power. Whether we know it or not, we're all on a stage of a money journey; anything from financially solvent to financially independent.
My guest on the podcast today is Ken Okoroafor, founder of The Humble Penny.
Ken describes himself as a millennial, migrant and minority - but he warns of the danger of listening to a single story.
His journey to financial independence, as he recounts in this conversation, involved a decade of surviving, before a decade of thriving.
Along the way, his relentless focus on personal development allowed him to achieve his goal of financial independence by his mid-30s.
Here's my conversation with Ken Okoroafor of The Humble Penny, in episode 473 of Informed Choice Radio.
You might not plan to retire. Increasingly these days, retirement is delayed because we can’t afford it, or we don’t want to give up work; after all, work gives us a powerful sense of identity, an excuse for social interaction, and is scientifically proven to help reduce disease and death. Why on earth would you want to retire, given the choice?!
But saving enough money to cover your expenses in later life is essential, even if you have no plans to give up work. Coming up in this episode of Informed Choice Radio, this is why you need to fund your retirement.
How can we best educate our children to equip them for success when it comes to their money?
My guest today is J. J. Wenrich, a Certified Financial Planner and 20-year veteran of the investment world.
He developed his fascination with the stock market as a child, watching business reports on PBS, one of the few stations available in his small-town Kansas home. During freezing winters and blazing summers, he was inside learning about what he calls "the amazing world of stocks."
Despite his small-town upbringing, J.J. had progressive teachers along the way who included personal finance education and stock-picking games in their curriculum.
His professors at The University of Kansas reinforced his love of the stock market. So much that he spent spring break on campus watching CNBC all night with stock charts and spreadsheets as he followed equity markets around the world.
In his book, Teaching Kids to Buy Stocks, J.J. will walk you through how he encouraged his three kids to save birthday and allowance money, then use a portion to buy stocks. You will learn the same lessons he taught his kids at home, and thousands of financial professionals at work.
Here's my conversation with J. J. Wenrich, author of Teaching Kids to Buy Stocks, in episode 471 of Informed Choice Radio.
Universal Basic Income. If you’ve not come across the term before, you’re likely to hear a lot more about it in the future.
It’s an economic policy that’s gathering support across a wide part of the political spectrum, as a solution to a variety of challenges.
And now shadow chancellor John McDonnell appears to be backing it too, urging the Labour party to formalise this support in their election manifesto.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, why basic income is a Labour policy Martin can support, and what it could mean for your Financial Planning.
If you're thinking about starting a business, it's likely that writing a business plan and then borrowing money will be two factors putting you off.
My guest today runs workshops which show budding entrepreneurs how to get started in business without lengthy business plans or potentially ruinous loans from the bank.
Alan Donegan is co-founder of PopUp Business School.
When he set up his business 12 years ago, he went along to government funded Business Link, who did more to scare him off starting than they did help!
This negative experience inspired Alan to turn entrepreneurship on its head. He developed PopUp Business School to support the people who are saved off by business plans, debt and traditional planning.
PopUp Business School runs inspirational training courses designed to help people start small businesses and make money doing what they love.
In this episode, we chat about the importance of selling your value before you create it, why it's possible to make money doing what you love, and Alan's experience with the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement.
Here's my conversation with Alan Donegan from PopUp Business School in episode 469 of Informed Choice Radio.
Investing in bricks and mortar, and building a property portfolio, is an ambition for many investors.
The tangible nature of property makes it appear attractive. Combined with the ability to finance purchases and benefit from a stream of rental income, it's easy to understand the appeal.
My guest today has a passion for property, buying her first home at age 18 before quickly establishing a sizeable property portfolio and property business empire.
Michelle Niziol started out as a mortgage adviser, opening her own brokerage in 2005 and winning several industry awards, including Top UK Broker from Barclays Bank.
After building her own successful property portfolio, she was inspired to do the same for her clients, providing a bespoke property solution.
She founded IMS Property Group in 2008. The group of companies offers a complete property service from lettings, to estate agency, property refurbishment, development and finance.
Michelle is recognised as one of the UK’s leading property and finance specialists, providing regular commentary for The Telegraph, Financial Times, Guardian and Daily Mail. She also has her own columns in industry magazines, such as What Mortgage.
Back in 2006, Michelle was a candidate on The Apprentice in series 12 of the BBC show.
Here's my conversation with Michelle Niziol, talking about building a property portfolio, in episode 468 of Informed Choice Radio.
An obsession with the cost of advice is denying investors access to the value of advice.
When influential commentators position ongoing adviser fees as a ‘wealth tax’, they ignore the significant level of value added by the provision of good advice and planning.
In this episode, why the wealth tax is really a wealth multiplier, and how financial advice adds 3% a year to the size of your portfolio.
Risk-taking is essential for innovation, fun, and the courage to face the uncertainties in life.
Yet for many important decisions, we're often presented with statistics and probabilities that we don't really understand and we inevitably rely on experts in the relevant fields - policy makers, financial advisers, doctors - to analyse and choose for us.
But what if they don't quite understand the way the information is presented either?
How do we make sure we're asking doctors the right questions about proposed treatment? Is there a rule of thumb that could help choose the right partner?
My guest on the podcast today is Gerd Gigerenzer, Director of the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.
Gerd is a former Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago. He is the author of several books on heuristics and decision making, including Reckoning with Risk.
His new book, Risk Savvy, shows us how to recognize when we don't have all the information and know what to do about it.
Here's my conversation with Gerd Gigerenzer, author of Risk Savvy, in episode 466 of Informed Choice Radio.
We’re fascinated by millionaires. There’s a certain mystique about how people become rich, and how they live their lives once they reach millionaire status.
Some of our most popular podcast episodes have focused on wealth habits and behaviours. But did you know that there are around 47 million millionaires globally?
In this episode, the latest research into millionaires, and the traits most millionaires display that you could emulate if you want to reach this status too.
Today’s fifty-year-olds are likely to have an astounding 36 or more years to live.
So if you’re approaching later life, you need to think very differently about what those extra years will hold.
My guest today, Louise Ansari, has written a book designed to help you get ready for a major adventure.
When We’re 64 arms readers with the knowledge, tips and pointers to think very differently about the amazing opportunity that a long life can bring.
Louise is Director of Communications and Influencing at the Centre for Ageing Better, a charity working to create a society where everyone enjoys a good later life.
She has worked on communications and campaigns for a range of UK and international organisations dealing with health, social policy, and local services, including several years as Head of Communications at Lambeth Council, and as a media specialist at Which? Magazine, the Food Standards Agency, and the Health Education Authority.
Here's my conversation with Louise Ansari, author of When We’re 64, in episode 464 of Informed Choice Radio.
The financial press has been dominated this week by former-star fund manager, Neil Woodford.
After being sacked from his flagship Equity Income fund, which is being sold off with cash returned to investors, he took the decision to wind up his multi-billion pound fund empire.
Coming up in this episode, three lessons for investors following the Woodford demise.
Real assets have grown in popularity in recent years, as an option to combat a low-yield from fixed income and perceived high equity market values.
But what are real assets and how can they fit within a wider investment portfolio?
My guest on the podcast today is Luke Hyde-Smith from Waverton Investment Management.
Luke is Head of Third Party Fund Selection and co-manager of the Waverton Real Assets Fund, launched earlier this year.
The fund invests in five broad real asset classes; property, infrastructure, asset finance, commodities and specialist lending. These investments are predominantly backed by tangible assets, often with some level of inflation linkage to the cash flows.
My usual disclaimer then, because we're discussing a specific investment fund in this episode. Nothing in this episode is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a specific investment fund. You should seek independent financial advice before making investment decisions.
In this episode, we talk about the risk and reward profile of real assets, how access to infrastructure investments have changed in recent years, what some of the real assets in Luke's portfolio look like, and how real assets could perform under different Brexit scenarios.
Here's my conversation with Luke Hyde-Smith from Waverton Investment Management in episode 462 of Informed Choice Radio.
We hear a lot about the Bank of Mum and Dad.
With high property prices and a rising cost of living, it's becoming common for young adults to turn to parental support in order to get onto the housing ladder.
But what are the options for generous parents and how can we avoid leaving ourselves destitute in retirement when we make substantial gifts or loans to the next generation?
My guest on the podcast today is Mark Bogard, chief executive of Family Building Society.
Mark has more than 20 years' experience in financial services focused on helping people make the most of their money.
Prior to his role at Family Building Society, we ran Barclays' retail funds business and then built up Moneyextra, an aggregator website focused on mortgages and savings that was sold to Bristol & West Plc.
In this episode, I talk to Mark about the factors prompting a big rise in lending from the Bank of Mum and Dad, why uncertainty around financial futures can cause hesitation for some parents who are keen to provide support, and Mark's personal experience of a changing property market.
Here's my conversation with Mark Bogard, chief executive of Family Building Society, in episode 460 of Informed Choice Radio.
Big life events are often a prompt to establish a Financial Plan.
Retirement is a big one, along with starting a family, buying a home, or the death of a loved one.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, the right time to get a Financial Plan.
Nick Bamford is our guest host for this episode, standing in for Martin this week.
We hear a lot about the gender pay gap, but what about the gender pension gap?
My guest on the show today is Dame Helena Morrissey, Head of Personal Investing at Legal & General Investment Management.
Helena joined LGIM in 2017 from Newton where she held the title of CEO for fifteen years, before becoming non-executive Chairman.
During her tenure, Newton’s assets under management grew from £20 billion to £50 billion, and under her leadership the firm developed a number of market-leading strategies in absolute return, equity income and global equities.
Prior to becoming CEO she was a Head of Fixed Income at Newton. She started her career as a global fixed income analyst at Schroders in New York.
Helena founded the 30% Club in 2010; a cross-business initiative aimed at achieving better gender balanced boards through voluntary, business-led change. She is also Chair of the Diversity Project.
As you'll hear in this episode, the proportion of women on UK company boards more than doubled over the following five years and there are now fourteen 30% Clubs throughout the world.
Helena was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 New Year’s Honours List and promoted Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to diversity in financial services.
Here's my conversation with Helena Morrissey, in episode 458 of Informed Choice Radio.
They f*** you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
Philip Larkin there, pointing out that lessons from our parents often mess with our minds.
But what about the things our mums and dads teach us, either purposefully or by accident, about money?
How do our earliest childhood memories influence our attitudes towards personal finance?
In this episode, your earliest childhood money memories and how they affect your life.
In the first episode of her "Bad With Money" podcast, my guest asked patrons at a coffee shop two questions: First, what's your favorite sex position? Everyone was game to answer, even the barista. Then, she asked how much money was in their bank accounts.
People were aghast. "That's a very personal question," they insisted. And therein lies the problem.
Gaby Dunn argues that our inability to speak honestly about money is our number one barrier to understanding it, leading us to feel alone, ashamed and anxious, which in turns makes us feel even more overwhelmed by it.
In her new book, Bad With Money, Gaby reveals the legitimate, systemic reasons behind our feeling of helplessness when it comes to personal finance, demystifying the many signposts on the road to getting our financial sh*t together, like how to choose an insurance plan or buy a car, sign up for a credit card or take out student loans.
Gaby is a bestselling author, journalist, television writer, actress, and LGBTQ activist living in Los Angeles.
Her podcast "Bad With Money" was named one of the top ten podcasts of 2016 by The New York Times.
Along with her comedy partner Allison Raskin, Gaby stars in, writes, and produces the YouTube channel Just Between Us, which has been viewed over 140 million times.
Here's my conversation with Gaby Dunn, author and presenter of Bad With Money, in episode 456 of Informed Choice Radio.
In my nearly twenty years working in the financial planning sector, I've noticed something that goes against most conventional wisdom. The wealthiest people don't tend to look rich.
From living in modest homes to driving older cars, even the way they dress, there's a huge difference between being rich and looking rich.
In this episode, a simple question; do you want to look rich or be rich?
What are the top legal issues is to consider as you get older?
My guest on the podcast today has a particular interest in mental capacity law, elderly financial abuse matters, and the Court of Protection.
Kelly Greig is one of only 68 solicitors nationwide elected to the Office of the Public Guardian’s national panel of professional deputies. In this role, she works with people who lack the ability to make decisions about their finances.
Kelly's cases typically need bespoke arrangements or remedies to meet a client’s particular needs. This can involve tax or trust advice, or setting up and managing medical or care support for someone who’s unable to manage their own affairs.
As head of Irwin Mitchell’s Later Life Planning team, she leads on the ways their solicitors can help people in all aspects of later life. This includes silver divorces, estate planning, will disputes, and more.
In this episode, we chat about why later life issues have become a bigger focus in law in recent years, the protections in place to ensure an attorney acts in line with your best interests, what happens when you fail to put a lasting power of attorney in place, and much more.
Here's my conversation with Kelly Greig, head of later life planning at Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, in episode 454 of Informed Choice Radio.
Let's be honest; interest rates on cash savings are rubbish.
Ever since the global financial crisis, when the Bank of England and other central banks slashed interest rates to prevent the world economy from going over a cliff edge, savers have been penalised.
Low interest rates are even worse when price inflation is taking into account.
And if you're a first-time buyer, the challenge of saving for a big deposit is made even harder by the pitiful returns you get on your cash savings.
In this episode, I chat with Ewan Edwards, Director of Savings at Aldermore Bank, to learn more about this low interest rate environment, how we can get the best returns on our cash, and what first-time buyers can do to take advantage of a government bonus; the window for this is closing at the end of November, by the way, so you will need to act quickly.
Are you happy? Is there more to life than this? What if there is another way?
My guest today had something of a mid-life crisis shortly before his 40th birthday, quit his job, read a load of books, and became a practitioner of the growing FIRE movement.
David Sawyer is author of RESET: How to Restart Your Life and Get F.U. Money.
He's a United Nations award-winning PR man and 2:40 marathoner, who admits he's not a guru when it comes to money matters. He is, however, a middle-aged family guy who woke up one day wondering, "is there another way?"
In this episode, I chat to Dave about the consequences of lifestyle creep, the important difference between pleasure and happiness, why living efficiently is one of seven keys to a wealthier life, and the 'stash maths' that are driving his family towards an early retirement.
We also cover the 'bollocks spending' that leaves many of us working for years longer than necessary.
Here's my conversation with David Sawyer, author of RESET, in episode 452 of Informed Choice Radio.
It's entirely reasonable to assume that things will go wrong from time to time.
Things will go wrong in your life, your business, and within your investment portfolio.
When a crisis lands, what matters most is how you respond.
My guest today is Frank Supovitz, THE man behind the scenes at major events including the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup and Indy 500.
As Senior Vice President of Events for the National Football League, Frank oversaw the meteoric growth of the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl and NFL Draft. He's one of only four people to have been in charge of the Super Bowl in its 50-year history.
Frank is author of What to Do When Things Go Wrong, where he guides readers through the process of making sure you handle inevitable problems as if it's something you do day in and day out.
This conversation is all about thinking through and preparing for all potential problems. Because things will go wrong; it's our preparation and response when that happens that makes all of the difference.
Here's my conversation with Frank Supovitz, author of What to Do When Things Go Wrong, in episode 451 of Informed Choice Radio.
Investment liquidity is a topic that's regularly on the mind of investors, more so recently with the high profile and ongoing suspension of Woodford Equity Income.
But what is liquidity and why does it matter when you're investing money?
In this episode, an assessment of the investment portfolios we recommend to clients at Informed Choice, from a liquidity perspective, and how you can better understand the liquidity within your own investment and pension portfolios.
I'm passionate about financial education.
As father to three school age children and husband to a primary school teacher, I get to see this subject from the parenting and teaching perspective.
My guest today is Gary Edwards, founder of Keep on Squirrelling, a subsidiary of True Living, whose overall mission is to 'reduce the pain and stress in people's lives and make a difference for love'.
Gary's vision is to be the leading inspiration for improving children's financial education.
It's an important mission. Money problems in adulthood can result in stress, divorce, and even suicide.
By equipping children with the knowledge and tools they need to make better financial decisions, Gary and his team are changing young lives, for the better.
You can find useful links for this episode in the show notes at icradio.co.uk.
Here's Gary Edwards, founder of Keep on Squirrelling, in episode 449 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of the podcast, I'm talking about a bunch of self-entitled, fortunate, some would say selfish people. That's right, we're discussing the post-war baby boomers. But the data I'm looking at doesn't back up a lot of the popular narrative we hear about this generation. In fact, stay tuned to discover why we might have got it all wrong about the baby boomers.
By the year 2050, $50 trillion will change hands in North America in the largest generational wealth transfer ever. It will remake the world and be the biggest money-making opportunity in history.
"Business as usual", founded on exploitation and environmental ruin, is over.
Climate catastrophe, reactionary politics, and widening inequity have put the world on edge. Meanwhile innovations are shifting the economic ground, and an entire generation is pounding the table for real change.
Capitalism is evolving into a force that can restore the planet, transform the global economy, and bring justice to people.
My guest on the podcast today is Joel Solomon, impact investor and change agent.
His book The Clean Money Revolution is part memoir of an inspiring thought leader's journey from presidential campaigner to pioneering investor, part insider's guide to the businesses remaking the world, and part manifesto for a new vision of profit, power, and purpose.
In this episode, I chat with Joel about how our economy is based on the extraction of natural resources or labour, how we might look at the next several hundred years, how technology has taken us beyond what got us here today, and much more.
Here's Joel Solomon in episode 447 of Informed Choice Radio.
What are the signs of true wealth? After spending a few days this week staying in one of the most expensive places in the world, I've drawn up a list of six signs of true wealth, that go beyond the material and conspicuous. This isn't about big houses, fast cars and flashy watches, but real signs of wealth and prosperity.
The world of retail financial services is notorious for its poor communication, especially in written form.
Communicating complex topics, such as pensions, can be challenging. When wrapped up with regulatory requirements, that communication can be confusing and lead to poor outcomes for consumers.
My guest in this episode is Joe Craig, Development Lead at Quietroom.
Quietroom works with its clients to be clear, vivid and real – so their story makes sense, so their ideas come to life, so their message sticks. They do it in three ways: thinking, writing and training.
Joe loves exploring the world through the eyes of smart people doing interesting, challenging work.
In this conversation, we talk about why verbal communication in financial services often beats the written form, the power of storytelling to get people excited about saving for the future, why effective communication is so important for building trust in financial services, and much more.
Here's my conversation with Joe Craig from Quietroom, in episode 445 of Informed Choice Radio.
There's a great news story doing the rounds this week, about a chap who received a windfall of nearly £133,000 after a chance conversation with his financial adviser which led him to a state pension pot he didn't know existed.
In this episode, why working with a financial adviser can lead to unexpected riches - or at least help make sense of your financial paperwork and remove a great deal of stress from your life.
The world of work is changing. Gone is the idea of a job for life. Instead, traditional employment is more uncertain than ever, leading a growing number of people to seek roles in the gig economy instead.
Succeeding in the gig economy means shifting your mindset, acquiring new skills, and leveraging your knowledge and network to create your own career trajectory.
Get it right, and your fortunes are no longer tied to the whims of an employer.
Five years ago, before the Gig Economy was even a thing, my guest on the podcast today created and started to teach an MBA class called The Gig Economy. The class gained immediate traction and was named by Forbes as one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Business School Classes in the country.
Diane Mulcahy is an active and enthusiastic participant in the Gig Economy. In between full-time jobs and consulting gigs in private equity and venture capital, Diane has been a Visiting Fellow at Trinity College in Dublin, an Executive-in-Residence at Babson College, and an Eisenhower Fellow. She has taken two different years off to travel around the world.
Diane is currently a Senior Fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and an Adjunct Lecturer at Babson College. She has previously written and published two books and a widely-read report on venture capital.
Her work has been featured in The Economist, The Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, The Irish Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, as well as numerous industry publications. Diane speaks and lectures at conferences and universities worldwide.
In this conversation, we talk about how to construct a life based on your priorities and vision of success.
Here's my conversation with Diane Mulcahy, author of The Gig Economy, in episode 443 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I answer a listener email, sharing my thoughts on how he can turn his passion into profit.
My guest on the podcast today is author of a book based on the popular undergraduate course he taught at Yale University.
The course was called “Financial Booms & Busts” and it resulted in the book Boombustology, now in its second edition.
Since writing his book Vikram Mansharamani has gone on to show business leaders and investors how to look at the world differently in order to manage risk and navigate radical uncertainty.
His strategies help them peer into the future on crucial areas like China, food, the global economy, Africa, housing, investing, financial cycles, energy, and much more.
Vikram believes that the future doesn’t have to surprise us – and won’t – if we regularly step away from our expertise and look at the world through multiple lenses, something we talk a lot about in this episode. He calls this the generalist’s mindset.
When encountering information that seems irrelevant most people think, “So what?!” Generalists think instead, “Isn’t that interesting,” and look to connect disparate dots. When they do, the conclusions they draw and decisions they make may be very different from the more narrow-focused “experts.”
I got a great deal of value from this conversation, and loved Vikram's views on India and index tracker funds in particular.
Here's my conversation with Vikram Mansharamani, author of Boombustology, in episode 441 of Informed Choice Radio.
The United Kingdom has a new Prime Minister!
Boris Johnson beat his opponent Jeremy Hunt to secure leadership of the Conservative Party this week, before taking the keys to Number 10 Downing Street from his predecessor, Theresa May.
With the Brexiteer in power, and Leavers dominating his newly formed government, what can we expect from Prime Minister Johnson in the coming months?
Should you worry about Boris when it comes to your money?
My guest on the podcast today is on a mission to help women become accountable, ditch debt, save money and build real wealth.
Bola Sokunbi is a Certified Financial Education Instructor, finance expert, speaker, podcaster, influencer, and the founder and CEO of Clever Girl Finance, a personal finance platform for women.
Her new book is Clever Girl Finance: Ditch debt, save money and build real wealth.
In the book, Bola draws on her personal money mistakes and financial redemption to educate and empower a new generation of women on their journey to financial freedom.
I love Bola's approach of "no shame, no judgement", which is so important when we're talking about money, because it's still such a taboo subject.
In this conversation, Bola explains that the role of women, when it comes to personal finances, has changed dramatically. Women are now often the sole breadwinners, but the finance industry remains male-dominated.
Here's my conversation with Bola Sokunbi, author of Clever Girl Finance, in episode 439 of Informed Choice Radio.
We're overdue a recession. Based on the typical length of an economic cycle, it's reasonable to expect a recession sometime soon.
Throw some current affairs into the mix; Brexit, the US/China trade war, and everyone getting stroppy with Iran, and that recession could be triggered fairly soon.
When the next recession comes, it looks set to be an 'interesting' experience. Since the global financial crisis, much of the recovery in developed economies has been fueled by artificial money, pumped out by the central banks.
So the next recession could be deeper and more sustained than any seen before, with a significant impact on capital markets.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, why the next recession will test your financial plan, and what you can do about it.
My guest today on Informed Choice Radio is Alice Tapper, the Founder of Go Fund Yourself, an online platform and community which makes personal finance relatable.
She also works with start-ups and financial institutions to help them develop new products and communications.
Previously, Alice was a management consultant. She has a degree in Economics and an MSc in Behavioural Economics.
Her new book Go Fund Yourself isn't about cutting back on coffee or walking to work and it definitely isn't about becoming a bazillionaire overnight. Alice doesn't believe in telling you what you should and shouldn't spend your money on.
Instead, her book combines time-tested, expert advice with fresh insights into how money works today and how you can earn, spend and invest your way towards living your best life.
Through the lens of five topics: Learn it, Earn it, Start it, Spend it and Invest it, Alice covers all the essentials that we should have been taught at school, but weren't.
Here's my conversation with Alice Tapper, author of Go Fund Yourself, in episode 437 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the show, I'm talking about proposals to make civil partnerships available to opposite-sex couples, and the financial advantages this would bring.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and a cautionary tale in the aftershow; don't drink the water from the lake at Hever Castle!
Millions of unmarried couples could be better off financially following new government proposals.
The proposals are designed to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples, resulting in these individuals becoming entitled to a range of financial wins.
If you spent one hour a month nurturing your finances for the next twelve months, how would you feel this time next year? What would be different?
Mapping out a plan for achieving your big goals and managing everyday spending is the goal of Money Lessons, the new book from financial expert Lisa Conway-Hughes.
Lisa is a qualified Financial Advisor with fifteen years' experience and a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society.
She blogs as her alter ego Miss Lolly, offering unbiased financial wisdom, especially for younger women.
Lisa's opinions have featured in the Guardian, Financial Times, Telegraph, Independent, Glamour and Citywire as well as on BBC News, discussing subjects such as The Budget.
She gives regular corporate talks and has recently started a podcast called 'She's On The Money'.
Here's my conversation with Lisa Conway-Hughes, Miss Lolly, in episode 435 of Informed Choice Radio.
Martin and Nick chat in the Sundial House Courtyard ahead of celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Informed Choice, which started in 1994.
They talk about the early days of the business, finding the offices, how regulation has changed during this time, Nick's role in applying for Chartered status for the profession, and what Informed Choice looks like today.
Common misconceptions, assumptions, and behavioral biases often prevent people from building robust and flexible retirement plans—and this is an enormous problem. If you don’t know your decisions are based on false assumptions, how can you avoid making serious mistakes?
My guest on the podcast today describes himself as a 'pracademic' when it comes to the field of retirement planning. That's 'practical academic'.
Jamie Hopkins is a leading retirement planning expert in the US. He is a professor of taxation at the American College of Financial Services and the director of the New York Life Center for Retirement Income.
Jamie's new book is called Rewirement: Rewiring The Way You Think About Retirement!.
The book is all about how to identify problems that might sabotage your savings while learning how to build and implement the retirement plan you need.
In our conversation today, we talk about how our money decision making is often coloured by personal experiences, some of the risks in retirement including the sequence of investment returns you face, and why being too conservative with your money in later life is often more dangerous than taking risks.
Here's my conversation with Jamie Hopkins, author of Rewirement, in episode 433 of Informed Choice Radio.
I had a conversation yesterday with a lady I know. Not a client, I should add.
She's recently discovered that a quarter of her pension pot is invested in Woodford Equity Income, where trading remains suspended.
The first she heard about her exposure to the fund was when her pension provider wrote to her to let her know it wasn't possible to buy or sell units. Interestingly, her independent financial adviser didn't tell her and hasn't been responding to her subsequent queries.
Now leaving aside the ability or otherwise for financial advisers to spot the risks associated with this Woodford Equity Income fund, there are some important issues at stake here.
This lady's financial adviser described the fund in one letter to his client as 'low to medium risk'. I've not seen the letter, and risk names like low to medium are fairly meaningless without detailed descriptions. But personally I don't think any fund which invests in unquoted companies could be described as low to medium risk.
The lack of communication is another cause for concern. Why did this lady have to find out from her pension provider, and not her financial adviser, that she had a quarter of her pension pot tied up in this fund? And it sounds like the communication since has been dire.
As a friend, I was able to explain to her the reasons behind the fund suspension, and what might happen next; we still don't know a) when the fund will reopen, or b) what the unit price might be when that happens. Woodford's Patient Capital Trust, his investment trust, has fallen in value by around a third in the past few weeks, which could give some indication of what might happen to his Equity Income fund, when trading eventually resumes.
The liquidity of investment funds has come into sharp focus in recent weeks, following the trading suspension imposed on investors in the Woodford Equity Income fund.
What can the ideas of history's greatest economists tell us about the most important issues of our time?
Since the days of Adam Smith, economists have grappled with a series of familiar problems - but often their ideas are hard to digest, before we even try to apply them to today's issues.
My guest today is Dr Linda Yueh, an accomplished economist, and leading writer and broadcaster in this field.
In her new book, The Great Economists, she explains the key thoughts of history's greatest economists, how their lives and times affected their ideas, how our lives have been influenced by their work, and how they could help with the policy challenges that we face today.
Linda Yueh is a fellow in economics at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, adjunct professor of economics at London Business School, and visiting professor at LSE IDEAS.
Dr. Yueh has been an advisor to, among others, the World Economic Forum in Davos, the World Bank, the European Commission, and the Asian Development Bank.
She is also a broadcaster and was the presenter of Talking Business with Linda Yueh when she was BBC Chief Business Correspondent as well as the former Economics Editor at Bloomberg TV.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Linda Yueh, author of The Great Economists, in episode 431 of Informed Choice Radio.
The suitability of advice to transfer from a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to a personal pension has faced a great deal of regulatory scrutiny in the past couple of years.
Deciding to transfer a promise of guaranteed income to the uncertainty of an invested capital value is far from simple. This choice represents one of the most complex personal finance decisions we will ever have to make.
As a result of this complexity involved, it’s right that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) subjects advisers who offer this advice to a high level of scrutiny.
The consequences for an investor making the wrong choice to transfer are severe and potentially very damaging to wealth in retirement.
The FCA has repeatedly communicated what it expects from financial advisers who advise transferring (or retaining) a defined benefit pension. They have also been taking more enforcement action against the minority of adviser who fails to live up to the high standards expected.
In their latest update, the FCA has concluded that too much DB transfer advice remains below their acceptable standard.
If the most precious thing we have is time, the most highly prized expertise should be knowing how to spend it well.
Yet, busier than ever, do we really understand which experiences bring us joy and success, and which don’t?
After all, we’ve learned how to spot the difference between junk foods and superfoods. When you discover the equivalent rules for time, it’ll change how you live your life.
My guest on the show today is James Wallman, author of one of my favourite books, Stuffocation.
And now in fact author of two of my favourite books, because James is back with his new book, Time and How to Spend It.
In the book, James investigates the persistent problem of wasted, unfulfilling time, and finds a powerful answer ― a revolutionary approach to life based on the latest scientific discoveries.
At the heart of Time and How to Spend It is the inspiring revelation that, when you play by the new rules, you can actively choose better experiences.
This is one of my favourite podcast interviews to date, and that's saying something with more than 220 guest interviewed recorded for Informed Choice Radio.
Listen out for James explaining why it's not a lack of free time that's the issue, but choosing to spend that free time on our mobile phones; and why charging your phone outside of the bedroom leads to better sleep and more sex.
We talk about experience intelligence, biophilia, and how doing things for other people leads to more happiness, and success.
Here's my conversation with James Wallman, author of Time and How to Spend It, in episode 429 of Informed Choice Radio.
In the world of Financial Planning, the goal when it comes to tax is to pay as little as necessary.
This approach is legal tax avoidance, rather than illegal tax evasion, and it involves making use of available allowances and reliefs to manage your tax affairs most efficiently.
But what happens when you pay too little tax?
According to some new research, around a third of taxpayers who use self-assessment could be paying too little.
In this episode, Martin talks about the scale of the issue and shares some tips for dealing with tax underpayments.
My guests today are two leaders of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, and they've written a bold, contrarian guide to retiring at any age.
Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung are world travelling early retirees.
Their story has been featured in media outlets all over the world, including the New York Times, CBC, CNBC, the Independent.
They now spend their time helping people with their finances and realizing their travel dreams.
In their book, Kristy and Bryce cover how to cut down on spending without decreasing your quality of life, build a million-dollar portfolio, fortify your investments to survive bear markets and black-swan events, and use the 4 percent rule and the Yield Shield–so you can quit the rat race forever.
Here's my conversation with Kristy Shen & Bryce Leung, authors of Quit Like a Millionaire, in episode 427 of Informed Choice Radio.
It's been a busy week for the financial press, but for all of the wrong reasons.
Neil Woodford's £3.7bn fund flagship Equity Income fund suspended trading following high levels of withdrawals and liquidity concerns.
In this episode, I'm seeking to make sense of what happened to Neil Woodford, unpicking some of the key lessons from this big investment story.
My guest on the podcast today is Glen Goodman.
His goal was to retire young and wealthy, escaping the daily grind. He taught himself how to trade everything from shares to Bitcoin and made enough money to realise his dream and quit his day job while still in his 30s.
In his new book, The Crypto Trader, Glen shows readers how he made huge profits trading Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and more.
Glen publicly called the top of the Bitcoin market in December 2017 and took his profits before the crash. But he believes there are still plenty of trading opportunities out there and he continues to trade crypto successfully.
He's not a fly by night bitcoin trader, but a successful equity investor. In fact, Glen was an ITV news reporter who traded the markets for extra cash - until one day he realised he was a successful trader who did TV reporting for extra cash.
As he talks about in this interview, he famously turned a £3,000 trade into £100,000 by betting there would be a financial crash in 2008, what he calls his little short.
He's now regularly interviewed by the media including the BBC, Forbes and LBC, and is a contributing expert on cryptocurrency at the London School of Economics.
Here's my conversation with Glen Goodman, author of The Crypto Trader, in episode 425 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I'm talking about the impact of fairly dire retail conditions on the High Street, and what this could mean for commercial property investors.
I also look at the consequences of 'fake news' on our financial decision making, and whether social media networks could do more to address the spread of dangerous misinformation.
When it comes to investing, it pays to think differently from the rest of the crowd. Contrarian thinking is something we've explored on Informed Choice Radio before, and we're back at it today in conversation with Alasdair McKinnon, manager of the Scottish Investment Trust.
Alasdair is a self-confessed stock market geek, developing a passion for investing in his teens and working in the sector since his first role in 1998.
He graduated with an MA in Economic and Social History from the University of Edinburgh, and MSc in Investment Analysis (with distinction) from the University of Stirling. He's also a CFA® charterholder and an Associate of the UK Society of Investment Professionals.
Alasdair joined the Scottish Investment Trust in 2003 and became Manager in 2015.
The investment trust, which is managed from Edinburgh, runs a relatively small portfolio of around 50 stocks. It's got large stakes in some familiar British names, like GlaxoSmithKline, Tesco and Royal Dutch Shell, but its modus operandi is investing in unloved companies, and then waiting for these stocks to return to favour.
I enjoyed this interview with Alasdair and want you to listen out for three big things. Firstly, he talks about how investment cycles repeat themselves; there's nothing truly new when it comes to investing money.
Secondly, Alasdair explains why investing with index tracker funds means buying overvalued companies. He further illustrates the risks associated with this passive investing approach when he talks about the changing fortunes of Japan over the years.
Finally, Alasdair shares the three factors he looks for when buying an out of favour stock.
Here's my conversation with Alasdair McKinnon, manager of the Scottish Investment Trust, in episode 423 of Informed Choice Radio.
It’s official – women are better with money than men.
Researchers who carried out a detailed study found the female of the species to be more financially responsible than their male counterparts.
According to the report, women are more likely to know exactly how much money they have in their current and savings accounts.
In this episode, why the fairer sex is better at managing money than us blokes.
We also hear from our correspondent Kitty, who speaks with Kevin Mountford, CEO of Raisin, about how young people are finding it harder than ever to save money, with dwindling disposable income and an inability to make use of savings accounts hitting their trust in the big banks.
Start young, start early. That's the mantra of Financial Planning, But what if you leave it later in life before starting to save for retirement or another financial objective? Is it too late to get started?
In this episode, I'm talking about what to do if you're a bit late off the starting blocks. I cover the impact of money into your investments, versus investment growth and the power of compound returns, what one genius referred to as the eighth wonder of the world.
My guest today is Bobbi Rebell, an award-winning TV anchor and personal finance columnist at Thomson Reuters
In hew new book, How to Be a Financial Grownup, Bobbi taps into her exclusive network of business leaders to share with you stories of the financial lessons they learned early in their lives that helped them become successful.
She then uses these stories as jumping off points to offer specific, actionable advice on how you can become a financial grownup just like them.
Her book walks you through some of the biggest money decisions you'll make regarding real estate, investing, debt management, careers, friends and money, family finances, and even health and wellness. You're guided by proven examples and given the information you need to make choices that are right for you.
Here's my conversation with Bobbi Rebell, becoming a financial grownup, in episode 420 of Informed Choice Radio.
It's not fair.
The financial gulf between young and old in society has reached epic proportions.
While retirees are sitting on vast amounts of property wealth, enjoying their gold-plated final salary pensions, and getting off lightly with low taxation, the younger generations can't afford to buy a home, or smashed avocado on toast.
That is of course an over simplification of the situation. But there does appear to be a great deal of inter generational unfairness in UK society today.
And that's what a new report from the House of Lords seeks to tackle.
I take a look at the key recommendations in this episode of the podcast.
Neuroscientists estimate that over 90 percent of our operating systems - our beliefs, behaviors, patterns - are unconscious.
Since the surface story determines less than 10 percent of our decisions, how can we illuminate the shadow story responsible for over 90 percent of what we do each day?
Once we systematically understand our relationship with money, can we overcome the mind and brain's resistance to change?
Especially when so many of the current popular strategies for change are contrary to the way the mind and brain work?
My guest on Informed Choice Radio today is David Krueger, MD.
He's an Executive Mentor Coach, and CEO of MentorPath, an executive coaching, training, publishing, and wellness firm.
His work integrates psychology and neuroscience with strategic coaching to help executives and professionals write the next chapter of their life or business stories.
His new book is Your New Money Story, where he writes about how each money story line contains unspoken assumptions, emotional agendas, and unconscious meanings.
The book combines twenty-five years of psychiatric and psychoanalytic practice and over a dozen years of professional and executive mentor coaching with groundbreaking research in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics.
Here's David Krueger MD, in episode 418 of Informed Choice Radio, with Your Money Story.
I'm a master procrastinator. Easily distracted, very proficient at finding trivial things to fill my time, right up until a looming deadline, when I become the most productive machine known to humankind.
It turns out that, as a nation, we're pretty good at putting off important financial decisions, sweating the small stuff instead.
In this episode, I chat about some interesting new research which found that we lack the mental space to tackle money matters, and what we can do about it.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and the aftershow, where I talk about what's been happening at Informed Choice this past couple of weeks, as well as why I spent a couple of hours swimming in a very cold lake on Sunday morning.
It seems that all investors want to be contrarian investors.
My guest today explains that being a contrarian is hard work. It requires a lot of patience, both in terms of waiting for opportunities and then waiting to be proven right.
And it requires us to go against basic human instincts, fighting our natural tendencies to go with the flow and follow the herd.
But this is, of course, why being a contrarian works.
John Stepek has been writing about business, economics and investment for more than 20 years.
He's the executive editor of MoneyWeek, Britain’s bestselling weekly investment magazine.
His new book, The Sceptical Investor, pulls together the latest research on behavioural finance, and examples from well-known contrarian investors, to offer practical techniques to help you to spot opportunities in common investment situations, from turnaround plays to bubbles and busts, that others in the market miss.
John warns that being a contrarian investor won't make you popular and it won't make you famous. But it will make you money.
Here's my conversation with John Stepek in episode 416 of Informed Choice Radio.
What happens when an intensively farmed estate is handed back to nature?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, something a little different.
I recently had the opportunity to speak to the award-winning nature and travel journalist Isabella Tree about the Knepp Experiment.
Isabella, along with her husband, the environmentalist Charlie Burrell, are custodians of the 3,500 acre Knepp Castle Estate in West Sussex.
She's author of the acclaimed book Wilding: The return of nature to a British farm.
In Wilding, Isabella Tree tells the story of the ‘Knepp experiment’, a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.
So how did this interview come about?
A while ago, Nick went on a butterfly safari at Knepp. He often talks to his clients about it, and recently we purchased a copy of Wilding for a couple of clients. Nick then suggested we approach Isabella to ask if she would join us on the podcast.
From a personal perspective, as chairman of the Knowle Park Trust, I was interested to learn more about the role of humans in encouraging and supporting wildlife to an area.
There's a personal finance angle here too! As you'll hear in this episode, Issy and Charlie were massively in debt when they make the decision to re-wild Knepp. The transformation of their farm has created some interesting new revenue streams and employment opportunities too.
Without further ado, here's my conversation with Isabella Tree, author of Wilding.
A successful entrepreneur living in Southern California, my guest today had built a “dream life”; a happy marriage, a two-year-old daughter, a membership to a boat club, and a BMW in the driveway.
But underneath the surface, he was creatively stifled, depressed, and overworked trying to help pay for his family’s beach-town lifestyle.
Then one day, he listened to a podcast interview that changed his life.
Five months later, he had quit his job, convinced his family to leave their home, and cut their expenses in half.
My guest today is author, filmmaker and FIRE fanatic Scott Rieckens.
We're diving into the FIRE movement in this episode, something I've been wanting to cover for a long time on Informed Choice Radio.
What's FIRE? It stands for Financial Independence Retire Early, and it's a rapidly growing community of personal finance extremists.
In essence, FIRE means tracking your spending and making adjustments to achieve and maintain a standard annualised spend, usually 50% or better. Yes, Scott and other advocates of the FIRE movement are successfully saving half or more of their take-home pay each month, as part of their journey towards financial independence and early retirement.
By following the FIRE principles, you save up enough for a 4-6 month emergency fund, and once that’s funded, put the leftovers in tax advantaged accounts invested in simple index tracker funds.
Anything left over once those accounts are maxed out are also put into investments.
Most people try and stay as passive as possible with their investments so they can spend more time doing what brings them the most happiness. Financial Independence, Retire Early.
You're going to enjoy this one.
Here's my conversation with Scott Rieckens, author of playing with FIRE, in episode 414 of Informed Choice Radio.
I came across an article on Marketwatch.com last week, and it's a controversial one.
We hear a lot about the benefits of index tracker funds. These are the low-cost funds that aim to replicate the performance of a market index. It's a style of investing sometimes called passive investing, although of course there are still active decisions to make about which index to track.
The Marketwatch article is a write-up of a new study, which throws into question a big part of the rationale which is driving investors towards index tracker funds and exchange traded funds, ETFs.
That rationale? That even skilled investment managers can't beat the market, so there's no point in paying them to try, so you're better off sticking with index tracker funds instead.
An Economist Walks Into a Brothel. It's not the first line of a bad joke, but the title of a new book all about unexpected places to find risk.
Is it worth swimming in shark-infested waters to surf a 50-foot, career-record wave?
Is it riskier to make an action movie or a horror movie?
Should sex workers forfeit 50 per cent of their income for added security or take a chance and keep the extra money?
You might not expect an economist to answer these questions, or other questions people face in daily life, including who we should date or how early we should leave to catch a flight from the airport. But then you've never met my guest before.
Allison Schrager is an economist and award-winning journalist. She's spent her career exploring this subject of how people manage risk in their daily lives.
This is so important, because whether we realise it or not, we all take risks large and small every day.
Even the most cautious among us cannot opt out--the question is always which risks to take, not whether to take them at all.
What most of us don't know is how to measure those risks and maximize the chances of getting what we want out of life.
So that's what we cover in the episode today. Allison shares some ways to dealing with risks; these are the same principles used by professional risk takers, like poker players and big wave surfers.
Here's my conversation with Allison Schrager, in episode 412 of Informed Choice Radio.
Did you know that 90% of women will have complete control over their finances at some point in their lives due to lifecycle events like divorce or simply by outliving their spouses?
This is why it's so important for women to talk about money, yet so few do.
In this episode, I chat with Debbie McGrath, author of a new report called Why Not Now, which is all about the cost to financial and emotional wellbeing when women don't talk about money.
We also hear about how much money UK employees are losing out from unpaid overtime.
Our correspondent Kitty speaks to Jeff Phipps, Managing Director at ADP UK, to discuss their new report which found more than a quarter of workers wouldn't know if they have been paid incorrectly, and what to do about it.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and some news from the world of Informed Choice this week.
Wages for the majority have been stagnant for decades, but a lucky few have enjoyed a pay bonanza.
Top company bosses take home in several days as much as most people earn in a whole year.
My guest on the podcast today is Deborah Hargreaves, former business editor of the Guardian and a founder and director of the High Pay Centre, an independent think-tank that monitors executive pay.
Deborah's new book is called Are Chief Executives Overpaid?
In the book, she explains why pay for the top 0.1% has sky-rocketed in the past 20 years.
She gives a devastating account of how it has created a vicious circle that destabilizes our economy and undermines social cohesion, demolishing the twisted logic of the chief executives who say: 'I'm worth it', when that means raking in £70m a year.
Deborah's book is a rigorous expose of the dysfunctional nature of our 'winner-takes-all' economy, debunking the myths behind top pay and examining a range of pragmatic solutions.
Here's episode 410 of Informed Choice Radio, an interview with Deborah Hargreaves of the High Pay Centre.
What are the simple systems you should follow to boost your long-term wealth?
In this episode, I'm sharing four systems that i believe can have the biggest impact on your long-term financial success.
We also hear about the onset of Making Tax Digital, and the importance of efficient business systems to help cope with that change.
And the collapse of Wow Air has left thousands of passengers stranded. What does this mean for airline passengers?
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and an update from the world of Informed Choice this week.
There is increasing pressure for all of us to take responsibility for our own financial security and wellbeing. But we often overlook how the benefits that come with a job can help us do just that.
My guest on the podcast today is Jason Butler, co-author of a new book called Essential Personal Finance: A Practical Guide for Employees.
The book focuses on these valuable work benefits and shows how you can build on this important foundation to achieve financial security and your life goals.
When we talk about valuable financial benefits at work, we're talking about things like pension schemes, life cover, sick pay, access to cheap loans, savings schemes, even financial coaching.
But many of us take these things for granted or simply don't realise how valuable they can be.
A topic we've touched on before on this podcast is financial stress and the impact this can have on our performance in the workplace. So I think this is a really important subject and Jason shares some great insights in this interview; ideas that are equally as valuable for employers and employees.
Here's my conversation with Jason Butler in episode 408 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, we're talking about invisible illnesses and why it's important to talk about your health, especially with your financial adviser.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and some news of a big new appointment at Informed Choice.
"The market has failed, we need more government intervention" - that's the mantra politicians, the media and intellectuals have constantly been reiterating ever since the outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis.
My guest on the podcast today is Dr Rainer Zitelmann.
He's the author of more than 20 books, including the Wealth Elite, which we discussed on Informed Choice Radio back in episode 370 last November. He was previously a senior editor at Die Welt newspaper.
In his new book, The Power of Capitalism, he takes readers on a journey across continents and through recent history, disproving this call for greater government intervention and demonstrating that capitalism matters more than ever.
Rainer provides compelling evidence from across the world that capitalism has been the solution to many massive problems. He compares developments in West and East Germany, North and South Korea, capitalist Chile v. Socialist Venezuela, and analyses the extraordinary economic rise of China.
For many people, "capitalism" is a dirty word. Rainer provides a timely reminder of capitalism's power is enabling growth and prosperity and is alleviating poverty.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Rainer is passionate about this subject, and we touch on the dangers of Jeremy Corbyn within this interview, which depending on your political persuasion you may or may not agree with.
Here's my conversation with Rainer Zitelmann in episode 406 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, there's an update on the key economic and personal finance points in this week's Spring Statement; I have a short rant about Brexit and the latest occurrences; and we hear from our correspondent Kitty with a short interview designed to get you clued up for ISA season.
What does it take to live a successful retirement?
My guest today is Justin King; a Chartered Financial Planner, Certified Financial Planner and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser.
From his Financial Planning practice in Dorset, Justin works with retired couples to ensure they are living their best possible life.
He's host of the fantastic Retirement Cafe Podcast, where he speaks to experts and clients about successful retirement planning.
In this episode, I ask Justin about the worries and concerns people tend to have when they enter retirement, what makes money such an emotional subject, and how to have better conversations about personal financial planning.
Here's Justin King in episode 404 of Informed Choice Radio, discussing successful retirement planning.
In this episode, I'm sharing 5 signs that your investment portfolio is in great shape.
As we move ever closer to an uncertain Brexit outcome, positioning your portfolio for success is more important than ever.
We've also got two special reports from our correspondent Kitty, discussing National Apprenticeship Week and how pensioners of tomorrow are underestimating the cost of their retirement, facing a significant shortfall as a result.
My guest on the podcast today is Jonathan Davis, one of the UK’s leading authors and commentators on stock market investment.
He's the author of several books: Money Makers, Investing With Anthony Bolton and Templeton’s Way with Money and editor/co-publisher with Harriman House of several others.
A former columnist on the Independent and the Financial Times, he is a regular contributor to The Spectator and Money Week and recently launched his own newsletter The Investment Reader. Jonathan is a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments and an investment trust non-executive director.
Jonathan's latest book is The Investment Trusts Handbook 2019, described as a must-have compendium which provides investors of all kinds with a wide range of insights into how to invest in investment trusts – often referred to as the City’s best-kept secret.
With 25 articles by more than a dozen different authors, including analysts, fund managers and investment writers, and edited by independent financial author and expert Jonathan Davis, the handbook is an indispensable companion for anyone looking to invest in the investment trusts arena.
Contributors to the book include Peter Spiller, John Baron, Robin Angus, Alex Wright, Charles Cade, Max King and many more.
Here's my conversation with Jonathan Davis, editor of The Investment Trusts Handbook 2019, in episode 402 of Informed Choice Radio.
Parents everywhere want their children to be happy and do well. Yet how parents seek to achieve this ambition varies enormously.
For instance, American and Chinese parents are increasingly authoritative and authoritarian, whereas Scandinavian parents tend to be more permissive. Why?
My guest today is Matthias Doepke, author of Love, Money, and Parenting.
In his book, Matthias investigates how economic forces and growing inequality shape how parents raise their children.
From medieval times to the present, and from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden to China and Japan, Matthias Doepke and Fabrizio Zilibotti look at how economic incentives and constraints—such as money, knowledge, and time—influence parenting practices and what is considered good parenting in different countries.
Matthias is professor of economics at Northwestern University. I spoke to him from Barcelona, where he's currently spending a year on research.
Here's my conversation with Matthias Doepke, author of Love, Money, and Parenting, in episode 401 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the podcast, I was going to bring you a big name guest interview...but that fell through. I thought I might ask past guests of the show to record their favourite money making or money saving tips...but I ran out of time to arrange it. I was even thinking about hosting a live show in front of a small audience...but let's save that for episode 500.
But then I received a voicemail from listener David Withington. Here it is.
So rather than interview a big name guest, collate a load of expert tips, or broadcast a live episode, I'm going to use David's voicemail as the basis for this episode, talking about how we find our guests and come up with questions to ask them; how we stay on top of the topical issues of the day, how I'm going to celebrate the publication of episode 400, the guests I would most like to interview, my simple solutions to Brexit, and which stock I think is going to be the next Apple or Google. So listen on for all of that.
Kidnap for ransom is a lucrative but tricky business.
Millions of people live, travel, and work in areas with significant kidnap risks, yet kidnaps of foreign workers, local VIPs, and tourists are surprisingly rare and the vast majority of abductions are peacefully resolved - often for remarkably low ransoms.
In fact, the market for hostages is so well ordered that the crime is insurable. This is a puzzle: ransoming a hostage is the world's most precarious trade.
What would be the "right" price for your loved one - and can you avoid putting others at risk by paying it?
What prevents criminals from maltreating hostages? How do you (safely) pay a ransom?
And why would kidnappers release a potential future witness after receiving their money?
My guest on the podcast today is Anja Shortland, author of Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business.
Anja is a Reader in Political Economy at King's College London. She's worked as an academic economist at Leicester and Brunel Universities, rising to fame for her work on the economics of Somali piracy.
She now studies private governance in the world's trickiest markets: hostages, fine art, and antiquities - and how people live, trade, and invest in complex and hostile territories.
Her book, Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business, uncovers how a group of insurers at Lloyd's of London have solved a series of thorny problems for their customers. Based on interviews with industry insiders (from both sides), as well as hostage stakeholders, it uncovers an intricate and powerful private governance system ordering transactions between the legal and the criminal economies.
Here's my conversation with Anja Shortland, author of Kidnap, in episode 399 of Informed Choice Radio.
We're getting romantic in this episode. After all, it was Valentine's Day this week.
I've found three new money and romance related studies to share, along with a few of my thoughts on the subject.
In this episode, I talk about how dating frequency is maintained in retirement, the cost of first dates, and the toll of romance scams.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news.
Everything tells us that what will make us happy can be bought, whether it’s the latest gadgets, renovated kitchens, or luxury goods. But research has shown that having more money in the bank and more stuff around the house doesn’t necessarily correlate with being a happier person.
My guest on the podcast today is financial expert Melissa Leong, author of a new book Happy Go Money.
Happy Go Money combines happiness psychology and personal finance and distills it into an indispensable starter guide.
Each chapter provides practical, easy-to-understand advice on topics such as spending, budgeting, investing, and mindfulness, while weaving in research, interactive exercises, and relatable anecdotes.
Frank, funny, and empowering, this book challenges everyone to revamp their relationship with their money so they can dial down their worries and supersize their joy.
Melissa Leong is a personal finance writer, national media personality, speaker and bestselling author.
She’s the resident money expert on Canada’s leading daytime talk show, The Social on CTV.
Her articles have appeared in newspapers across the country, including as the personal finance writer for the Financial Post.
Over the last 15 years as a journalist, Melissa has covered a variety of subjects including crime, politics, terrorism, arts and business for the National Post, the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. She has profiled survivors of the Rwandan genocide, investigated nanny abuse in Hong Kong and interviewed thousands of subjects, including heads of state, royalty and celebrities such as Hugh Jackman and Carrie Fisher.
And today she joins me on Informed Choice Radio to talk about money and happiness, two subjects we're very keen to explore here on the podcast.
Here’s my conversation with Melissa Leong, author of Happy Go Money, in episode 397 of Informed Choice Radio.
It’s February and I know a lot of people are still feeling the post-Christmas pinch. With so much economic uncertainty in the build up to Brexit, it’s no surprise that we want to earn a little extra money.
A big trend we’ve seen is the rise of the side hustle; no longer relying on the money we earn from the 9-5, but working a 5-9 instead, to earn a second income. That side hustle is often found online, with a variety of different ways of earning extra money.
In the episode today, I’ve brought in a real expert to talk to us about 5 side hustles that can make you extra money in 2019.
Emma Drew has been crowned the UK’s Best Money Making Blogger for the past 3 years. So who better to talk to us about making money from blogging, matched betting, flipping items on eBay, completing online surveys, and even through adult chat lines.
There's a big change happening in the new economy. Traditionally low-status, manual labour jobs are being transformed into elite, taste-making occupations.
This is redefining 'good' jobs, which are typically knowledge or technology based, leading to a renaissance in certain trades.
My guest today is Richard Ocejo, author of Masters of Craft, a new book which provides insights into the stratification of taste, gentrification, and the evolving labour market in today's postindustrial city.
Richard takes a closer look at bartending, distilling, barbering, and butchering within Masters of Craft to examine how people are transforming these once-undesirable jobs into "cool" and highly specialized upscale occupational niches.
He explains how people find meaning in these jobs by enacting a set of "cultural repertoires," which include technical skills based on a renewed sense of craft and craftsmanship and an ability to understand and communicate that knowledge to others, resulting in a new form of elite taste-making.
In this interview, I asked Richard whether there is the same potential for career progression and personal financial gain associated with these old jobs.
Here’s my conversation with Richard Ocejo, author of Masters of Craft, in episode 395 of Informed Choice Radio.
In money, as in life, there are two ways of doing most things. You can do things the easy, informal way. Or you can do things right, by the book.
In this episode I'm talking about the importance of managing money for others 'by the book' and what can go wrong when you enter into informal financial arrangements with your relatives.
The vast majority of us are suffering from money worries, with more than three quarters of employees saying money worries impact them at work.
That's according to new research from Close Brothers, who found 25 million people in the UK are affected by money worries at work and two in five employees worry about their finances always or often.
That's a huge issue and I'm pleased to welcome onto the show today Jeanette Makings, Head of Financial Education at Close Brothers.
Jeanette explains that money worries don't just affect your financial health; they are one of the single biggest causes of stress, impacting mental and physical health if left unchecked.
There's a big issue here for businesses too, with money worries resulting in lower productivity, higher absenteeism and higher staff costs; all factors which hurt business performance.
Here’s my conversation with Jeanette Making, head of financial education at Close Brothers, in episode 393 of Informed Choice Radio.
At some point in your life, you're going to have to switch from being a saver to being a spender.
This usually happens as a result of that big life event that is retirement. And it's a huge mental shift.
After a lifetime of forging a savings habit, giving that up and spending your savings instead of adding to them can be at once unsettling and uncomfortable.
In this episode, some suggestions for making that mental shift from saver to spender.
We hear a lot about Millennials and their challenges with money. Rarely a week goes by when this generation isn't being slated in the press for their failure to get onto the property ladder - or their obsession with smashed avocado on toast.
It's therefore no surprise that more than half of Millennials are freaked out when it comes to their finances.
My guest today has created a guide to help Millennials navigate the financial issues of their time.
Certified Public Accountant Conor Richardson is offering a refreshingly helpful and elegantly designed program to tackle essential money matters, with his new book Millennial Money Makeover.
In the book, Conor takes readers on a six-step journey to transform their financial life and set them up for lifelong success. From learning how to pay off student loans insanely fast to optimizing a financial ecosystem, Millennial Money Makeover teaches readers how to reclaim their financial future and jump-start the path to the rich life.
This is a conversation for listeners in their twenties and thirties, but there's plenty to learn from if you're older or younger.
Here’s my conversation with Conor Richardson, author of Millennial Money Makeover, in episode 391 of Informed Choice Radio.
We're all biased, whether consciously or unconsciously. But what happens when that bias enters the financial advice you receive? In this episode, I'm sharing a couple of examples of bias when it comes to financial advice, explaining how to recognise it and what you can do to make sure advice is unbiased.
When it comes to investing, things sometimes go wrong.
There's risk involved when investing your money. Companies sometimes suffer a dramatic, even a catastrophic fall, in their share price.
When this happens, investors lose out and employees lose their jobs.
But my guest today says a company's published accounts will often offer clues to impending disaster, assuming you know where to look.
Tim Steer qualified as an accountant before moving into investment analysis and fund management, becoming one of the most highly rated fund managers in Britain.
Since 2000 he has also written regularly for the Times and Sunday Times, as well as contributing to the Financial Times.
His new book is called The Signs Were There: The clues for investors that a company is heading for a fall.
Through the forensic examination of more than 20 recent stock market disasters, Tim shows how companies hide or disguise worrying facts about the robustness of their business.
In his lively style, he looks at the themes that underlie the ways companies hide the truth and he stresses that in an assessment of a company's accounts, investors should always bear in mind that the only fact is cash; everything else - profit, assets, etc - is a matter of opinion.
Death, divorce and debt have been in the news a lot this week. Not the most cheerful subjects as we get back into the swing of things in the New Year, but all three important from a financial planning perspective.
So coming up in this episode, why more people die in the second week of January than during any other week of the year, why this week saw the biggest number of divorce enquiries for family lawyers, and why debt is spiraling out of control in the UK. And of course what to do about all three issues from a personal finance perspective.
We've also got a roundup of the latest personal finance news - everything you need to know this week in less than five minutes - and there's the aftershow segment, with a peek into the world of Informed Choice, and my world, over the past seven days.
My guest today believes it's time to acknowledge that not all working women are interested in climbing the corporate ladder or securing the corner office.
In fact, most women want and need flexible, less life-consuming work to accommodate their real lives.
And it's not weak, lacking ambition or letting down the sisterhood to pursue professional fulfillment and financial security through less lofty, or headline-making ways.
Kathryn Sollmann has created and led hundreds of conferences and workshops that help women sustain and advance careers as they blend work and life.
She's a regular feature in the press, talking and writing about women's work vs. family issues, challenging the status quo, debunking work-life myths, and helping women work around corporate obstacles.
Recognized as a thought leader in the women and work space, her book—Ambition Redefined: Why the Corner Office Doesn’t Work for Every Woman & What to Do Instead—is the everyday woman’s guide to developing her own brand of ambition and success and finding many lucrative ways to lean “in-between” alongside caregiving for children and aging parents.
In the book, Kathryn calls it like it is; everyday women want and need flexible work that allows them to unapologetically pursue their own brand of ambition and success. She shows them how without sacrificing themselves, their careers or their families.
In this episode of the podcast, I'm sharing seven tips for sticking with your money goals in 2019.
What good are New Year's Resolutions if you give them up by the third week in January?!
The tips I'm sharing are just are relevant for health and fitness resolutions are they are for money resolutions, so listen on if you're one of the six in ten people out there who have made resolutions at the start of this year. I'm going to help you stick with them.
Also in this episode, there's a roundup of the latest personal finance news, details our new question of the week and how to share your answer, and the after show where I say a fond farewell to my time as a Run Director at parkrun. I'll explain why later in this episode.
Today on the show, I take you to Lisbon in Portugal for a conversation with Jose Supico.
Jose is CEO and co-founder of Advicefront, a fintech firm designed from the ground up with the new reality of personalised advice and digital lifestyles in mind.
It’s everything advisers, paraplanners and clients need in one place, from onboarding to advice, to seamless execution.
I was introduced to Jose by our mutual friend Michael Taggart, who agency Foco Global are doing incredible work with fintech companies here in the UK and worldwide. So thank you to Michael for making this conversation happen.
In my conversation with Jose, we discuss how fintech can transform the advice and client relationship, what financial planning can learn from tech giants, and whether AI could ultimately replace the role of the financial planner one day.
Here’s my conversation with Jose Supico, CEO and co-founder of AdviceFront, in episode 385 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I've picked 12 of my favourite guest interviews from 2018 and selected the best lessons from those conversations.
It was hard work to whittle this down to just 12 guests.
During the course of 2018, I've interviewed around 60 different personal finance experts for this show and I've genuinely enjoyed every conversation.
The 12 I've picked for you in this episode, our 2018 rewind edition, are those I feel have made the biggest impact on me personally, but also for you, our listener.
At the end of this episode, there's the usual aftershow segment, where I'm going to share a few things we'll be doing on Informed Choice in 2019, as well as revealing our brand new theme music for the show. Do stay tuned for that.
My guest on the show today is Jonathan Clements, founder of HumbleDollar.com and prolific author of personal finance books.
His new book is From Here to Financial Happiness: Enrich Your Life in Just 77 Days. Why 77 days you ask? Well I wanted to know that too, so I ask Jonathan during this conversation.
From Here to Financial Happiness is described as a day-by-day guide for anyone dreaming of a better life.
Whether you’re dealing with debt, uncertain about retirement or simply want to get a grip on your finances, this book can put you on the road to happiness with a simple 11-week journey.
Just 5-10 minutes a day to think about money, your habits, your goals, and your dreams. What steps can you take today to get your finances on track? What bad habits, bad investments, and misconceptions should you let go of?
Jonathan Clements sits on the advisory board and investment committee of Creative Planning, one of the largest independent financial advisors in the US.
He spent almost 20 years at The Wall Street Journal and worked for six years at Citigroup, where he was Director of Financial Education for Citi Personal Wealth Management.
Here’s my conversation with Jonathan Clements, author of From Here to Financial Happiness, in episode 383 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, it's the Informed Choice Christmas letter.
I take a look back at 2018, with personal finance highlights and news from here at Informed Choice throughout the year.
It's like that letter you get in the Christmas card from your grandmother each year, but hopefully slightly more interesting. No offence intended to your grandmother!
If there's a personal finance topic I'm happy to come back to again and again, it's budgeting.
Budgeting is the foundation, the very cornerstone of a great financial plan.
Like many things in the world of finances, it's simple, but rarely easy.
My guest today is Michele Cagan, a Certified Public Accountant on a mission to help other moms find secure financial footing.
Michele spent years working for one of the biggest accounting firms in the world, putting on a suit every day and trekking down to their Wall Street office, helping some of America's biggest and most successful companies grow their revenues and protect their assets.
When her son was born, she left the corporate world, and her life changed. She got divorced and there were times she couldn't make ends meet, and long periods where she lived paycheck to paycheck, desperately hoping no unexpected expenses would crop up… but they almost always did.
That's when Michele started Single Mom CPA, writing accessible financial books and articles for other single moms hoping to secure their financial freedom.
Her new book is Budgeting 101: From Getting Out of Debt and Tracking Expenses to Setting Financial Goals and Building Your Savings, Your Essential Guide to Budgeting. And in today's episode, we take a deep dive into budgeting - the dos and don'ts, and practical tips to get you on the right course with your money.
Here’s my conversation with Michele Cagan, author of Budgeting 101, in episode 381 of Informed Choice Radio.
Oh Theresa, what have you been doing?!
Brexit is all anyone is talking about at the moment, with the Brexit induced uncertainty prompting another bout of investment and currency market volatility.
It's only likely to get worse before it gets better. So in this episode, how to navigate volatile investment markets - I'm talking about our approach to investing money when things get rough.
Listen to this one if you're a nervous investor, or you need a bit of reassurance around what's been happening, and what could happen next, to your investment portfolio.
Is she still Prime Minister? Yes. Good, let's keep going then.
Regular listeners to this podcast will know I'm particularly interested in the field of behavioural finance. So I'm pleased to welcome back to the show today Dr Daniel Crosby.
Daniel has written a new book, it's called The Behavioural Investor, and it's an applied look at how psychology ought to inform the art and science of investment management.
In the book, he examines the sociological, neurological and psychological factors that influence our investment decisions and sets forth practical solutions for improving both returns and behavior.
In this conversation, we chat about some of the sociological impacts on investor behaviour, the influence of ego on the investment decisions we make, whether growing awareness of the various issues is enough to result in change, and the latest thinking on loss aversion.
I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do too. Please let me know what you think on Twitter, where you can find me @martinbamford. Please say thank you to Daniel as well, @danielcrosby.
You can find the show notes for this episode, along with some useful links, at icradio.co.uk.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Daniel Crosby, author of The Behavioural Investor, in episode 379 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I bring you shocking news of an inverted yield curve in the United States, heralding the onset of an economic recession.
But when? How much? What is an inverted yield curve?
I've got some of the answers at least. Listen on.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice this week.
It's been an interesting few weeks in British politics.
Prime Minister Theresa May survived what start to look like a Conservative Party coup. She took her Brexit deal to Brussels where the EU 27 leaders signed off on it, after some last minute wrangling with Spain over Gibraltar. And now 'all' she has to do is get it past a meaningful vote in the House of Commons next month.
Thinking about the clients we speak with, there's a great deal of nervousness out there about the personal finance impact of Brexit. Will it cause the stock market to crash? Will Pound Sterling plummet as a result? What about price inflation, is that going to start shooting up?
Investors don't like uncertainty. Right now, we've got uncertainty because nobody, not even the government, HM Treasury or Bank of England, can say with any real certainty what's going to happen next and what the impact of that happening will be on our personal finances.
With that uncertainty as a backdrop then, in this episode here are five suggestions for ways to Brexit-proof your personal finances.
What's the value of a financial plan? In this episode, chartered financial planner Nick Bamford from Informed Choice talks to Martin about financial planning, how it differs from financial advice, and the light bulb moments he sees with clients when presenting their financial plans.
Did you know that regular climaxes could help add a whopping £90 billion to the British economy? Almost four in five Brits say they felt happier and less stressed after having an orgasm and almost two thirds said they were more productive at work the next day. Yes, in this episode, we're talking about self-love days and how regular climaxes could add billions to the economy. Stay tuned for that.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow, where I bring you up to speed on everything happening at Informed Choice this week.
My guest today, Tony Bradshaw, realised he was in a financial mess when he tax return as an engineer just out of college. $39,000 gross. $16,000 of debt. Where had all the money gone?
That moment was the catalyst that helped him make the millionaire choice, his choice to become a millionaire by age 40.
Now after 16 years working in the financial education industry, Tony is sharing what he learned and did during his own journey to become a millionaire.
His book, The Millionaire Choice, inspires and equips anyone with hopes for a better financial future.
We're told a lot about money, investing and personal finance. There are plenty of strongly held beliefs out there.
But there are also lots of money myths that need to be challenged. These occur when we create a financial rule of thumb that doesn't apply equally as well to everyone.
In this episode, I'm running through 5 money myths that aren't always true.
My inspiration for this was an article in the FT last week from fund manager Terry Smith, titled Busting the myths of investment: Do equities outperform bonds?
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and the aftershow segment, with news of a new director at Informed Choice.
My guest on the podcast today is a psychiatrist who has discovered most of his patients have one thing in common; anxiety about money. This manifests itself as fears and doubts about their financial future and day-to-day financial needs.
Mark Tobak, MD, is a general adult psychiatrist in private practice. He is the former chief of inpatient geriatric psychiatry at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Harrison, New York, where he is an attending physician.
Mark graduated the University at Buffalo School of Medicine after receiving a pre-medical certificate from the Columbia University School of General Studies. Before pursuing a career in medicine, Dr. Tobak received his law degree from Fordham University School of Law and was admitted to the New York State Bar.
His work has been published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Times, and the American Journal of Medicine and Pathology. He's the author of Anyone Can Be Rich! and Audio Alternative: The Definitive Guide to High Fidelity.
In this episode, I ask Mark about the role of psychiatry and wealth building, what makes it so important to keep a cool head when it comes to money, tips for overcoming fear of loss and achieving financial success, and much more.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Mark Tobak, author of Anyone Can Be Rich, in episode 372 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, it's all about becoming self-employed or starting a business, and how to get and keep your personal finances in the best possible shape at the same time.
We're asked about this a lot; after-all, more than 600,000 new businesses are started each and every year in the UK, so it's a really important issue.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and a look at what we're up to here at Informed Choice this week.
What makes the super rich tick? Is there a specific mindset that sets ultra-high net worth individuals apart from the rest of us?
Are they meticulous planners - or is their wealth an unintended by-product of their entrepreneurial activities? Is it nature or nurture that sets them on the path to great financial success?
In this episode I'm joined by Dr Rainer Zitelmann, author of The Wealth Elite.
Rainer is a renowned German historian, author, management consultant and real estate expert.
His book The Wealth Elite represents one of the most comprehensive modern-day studies of the super rich.
It's based on interviews with members of the financial elite and rigorous academic analysis. This empirical study investigates the link between personality traits and the creation of enormous wealth. In short, the book provides a fascinating insight into the world of the super rich - and how they think, behave and make their fortunes.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Rainer Zitelmann, author of The Wealth Elite, in episode 370 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, it's all about the ladies and an interesting suggestion on a way to boost their levels of retirement savings. Keep listening if you're of the less fair persuasion too, as there's still plenty in this episode for you!
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, with the Bank of England keeping interest rates on hold and the FCA taking action against insurance companies who rip-off loyal customers.
And there's the aftershow segment with talk of new team members, getting the time of the Budget wrong and an early Christmas.
In this special bonus episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin explains the key personal finance measures announced in the Autumn Budget.
In this episode I'm joined by Brian Dennehy, a veteran of the financial services profession and regular media commentator for more than 20 years.
Brian's written his first book. It's called Clueless: New research uncovers the story of two extraordinary financial mysteries, massive investor losses, and a brilliantly straightforward blueprint to achieve huge profits from investment funds.
This first book from Brian pulls no punches, and is absolutely essential reading for any investor, big or small, experienced or beginner.
There is a happy ending of course, as Brian explains how to make extraordinary profits from ordinary investment funds, year after year - whether within a multi-million pound portfolio, or an ISA or SIPP.
Supported by ground-breaking research more than 10 years in the making, Brian tackles head-on the enduring problem for investors: that most funds are simply not good enough. And he presents compelling, straightforward and highly profitable solutions to that particular challenge.
You can find the show notes for this episode, along with some useful links, at icradio.co.uk/367.
Please take a moment to say thank you to Brian on Twitter, and wish him every success with his new new book; you can find him @Brian_Dennehy.
Here’s my conversation with Brian Dennehy author of Clueless, in episode 367 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, three things we're not doing with our money - and why this needs to change. I'm talking about mortgages, pensions and long-term care in later life, and the important actions we're not collectively taking, along with some tips for making changes in these areas.
On September 15, 2008, the subprime mortgage industry collapsed, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, and a 24-year-old Ryan Serhant began his first day in the real estate business.
The real estate sector has slowly recovered since then, and Serhant has become one of the most successful brokers in the world. He now manages agents in New York City, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Miami and the Hamptons.
Ryan Serhant is recognized as a real estate powerhouse. His team at Nest Seekers International sold over $830 million in real estate last year and was ranked the number one sales team in New York City and the number two sales team in the US, by Wall Street Journal Real Trends.
As a real estate expert he is a frequent contributor to 20/20, CNN, CNBC, The Today Show and Bloomberg TV, and is often quoted in The New York Times, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, and Wall Street Journal China.
Ryan is best known as the star of Bravo’s two-time Emmy-nominated “Million Dollar Listing New York.” Since Season 1 of Million Dollar Listing, Ryan and his team have sold billions of dollars in real estate on national television.
He also happens to be one of my favourite vloggers on YouTube, The vlog gives a funny, inspirational, and behind the scenes look into his entire day from 5 a.m. to midnight juggling work and personal life as the leader of the top sales team in New York.
Ryan's new book is Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine. It's been described as the blueprint for how to go from sales scrub to sales machine. Serhant provides useful lessons, lively stories, and examples that illustrate how anyone can employ his principles to increase profits and achieve success.
Here’s my conversation with Ryan Serhant, author of Sell It Like Serhant, in episode 365 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, Martin shares five of what he considers to be the worst investments you can make right now. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice in the popular aftershow segment.
In this episode I'm joined by energetic Fintech professional Jake Wombwell-Povey.
Jake recently joined Goji Investments, an investment platform focused on Direct Lending. Within this episode Jake explains all about direct lending as an investment asset class.
Here’s my conversation with Jake Wombwell-Povey, CEO of Goji Investments, in episode 363 of Informed Choice Radio.
Hello and welcome to Late Night Money Live, a special live broadcast episode of Informed Choice Radio.
This episode was recorded live at 10pm on Wednesday the 10th of October 2018.
Martin was joined by Neil, Michael and Alam to discuss AI and behavioural finance, the impact of Brexit on financial services, and how hard it is becoming for some young adults to get on the property ladder.
He also explains where the concept for this Late Night Money Live format comes from.
If you’re new to Informed Choice Radio, welcome to the show! This episode might not be the best place to start! In fact, if you're not a regular listener to the show, I strongly recommend heading into our back catalogue of more than 360 episodes at icradio.co.uk and picking an episode from there to start with.
Retirement is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be yourself and do what you want to do. It offers new possibilities for personal growth through learning, retraining, travelling and friendship.
But it’s also one of the biggest transitions we face, and brings huge psychological and emotional challenges. It’s not surprising that many people struggle with the adjustment to a different pace of life.
In this episode I’m joined by Celia Dodd, author of Not Fade Away – How to Thrive in Retirement.
Celia is an author and journalist with over 30 years’ experience of contributing features on family, relationships, health and education to national newspapers and magazines, including The Times, the Independent, the Daily Mail and Radio Times.
This is Celia’s third book; her previous book was The Empty Nest: how to survive and stay close to your adult child.
Not Fade Away guides the reader through these challenges: dealing with the loss of status and routine, reinventing relationships, managing money, and above all, finding new meaning and purpose.
It brings together expert advice and insights from people retiring now, who speak from the heart about the lessons they’ve learned and the new sources of fulfilment they’ve discovered.
By cutting a clear path through the maze of choices on offer for people retiring today – which may or may not involve giving up work completely – Not Fade Away inspires you to make up your own mind and take control of your future. And that, experts agree, is the key to a good retirement.
Here’s my conversation with Celia Dodd, author of Not Fade Away, in episode 361 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, the cost of loyalty. What’s the cost of staying loyal to providers of insurance, banking and financial services? It could be a lot more than you think. I'm taking a closer look at this cost of loyalty and suggesting some ways to deal with it.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow segment, where we share some updates from the world of Informed Choice.
In this episode, I'm pleased to welcome Chris Budd back to the show.
Chris has come on today to talk about his new book. It's called The Eternal Business: How to transition a business for the employee ownership revolution.
When it comes this employee ownership revolution, Chris knows his onions, and that's because he's recently sold his own business, Ovation Finance, to an Employee Ownership Trust.
But the movement for employee ownership is global - and interest in this alternative succession route is growing fast.
Employee ownership is about more than the ownership, however. It's about creating a sustainable business. It's about creating an eternal business.
That means a focus on long-term sustainable profits; happy customers; happy employees.
In The Eternal Business, Chris lays out a valuable system for businesses no matter where in the world they are based. He shows how to get a business - and its employees - ready for this transition. And a model and pathway to follow so that it continues, maybe forever!
Here’s my conversation with Chris Budd, author of The Eternal Business, in episode 359 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, Martin becomes a careers adviser and shares some thoughts on how to become a Financial Planner. Which exams do you need to take? Which roles should you apply for in order to get started? What should you never say on your CV?
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and and after show segment, along with news of a special late night live broadcast of Informed Choice Radio next month.
When a pseudonymous programmer introduced "a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party" to a small online mailing list in 2008, very few paid attention.
Ten years later, and against all odds, this upstart autonomous decentralized software offers an unstoppable and globally-accessible hard money alternative to modern central banks.
In this episode I'm joined by economist Dr Saifedean Ammous.
In his book The Bitcoin Standard, he analyzes the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications.
While Bitcoin is a new invention of the digital age, the problem it purports to solve is as old as human society itself; transferring value across time and space.
Is Bitcoin mining a waste of energy? Is Bitcoin for criminals? Who controls Bitcoin, and can they change it if they please?
There are so many questions surrounding Bitcoin, crypto-assets and the blockchain right now. In this episode, we seek the answers.
Here’s my conversation with Saifedean Ammous, author of The Bitcoin Standard, in episode 357 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, we're talking about divorce and separation. It's been in the press a lot this week, with the government considering changes to the law to remove fault from divorce, and also a warning from Age UK that women are missing out on pensions as a result of failing to consider them in divorce. We hear from Katherine Muldoon, a solicitor in the family law team at Slater and Gordon Lawyers in London.
In this episode I'm joined by legendary personal finance podcaster Pete Matthew.
Pete's written his first book, it's called The Meaningful Money Handbook.
Rather than read out an author bio, I wanted to share a testimonial for the book written by Andy Hart, host of the Maven Money Podcast. Andy said:
"Pete has shared more financial wisdom with more people than anyone I know. He is not only a credit to our mighty profession, he’s a credit to humanity. He’s on a selfless pursuit to assist those who are willing to take ownership of their financial futures. Money is invisible and financial success is about working on future problems. Pete brings these subjects to life and caringly tells you what you need to know and more importantly what you need to do. This book is long overdue; it deserves to be a bestseller."
And I've no doubt it will become a bestseller. The book is out today, Monday 17th September, and we're publishing this episode to coincide with the publication. I've read it, it really is very good indeed. So good that my testimonial is on the front cover.
In The Meaningful Money Handbook, Pete guides you through everything you need to KNOW and everything you need to DO to build a secure financial future for yourself and your family.
He takes readers through three simple steps:
- Spend less than you earn and clear debt.
- Insure against disaster.
- Build up your savings and invest wisely.
No matter your starting position, or your existing level of comfort with dealing with your money, Pete's calm, straightforward and jargon-free approach will appeal to you and help you to set out on the right path.
You can find the show notes for this episode, along with some useful links, at icradio.co.uk/355.
Please take a moment to say thank you to Pete on Twitter, and wish him every success with his new new book; you can find him @petematthew.
Here’s my conversation with Pete Matthew, host of the Meaningful Money Podcast and author of The Meaningful Money Handbook, in episode 355 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, why an exhaustion epidemic is sweeping the UK and how workers can look forward to a four day working week in the future, thanks to efficiency savings from improved technology.
In this episode I’m joined by Lauren Janus, founder of Thoughtful Philanthropy.
Thoughtful Philanthropy is a charitable giving advisory service for individuals, families and organisations that want to become informed and empowered philanthropists.
With so many worthy charities vying for your attention, how do you create a giving strategy that transforms you into an engaged force for good in support of your issues?
This is where the services of a philanthrophic adviser, like Lauren, come in.
Lauren graduated with an honours degree in International Relations and devotion to the social change sector. Since then, she’s led change initiatives working for more than 10 years with formidable, for-impact organizations and gained deep insight of the field of nonprofits tackling today’s toughest challenges.
Lauren has held positions at AARP, The United Way of the Bay Area, The Alliance for Climate Protection and Oxfam Great Britain.
She also has a Masters degree in International Affairs and an MBA from the University of California, Davis.
Here’s my conversation with Lauren Janus, founder of Thoughtful Philanthropy, in episode 353 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, is social media driving us into debt? I chat with social media influencer Jasmine Jonas, along with Barclays Bank Head of Savings & Investments Clare Francis, to find out whether influencer impulse is outweighing savvy spending.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, with RBS closing more branches, Ofgem capping energy tariffs and Esther McVey passing the pensions dashboard to industry.
In this episode, I'm pleased to welcome Rodney Hobson back to the show.
Rodney is an experienced financial journalist who has held senior editorial positions in the UK and Asia, including Business News Editor for The Times, Business Editor of the Singapore Monitor, Deputy Business Editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, Head of News at Citywire and Editor of Shares magazine.
He has contributed to the Daily Mail, the Independent and Business Franchise Magazine and speaks at investment shows in London.
His weekly email issued by financial newswire Hemscott/Morningstar is read by 15,000 subscribers.
We're talking today about Rodney's popular book Shares Made Simple: A beginner's guide to the stock market, recently republished for a well deserved second edition.
In Shares Made Simple, Rodney tears away the mystique and jargon that surrounds the stock market. He takes you step by step through the most basic concepts of stock market investing, carefully explaining issues such as what shares are and how they are bought and sold, why share prices go up and down, why some companies' shares look cheap while others appear to be expensive, and the hidden traps for the unwary.
Rodney's book is all about creating a level playing field between the stock market professionals and the small investor. As rising living standards and inherited cash provide assets for investment, Rodney's message is no-one needs to suffer pitiful bank interest rates when there is real money to be made in sharing the nation's wealth.
You can find the show notes for this episode, along with some useful links, at icradio.co.uk/351.
Please take a moment to say thank you to Rodney on Twitter, where can you find him @rodneyhobson. Showing our guests some love on Twitter is a great way to support this podcast.
Here’s my conversation with Rodney Hobson, a beginner's guide to the stock market, in episode 351 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, it's a double-header! I chat with Alistair McQueen, Head of Savings & Investments at Aviva, about how they are checking up on the work, wealth and wellbeing of their older employees with mid-life MOTs. I also talk about growing speculation the Chancellor could have something up his sleeve for pensions tax relief in the Budget this autumn. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and, of course, the aftershow, where I talk about what's been happening at Informed Choice this week.
Retirement today is the golden era, not the olden one.
Everyone I meet who is entering the retirement phase of their life wants to have a life well lived and achieve their big goals.
My guest on the podcast today is a fellow financial planner who has written the book on redefining retirement, showing how the post-war baby boomer generation are having an enormous impact on how we lead the later part of our lives.
Marlene Outrim was originaly a probation officer for South Glamorgan for 13 years. Anxious for a chance and wanting to become her own boss, she has since worked in financial services for 28 years, establishing her own financial planning practice back in 1991.
She started UNIQ Family Wealth in July 2013. She has helped many people, over the years, redefine their retirement and ensure that they could have a ‘Life Well Lived’ and get the most out of their later years.
Marlene is the recipient of too many awards to list, but notably the Best Client Engagement Awards at the 2016 Professional Adviser Awards and 2009 Financial Planner of the Year in the New Breed Adviser Awards.
She's a Certified Financial Planner, Fellow of the CISI, Chartered Wealth Manager and Chartered Financial Planner, as well as holding numerous other professional qualifications and designations.
Her new book, Boomers, shows how longevity, medical breakthroughs and healthier living means that we can all lead meaningful and purposeful lives well into old age. The book sets out the importance of planning to ensure that your money doesn't run out before you do.
Here’s my conversation with Marlene Outrim, how to live a life well lived in retirement, in episode 349 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, why you're not saving enough for your care in later life and why a proposed care ISA is a really bad idea. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and the aftershow, where I share some news from the world of Informed Choice - including an exciting announcement about our new offices in Hampshire.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, you're probably familiar with bitcoin and it's rollercoaster ride for cryptocurrency speculators.
I've resisted covering crypto on this podcast for a number of reasons. Most of the so-called expert guests put forward to speak on the subject are anything but. The last thing I want is to give a platform on this podcast to someone who might convince a listener to part with their hard-earned cash and speculate on something as worthless as bitcoin, or another digital coin.
My views on bitcoin are pretty well known, but I have got time for its underlying platform, the blockchain. That's why, when I came across today's guest Robert Koenig, I was excited to have an informed conversation about the really useful applications of this new technology.
Robert has lived in several European countries, speaks multiple languages and is a passionate believer in modern management technologies. His experience and knowledge of leadership has led to appearances on several television programmes.
Since 2015 Robert has been involved in Cryptocurrencies, investing in ICOs and shaping the industry from the application point of view.
His business XENTAVO emerged in 2015, and the company was founded in 2017. They've come a long way in a short time since then, designing a unique blockchain-powered platform offering civil service innovation to Small Countries around the world.
The XENTAVO team is supported by advisors comprised of the crypto industry’s best, brightest and most passionate. They've got decades of collective experience in building and implementing digital projects on a governmental level.
The XENTAVO team share a vision to make blockchain applications accessible and beneficial to Small Country governments across the world.
Here’s my conversation with Robert Koenig, blockchain solutions for small countries, in episode 347 of Informed Choice Radio.
The financial technology, or fintech, sector is booming.
Entrepreneurs, bankers, consultants, investors and asset managers are scrambling for more information: Who are the key players? What's driving the explosive growth? What are the risks?
My guest on the podcast today is Susanne Chishti, CEO of FINTECH Circle, Europe’s first Angel Network focused on FinTech opportunities.
Susanne is also co-editor of “The FINTECH Book” — a crowd-sourced book on FinTech globally.
Recognised in the European Digital Financial Services ‘Power 50’ 2015, an independent ranking of the most influential people in digital financial services in Europe, Susanne was selected in the top 15 FinTech UK Twitter influencers and as "City Innovator - Inspirational Woman 2016".
Susanne is an entrepreneur and investor with strong FinTech expertise. She has more than 14 years’ experience across Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley and Accenture in London and Hong Kong.
The fintech market captured over $14bn in 2014, a three-fold increase from the previous year. New startups are popping up at an increasing pace, and large banks and insurance companies are being pushed toward increasing digital operations in order to survive.
The financial technology sector is booming, which makes understanding some of the key issues so important.
Here’s my conversation with Susanne Chishti in episode 346 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the show, I'm joined by my colleague Andy Bodman, paraplanner at Informed Choice and soon to be financial planner, to get a millennial's view of financial planning. Everything you wanted to know about younger people's attitudes towards money, investing and retirement, but were afraid to ask. You've come to the right place!
What good is excellent advice if you don't follow it?
As a financial planner, I know that when my advice goes unimplemented, the well-being of my clients is compromised, opportunities are lost, and the professional relationship grows strained.
My guest on the podcast today has written an excellent new book, taking aim at the problem of financial non-adherence.
Dr Moira Somers is a leading practitioner in the field of financial psychology and financial change. A neuropsychologist, professor and executive coach, she blends the science and art of advice-giving with practical wisdom and wit.
Through her popular keynote addresses and follow-up seminars she works with financial professionals and organizations around the globe, equipping them to give easy-to-implement advice that captures clients' hearts and minds.
Moira's new book, Advice that Sticks, examines the five main factors that determine whether a client will follow through with financial advice. Individual client psychology plays a role in non-adherence; so, too, do sociocultural and environmental factors, general advice characteristics, and specific challenges pertaining to the emotionally loaded domain of money.
Perhaps most surprising, however, is the extent to which advice-givers themselves can foil implementation. A great deal of non-adherence is due to preventable mistakes made by financial professionals and their teams.
I think this episode is equally as important for financial practitioners as it is for investors who take advice from others. We've tried to balance the conversation to provide value to both advice givers and advice takers.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Moira Somers in episode 344 of Informed Choice Radio.
Interest rates went up this week, for only the second time in nearly a decade. In this episode, we're looking at the factors behind the rate rise decision and what it means for your personal finances. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and some updates from the world of Informed Choice this week.
How does money figure into a happy life?
In his new book The Geometry of Wealth, behavioral finance expert Dr Brian Portnoy delivers an inspired answer to this important question. He builds on the critical distinction between being rich and being wealthy.
While being rich can be described as an unsatisfying treadmill, being wealthy is the ability to underwrite a meaningful life, however one chooses to define that. Truly viewed, wealth is funded contentment.
At the heart of this groundbreaking perspective, in his book Portnoy takes readers on a journey toward wealth, informed by disciplines ranging from ancient history to modern neuroscience. He contends that tackling the big questions about a joyful life and tending to financial decisions are complementary, not separate, tasks.
Brian Portnoy, PhD, CFA, is an expert at simplifying the complex world of money. His insights and advice are driven by a passion for teaching and investing, and based on a 25-year career in both money management and academia.
Brian is the Director of Investment Education at Virtus Investment Partners, a diversified investment company with $80 billion under management. He leads the firm's thought leadership initiatives on sound investing and smarter decision-making for both financial advisers and individuals.
He's also worked throughout the hedge fund and mutual fund industries, having held senior strategy, investment, and research roles at Chicago Equity Partners, Mesirow Financial, and Morningstar.
Here’s my conversation with Brian Portnoy, about how to shape a life of money and meaning, in episode 342 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I’m looking at the a new Treasury Committee report about household finances.
We’ve got high levels of debt and low levels of savings; and the government think they can do more to help us. And if you believe that, you’ll believe anything!
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow segment, where I share what I’ve been up to and what we’re doing at Informed Choice right now.
For almost 50 years the simplest investment solution was often the best.
A balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds provided most investors with a comfortable retirement. Unfortunately, this approach is now unlikely to work.
Retirement is longer, private company pensions are a thing of the past and interest rates are at historic lows. Investors need a new plan and a new approach to organising their investments.
My guest on the podcast today is Russ Koesterich, Managing Director and portfolio manager for the Global Allocation team at BlackRock.
Russ is an industry veteran with more than 23 years’ experience in asset allocation and portfolio construction.
In this episode we talk about asset allocation; the art of combining different investments to build a portfolio aligned with your objectives and respectful of your limitations. Asset allocation is so important because it's the driver of investment returns.
In his new book, Portfolio Construction for Today's Markets, Russ addresses the current issues with asset allocation by describing the step-by-step approach to building a portfolio consistent with investor goals and suited to today’s market environment. This is what we cover in the podcast episode today and it's well worth a listen for all investors, especially those investing for retirement.
Here’s my conversation with Russ Koesterich in episode 340 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode I'm talking about resolving problems with your financial adviser or financial planner.
My inspiration for this episode came from two places.
Firstly, a Sky News article with the title Ex-GP hired hitman on dark web to kill financial adviser after losing £300k, court hears.
Secondly, our annual regulatory fee invoice arrived this week. So I'm thinking a lot about not only the cost of financial services regulation, but also the different mechanisms for resolving problems and making sure you're not out of pocket if you have problems with your financial adviser or financial planner.
In this episode I share five steps you can take to prevent and resolve issues with your financial adviser or financial planner.
Earlier this year, Melinda Gates wrote in an op-ed published in Quartz that she and her husband, Bill Gates, would be donating $170 million to empower women all around the world economically.
Gates later wrote that the research indicated that economic power was “the most promising entry point for gender equality.” She and many others believe that when women have economic power, they can write their own rules and reshape how things operate. This goes from the household to the business world.
Did you know women business owners get only 16% of all small business loans, only 4.4% of all dollars lent, and less than 3% of all venture capital funding?
Several reasons are put forth on why this happens, such as women picking low-growth industries, lender/investor bias against women, too few female VCs, etc. But according to Barbara Vrancik, a financial consultant and my guest on the podcast today, who specializes in helping female CEOs become more financially savvy, these reasons alone can’t account for the huge disparity between men and women.
Barbara Vrancik has been a trusted professional in the finance industry for more than 30 years. During her time as a corporate finance partner with a prestigious New York law firm, she represented many of the largest financial institutions on Wall Street. As a finance industry insider who sat on both sides of the table, she is now bringing her extensive experience to small business.
Today, Barbara is a financial consultant who works primarily with female business owners helping them become more financially competent, confident and compelling in business. She is a trusted advisor to her clients and valued for her confidentiality, commitment, integrity and objectivity.
Barbara’s message is a simple, but powerful one: By understanding a few basic principles, implementing some sound finance strategies, and learning from an “insider” how the game is played, your business can win — and WIN BIG.
This week I've been in Port Talbot in South Wales, for the Great Pension Debate II. In this episode, I'm sharing the story of why this conference was held in this seaside town in South Wales and some of the key points coming out of the two days.
In this episode, I chat to Sarah Davidson from Boom! about how credit unions work and the type of work they do, across both saving and borrowing, as well as their support for the local community.
Boom! is a credit union for people who live or work in West Sussex, Surrey or Kingston. They give local people access to fair and affordable loans, savings accounts and prepaid cards.
They exist to help make life better for people in West Sussex, Kingston and Surrey.
A credit union is an independent not-for-profit organisation. It’s owned and controlled by its members, who all have something in common, in the case of Boom! the fact they all live in a particular area.
To use the services of a credit union you must be a member.
Credit unions are committed to being responsible lenders, making ethical choices, and making life better for their members and their communities. To do this, different credit unions may offer slightly different services.
Credit unions have been around for decades and today there are more than 40,000 credit unions in 79 countries. There are 118 million other people around the world who believe in and benefit from the ethical and community banking approach that credit unions share.
Here’s my conversation with Sarah Davidson from Boom! Credit Union in episode 336 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, how can families cope with the crippling cost of living?
I share some new research into rising living costs and then suggest some steps we can take to deal with them.
My five tips for coping with cost of living increases:
1 - Learn to budget effectively
2 - Trim the fat from your household budget
3 - Bring in some extra income
4 - Shop around for cheaper deals - mortgage, insurances, utilities.
5 - Make some lifestyle changes - i.e. drive less, walk or cycle more.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Leave me a voicemail via our website, email me at martin@icfp.co.uk or get in touch on Twitter, @martinbamford. I’d love to hear from you.
If you enjoy listening to Informed Choice Radio, please take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes. It only takes a minute. Visit icradio.co.uk/itunes which will take you straight our page. Follow the link to ratings and reviews, and leave us a review, and we’ll read it out in a future episode.
How can millennials, especially entrepreneurs in this generation, forge a better relationship with work and money?
My guest on the podcast today is Amanda Abella.
Featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Inc, and Business Insider, Amanda has created an online community where millennials can learn how to make money online and actually enjoy their financial journeys.
Her ever growing community is currently made up of over 30,000 individuals across social media and email subscriber channels.
The world’s fascination with money – and her own need to learn about healthy financial habits – led her to start her career as a freelance writer who focused on financial topics in 2010. Since then her company has expanded to providing content marketing and financial education courses.
Additionally, Amanda is a certified professional coach who has undergone several trainings including the IFC accredited International Coach Academy.
With her business and life coach training, as well as her own experience, she offers coaching and digital training materials for millennials (and millennials at heart) who are interested in healing their money mindset and starting their own profitable businesses. Amanda combines positive psychology with her business and finance background to create trainings that help students and clients through the emotional and practical sides of money and entrepreneurship.
In 2014, Amanda launched her Amazon bestselling book, Make Money Your Honey: A Spirited Entrepreneur’s Guide to Having a Love Affair with Work & Money. She launched the Make Money Your Honey podcast on iTunes in 2016.
In 2016, Amanda won the Plutus Award for Best Designed Personal Finance Blog for her blog, AmandaAbella.com . Amanda has won the South Florida Bloggers Award for Best Finance Blogger in 2016 and 2017.
Here's my conversation with Amanda Abella, author of Make Money Your Honey: A Spirited Entrepreneur's Guide to Having a Love Affair with Work and Money, in episode 334 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode I'm talking about retirement income; the good, the bad and the ugly.
I'll be talking about a new report from the Financial Conduct Authority, looking at how the retirement income sector is serving consumer more than three years after the introduction of pension freedoms.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the after show, where (after an extended break from these Friday episodes) I talk about what's been going on recently in my world and in the world of Informed Choice.
We all want to lead a life of greater purpose and happiness. Cultivating the Finnish quality of sisu might be the answer.
My guest on the podcast today is Joanna Nylund.
She was born and raised in Finland, where she started her writing career doing music reviews for a local magazine at age 15. After studying English literature at university and living in the UK for a few years, she has been working as a translator, journalist, copywriter and photographer. She now lives in Helsinki with her husband.
Joanna's new book, the subject of our conversation today, is a comprehensive guide to the Finnish attitude of courage and determination in the face of adversity.
The ancient Finnish word sisu describes an attitude of courage, resilience, grit, tenacity and perseverance.
This key psychological competence enables extraordinary action in times of adversity. To have sisu confers a further dimension of doing so with honesty, integrity and humility.
There's a personal finance aspect to sisu too, something we cover during our conversation.
Here's my conversation with Joanna Nylund, author of Sisu: The Finnish Art of Courage, in episode 332 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest today is Andy Bird, an independent leadership consultant, coach and author.
Andy began his career over 30 years ago working for Unilever in the UK, South East Asia and India. He set up and led their pioneering Marketing Academy before moving on to become a Co-Founder of Brand Learning.
Widely recognised for its distinctive client work and company culture, Brand Learning has since grown into a global capability consultancy and recently became part of Accenture.
Today on the podcast, I'm chatting to Andy about being inspired.
Being inspired can be a magnificent, invigorating feeling. But it's also one that we know surprisingly little about. Does it happen by chance? Are all forms of inspiration the same? Can we influence how and when we feel inspired?
These are searching questions, particularly for people who take on the responsibilities and challenges of leadership. Given the tumultuous state of the world today, effective leadership throughout our organizations and communities has never been more important. Equally though, there has also never been greater pressure on leaders to perform and to provide inspirational leadership for their people and teams.
Andy's book, The Inspired Leader, is based on extensive new research, conducted in association with Henley Business School, into the real life experiences of leaders from many different walks of life. Drawing on the latest behavioural science, Andy Bird explains how inspiration is actually experienced by people in positons of leadership. He also examines how they maintain it over time despite the many obstacles and challenges they face.
My guest today is Jude Thorne, founder and CEO of a loyalty rewards programme with a difference.
Jude has 24 years’ experience in customer relationship management, customer loyalty, marketing and branding.
She joined AirMiles in 1994 after senior roles within the advertising industry. In her roles as Marketing Director and then as Managing Director, Jude focused on deepening customer relationships, creating centralised accounts and focusing on customer and client communications and service.
The creation of new products and services underpinned the company’s progress and by the time Jude left AirMiles at the end of 2000, the company had increased its profits to £27.2 million, making it the most profitable subsidiary of BA Worldwide at that time.
Jude then established Verve Partnership Ltd with Steve Toomey ex FD of AirMiles. Verve advised on customer loyalty programmes for companies such as Sainsbury’s, MBNA, RCI, Cendant Group, John Lewis PLC, Virgin Nigeria and HSBC.
Jude is a founder shareholder of The Ice Organisation Ltd.
As you'll hear in this episode, Ice is a free loyalty programme that gives customers flexible rewards when they buy from its environmentally conscious retailers using their registered Mastercard credit card. Ice rewards are always given on top of any other discount, promotion or cash back offer.
I speak to Jude about some of the current trends in loyalty reward programmes, how as consumers we can choose which loyalty programmes in which to participate, some of the environmental issues that impact the use of loyalty programmes, and much more.
Here's my conversation with Jude Thorne, founder shareholder of The Ice Organisation, in episode 330 of Informed Choice Radio.
What if money was easy?
If you’ve ever wondered why some people make money easily, enjoy great holidays, have nice things and retire rich, while others always seem to struggle, it’s not because they are more intelligent or just lucky. It’s simply because they have better beliefs about money and a system that works. And that's the subject of the book my guest today has written.
Warren Shute is passionate about financial planning and you will understand this if you ever meet him, watch his YouTube channel or read his new book The Money Plan.
For more than 20 years Warren has helped thousands of people make better money decisions. His Wealth Management firm, Lexington Wealth, offers comprehensive financial planning and investment advice to individuals and his online business www.Lexo.co.uk offers the investment solutions available at his firm directly online.
In 2016 he set himself an audacious goal to help one million people secure their financial future. Knowing he could never do this one-on-one at Lexington he set up www.WarrenShute.com to offer Financial Education for the Nation.
Working as a financial educator, he uses his experience of thousands of face-to-face client meetings with his skills as a Master Practitioner of NLP and personal development coach.
His new book is called The Money Plan. In The Money Plan, Warren shares his proven plan so you can clear your debts, secure your tomorrow and live for today.
Here's my conversation with Warren Shute, author of The Money Plan, in episode 329 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the podcast today is Vishal Agarwal and he has lived the corporate life cycle from start to finish. He started as an intern and worked up to Senior Deals Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Until very recently, Vishal was a Global Top 500 Senior Leader for General Electric before becoming Chairman and CEO of his own private investment management firm, Full Circle Africa. During his twenty-four-year career, he navigated all facets of corporate life from building teams and delivering value, to translating multinational visions into local wins.
In his new book, Give to Get, Vishal illuminates rarely discussed challenges for those in business leadership roles, from overcoming “new guy syndrome,” to creating a stakeholder map, taking your credit to the bank, finding your why, earning trust and building support, and overcoming burnout.
I think this conversation is a must listen for anyone working in a corporate role, for both leaders and those aspiring to become leaders. And if that's not you, then who do you know who would get some value from listening to this episode? Please pass it along.
Here's my conversation with Vishal Argarwal, author of Give to Get, in episode 328 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the podcast today is co-author of a new book called The Trust Mandate.
Herman Brodie spent over a decade in investment banking roles in London, Paris and in Frankfurt. In 2000 he co-founded his first company, Cognitrend, a consultancy to advise financial institutions on the utilisation of behavioural finance research.
He has pursued this goal since 2013 as Managing Director of Prospecta Limited. Herman is a co-author and lecturer of 'A Practical History of Financial Markets', a course aimed at investment professionals, developed for the Edinburgh Business School's MBA programme, and he's penned numerous articles on behavioural finance.
In The Trust Mandate, Herman seeks to answer an essential question; why is it that an investment client selects, or an investment consultant recommends, one asset manager over another when the two are, on paper at least, very similar?
In our conversation today, we get stuck into the science of trust. Understanding these concepts is essential for investors who want to make the best possible decisions with their money, and understand why they place their trust in some investment managers, but not others.
Here's my conversation with Herman Brodie, author of The Trust Mandate, in episode 327 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest today has written an excellent new book called You Don't Have to Drive an Uber in Retirement: How to Maintain Your Lifestyle without Getting a Job or Cutting Corners.
Marc Lichtenfeld is the Chief Income Strategist of The Oxford Club. He is the Senior Editor of The Oxford Income Letter, which is based on his proprietary 10-11-12 System. He is also the Editor of Tactical Trader Alert, Lightning Trend Trader and Chairman's Circle Breakout Alert.
In his new book. Marc shares little known secrets for putting the gold in your golden years.
Apparently nearly 50% of Americans are forced to work in retirement to supplement their incomes. So getting this stuff right is so important - unless of course you want to drive an uber in retirement.
Here's my conversation with Marc Lichtenfeld, author of You Don't Have to Drive an Uber in Retirement, in episode 326 of Informed Choice Radio.
The way in which we choose to invest our money can have a much bigger impact than we might realise. Money can be a force for good, encouraging positive change in the world, as well as being a force for evil; funding distasteful or outright damaging activities.
My guest on the podcast today is Olivia Bowen, a Partner in Financial Advice at Castlefield.
Olivia is a graduate of Manchester University, joining Castlefield in 1999. As a Partner in their financial advice arm, she's helped clients invest many millions of pounds into ethical investments whilst assisting them to meet their financial and personal objectives.
Olivia advises on all aspects of financial planning. She has advanced qualifications in Taxation & Trusts, Investment & Risk and the Financial Planning process. She's also an award winning adviser, as winner of the Personal Finance Society’s Investment Specialist of the Year Award 2017.
Olivia has appeared on Channel 4’s award winning investigative current affairs programme Dispatches, BBC’s Rip off Britain and has also been an expert guest on Radio 4’s Moneybox.
In our conversation today, we take a deep dive into 'thoughtful investing'. We talk about the difference between screening investment opportunities for negative and positive factors, whether this approach towards investing money increases the level of risk involved, and how investors can get started with a more thoughtful approach.
Without further ado, here's my conversation with Olivia Bowen, all about thoughtful investing, in episode 325 of Informed Choice Radio.
What's worked before won't always work in the future. In the world of investing, we often hear the risk warning that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future returns.
My guest on the show today has written an excellent new book which takes a look into the future for investors, predicting six structural mega-trends that threaten passive investing.
Niels Jensen has over 30 years of investment banking and investment management experience.
He started his career in Copenhagen in 1984 before moving to London in 1986 to join a firm that became Lehman Brothers. Niels subsequently worked for Goldman Sachs as its co-head of US equity in Europe, then managed Oppenheimer's European business. He rejoined Lehman Brothers to head up European Wealth Management in 1999, and went on to become founder of Absolute Return Partners in 2002, where he is now Chief Investment Officer.
His new book presents a different vision of the future for investors; one where index tracking strategies are poorly suited.
In The End of Indexing, he identifies six structural mega-trends that are set to disrupt investors around the globe. We get into those six structural mega-trends in our conversation today, taking a deeper dive into a couple of them in particular.
Neils says that as a new investment approach is called for, The End of Indexing provides investors with a guide to the challenging environment ahead and a warning about the future decline of index-tracking.
Here's my conversation with Niels Jensen, author of The End of Indexing, in episode 324 of Informed Choice Radio.
Growing up, the words finance, savings, and portfolio made my guest's eyes glaze over, and the thought of stocks and financial statements shut down her brain.
The daughter of a successful investor and bestselling financial author, she spent most of her adult life avoiding investing - until she realized that her time-consuming career as lawyer was making her feel anything but in control of her life or her money.
Determined to regain her freedom, vote for her values with her money, and deal with her fear of the unpredictable stock market, she turned to her father, to help her take charge of her life and her future through Warren Buffett-style value investing.
Over the course of a year, my guest went from avoiding everything to do with the financial industrial complex to knowing exactly how and when to invest in wonderful companies.
Danielle Town is a corporate startup attorney with a law degree from New York University.
She cohosts the InvestEd podcast with her father, Phil Town, and together now they've written Invested: How Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger Taught Me to Master My Mind, My Emotions, and My Money (with a Little Help from My Dad)
Here's my conversation with Danielle Town, author of Invested, in episode 323 of Informed Choice Radio.
In her late twenties, my guest today found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat.
Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again.
When she realised that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy, she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year.
My guest today is Cait Flanders, author of a new book called The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store.
Cait is a self-confessed former binge consumer turned mindful consumer of everything.
Through personal stories, she writes about what happens when money, minimalism and mindfulness cross paths.
Here's my conversation with Cait Flanders, author of The Year of Less, in episode 322 of Informed Choice Radio.
One million people financially free. That's the mission of my guest on the podcast today, who joins me to share his tips on freedom from money bondage.
Damion Lupo is a best selling personal finance author and host of the Transformation Nation podcast. He's owned more than 30 companies and even founded his own martial art.
Damion outrightly rejects regret and speaks to it as the ultimate life failure. He's got a unique approach to living a fulfilled life by breaking rule and making more mistakes, faster, than the competition - what he calls his key to success.
Playing by a different set of rules, he even bought his first rental house with a credit card,a move that snowballed into owning 150 rental houses in 7 states in less than 5 years.
In 2008 he lost the entire $20 million but recreated his wealth and reinvented his life over 4 transformational years.
Today he leads 3 global companies with one unified mission - to Free People from Money Bondage. What is money bondage? We cover that in the conversation too.
Here's my conversation with Damion Lupo, freedom from money bondage, in episode 321 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest today is Hayley Tink.
Hayley is the first Chartered Financial Planner in the UK to also be a Certified Money Coach.
She's able to bring this new dimension to her financial advice work, as well as providing stand-alone money coaching sessions for those who wish to understand the psychological dimension of their own relationship to money.
The concept of Money Coaching is still relatively new in Financial Planning circles and it was great to speak to Hayley for this episode to learn more.
Hayley shares in this episode how family attitudes and external influences can influence our behaviours around money and these can sometimes have an unhelpful effect on making important financial decisions.
Here's my conversation with Hayley Tink, Certified Money Coach, in episode 320 of Informed Choice Radio.
Each year investors lose billions to fraudulent activity. Today on the podcast we talk about why and how people fall prey and what steps you can take to stay safe.
My guest today is William M. Francavilla.
Bill is a Certified Financial Planner with more than 30 years of experience in the financial services profession. He has worked as an investment advisor and professional trainer for several Fortune 500 companies, and retired from Legg Mason as senior vice president and director of corporate wealth management.
Bill's new book is The Madoffs Among Us: Combat the Scammers, Con Artists, and Thieves Who Are Plotting to Steal Your Money.
Within our conversation today we talk about how to easily identify the people who perpetrate these crimes and avoid their deceitful practices. We also cover why it is that smart people fall for these cons.
Bill and I chat about some of the most common scams today and how you can avoid becoming a victim.
Here's my conversation with Bill Francavilla, author of The Madoffs Among Us, in episode 319 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest in this episode is Dr Sarah Stanley Fallaw.
Sarah is the founder and President of DataPoints LLC, a company that provides scientifically validated, automated behavioral finance tools to the financial services industry.
DataPoints created the industry's first biodata-based, predictive assessment of individual propensity to build wealth.
Sarah also serves as the Director of Research for the Affluent Market Institute, founded by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley. She is co-author of an upcoming book examining the behaviors and lifestyle of affluent Americans 20 years after the publication of The Millionaire Next Door.
In this episode, I share everything you need to know about the Spring Statement. There's an interview with Tim Roache General Secretary of GMB Union and Jon Craven from UIA Mutual Insurance about new research which has found 65% of UK workers are not part of any trade union. And I chat with Martin Dropkin, director of research for fixed income at Fidelity International, about Fidelity's new analyst survey which has found corporate confidence among the world’s largest companies for the year ahead has reached a five-year high.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and I share the latest from Informed Choice, including the reason why this episode has been published a day late.
After the shock decision to leave the EU in 2016, what can we learn about our divided and increasingly unequal society and the need to listen to each other? This episode isn't strictly about personal finance, but the points we discuss have significant implications for the economy and politics, and therefore personal finance.
My guest on the show today is Victor Seidler.
Vic is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology, at Goldsmiths University of London.
The topic of our conversation today is Vic's new book, Making sense of Brexit: Democracy, Europe and uncertain futures.
This engaging and accessible book addresses the causes and implications of Brexit, exploring this moral anger against political elites and people feeling estranged from a political process and economic system that no longer expressed their will.
In this episode, I'm joined by Abraham Okusanya, author of a new book called Beyond The 4% Rule: The science of retirement portfolios that last a lifetime.
Regular (and loyal) listeners to this podcast will remember Abraham from episode 11, back in February 2015, and more recently in episode 114, in September 2016, when we spoke about 'brainless portfolios'.
Abraham is hosting a conference in London next week called The Science of Retirement, and he's just published a new book called Beyond The 4% Rule: The science of retirement portfolios that last a lifetime.
Before I share our conversation with you, here's the blurb from the book, to give you some context:
"Retirement income planning used to be so simple. Most people never had to worry about how to convert their retirement savings into income for the rest of their lives. Today's low annuity rates, closure of increasing numbers of defined benefit schemes and the Pension Freedoms, introduced by the UK Government in 2015, ripped up the retirement income planning rulebook.
"The book confronts the challenge of how to secure a sustainable income that lasts a lifetime from your portfolio. It delves into the detail of the various withdrawal strategies, asset allocation and the unavoidable question of how long before you pop your clogs. This book helps retirees and their advisers navigate the treacherous retirement income landscape, using sound empirical evidence and practical application."
The reason I wanted to chat to Abraham about his book was because we often refer to the 4% rule and it's become one of those throwaway financial rules of thumb, often mentioned without really digging into the details. As Abraham will explain in a moment, the rule is based on really robust science, but there's more to consider for individuals - in particular, the impact of fees, the underlying asset allocation and the assumption that retirement income will stay at the same level for the rest of life - spoiler alert, it doesn't!
My guest on the show today is Warren Hogarth.
Warren spent eight years as a Partner at the number one venture capital firm in the world, Sequoia Capital.
Sequoia have invested in companies like Square, Uber, WhatsApp, and AirBnB, and Warren stood shoulder-to-shoulder with founders to build large, enduring businesses; three of them went from zero to over $1 billion.
While at Sequoia, Warren saw first-hand how fintech startups were changing the way people approached managing money, payments, and investing.
He launched his startup, Empower Finance, in 2016 based on the belief that all people deserve access to expert financial advice.
As well as talking about Warren's experience funding startups and early stage companies at Sequoia Capital, we get into how fintech has the potential to save us money and make our relationship with money much simpler.
You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/314. There's useful links and you can also read the full interview transcript. That's all at icradio.co.uk/314.
Here's my conversation with Warren Hogarth, founder of Empower Finance, in episode 314 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of the podcast, I'm talking about getting divorced. Not an uplifting topic for conversation, I know, but an important one, especially from a financial planning perspective.
I'll be sharing a few of the most important financial things you need to do when you get divorced.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news; I answer a listener question about whether to invest in one go or drip-feed money into investments; and there's the aftershow where I talk about what we've been up to at Informed Choice this week - the week that saw the arrival of...the Beast from the East.
My guest on the show today is Meredith Jones.
Meredith is an internationally-recognized researcher, writer, speaker and expert in the alternative investment industry with more than 20 years of experience.
She's is an alternative investment consultant and author of Women of The Street: Why Female Money Managers Generate Higher Returns (And How You Can Too), which won an Axiom Award Gold Medal in 2016.
Meredith was also named as an Inc. magazine’s “17 Inspiring Women To Watch in 2017” and as a Distinguished Author by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018.
Something we talk about in this interview is Meredith's involvement as a board director of Rock the Street, Wall Street - a non-profit that provides one-year financial and investment literacy courses for high school girls.
In this episode, we talk about the characteristics that make women better investors than men, how men can invest more like women, and how we can all make the world of investing more appealing to women.
Here's my conversation with Meredith Jones, in episode 312 of Informed Choice Radio.
I've called this episode a mixed bag, because that's what it is! All will become clear, so please listen on as I share the story of how I spent Saturday and then some big news. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news.
My guest on the show today is Jim Mellon, co-author of a new book called Juvenescence.
Jim is a visionary entrepreneur with a flair for identifying emerging global trends. Most notably and very publicly, he predicted the credit crunch of 2007-08 in a book entitled “Wake Up! Survive and Prosper in the Coming Economic Turmoil”. The book cited catalysts for the impending crisis including unsustainable levels of consumer debt in the western world, a U.S. housing crash, derivative financial instruments and governmental fiscal mismanagement – the rest is history!
As an investor, Jim has built a worldwide business empire. He’s serially amongst the top 10% in the Sunday Times Rich List and holds a master’s degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University.
In his new book Juvenescence, co-authored with Al Chalabi, Jim provides a layman’s guide to longevity. It investigates the new technologies and explains how to benefit from the life extending technologies both personally and professionally. The book helps readers unravel the science, offers ideas on potential investment and reveals the views of the key opinion leaders.
Here’s my conversation with billionaire investor Jim Mellon, in episode 310 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I'm joined by Jeff Keen from Waverton Investment Management to talk about gilts - the bear market has begun. With rising interest rates and inflationary pressures, what can cautious investors expect from gilts and bonds in the years ahead, and what alternatives offer similar levels of diversification within a portfolio.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow, where I talk about some of the things we've been up to at Informed Choice this week.
Whether it’s affording the basics in life, feeling more in control of your money, or balancing today’s spending needs with those in later life, many of us struggle to manage our finances as well as we would wish.
My guest on the show today is Jason Butler, author of a new book called Money Moments: Simple steps to financial well-being.
Jason is a Fellow of both the Personal Finance Society and Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. Before becoming a full-time author, speaker and investor, he had a 25-year career as a successful financial adviser.
He now focuses on speaking and writing about financial and personal wellbeing, as well as being an angel investor to various innovative financial technology start-up businesses, something we cover in our conversation today.
Jason is the author of five personal finance and self-improvement books and is a columnist for the Financial Times, where as ‘The Wealthman’, he writes about personal finance related issues. He also provides expert comment on personal finance to the BBC and Sky and a range of other publications, media and websites.
Here’s my conversation with Jason Butler, author of Money Moments, in episode 308 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the show, we're talking about some easy ways to give yourself a pay rise.
It's been a tough few years financially; low interest rates, low wage inflation, but rising prices.
So today on the podcast, we're talking some ways to deliver an inflation busting pay-rise of up to £1,263.
I'm pleased to welcome back as my co-host today, Lynn James, who blogs as Mrs Mummypenny.
What are the sub-conscious behaviours that drive our financial decisions?
My guest on the show today is Neil Bage.
Neil is the Founder of multi-award winning Be-IQ. Working with leading Academics, Be-IQ is an entirely new model and approach to understanding a client’s risk personality, their financial capability, and their financial decision making.
Neil works closely with some of the most influential financial brands in the world, and regularly features as a keynote speaker, focussing on the sub-conscious behaviours that drive our financial decisions. He is an expert at bridging complex theory with real-world understanding.
Listen to this conversation if you want a better understanding of the factors that contribute towards your attitude, capacity and need for investment risk.
Here’s my conversation with Neil Bage, founder of Be-IQ, in episode 306 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of the show, I’m joined by Nick Bamford to talk about defined benefit pensions. These are a hot topic in the world of financial planning at the moment and Nick has written a comprehensive white paper explaining the key issues at stake.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and, of course, the aftershow, where I talk about what we’ve been up to at Informed Choice this week.
Oldness is a social construct at odds with reality that constrains how we live after middle age and stifles business thinking on how to best serve a group of consumers, workers, and innovators that is growing larger and wealthier with every passing day.
My guest today is Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD.
Joe is founder and Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab. He teaches in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning and the Sloan School’s Advanced Management Program.
Coughlin conducts research, speaks and consults on the impact of global demographic change and technology trends on consumer behavior, business innovation & public policy.
He produces the online publication Disruptive Demographics and he’s author of The Longevity Economy: Inside the World’s Fastest Growing, Most Misunderstood Market, the topic of our conversation today.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Joseph F. Coughlin, author of The Longevity Economy, in episode 304 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the show we’re talking energy bills; it’s Big Energy Saving Week 2018 with a number of organisations helping people cut their fuel bills and get all the financial support they are entitled to.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and an update on what we’re doing here at Informed Choice at the moment.
Why is it that incredibly unlikely things actually happen quite regularly and why should we, in fact, expect such things to happen?
My guest on the podcast today is Professor David Hand and we're talking about his book, The Improbability Principle.
If you're interested in coincidences, probability or gambling, this conversation with eminent statistician David Hand is especially for you.
David has a long and impressive bio. He's Senior Research Investigator and Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Imperial College, London.
He's also Chief Scientific Advisor to Winton Capital Management, which is where we connected.
David is a Fellow of the British Academy, and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, and has served (twice) as President of the Royal Statistical Society.
David is a prolific academic, having published 300 scientific papers and 29 books, including Principles of Data Mining, Information Generation, Measurement Theory and Practice, The Wellbeing of Nations, and The Improbability Principle, the subject of our conversation today.
He's recipient of the Guy Medal of the Royal Statistical Society, the George Box Medal and, in 2013, was made OBE for services to research and innovation.
Here's my conversation with Professor David Hand, author of The Improbability Principle, in episode 302 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I answer a listener question about playing catch-up on retirement savings. If you’ve left it late to save for your future, you’re going to want to hear my answer.
I also speak to Curtis Evans, Investment Director and Head of Fixed Income Product Management at Fidelity International, to get his outlook on interest rates and fixed income investments.
Did you know it took the world's greatest investor, Warren Buffett, nearly four decades to make his first $100m?
My guest on the podcast today is Glen Arnold, author of The Deals of Warren Buffett.
Despite holding positions of Professor of Investment and Professor of Corporate Finance, Glen concluded that academic life was not nearly as much fun as making money in the markets. As a wealthy investor in his fifties, he now spends most of his time running his equity portfolio from an office in the heart of rural Leicestershire.
In his new book, Glen explains Buffett's thinking behind his first investment deals and shows how his cumulative returns compounded his wealth over time.
If you want to understand more about the investment philosophy of Warren Buffett and how he got started as arguably the world's greatest investor, this conversation is for you.
Here's my conversation with Glen Arnold, author of The Deals of Warren Buffett, in episode 300 of Informed Choice Radio.
40% of UK adults anticipate that 2018 will be a very difficult year for them financially. In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we tackle those money worries and give you the tools you need to stop worrying about your personal finances.
My guest on the podcast today is Dr Sam Royston, author of a new book called Broken Benefits.
Britain is going through the most radical upheaval of the benefits system since its foundations were laid at the end of the 1940s. In Broken Benefits, Sam Royston argues that social security isn’t working, and without a change in direction, it will be even less fair in the future.
Drawing on original research and high-profile debates, this much-needed book provides an introductory guide to social security, correcting misunderstandings and exposing poorly understood problems.
It reveals how some workers pay to take on additional hours; that those who pay national insurance contributions may get nothing in return; that some families can be paid to split apart; and that many people on the lowest incomes are seeing their retirement age rise the fastest.
Dr Sam Royston is Director of Policy and Research at The Children's Society and chair of the End Child Poverty coalition, and spends much of his time trying to make the benefits system work a little bit better for children and families.
He regularly gives evidence to Parliamentary Select Committees on welfare reform issues, and his work often appears in the national press.
Here's my conversation with Sam Royston, author of Broken Benefits, in episode 298 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of the podcast, I'm talking about some very practical ways to earn more and spend less money in 2018.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, details of the January book choice for the new Informed Choice Radio book club, and the aftershow segment.
Happy New Year!
It's that time again, that time when we make our resolutions for the year ahead. Today on the podcast, it's all about resolutions.
I'm going to be talking about why 92% of people fail to keep their New Year's Resolutions and how you can keep yours.
I'll also share some important personal finance resolutions for 2018, before sharing my own goals and my resolutions for this podcast too!
This is Part Two of a two part special rewind this week, looking back at some of my favourite podcast interviews of 2017.
On Monday in Part One, I shared clips from eight of the interviews we published between January and June this year.
We shared conversations with Dan Hannan, Canna Campbell, Malene Rydahl, Tasneem Clarke, Kate Raworth, Pete Matthew, Erin Lowry and Danielle Marchant.
In part two today, the best bits from interviews published between July and December.
in this special two part episode, I’m sharing some of my favourite podcast moments from the past year. In Rewind 2017 Part One, I’m sharing some interview excerpts from episodes published between January and June. Part two which will be out on Friday will include interviews from July to December.
Today on the podcast, I’m joined by three solicitors to talk about estate planning – what are the best ways to protect your estate?
Louise, Isabel and Catherine from Hart Brown Solicitors in Cranleigh came into the office earlier in the week, and we sat around the meeting room table to talk about wills, lasting powers of attorney, trusts, and generally working with a solicitor.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news – this week with a Christmas flavour – and the after show segment, where I talk about some of the things we’ve been doing here at Informed Choice this week.
My guest on the podcast today is Nick Tucker, Head of UK Domestic at UBS Wealth Management.
Nick is the author of a new report called What's it all for?; Wealth and the next generation.
The question of what wealth is fundamentally for has no single answer, and will be a deeply personal matter for most individuals.
UBS have created a report that brings together eight different case studies, highlighting some of the real challenges and dilemmas faced by different families when it comes to making plans for transferring wealth to the next generation.
Is wealth simply to be enjoyed by the people who have made it?
Those with children and grandchildren will usually feel a sense of responsibility to their descendants. Setting them up in life, though, without taking away their drive and incentives for success, is a complicated task.
No two situations are the same, but you may recognise elements of each in your own story.
Here's my conversation with Nick Tucker, all about Wealth and the Next Generation, in episode 292 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of the podcast, my two cents on Bitcoin.
Is it the first genuinely successful get rich quick scheme in history, just a bunch of nerds and drug dealers speculating on a harmless game, or something far more sinister?
I also chat to Bill McQuaker, portfolio manager in Fidelity International's Solutions team.
We talk about how investment markets have performed in 2017, the outlook for next year, and Bill's own views on Bitcoin.
My guest on the podcast today is Ross Clark, author of The War Against Cash: The plot to empty your wallet and own your financial future – and why you MUST fight it.
We're constantly being told that we are on the cusp of a cashless society. And if you're anything like me, more and more of your financial transactions are becoming cashless.
According to Ross Clark, the financial services industry would certainly like to see it that way. We're being enticed with contactless cards, mobile phone payment apps, and methods of bank transfer: all, apparently, for our convenience.
But as Ross Clark argues in his compelling new book, The War Against Cash, it's not in our interests to surrender the right to use cash.
He argues that commercial interests want us to pay electronically in order to collect valuable data on our spending habits, while governments would love us to move to cashless payments in order to control the economy in ways which suit them, not us.
If we choose to pay electronically, that is one thing, but we will regret it if we do not defend the right to pay with cash.
Ross is a journalist who writes extensively for the Spectator, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express and for many other publications. For many years he wrote the Thunderer column on the Times.
He's also the bestselling author of How to Label a Goat: the silly rules and regulations that are strangling Britain, and several other excellent books.
Here's my conversation with Ross Clark, author of The War Against Cash, in episode 290 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode, I'm sharing my chapter from the newly published Harriman's New Book of Investing Rules: The Do's and Don'ts of the World's Best Investors. I also pick a few of my favourite tips from other contributors to the book.
My guest on the podcast today is Stewart Cowley, author of the new book Man vs Big Data.
Stewart is a regular columnist for the Sunday Telegraph and the financial magazine Citywire. He's a regular guest on BBC Newsnight, Radio 4 and SKY News.
Having worked in finance in New York and London since the 1980s, Stewart is now passionate about reporting on economics, and Man vs Big Data is his latest book taking a deep dive into an interesting topic.
Man vs Big Data distills the complexities of the most absorbing statistics and data of modern life and shows us how understanding a little more can help improve your life.
In the book, Stewart explains to readers the science and theories that impact on our everyday existence. He taps into our instinctive curiosity about the world around us, but also show how, by understanding these things, we can learn to take greater control of our lives.
Here's my conversation with Stewart Cowley, author of Man vs Big Data, in episode 288 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of the podcast, I'm talking about Enterprise Investment Schemes, before sharing an interview with the founders of Well&Truly, an exciting new British business that has benefited from EIS funding.
Enterprise Investment Schemes are topical at the moment after an announcement about them in the Budget last week.
What is an EIS? How does it work? Who is it suitable for?
My guest on the podcast today is Dr Christin ter Braak-Forstinger, author of the new book Conscious Investing.
Dr Christin ter Braak-Forstinger is the founder of PVA Advisory and the co-founder of Chi Impact Capital. She has a longstanding and professional track record in the area of strategic philanthropy- and impact investing advisory.
Christin completed her postgraduate studies at Duke Law School and at Harvard Law School. Her dissertation and her master’s thesis received several awards.
Conscious investors are part of a growing movement who believe they can do better things with their money when they deeply connect with their money and when they allow themselves to see the big picture: namely, the wider systemic impact that their investment decisions entail.
Conscious investing enlarges the picture beyond the intention to create a positive social and environmental impact, next to achieving a financial return, and brings a systemic view to the investor. It is described as both a state of awareness as well as a holistic form of impactful investing.
Here’s my conversation with Dr Christin ter Braak-Forstinger, author of Conscious Investing, in episode 286 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on show, we're getting to grips with the Budget.
It was Chancellor Philip Hammond's first autumn Budget on Wednesday, always an exciting day in the world of personal finance, and today we're going to take a closer look at some of the key Budget measures.
My guest on the podcast today is Paul Riseborough, Chief Commercial Officer of Metro Bank and co-author of Naked Banking: The Truth About Banks and You.
We all depend on banks. They help us save and they help us spend. Yet for many they represent everything that's wrong with the world of finance.
Poor service, high fees, creaking IT infrastructure and a market controlled by just a few providers have combined in recent years to create a personal banking crisis every bit as severe as the global financial crisis.
How have things got so bad? Why are banks unable to balance providing good customer service with making a profit? And what can we do to protect ourselves from the tricks banks play to part us with our hard-earned money?
Paul Riseborough is co-author of a new book, Naked Banking, that reveals why banks do the things they do. Most importantly, by sharing these insider secrets, Paul and his fellow authors allow us to make better choices in our dealings with banks.
Here's my conversation with Paul Riseborough, Chief Commercial Officer of Metro Bank and author of Naked Banking, in episode 284 of Informed Choice Radio.
It's Financial Capability Week and, in this episode, we're talking about improving your financial capability.
Fincap Week is an annual event which takes place in mid-November (this year between 13th and 19th November 2017).
Fincap Week celebrates, showcases and amplifies the work underway to improve financial capability and ultimately to improve financial wellbeing.
The week is organised as part of the Financial Capability Strategy for the UK and aims to get more people talking about money.
In this episode, Andy and I chat about whether we need to think differently about financial capability at different stages of our lives, why financial capability for children is particularly important, how to change financial habits in retirement, and the best resources for improving your financial capability.
Dorie Clark is a marketing strategy consultant, professional speaker, and frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review.
Recognized as a “branding expert” by the Associated Press, Fortune, and Inc. magazine, she is the author of Entrepreneurial You, Reinventing You, and Stand Out, which was named the #1 Leadership Book of 2015 by Inc. magazine and one of the Top 10 Business Books of the Year by Forbes. It was also a Washington Post bestseller.
Dorie’s latest book is Entrepreneurial You, which provides a blueprint for professional independence, with insights and advice on building your brand, monetizing your expertise, and extending your reach and impact online.
In short, engaging chapters, she outlines the necessary elements and concrete tactics for entrepreneurial success. She shares the stories of entrepreneurs of all kinds—from consultants and coaches to podcasters, bloggers, and online marketers—who have generated six- and seven-figure incomes.
Here’s my conversation with Dorie Clark, author of Entrepreneurial You, in episode 282 of Informed Choice Radio.
Earlier this week I spent two days hosting Festival Radio at the Personal Finance Society Festival of Financial Planning.
The event at Birmingham NEC was the largest financial planning conference ever in the UK, with 3,300 delegates, 75 speakers and 100 exhibitors.
In this special episode of Informed Choice Radio, I share highlights from some of the the 39 interviews we recorded at the Festival, including conversations with Sir Vince Cable about Brexit, Baroness Ros Altmann on state pension inequality for 1950s born women, and Sir Steve Webb on pension freedom success.
Today on the show, I'm joined by Neala Okuromade.
Neala is known for her passion aimed at personal finance. She's the author of the book What’s Your Financial Gameplan? which deals with personal finance issues, founded on a long fascination for implementing practical solutions to everyday money problems.
With over fourteen years’ experience in accounting, Neala is a member of the ‘Association of Certified Chartered Accountants’ during which time she has managed finance departments.
Neala is passionate about empowering the everyday person to make a success of their personal finances, especially in today’s tough and chaotic economic climate.
An avid studier of world financial news, economics and investing for many years, Neala now wants to take what she has studied, learnt and practised, and simplify it for anyone who thinks anything financial is too complicated and impossible to understand.
Here's my conversation with Neala Okuromade, author of What's your Financial Game Plan?, in episode 280 of Informed Choice Radio.
This week we're looking at the interest rate rise - interest rates in the UK doubled this week, from 0.25% to 0.5%.
Is this the start of a trend towards higher interest rates? Did it come too soon for the fragile economy? What does it mean if you're a borrower or a saver?
Today on the show, I'm joined by Nicole Yershon, who knows a thing or two about disruption.
Nicole is a maverick, inspiration and the original rough diamond. She's a consultant, speaker, judge, mentor and connector. Nicole works on the front line of innovation - bringing organisations kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. In that sense she properly defines disruption.
Her new book is Rough Diamond: Turning Disruption Into Advantage in Business and Life.
According to Nicole, in life you are most likely to regret that you didn’t do more of what you love.
Her book puts you on notice. Nicole says you have it within your power to do more and be more, and she's going to give you the tools to start.
It's all about being the statistical anomaly - the Rough Diamond - who shines bright, even if unpolished, and savors each day for the opportunity it presents to innovate, connect and disrupt the status quo.
Here's my conversation with Nicole Yershon, author of Rough Diamond, in episode 278 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the show, we're talking about your Bill Free Day and how to make it happen earlier in the year.
I'm joined by personal finance broadcaster Georgie Frost who shares a few tips.
If you ever feel like you're spending too much money on household bills, and not enough on fun or the future, then this episode is for you.
Today on the podcast, I'm chatting to playwright Kieran Lynn and theatre director Dan Ayling, two of the creative team behind The Trap, a hilarious new comedy that's receiving its European premiere at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham from 31st October to 19th November.
Kieran Lynn is an award-winning playwright. In 2012 he won the Nick Darke Award for his play Wild Fish.
His play, An Incident at the Border was performed at the Finborough Theatre; a critical and commercial success the production transferred to the West End.
Dan Ayling is a theatre director specialising in modern plays and contemporary opera, with a particular interest in text, space & gesture.
He's also Equity Councillor for Director's, Designers and Fight Directors.
The Trap, which we discuss in this interview, is a biting new comedy about the financial perils of a capitalist world.
Here's my conversation with Dan Ayling and Kieran Lynn of The Trap, in episode 276 of Informed Choice Radio.
In today's episode, I'm looking at interest rates - how likely are they to rise next month, and what would any rate rise mean for your personal finances?
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow, where I share some news from the world of Informed Choice.
Today on the show, I'm joined by Robert Carver, to discuss his new book, Smart Portfolios: A practical guide to building and maintaining intelligent investment portfolios.
Rob is an independent investor, trader and writer. He spent over a decade working in the City of London before retiring from the industry in 2013.
Rob's new book Smart Portfolios is about building and maintaining smart investment portfolios.
At its heart are the three key questions every investor needs to answer; what to invest in, how much to invest, and when to make changes to a portfolio.
Rob addresses these three areas by providing a single integrated approach to portfolio management. He shows how to follow a step-by-step process to build a multi-asset investment portfolio, and how to rebalance the portfolio efficiently.
Here's my conversation with Robert Carver, author of Smart Portfolios, in episode 274 of Informed Choice Radio.
Can money buy you happiness? That's our topic for this episode, with some new research aiming to place an actual monetary amount on being happy.
The latest research from SunLife reveals that while cash and happiness are related, you don’t need to a millionaire to be happy – just £82 spare per week.
In this episode we talk about how money is linked to happiness, some ways to find that extra spare cash each week, and why spending money on experiences leads to greater happiness levels than simply buying stuff.
Personal finance news
-Behavioural economist Richard Thaler has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics. Professor Thaler is co-author of the best-selling book Nudge, which examined why people make bad or irrational choices.
-Car insurance premiums have fallen for the first time in more than three years, but drivers are unlikely to feel the benefit for long. Analysis by price comparison website Confused.com shows insurance prices fell by 1% in the third quarter of the year.
-Retailers are planning to defy the Royal Mint's deadline and continue accepting the old £1 coins. The Federation of Small Businesses, which represents 170,000 small shops, has advised members to continue accepting the round pound after the 15th October deadline.
-The latest figures from Visa UK show a continued decline in household spending in September. It's the fourth monthly fall in expenditure in the last five months.
-Younger savers are increasingly likely to want responsible investment choices for their pensions. A YouGov poll of 2,100 people found 13% of 18 to 34 year olds said it was their job to make sure their money was invested ethically.
Today on the show, I'm joined by Scott Mautz.
Scott led several of Procter & Gamble’s largest multi-billion dollar businesses before becoming an award-winning speaker and author through his business Profound Performance.
He was named a “CEO Thought-leader” by the CEO Executive Guild and a “Top 50 Leadership Innovator” by Inc. Magazine, He also teaches leadership and employee engagement at Indiana University.
Scott's new book is Find the Fire: Ignite Your Inspiration--and Make Work Exciting Again
For many employees, feeling burned out and uninspired is nothing new. But going through the motions impairs more than just work performance--it affects your well-being. Wouldn't it be better to feel as engaged and energized as you were on day one?
Fortunately, everyone has the ability to rekindle inspiration. The key is to quit waiting for it to happen and take control of the process yourself.
Whether you're wrestling with fear, disconnectedness, boredom, lack of creative outlets, overwhelm, or other issues, Find the Fire helps shake off the malaise and dial up the motivation.
Here's my conversation with Scott Mautz, author of Find the Fire, in episode 272 of Informed Choice Radio.
This week on the show, we're talking about how to declutter your personal finances.
Katy and I chat about why it's so important to declutter when it comes to your personal finances, before sharing a few of our own tips for decluttering.
Katy Stevens
Katy Stevens is a money blogger known online as Katykicker.
Katy started Katykicker because she was making money online and people wanted to know how.
She’s happy knowing that she is able to share money making and saving websites and tips with her readers. Katy also loves to share product reviews, frugal recipes, the odd craft and much more.
You can follow Katy on Twitter @katykicker.
Personal finance news
-Monarch Airlines has gone out of business, leading to the cancellation of 300,000 flight booking. The Civil Aviation Authority says around 110,000 customers of the airline are currently stranded overseas, in need of repatriation on UK government charter flights.
-The latest Markit/Cips UK manufacturing PMI index shows signs of a slowdown in manufacturing sector growth. Despite a boost for exporters from a weak pound, higher production costs and Brexit uncertainty is hampering growth prospects.
-Prime Minister Theresa May has promised an additional £10bn of funding for the Help to Buy Scheme. The money will help another 135,000 people buy their first home.
-Bank of England governor Mark Carney believes interest rates could rise in the "relatively near term". Speaking to the BBC, Carney suggested that it was time for the bank to "ease its foot off the accelerator".
-Lack of financial protection among women is leaving families in a precarious situation. According to new research from Scottish Widows, despite saying that their households could only pay the bills for seven months should they not be able to work or pass away, only three in ten women have life insurance.
My guest on the show today is behind a beautiful new book called Walking in the Rain.
Ruth Williams is Managing Director at Department Store for the Mind. She's a business psychologist with a Masters Degree in Occupational Psychology.
The Department Store for the Mind is described as a place to explore the world inside your head: a vast and unique terrain of thoughts, ideas, emotions and memories.
They believe think the journey into our own minds is the most challenging but worthwhile adventure any of us can embark on. As with any great adventure, it helps to have good kit. The products from Department Store for the Mind are designed to help you navigate your inner landscape, discovering and celebrating your best capacities.
Their book, Walking in the Rain, shows readers how walking is "medicine for the mind", complete with stories from artists, designers, writers, psychologists and speakers who have been inspired by the effect of pacing outdoors.
Anecdotes range from walks in the city to hikes through woods at dawn and epic adventures involving long journeys on foot, with writers offering up the relateable lessons they learned as a result.
Here's my conversation with Ruth Williams, managing director of Department Store for the Mind, in episode 270 of Informed Choice Radio.
This week on the show, we’re talking about stemming the tide of rising consumer debt.
This is for you if you’ve got any unsecured consumer debts – things like store cards, credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans, car loans.
We also discuss some of the issues with rising debt levels in the UK and how you can tackle any debts you might have.
Introducing Kalpana Fitzpatrick
Mummy Money Matters was launched by Kalpana Fitzpatrick, a well-respected financial journalist, broadcaster and parent, after she discovered that mums were often overlooked and kept out of the loop when it came to money.
Finance can be unnecessarily complicated – MMM aims to keep it simple and relevant.
As well as editing and writing for Mummy Money Matters, Kalpana appears regularly in the media as an expert commentator on personal finance and is often seen on TV (BBC, ITV and Sky News). She is also often on most of the major radio stations.
You can follow Kalpana on Twitter at @KalpanaFitz.
Personal finance news
-Consumers need to shop around when using price comparison websites, according to a review by the Competition and Markets Authority. The CMA suggested consumers should use a variety of price comparison sites when searching online for the best energy deals, holidays or insurance policies.
-Happiness levels across the UK have improved, according to the latest official wellbeing figures. The figures from the Office for National Statistics, which are based on data to the year to the end of March, show rising satisfaction with life overall, but anxiety levels remaining the same.
-Equifax chairman and chief executive Richard Smith has stepped down in the wake of a massive data breach earlier in the summer. As many as 143 million US customers had data exposed to hackers during the security breach, along with 400,000 Britons.
-As many as 1.4 million low paid families are failing to claim Pension Credit. The state pension top-up is worth up to £2,000 a year.
-Despite European gender equality laws, men are still being quoted more for car insurance than women. Research by Comparethemarket found this insurance pricing gap is widening, with men typically quoted 27% more than women for the cheapest cover.
Beth Kempton is lifelong adventurer whose quest for freedom has taken her to the ends of the earth, and given her a catalogue of wild and crazy experiences.
Beth has lived, worked and travelled in 50+ countries on every continent. She has worked with UN agencies, global brands and NGOs all over the world, advising on corporate social responsibility, instigating projects that have raised over $10 million for charity and earning a Master's degree in Japanese.
That was all before she founded Do What You Love, which delivers transformational online courses to help people find personal, professional and financial freedom.
Her new book is Freedom Seeker: Live More. Worry Less. Do What You Love.
It’s the story of a woman who went from high-spirited, risk-taking adventurer to grown-up, settled-down, stressed-out mother, wife and business owner, before realizing the life she had built was actually suffocating her.
Beth discovered she was far from alone, finding women everywhere feeling stuck, anxious, depressed, exhausted, disconnected and sad. Individually it was heartbreaking. Collectively it was a huge waste of potential. So she set out to change it.
Here's my conversation with Beth Kempton, author of Freedom Seeker: Live More. Worry Less. Do What You Love, in episode 268 of Informed Choice Radio.
It's now less than 100 days until Christmas, so for those of us who like to plan ahead, it's really not that long to go.
We've seen some new research this week which shows consumers start their Christmas shopping as soon as they see festive items in the shops, which can be as early as September, but it still takes 42 shopping trips and 37 hours of planning until they are finished with Christmas shopping.
Lynn and I discuss effective Christmas shopping, gift inspiration and saving money during the festive season.
My guest on the podcast today is Marion Shoard.
Marion is acclaimed for her work in environmental activism. She is best known for her work concerning access to the countryside and land use conflicts.
Since 2004 she has also worked in the field of older people's issues, the subject of her latest book and our discussion today.
Marion was pitched into the world of older people's issues when her mother lost her sight and developed dementia. She set about assembling the straight-talking guidance she had sought in vain.
Her new book is How to Handle Later Life. It's a comprehensive, independent grounding in the whole range of problems and opportunities which come with growing older.
Within the book, Marion offers information and guidance on healthcare, transport, end-of-life matters, help in the home, inheritance, funding care, employment rights, nutritional needs, hospitals and much more.
Here's my conversation with Marion Shoard, Older People's Advocate and author of How to Handle Later Life, in episode 266 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the show, we're talking about what's in your wallet and all things payment cards.
It's the tenth anniversary of contactless payments in the UK, and we're also going to look at the pros and cons of charge charges and reward cards.
The first contactless cards in the UK were launched in September 2007, with 111 million in issue in June 2017.
During the first half of this year the amount spent using contactless technology (£23.23 billion) almost matched the amount spent in the whole of 2016 (£25 billion). Contactless usage is expected to increase four-fold by 2026.
Is this growth in contactless payment a positive thing or is it changing our spending habits, resulting in less conscious decisions about our money?
Andy Webb
My co-host for this episode is Andy Webb, founder of Be Clever With Your Cash.
Andy is a blogger, journalist and trainer on all things money and consumer.
Alongside Be Clever With Your Cash, he works two days a week as the senior writer for The Money Advice Service’s blog. Andy also represents the company as a “money expert” on TV, radio and in print.
He’s appeared on BBC Breakfast (BBC One), Rip Off Britain (BBC One), Right on the Money (BBC One), Channel Five News, You and Yours (Radio 4), Newsbeat (Radio 1), Rip Off Britain Food (BBC One) and dozens of local radio stations.
You can follow Andy on Twitter @AndyCleverCash.
Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here.
Personal finance news
-Price inflation in the UK has reached its highest level in more than five years. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of price inflation was 2.9% for the twelve months to August, up from 2.6% the previous month.
-The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a consumer warning about the dangers of Initial Coin Offerings. This new investing trend is being used by companies who issue digital tokens or coins.
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More than half of the country has experienced faster wage growth than house price growth during the past decade. Research from mortgage provider Yorkshire Building Society found that 54% of areas in the UK experienced pay outperforming property prices since 2007, including Edinburgh and Birmingham.
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Chancellor of Exchequer Philip Hammond has announced the date of the next Budget. It will take place on Wednesday 22nd November.
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Citizens Advice has called for a suspension in the expansion of reforms to the Universal Credit system, due to the risk of pushing families into a spiral of debt. The charity has said that those who rely on Universal Credits are more likely to be struggling with problem debts.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Have you ever considered the link between health and wealth that could add years to your life and dollars (or pounds) to your retirement savings?
My guest on the podcast today is co-author of a new book that aims to get us all talking about this vital link.
Jean Chatzky is a leading personal expert in the US. She's the long-time financial editor for NBC’s TODAY show, an award-winning personal finance journalist, a best-selling author and host of HerMoney with Jean Chatzky - a podcast for women, by women, about money.
Jean believes knowing how to manage our money is one of the most important life skills for people at every age and she's made it her mission to help simplify money matters, increasing financial literacy both now and for the future.
Her new book, co-authored with the Cleveland Clinic's chief wellness officer Dr. Michael Roizen, is AgeProof: Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip.
All the money in the world doesn't mean a thing if we can't get out of bed. And the healthiest body in the world won't stay that way if we're frazzled about five figures worth of debt.
You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/264. There's useful links and you can also download the full episode transcript.
Here's my conversation with Jean Chatzky, TODAY Show financial editor and author of AgeProof, in episode 264 of Informed Choice Radio.
According to some new research, people in the UK are underestimating the cost of elderly care by £7bn every year. That's according to research from Scottish Widows’ independent think tank, the Centre for the Modern Family.
On average, UK adults estimate that residential care would cost £549 a week – when in reality it costs on average £866 for a place in a nursing home – leaving a shortfall of £317 every week.
In this episode, we talk about why people often underestimate the cost of care in later life, the tough conversations you need to have with family members, and where you can go for help and information.
Introducing Faith Archer
Faith is an award-winning money journalist who writes the blog Much More with Less, about moving to the country, living with less and making the most of it.
She was Deputy Personal Finance Editor at The Telegraph and continues to write today for a wide range of publications, including The Sunday Times and Mirror Online.
You can follow Faith on Twitter @MuchMore_Less
Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here.
Personal finance news
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Consumers lodged the most complaints about any UK financial business in the first half of the year against the Bank of Scotland, according to the latest figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service. FOS dealt with 20,541 complaints about the Bank of Scotland, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group.
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One in four UK adults is considering buying an electric car within the next five years, according to new research from Sainsbury’s Bank Loans. The supermarket bank’s latest Car Buying Index, which tracks consumers’ car purchase intentions, reveals that recent Government announcements designed to boost the switch to zero-emission vehicles are convincing large numbers of motorists that their future is electric.
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The UK's factories are experiencing record order books, boosted by the weak pound and stronger eurozone economy. A new survey found firms' expectations for the third quarter showed output rising in 34% of businesses surveyed.
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A new study has revealed that 31% of tenants in rented accommodation cannot imagine ever owning their own home. The research, commissioned by GoCompare Mortgages, also revealed that 21% of renters think that the removal of mortgage interest tax relief on buy-to-let properties, which came into force in April 2017, will reduce the supply of rented properties in their area.
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As Freshers get ready to leave the family nest for university this September, research from American Express has revealed UK parents spend an average of £3,662 during the course of their child’s degree, purchasing everything from bedding and books to groceries and gadgets to ensure their offspring have the best campus experience possible.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
What happens when you get trapped in a cycle of financial frustration? When it feels like everything you try to get out of debt and back on track financially is failing?
My guest on the podcast today is Erin Odom, founder of The Humbled Homemaker, a blog dedicated to grace-filled living and designed to equip and encourage mothers in the trenches.
Erin joins me today to talk about reaching her own financial breaking point and the lessons it taught her.
After growing up in private schools and upper middle class America, Erin and her family were thrown into financial difficulties following the global financial crash. As you'll hear in this interview, she was a stay-at-home mum and her husband was supporting the family on a teacher's salary, and they were scrambling to make ends meet.
Erin tells me about her low point, standing in line for food stamps, and (most importantly) the story about their comeback.
Here's my conversation with Erin Odom, The Humbled Homemaker, in episode 262 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, what are the real world maths skills we should be teaching in schools?
I'm joined by Katykicker to chat about new research that has found that more than three in five millennials in the UK have never used GCSE maths skills in everyday life, things such as algebra and trigonometry.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow segment too.
Introducing Katy Stevens
Katy Stevens is a money blogger known online as Katykicker.
Katy started Katykicker because she was making money online and people wanted to know how.
She's happy knowing that she is able to share money making and saving websites and tips with her readers. Katy also loves to share product reviews, frugal recipes, the odd craft and much more.
You can follow Katy on Twitter @katykicker.
Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here.
Personal finance news
-Companies are returning the new one pound coin by mistake, hampering efforts to phase out use of the old one pound coin. The old £1 coin stops being legal tender on 15th October and Treasury officials estimate around one billion of them have already been removed from circulation.
-British and German trade bodies have urged Brexit negotiators to put shared economic interests first. The British Chambers of Commerce and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce have warned that uncertainty over "business critical" Brexit issues - including workers' rights, tax and customs arrangements - must be tackled as a matter of priority.
-Homeowners ready to take their second step up the property ladder say it’s harder than getting on it in the first place. This is according to the latest Lloyds Bank Second Steppers report, which tracks the ongoing plight of home owners looking to sell their first property whilst buying their second.
-Most of the five million people who have rights in a salary-related pension from a former employer are not receiving timely information and advice about the many choices that they have to shape their pension in a way that works best for them. This is the key finding of a new policy paper jointly produced by pensions consultants LCP and mutual insurer Royal London.
-Weeks without windows, sinking patios and waste water pouring down walls are just some of the home improvement disasters people are reporting to Citizens Advice. The Citizens Advice consumer service helped people with 40,000 problems related to home maintenance and improvements last year, two thirds of which were about substandard services, such as jobs being completed late or poor workmanship.
Real world maths skills
Last Thursday was GCSE results day. New data released by free-for-life credit reporting service, Noddle, has found that more than three in five millennials in the UK have never used GCSE maths skills in everyday life, things such as algebra and trigonometry.
When asked what would have been more useful to learn, nearly half (46%) would have liked budgeting, over a third (37%) would have wanted to learn more about mortgages and more than a quarter (27%) would have benefited from extra knowledge about taxes.
Respondents believed these would have helped with key financial milestones, especially those that they suggest signify adulthood such as paying taxes (59%) and getting a mortgage (54%).
My guest on the show today is founder of a charity which exists to get people talking, thinking and moving towards what really matters.
Liz Zeidler is chief executive of Happy City. Her mission is to improve lives, our society and our planet through an increased focus on happiness and wellbeing.
This may all sound sweet and fluffy but that is only because what we mean by ‘happiness’ has been corrupted. Happy City wants to reclaim happiness from commercial triviality and make it a guiding, radical principle for society.
In this episode of the podcast, I chat to Liz about the difference between short-term and long-term happiness, who should take responsibility for our wellbeing, how to measure happiness, the correlation between income and happiness, and much more.
Here's my conversation with Liz Zeidler, chief executive of Happy City, in episode 260 of Informed Choice Radio.
This week on the show, I'm talking about demystifying car finance and I'm joined by Stuart Masson, founder of The Car Expert.
There's also the aftershow segment, which this week includes an important announcement about this podcast, so stay tuned to find out more.
Stuart Masson
Stuart founded The Car Expert in 2011.
Originally from Australia, he's got a passion for cars and the car industry.
He spent a decade in automotive retail, and now works tirelessly to help car buyers by providing independent and impartial advice.
Personal finance news
-UK savers are putting less money into cash savings accounts. The latest figures from High Street banks show personal deposits grew by 2.3% in July.
-Identity theft levels in the UK have risen to "epidemic levels", according to the fraud prevention organisation Cifas. Nearly 500 identity frauds are reported daily, with victims most likely to be in their thirties or forties.
-A care home chief has warned the sector is "teetering on the edge" as a result of a chronic shortage of funding which risks "catastrophic failure" within the NHS. Dr Chai Patel, chairman of care home operator HC-One, has predicted in The Times that six national chains could dominate the market.
-New research from MoneySavingExpert has found household expenditure is rising more slowly than price inflation. It suggests the so-called "cost of living squeeze" might be less pronounced than previously believed.
-Consumer group Which? has reported a sharp rise in small homes. Which? reports the number of new build micro-homes in the UK grew by 40% last year.
My guest on the show today is Humphrey Bowles.
Our conversation cover two main areas, which Humphrey and his team have brought together through GUARDHOG; that's insurtech and the sharing economy.
You're probably already familiar with the sharing economy, but insurtech might be a new term for you, like it was for me. Insurtech refers to the use of technology innovations designed to squeeze out savings and efficiency from the current insurance industry model.
Humphrey's business GUARDHOG is a start-up on-demand sharing economy insurtech platform providing B2B and B2C insurance solutions for platforms and users of the sharing economy.
They offer on-demand, pay-per-stay ‘full-fat’ insurance that covers the risks of having paying guests to stay, renting tools and kit, or storing your stuff with neighbours.
In this episode, I chat to Humphrey about defining insurtech and how it fits into the wider fintech sector, concerns about safety in the sharing economy, insurance considerations when opening your doors to strangers, making your participation in the sharing economy safer, and much more.
How to do you make your decisions?
The decisions we make every day – frequently automatic and incredibly fast – impact every area of our lives.
My guest on the show today is an expert when it comes to making decisions in an increasing complex world.
Michael Nicholas is author of The Little Black Book of Decision Making. His book delves into the cognition behind decision making, guiding you through the different ways your mind approaches various scenarios.
Michael is a coach, corporate trainer and professional speaker. He works with leaders and teams from organisations ranging from medium size, entrepreneurial businesses up to leading FTSE companies, specialising in helping them to improve their business performance and release more of every individual’s potential.
In addition, he's trained several hundred people globally to become effective coaches and occasionally provides one-on-one help for wealthy, private clients.
In this episode, I chat to Michael about why it's becoming harder to make the right decisions, the role cognitive dissonance plays, how we can neutralise some of our inherent biases, striking the right balance between intuition and logic, evolutionary traits that no longer serve as well in modern society, a more mindful approach to rational decision making, and much more.
Here's my conversation with Michael Nicholas, author of The Little Black Book of Decision Making, in episode 257 of Informed Choice Radio.
This week on the show, what are the risks to consider when it's time to open a branch of the Bank of Mum & Dad?
Introducing Mrs Mummypenny
My co-host for this episode is Lynn James, otherwise known as Mrs Mummypenny.
Lynn left the corporate world in June 2015 to run Mrs Mummypenny, a personal finance & lifestyle brand.
She launched Mrs Mummypenny in 2013 whilst on maternity leave with her youngest son and kept it going as a hobby when she returned to full time work.
Lynn has always loved sharing her money saving tips with friends, so thought why not learn how to build a website and social platform and go for it!
You can follow Lynn on Twitter at @mrsmummypenny.
Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here.
Personal finance news
-The latest price inflation figures are a blow to millions of rail users, who will see a 3.6% increase in regulated rail fares from January. Train operators use the Retail Prices Index figure for July when setting regulated rail fare increases.
-The merger of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC and Standard Life plc has completed this week to form Standard Life Aberdeen plc, one of the world’s largest investment companies. The merger has created a company with assets under administration of £670 billion.
-A new online only cash Junior ISA has been launched by National Savings & Investments. The account will offer a 2% tax-free/AER (variable) interest rate and has a maximum subscription limit of £4,128 for 2017/18.
-A new independent study from GoCompare has revealed that drivers could beat rising premiums and cut their insurance costs significantly, just by buying cover sooner and not leaving it until the last minute. According to new figures from the comparison site, 89% of drivers would see cheaper quotes if they shopped around a week before their policy start date, rather than leaving it until the day itself.
-Average house prices close to Scottish Premiership football grounds have increased by 20% over the last ten years, according to research by Bank of Scotland. This represents an average increase of £24,811 during the past decade; from £121,237 in 2007 to £146,048 in 2017, equivalent to a weekly rise of £48.
My guest on the show today is Ray LeVitre.
Ray is Managing Partner of Net Worth Advisory Group, based in Utah. He's a Certified Financial Planner and Member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.
Ray's gained a unique perspective of the financial industry during his 19 years of experience. Ray has worked as representative for one of the nation’s largest mutual fund companies; as a bank investment representative at one of the nation’s largest banks; and as an insurance agent at a reputable life insurance company. Ray then worked as a stock broker at the nation’s largest brokerage firm before starting his own independent firm.
Because Ray has seen the industry from many angles, he understands the types of products and services commission-based companies offer. As an independent fee-only advisor Ray is in a unique position to help people evaluate the products and services they have been sold by other advisors and help determine if they were given sound advice.
In this episode, I chat to Ray about retirement rules of thumb, the right time to get serious about your retirement planning, what investors should do with their portfolios in light of these strange economic times, common mistakes he sees people making when they enter the retirement phase of life, and much more.
Here's my conversation with Ray LeVitre, CFP professional and author of 20 Retirement Decisions You Need to Make Right Now, in episode 255 of Informed Choice Radio.
Hello and welcome to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. My guest on the show today is Tim Albert.
Tim was born in 1947. He studied psychology and sociology at Surrey University and then trained as a journalist on local newspapers in Devon. In 1973 he moved to London and started working on national newspapers, and specialised in education.
In the 1980s he became a medical journalist, and in 1990 set up as a trainer, specialising in writing and editing skills for health professionals.
Tim moved on from full time training in 2007. He now writes and promotes books and cultivates his garden in Surrey.
His new book is Mostly We Had It Good. In this book he traces his journey through the last five decades of the 20th century, using his memories, discussions with others, family documents and the articles he wrote at the time.
It looks at family life in the austere post-war years, education in a monastery school and a brand-new university, training as a journalist on a local paper, the fights for a fairer education and against NHS changes, and a doomed attempt to persuade health professionals to write clearly.
In this episode, I chat to Tim about being part of the post-war baby boomer generation, whether this really is a fortunate generation, and some of the key milestones which have shaped his life.
You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/254. There's useful links and you can also download the full episode transcript. That's all at icradio.co.uk/254.
Before we get into the conversation with Tim, do you have an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot in your home or office? You can now get a daily Flash Briefing from Informed Choice Radio; a 3-5 minute summary of the day's most important personal finance and investing headlines. You can add the Informed Choice Radio Flash Briefing to your Alexa enabled device by searching for Informed Choice Radio in your Amazon Alexa app and enabling the skill. To play the latest Flash Briefing from Informed Choice Radio, simply say to your Echo or Echo Dot, “Alexa, what’s my Flash Briefing?” or “Alexa, what’s in the news?”
Here's my conversation with Tim Albert, author of Mostly We Had It Good, in episode 254 of Informed Choice Radio.
This week on the show, we're talking about how to get Generation Debt back on track.
Insurer LV= has published some new research which has found renters among the late-Millennial generation (25-34 years old) are one of the least financially resilient groups in the UK.
Based on research conducted with over 9,000 people, the first instalment of LV=’s ‘Income Roulette’ research found that more than half (55%) of 25-34 year olds fall short of the Money Advice Service (MAS) recommended amount of savings to be financially resilient.
Resilience can be defined as someone who has 90 days’ worth of outgoings in savings, however the research found that a third (34%) of late-Millennials could only survive for one month or less if they lost their income. These figures are even more pronounced for renters of this age, who make up almost half (45%) of the group.
Two-thirds (65%) of 25-34 year olds who rent don’t have the level of savings specified by MAS – almost double the national average (37%) – and 45% could only cope for one month or less without their income. In addition, more than two in five (44%) aren’t confident in their ability to handle a personal financial crisis, again far higher than the UK average (33%).
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Introducing Andy Webb
My co-host for this episode is Andy Webb, founder of Be Clever With Your Cash.
Andy is a blogger, journalist and trainer on all things money and consumer.
Alongside Be Clever With Your Cash, he works two days a week as the senior writer for The Money Advice Service’s blog. Andy also represents the company as a “money expert” on TV, radio and in print.
He's appeared on BBC Breakfast (BBC One), Rip Off Britain (BBC One), Right on the Money (BBC One), Channel Five News, You and Yours (Radio 4), Newsbeat (Radio 1), Rip Off Britain Food (BBC One) and dozens of local radio stations.
Personal finance news
-Members of the post-war baby boomer generation have enjoyed a massive boost from private and workplace pension income over the past 40 years. New figures from the Office for National Statistics show 80% of retired households received income from a private pension last year.
-UK house prices recorded their fourth consecutive month of quarter-on-quarter falls in July. The latest figure from the Halifax reported that average property prices fell by 0.2% between May and July.
-Household bills have risen at more than double the rate of price inflation over the past year. The Billflation Index from comparethemarket.com found the average monthly cost of household bills rose by 5.7% to £845 in April 2017, compared to the same month last year.
-The Sunday Telegraph has reported that Britain is ready to pay up to €40bn as its 'divorce bill' to leave the European Union. The newspaper cited three unnamed sources who were familiar with the negotiating strategy.
-Four in ten care homes have failed inspections, according to new analysis of Care Quality Commission reports. The Daily Mail analysis found 5,300 care homes have been inspected by the regulator this year and 2,000 were found inadequate or in need of improvement.
Hello and welcome to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. My guest on the show today is Spencer Jakab.
Spencer writes for and edits the “Heard on the Street” column for The Wall Street Journal and previously wrote its daily investing column, “Ahead of the Tape.”
He has also written about investing for the Financial Times, Barron’s, and Dow Jones news wires.
Prior to becoming a journalist, he was a top-rated stock analyst covering emerging markets at Credit Suisse.
His first book is Heads I Win, Tails I Win: Why Smart Investors Fail and How to Tilt the Odds in Your Favor.
According to Spencer, most of us have no idea how much money we’re leaving on the table — or that the average saver doesn’t come anywhere close to earning the “average” returns touted in those glossy brochures. We’re handicapped not only by psychological biases and a fear of missing out, but by an industry with multi-million dollar marketing budgets and an eye on its own bottom line, not yours.
In this episode, I chat to Spencer about making the transition from stock analyst to journalist, how important the cost of investing really is, steps we can take as investors to insulate ourselves from making bad decisions, the common mistakes Spencer sees investors making, and much more.
Here's my conversation with Spencer Jakab, Wall Street Journalist columnist and author of Heads I Win, Tails I Win, in episode 252 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the show today is Marion McGovern.
Marion was the founder and CEO of M Squared Consulting, one of the first gig economy talent intermediaries before the term was even coined.
She also founded Collabrus, a company focused on independent contractor compliance.
Marion is the author of A New Brand of Expertise: How Independent Consultants, Free Agents, and Interim Managers Are Transforming the World of Work.
Her new book is Thriving in the Gig Economy.
So much has changed in the world of work in the past five years. Technology firms including Uber, Airbnb, TaskRabbit and Instacart have created a new 'gig economy', which is rarely out of the headlines.
But most of the media focus is on the low end of the skill spectrum; little attention is being paid to the best-in-class professionals who have chosen an independent path.
In this episode, I chat to Marion about how the gig economy differs from the sharing economy, whether millennials fit into the gig economy differently to baby boomers, the role of the individual in this new workplace, how the gig economy can be a positive force for all involved, where best in class professionals fit in, and much more.
If you enjoy our conversation, and I hope you do, please take just a minute to connect with Marion on Twitter. You can find her there at @marionmcgovern. Mention me too, @martinbamford.
And if we're not connected yet on Twitter, why not? Go on, click that follow button today, say hello and I'll follow you straight back.
You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/251. There's useful links and you can also download the full episode transcript. That's all at icradio.co.uk/251.
Here's my conversation with Marion McGovern, author of Thriving in the Gig Economy.
This week on the show, as we celebrate the milestone of 250 podcast episodes, I answer questions from some past guests.
A big thank you to Iona Bain, Pete Matthew, James Wallman, Jon 'JB' Beckett and Kelly Eroglu for sharing their questions.
Thank you also to Richard Hanson, an Informed Choice Radio listener who I bumped into last weekend and asked to record a question for the share!
Most importantly, thank you for listening and continuing to support Informed Choice Radio.
With 250 episodes under our belt, we are very close now to 100,000 total downloads, a milestone we hope to reach in the next week or so.
There are some big plans for this podcast in the future and I can't wait to bring you the next 250 episodes.
Personal finance news
-Around 200,000 staff working in UK higher education face big changes to the future pension entitlement with the deficit of the sector's main pension scheme soaring to £12.6bn. Despite achieving a positive rate of investment returns in the past year and adding £10.2bn to its assets, the Universities Superannuation Scheme has also experienced rising liabilities.
-Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned that uncertainty over Brexit is already weighing on the economy. His comments as the Bank voted six to two to maintain low interest rates and cut its economic growth forecasts.
-Delays to state pensions have resulted in more than one million women in their early 60s being worse off financially. The Institute for Fiscal Studies found that women aged 60 to 62 were £32 a week worse off on average.
-Elderly people in the UK face a shortage of 30,000 care home beds by the end of next year. The research commissioned by BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme found the ageing population could result in a shortfall of 70,000 care home beds in nine years' time.
-Pay for chief executives has fallen during the past year. FTSE 100 bosses earn an average of £4.5m a year, down from £5.4m a year in 2015. An average full-time worker in the UK would take 160 years to earn the same amount, based on an average salary of £28,000 a year.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
My guest on the show today is Rob Dix, someone who you may well already know if you're at all interested in the world of property investing.
Rob is co-host of the incredibly popular The Property Podcast, along with Rob Bence. He's also founder of the Property Geek blog and podcast, and author of several popular property investing books.
Rob's new book is How To Be A Landlord; a straightforward guide to everything involved in letting and managing a property – whether you’re an accidental landlord or an enthusiastic investor.
In his characteristic simple and entertaining language, How To Be A Landlord covers important steps like preparing the property to let, advertising for tenants, conducting viewings, doing all the paperwork, managing the tenancy, and dealing with any tricky situations that crop up.
In this episode we talk about whether property investing is right for everyone, how Rob got started with his first buy-to-let, if the future for this asset remains bright, finding good value in the current market, some of the pitfalls associated with being a landlord, and steps to finding great tenants.
Please take a moment to connect with Rob on Twitter, where you can find him @robdix. Mention me too, @martinbamford.
You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/249. There's useful links and you can also download the full episode transcript. That's all at icradio.co.uk/249.
Here's my conversation with Rob Dix, author of How To Be A Landlord.
Today on the show I'm joined by the excellent Dawid Konotey-Ahulu, co-founder of Redington.
Redington advises large pension funds around the world and believes there is a way to solve the pensions challenge, and that it involves bringing together great minds in conversation, as well as connecting unlikely dots to provide new and better ways for pension funds to reach their goals.
Dawid qualified as a barrister of Lincoln’s Inn in 1987, before transitioning into banking to work for Natwest Capital Markets in 1990. He joined Merrill Lynch in 2000 where, in his last role, he was Managing Director responsible for Merrill Lynch’s Pensions and Insurance Group, Europe.
In 2004 he implemented the market’s first full derivative liability driven investment (LDI) hedge for a defined benefit pension fund, making history in the risk management arena. In 2005 on the advice of his clients, he left to set up Redington, and hasn’t looked back.
In 2009 Dawid took the lead in setting up the firm’s second business, mallowstreet.com, which is now the established online community for the UK pensions industry. 3000 members of the site represent over $2 trillion in pension fund assets through 500 pension schemes.
In this episode, we have a wide-ranging conversation about several different things. We talk about the savings crisis; what is it and what can we do to get people saving more for their futures? We also talk about behavioural economics, something regular listeners to this podcast will know I'm currently exploring and learning more about. Finally, we chat about the role of technology within the world of financial services and some exciting future developments in this space.
You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/248. There's useful links and you can also download the full episode transcript.
Here's my conversation with Dawid Konotey-Ahulu, in episode 248 of Informed Choice Radio.
This week on the show, I'm talking about lifelogging and what it means for your money.
Wikipedia defines lifelogging as a movement to incorporate technology into data acquisition on aspects of a person's daily life in terms of inputs (food consumed, quality of surrounding air), states (mood, arousal, blood oxygen levels), and performance, whether mental or physical.
In short, lifelogging or quantified self is self-knowledge through self-tracking with technology.
But what does this approach to personal technology mean for your relationship with money?
In this episode I talk about some of the lifelogging tools I'm using to monitor and improve my health and fitness, before talking about an interesting (and painful!) new tool which could be revolutionary when it comes to managing our money-related behaviour.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news headlines and an update on the world of Informed Choice this week.
Personal finance news
-The UK economy could be put at risk due to a sharp rise in personal loans. The Bank of England has warned about rising car loans, credit card balance transfers and personal loans, which have risen by 10% in the past year.
-If you've got any old £1 coins left in your purse or wallet, you've got less than three months left to spend them. According to the Treasury, there are now more of the new 12-sided £1 coins in circulation than the old circular version.
-Thousands of people have paid too much tax when withdrawing money from their pensions. HMRC's latest Pension Schemes Newsletter reveals that in just three months it has had to repay over £25m in excess income tax taken from savers on pension funds withdrawn using ‘pension freedoms’.
-BMW Group has announced that a battery-electric Mini will go into production in 2019 at the company’s factory in Oxford. The electric drivetrain for the new electric Mini will be built in Bavaria before being integrated into the car at Plant Oxford, BMW's main production location for the MINI 3-door Hatch.
-Estate agents are suffering as a result of a slowing housing market. Foxtons reported profits falling by 64% in the first half of the year and Countrywide reported a 98% fall in profits, saying they would not pay a dividend to investors.
My guest on the show today specialises in helping people craft their life after age 50.
George Schofield, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and developmental/organizational psychologist who advises clients on retirement and career planning.
He's author of the new book How Do I Get There from Here?: Planning for Retirement When the Old Rules No Longer Apply.
Our conversation today is all about how retirement has changed and what we need to do to craft a meaningful life after age 50.
We used to all know what retirement meant. It used to be pretty simple. Work until 65, 'retire', and then coast through your golden years with a comfortable nest egg to fund your lifestyle.
But longer lives have changed everything. It's common these days to live until 90, or older. It's harder than ever before to save for the future. The concept of a 'job for life' is gone and employer pension schemes are less generous than before.
George believes the changes ahead require an incremental approach to planning—and you better begin now.
In How Do I Get There From Here, George explains why the new After 50 Lifestyle calls for more than money: it demands conscious engagement, diverse interests, and the ability to adapt.
His book helps you plot your direction for the coming decades.
The first step is to acknowledge where you are—reviewing your assets, both the tangible (e.g. finances, health, relationships) and intangible (e.g. unfulfilled ambitions and new intentions). Then self-reflective questions and exercises walk you through imagining your future, identifying skills you'll need, and preparing for inevitable twists and turns along the way.
Here's my conversation with George Schofield, author of How Do I Get There from Here?: Planning for Retirement When the Old Rules No Longer Apply, in episode 246 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest on the show today is an absolute giant in the world of consulting and public speaking.
Alan Weiss is one of those rare people who can say he’s a consultant, speaker, and author and mean it.
His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients such as Hewlett-Packard, Mercedes-Benz, The Federal Reserve, The New York Times Corporation, Toyota, and over 500 other leading organizations.
His new book, co-authored with Marshall Goldsmith, is Lifestorming: Creating Meaning and Achievement in Your Career and Life.
Lifestorming is an indispensable and practical handbook for becoming the person you want to be. Read the book to redesign your life, friends, behaviors, and beliefs to move closer to your goals every single day, guided by expert insight and deep introspection.
Here’s my conversation with Alan Weiss, the rock star of consulting and co-author of Lifestorming, in episode 245 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the show, jumping ship. Why, when and how to make those big financial changes in your life.
I'll be talking about the big financial decisions, why you need to make then, when the right time is, and how you can approach them for the best chance of success.
If you’re new here, welcome to the show!
I’m Martin Bamford, your host for this podcast. I'm a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and personal finance author.
This is a podcast from Informed Choice, an award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Cranleigh, Surrey.
Here at Informed Choice, we help you achieve your financial goals in life and make those important decisions with confidence. That’s what this podcast, Informed Choice Radio, is all about.
You can find out more about the podcast, listen to our entire back catalogue of episodes, and find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk.
My guest on the show today is Iona Bain.
Iona is a young journalist and broadcaster who writes for the Glasgow Herald, the Daily Mail, Investazine, the Independent and the Sunday Times.
In 2011 she established Iona's Young Money Blog, the first of its kind in the UK. Nominated as a rising industry star in 2014, she also writes a column the trade industry bible Financial Adviser.
She has appeared on BBC Scotland, the Radio 1 Surgery Show, Channel 4 News and the Max Keiser Show and co-hosts the Young Money Show on Share Radio station.
Her book Spare Change shows that anyone can have a more fulfilling approach to money regardless of personality, background or income.
This inspirational yet down-to-earth book helps readers to take control and get the most out of their finances from the practical advice on how to save and tips on how to make your money go further to dealing with socialising on a budget.
Iona helps readers to work out their own personal relationship with money then helps them to formulate an action plan tailored to their own personal needs.
It's the perfect handbook for the compulsive spender budget-phobe or just anyone who wants to improve their financial savviness. Iona's message is simple; it’s never too late to clean up your finances!
Spare Change is the culmination of Iona's deep thinking and extensive experiences of common financial issues facing her generation. In this episode, we dive into some of the big money issues facing younger people today.
Here's my conversation with Iona Bain, author of Spare Change, in episode 243 of Informed Choice Radio.
My guest for this episode is Michelle Lowbridge, author of the new book, Wealthology: The Science of Smashing Money Blocks.
Michelle is also known as The Energy Editor. She's one of the most sought-after teachers and healers in Europe.
She works with entrepreneurs to quickly identify the money blocks that are stopping them from unleashing their superpower, then smashes them, using her powerful Wealthology system. Her clients release lifelong patterns, and multiply their income as a result.
Wealthology is an essential read for anyone who wants to smash through the money blocks that are holding them back from reaching their full potential. The Wealthology system allows readers to quickly identify how they relate to money - their Wealthology Profile - and the exact places to find their money blocks - the Wealthology Themes.
Readers can cross reference their profile with each money block theme and have a complete guide to how, why and where they're blocking money, and what to do about it.
Here's my conversation with Michelle Lowbridge, author of Wealthology, in episode 242 of Informed Choice Radio.
I hate to break this to you, but you're going to die at some point. This week on the show, I'm talking about how to prepare for the end of your life.
This one is for you regardless of your age, health or how close to the end of your life you think you might be. There is something in this episode for everyone.
What are the main financial things to consider when planning for the end?
Hello and welcome to Informed Choice Radio. My guest for this episode is Irene Aldridge, author of the new book Real-Time Risk: What Investors Should Know About Fintech, High-Frequency Trading, and Flash Crashes.
Irene is managing director and quantitative portfolio manager at ABLE Alpha Trading and president of ABLE Markets.
She's a frequent speaker at top industry events and a contributor to academic, practitioner, and mainstream media publications, including the Journal of Trading, Futures magazine, Reuters HedgeWorld, Advanced Trading, FX Week, Dealing With Technology, and Huffington Post.
Real-Time Risk is the first book to show regular, institutional, and quantitative investors how to navigate intraday threats and stay on-course.
The FinTech revolution has brought massive changes to the way investing is done. Trading happens in microsecond time frames, and while risks are emerging faster and in greater volume than ever before, traditional risk management approaches are too slow to be relevant.
The book describes market microstructure and modern risks, and presents a new way of thinking about risk management in today's high-speed world.
The discussion dissects FinTech innovation to highlight the ongoing disruption, and to establish a toolkit of approaches for analyzing flash crashes, aggressive high frequency trading, and other specific aspects of the market.
Please take a moment to say thank you to Irene on Twitter, and let her know you heard her right here on Informed Choice Radio. You can find Irene on Twitter @irenealdridge. Mention me too, @martinbamford.
You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/flashcrash. There's useful links and you can also download the full episode transcript. That's all at icradio.co.uk/flashcrash.
Here's my conversation with Irene Aldridge, in episode 240 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the show, I'm joined by Elle Martinez.
Elle is the creator and award-winning blogger behind Couple Money, a site and podcast dedicated to helping spouses build their marriage and wealth together.
Each week she interviews financial experts and real-life couples who've achieved impressive financial goals like becoming debt free, starting a business, and retiring early.
Through her podcast, she finds patterns and habits that help couples become successful.
In addition to Couple Money, Elle has been a contributing writer to such major media platforms as Business Insider, TurboTax, Entrepreneur, Lending Tree, and many more.
In her debut book Jumpstart Your Marriage & Your Money, Elle shares her four-week plan to help couples stop worrying about money and start building wealth together.
The book helps couples build open and honest communication and get started on the path to financial freedom. By combining personal stories as well as lessons learned from interviewing hundreds of successful couples, Elle shows just how "personal" finance can be, and teaches you how to live a simpler, more stress-free life.
Here's my conversation with Elle Martinez, in episode 239 of Informed Choice Radio.
This week on the show, I'm talking about dealing with 5 common financial regrets.
I was prompted to talk about this after seeing a new survey from Bankrate in the US. Apparently 73% of people there have financial regrets.
So what are these regrets? Why do we have them? Most importantly, what can we do about them?
Personal finance news
-Student debts are on the rise, with gradates in England due to have average debts of £50,800. New figures from the Institute of Fiscal Studies warn of the higher debts following a rise in student loans interest rates to 6.1%.
-Homeowners are making a 'costly mistake' by ignoring the small print when they remortgage, according to Moneyfacts. They found the average fee charge on a fixed-rate mortgage is now more than £1,000.
-Over 50s are being continually ignored by brands, in favour of younger consumers. This is despite being the most powerful consumer group, contributing almost £120bn to the UK economy last year.
-Fraud is the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales and most happens online. According to the National Audit Office, the Home Office’s response to tackling complex online fraud is not proportionate to the threat.
-Disposable incomes are falling at their steepest rate since 2011, according to the latest official figures. The ONS reported that income after tax and benefits fell by 2% during the first quarter of 2017, comparable to the first quarter last year.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
My guest on the show today is Dr Matthew Partridge, author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history.
Superinvestors lays bare the investing secrets of legendary investors - from early 20th-century figures such as Benjamin Graham and John Maynard Keynes, through to more modern names such as Anthony Bolton and Warren Buffett.
Matthew selected the investors featured in Superinvestors based on a variety of criteria, including their investing excellence, the different ways in which they have made money - and above all for what they can teach individual investors.
Matthew is an experienced financial journalist, as a senior writer for MoneyWeek magazine, Britain's biggest-selling personal finance weekly.
A trained historian, Matthew did a degree in economics and history at the University of Durham, before doing a master's and a doctorate in economic history at the London School of Economics.
He has taught at Goldsmiths, University of London, as well as spending time at various investment banks and a well-known economics consultancy.
Here's my conversation with Matthew Partridge, in episode 237 of Informed Choice Radio.
The latest concept about the hit the UK from Sweden is Lagom.
Lagom has no equivalent in the English language but is loosely translated as 'not too little, not too much, just right'.
It's widely believed that the word comes from the Viking term 'laget om', for when a mug of mead was passed around a circle and there was just enough for everyone to get a sip. But while the anecdote may hit the nail on the head, the true etymology of the word points to an old form of the word 'lag', which means 'law'.
Far from restrictive, lagom is a liberating concept, praising the idea that anything more that 'just enough' is a waste of time. Crucially it also comes with a selflessness and core belief of responsibility and common good.
By living lagom you can live a happier and more balanced life, reduce your environmental impact, improve your work-life balance, free your home from clutter, enjoy good food the Swedish way, grow your own and learn to forage, and cherish the relationships with those you love.
My guest on the podcast today is Linnea Dunne, author of Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living.
Linnea was born and raised in Sweden, where she started her writing career as a columnist at the local newspaper aged 15. She left for Ireland a few years later and eventually moved to London, where she studied Creative Writing and Political Communications.
She now lives in Dublin with her husband and two half-Swedish kids, trying to achieve that lagom balance against all odds.
Please take a moment to say thank you to Linnea on Twitter, and let her know you heard her right here on Informed Choice Radio. You can find Linnea on Twitter @linneadunne. Mention me too, @martinbamford.
You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/lagom. There's useful links and you can also download the full episode transcript. That's all at icradio.co.uk/lagom.
Here's my conversation with Linnea Dunne, in episode 236 of Informed Choice Radio.
This week on the show, I'm talking about investment managers who have been living high on the hog and steps the regulator will be taking to improve transparency, introduce better price competition and generally take them down a peg or two.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, my favourite money article this week, a random fact about money, an inspirational quote and, of course, the aftershow segment where I share a few of the things happening at Informed Choice this week.
Personal finance news
-Pound Sterling rose nearly 1% against the US Dollar this week, on the prospect of higher interest rates from the Bank of England. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, said interest rates could rise if business investment grows.
-Mortgage lender Nationwide has reported house prices rose in June, following three months of falls. They reported average house prices rose by 1.1% this month, following a fall of 0.2% in May.
-The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee is forcing banks to raise a further £11.4bn by the end of next year, to shore up their finances in case of bad loans. It means banks will need to set aside £5.7bn by the end of 2017, in case economic shocks mean some borrowers default on their repayments.
-New research has identified the most expensive time in our lives as age 35. This 'financial crunch point' was identified by the comparison site Moneysupermarket, who found Brits are most likely to be juggling the cost of young children, along with mortgages, and loan repayments for cars, holidays and weddings.
-A new report has revealed that more than one in five aspiring first time buyers are currently living at home with their parents. The latest quarterly First Time Buyer Index from Aldermore Bank also found that a quarter say they will have to live with their family for five or more years to save for a deposit.
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Today on the show I'm joined by Tom Nichols, author of The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters.
Tom is Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College, an adjunct professor at the Harvard Extension School, and a former aide in the U.S. Senate.
He's also the author of several works on foreign policy and international security affairs, including The Sacred Cause, No Use: Nuclear Weapons and U.S. National Security, Eve of Destruction: The Coming Age of Preventive War, and The Russian Presidency.
Simply put, he's an expert.
In The Death of Expertise, Tom show a rejection of experts has occurred for many reasons, including the openness of the Internet, the emergence of a customer satisfaction model in higher education, and the transformation of the news industry into a 24-hour entertainment machine.
The Death of Expertise is not only an exploration of a dangerous phenomenon but also a warning about the stability and survival of modern democracy in the Information Age.
Here’s my conversation with Tom Nichols, in episode 233 of Informed Choice Radio.
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Today on the show I'm joined by Paul Moore, founder of Wellings Capital and author of The Perfect investment.
After graduating with an engineering degree and then an MBA from Ohio State, Paul entered the management development track at Ford Motor Company in Detroit.
He left Ford to start a staffing company with a partner. They sold it to a publicly traded firm five years later.
Paul later entered the real estate sector, where he flipped over 50 homes and 25 high-end waterfront lots, appeared on HGTV’s House Hunters, rehabbed and managed rental properties, built a number of new homes, developed a subdivision, and started two successful online real estate marketing firms.
He also built a number of other companies and made quite a few medium- and high-risk investments along the way.
Three successful developments, including assisting with development of a Hyatt hotel and a very successful multifamily project, led him into the commercial multifamily arena.
Paul is the author of The Perfect Investment – Create Enduring Wealth from the Historic Shift to Multifamily Housing.
He also co-hosts a wealth-building podcast called How to Lose Money, is a featured guest on numerous real estate podcasts, and is a regular author for Bigger Pockets.
Here's my conversation with Paul Moore, in episode 233 of Informed Choice Radio.
Today on the podcast, I'm tackling the thorny and topical issue of defined benefit pension transfers.
Some big cash sums are on offer to members of final salary pension schemes and now the regulator is taking an interest. I talk about the pros and cons of giving up guarantees in return for cash.
Also on the show today, we've got a roundup of the latest personal finance news, my favourite money article this week, a random fact and an inspirational quote, as well as the aftershow segment, where I share some of the things happening at Informed Choice this week.
Personal finance news
-The government has unveiled its plans to ban fees paid to lettings agents in England. The Tenant's Fees Bill was announced in the Queen's Speech this week and could prevent the practice of tenants paying fees to lettings agents.
-A leading member of the Bank of England has indicated he will vote for an interest rate rise later this year. Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has said he might vote for a rate hike in the second half of 2017.
-The Financial Conduct Authority has told insurers it should do more to help customers who have cancer. The comments follow a case in which a nurse with terminal breast cancer was quoted a premium of £2,800 for travel insurance when taking a holiday in Dubai.
-The British wealth gap has widened during the past decade. The Resolution Foundation, a think tank, has estimated at 1% of adults own 14% of assets in Britain.
-Gross mortgage lending rose by an estimated 12% in May. The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £20.1 billion in May.
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Today on the show I'm joined by Andy Bell, founder and chief executive of AJ Bell, and author of The DIY Investor.
Andy co-founded AJ Bell in 1995, having spent a number of years working within the financial services sector.
An actuary by training, he has built AJ Bell into one of the largest providers of low-cost, online investment platforms and stockbroker services in the UK.
Andy is the principal driving force behind the business, which has grown to look after more than 152,000 customers with investment assets under administration exceeding £36 billion.
In his book The DIY Investor, Andy shows you how to plan your financial future through do-it-yourself investing.
He shows you how to build a long-term investment portfolio using a range of low-cost, tax-efficient strategies. Andy also provides expert guidance and industry insights suitable for first-time investors and those who are more experienced.
The DIY Investor teaches you the skills and strategies you need to take control of your investments and manage your money in the years ahead.
Here's my conversation with Andy Bell, in episode 231 of Informed Choice Radio.
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My guest on the podcast today is Danielle Marchant, author of the new book Pause: How to press pause before life does it for you.
Danielle has a long work history as a successful executive coach in the corporate industry, working with top-level executives at companies such as HSBC, McKinsey Unilever and SAP.
She has more than 13 years experience working with leaders in 20 different countries; and spent 3 years living and working in Asia, where she set up a pioneering coaching company and an award winning change management consultancy.
After learning that goals and ambitions could be just as happily and successfully achieved when simply allowing the body and mind to pause, she adapted her coaching style with both personal and corporate clients to flow rather than fight against the ups and downs of life.
In her new book, Pause, Danielle gives you the space and the practices so that you can learn how to benefit from the power of the pause.
The book uses nature, creativity and your inner spirit to allow the energy to flow freely once again. There are exercises to ground you, give access to your intuition, to breathe deeply and allow your monkey mind to settle.
Pressing pause is about giving you time to explore what is big in your life right now, to know deep down what matters. It opens you up, allowing you to freely experience all the pain, the joy and the twists and turns of life. It gives you back your courage, your fire and your connection.
Here's my conversation with Danielle Marchant, in episode 230 of Informed Choice Radio.
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With Father's Day coming up on Sunday, in this episode I'm talking about new research which highlights the importance of dads taking out financial protection.
Research from Scottish Widows has found that 53% of men in the UK with dependent children have no life cover.
This means that 3.9 million dads are potentially putting their family’s financial security at risk if the unexpected were to happen.
Personal finance news
-Average earnings have fallen in real terms by 0.6% in the three months to April. The latest official figures show earnings excluding bonuses rising by 1.7% in the period, or by 2.1% including bonuses.
-The typical UK home cost £220,000 in April, according to the latest official figures. This was a rise of £3,500 on the previous month and £12,000 on the same month a year earlier.
-One in 10 clients of debt charity Christians Against Poverty have no bed to sleep in at night. The charity also reported that eight in 10 say their financial situation leads to sleepless nights.
-The Bank of England has voted to keep interest rates on hold at 0.25%, but policy makers are shifting towards favouring a rate rise. At the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday, three of the eight members voted to increase rates in the face of rising price inflation.
-New figures from a fraud prevention organisation show that company directors are the victims of one in five cases of identity theft. Business directors make up 19% of victims of identity fraud cases, despite representing less than 9% of the UK population.
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
My guest on the podcast today wants to inspire you to live your best life, build legacy wealth for you and your family through real estate investing, and have fun while you do it.
Clayton Morris is the weekend anchor for FOX & Friends on The FOX News Channel.
He's also a successful real estate investor and founder of Morris Invest; they've helped hundreds of people buy their first rental property and renovated thousands of homes, filling them with happy tenants.
A few years ago, Clayton discovered a simple tool for building passive unearned income through real estate investing; something he calls his 'freedom number'.
In this episode of the podcast, I chat to Clayton about finding off market properties, managing renovations, choosing the right property managers, and balancing property investing with family life.
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My guest today is Benjamin Brandt, all the way from Bismark in North Dakota. He's the host of the popular podcast Retirement Starts Today Radio podcast and blog.
Benjamin is a Certified Financial Planner and Founder/President of Capital City Wealth Management. He's also an Iraqi combat veteran having served in the North Dakota Army National Guard for 8 years, including a 15 month deployment to Iraq in 2003.
As a retirement planning expert, he's featured in The Huffington Post, CNBC.com, Forbes, Business Insider, ClarkHoward.com, and many others.
In this episode, we talk about Benjamin's Retirement-Ready Blueprint, how to choose a suitable retirement age, how to prioritise different goals in later life, and extreme levels of checking with choosing your own financial planner.
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This week on the show, I'm going on a bit of a rant and talking about why you should pay for your own care in later life.
This was triggered by some new research from Saga, something a journalist asked me to look at earlier in the week. As an Accredited Later Life Adviser, it's something I think about a lot. Whether you're in retirement or a lot younger, this has so much relevance for you, so do keep listening.
Also on the show this week, there's a personal finance news update; everything you need to know about the world of personal finance this week in five carefully selected news items. I share my favourite money article this week, a random fact about money, and leave you feeling inspired with an inspirational personal finance quote.
There's also the aftershow, where I talk about what's going on in the world of Informed Choice right now - and why, after recording this episode, I'm jumping in the car to drive down to sunny Folkestone.
Personal finance news
-It takes earnings of £134,170 a year to be considered 'wealthy', according to new research.
-New figures show a record number of taxpayers are paying income tax at the highest rate.
-The annual rate of house price growth in the UK is continuing to slow.
-The average employee only has enough cash savings to last them for a month if their income suddenly stopped.
-Eurozone economies have reported better than expected economic growth in the first quarter.
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Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
My guest on the podcast today is Phil Oakley, author of the new book How to Pick Quality Shares.
Phil is an investment analyst and private investor. He works for Ionic Information, the makers of the market-leading ShareScope and SharePad software for private investors.
Phil spent 13 years as a professional investment analyst, with ten years working for fund managers and stockbrokers in the City.
He left the City in 2009 and began writing educational articles for private investors. He was senior investment writer for MoneyWeek for three years before starting his current role.
In his new book, How to Pick Quality Shares, Phil provides a three-step process for analysing company financial information to find good investments. This process covers finding quality companies; avoiding dangerous or risky companies; and not paying too much for companies’ shares.
By applying the in-depth techniques described in the book, investors will have a fuller understanding of how companies really work, and will develop an edge over other investors, including professional investors and analysts.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I talk to Phil about what investors should be looking for, what are the warning signs that might be particularly risky or even dangerous for an investor and much more.
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My guest on Informed Choice Radio today is Chris Rowland Thomas.
Chris has been an accountant in public practice for over thirty years. He founded his own firm the day after he qualified and is now the senior partner of Thomas Harris Chartered Accountants.
Based in South London, his firm numbers amongst its clients many celebrities, musicians and actors as well as ordinary businesses and self-employed individuals. Last year his firm was voted ‘Best Celebrity Tax Advisors’ in the AI Tax Awards.
His new book is Your Accountant: The Good, The Bad and the Greedy.
This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand how to make your accountant work for his or her money
In the book, Chris shares insider knowledge about the way accountants work – and what it means for you. This book is on the one hand a guide to squeezing every last drop of wisdom and expert advice out of your accountant and on the other a daring exposé of the closed professional world which has served none better than the practitioners themselves.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I talk to Chris about saving on fees and minimising your tax bill without paying eye-watering sums for accountancy advice. Chris shares practical tips on choosing the right accountant and also on becoming a preferred client, so you get the best possible service from your professional adviser.
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Martin is on holiday this week so hands podcast hosting duties across to Nick for this episode.
Nick shares the latest personal finance news before inviting Shelley into the studio to talk all about inheritance tax planning.
To book a free seat at one of our two inheritance tax planning seminars in Cranleigh on Thursday 22nd June, visit icfp.co.uk/seminar.
Personal finance news
-Tens of thousands of expat pensioners may return to the UK to use the NHS after Brexit.
-Small firms have been hit by rates relief delay.
-The value of the pound dropped after a projection suggested the Conservatives could fail to win an outright majority in the election on 8 June.
-Higher inflation is driving down real wages for British workers.
-BT are considering closing their defined-benefit pensions scheme for existing staff.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
What's avocado toast got to do with being able to afford your first home?
If you're part of the millennial generation, born between the early 1980s and mid 1990s, you're probably finding things tough, financially at least. Massive student debts, unrealistic house prices and no more jobs for life. And now you're being told by an Australian property millionaire that spending too much money on avocado toast is the reason for all of your financial troubles!
My guest on the podcast today is Erin Lowry, author of the new book Broke Millennial. Erin helps millennials get their financial life together through her blog, book, lectures, and workshops.
She doesn't do preaching and finger-wagging, but does offer plenty of practical advice so the millennial generation can navigate the pesky (but important) money questions they face.
Erin wants you to stop living paycheck to paycheck and Get Your Financial Life Together (#GYFLT)!
If you’re a cash-strapped 20- or 30-something, my conversation with Erin is a must listen. She knows it’s easy to get freaked out by your personal finances. But Erin's message is simple; you’re not doomed to spend your life drowning in debt or mystified by money.
In her new book Broke Millennial, Erin shows step-by-step how to go from flat-broke to financial badass. Unlike most personal finance books out there, it doesn’t just cover boring stuff like credit card debt, investing, and dealing with the dreaded “B” word (budgeting).
Instead, financial expert Erin goes beyond the basics to tackle tricky money matters and situations most of us face in real life, including understanding your relationship with money, managing student loans without having a full-on panic attack, and how to get “financially naked” with your partner and find out his or her “number”.
Today on the show I'm joined by Gervais Williams, author of The Retreat of Globalisation.
Gervais Williams is an award-winning equity fund manager. As a professional investor, he has exceptional credentials. He received numerous awards for his fund management, including being named What Investment's Fund Manager of the Year 2014.
Gervais is a respected commentator on prospective market trends. He outlined his controversial views in his book Slow Finance in 2011 and developed those ideas in 2014's The Future is Small.
In his latest book The Retreat of Globalisation, Gervais outlines why we are entering a period when the culture of financial markets will change more in three years than it has in the last 30.
This episode of Informed Choice Radio is a must listen for anyone who needs to understand these developing investment themes so they can position their portfolio to take advantage of the changes.
Welcome to The Retreat of Globalisation, with Gervais Williams in episode 221 of Informed Choice Radio.
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This week on the show, ahead of the general election on 8th June, I'm talking about what the political party manifestos mean for your money.
I take a closer look at pledges for the state pension, adult social care, house building and income tax.
Personal finance news
-The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into a series of pension liberation scams.
-The number of UK property sales fell significantly during April, suggesting a slowdown in the market.
-UK economic growth has been revised down for the first quarter, with the services sector losing momentum.
-Levels of house building in England have reached their highest level in a decade.
-People over pension age are the fastest growing group of cohabitees, according to new analysis by Royal London.
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Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
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My guest today is John Adams, founder of Dad Blog UK.
John is a married father of two girls, dad blogger and vlogger.
Back in 2011, John and his wife took the decision he should give up his career in communications to become a stay at home father, a role he fulfils to this day. As a result, he does most of the household management and the majority of the childcare.
John started blogging about his experiences as a stay at home dad back in 2012. More recently, he's branched out into vlogging too.
Dad Blog UK was winner of the Vuelio Blog Awards 2016 ‘Best UK Dad Blog’. He's had numerous appearances in the Times newspaper plus live interviews with BBC Breakfast, Channel 4 television news and the Victoria Derbyshire programme.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, John and I chat about the life of a stay at home dad, and discuss personal financial planning from the perspective of a parent. This one is for any dads or mums out there, who want to get a better understanding of some of the issues they face around money, children and family.
Welcome to Dad Blog UK, with John Adams in episode 219 of Informed Choice Radio.
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My guest today is Greg Davies, a specialist in applied decision science and behavioural finance.
Greg specialises in turning academic insight into practical applications.
With a prior background in academia and consulting, in 2006 Greg started, and for a decade led, the banking world’s first behavioural finance team as Head of Behavioural-Quant Finance at Barclays.
He holds a PhD in Behavioural Decision Theory from Cambridge; is an Associate Fellow at Oxford’s Saïd Business School; a lecturer at Imperial College London; and author of Behavioral Investment Management.
At Centapse, Greg specialises in improving outcomes by helping people make better decisions. He takes the insights of behavioural economics and builds them into an organization’s systems, analytics, processes, propositions, and products.
Listen to this episode of Informed Choice Radio to better understand the biases which influence our decision making, the different investment personality types, how robo-advisers could save us from our human behaviours, and much more.
Welcome to Making Better Decisions, with Greg Davies in episode 218 of Informed Choice Radio.
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What is the biggest waste of money in your life?
Inspired by an article from Business Insider, this week on the show I'm looking at 14 ways to stop wasting your money.
It's a particularly important areas to address because wage growth is currently lagging behind inflation for the first time since mid-2014.
Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses increased by 2.1%. in the three months to March, while inflation rose by 2.3% in the year to March 2017.
Personal finance news update
-Price inflation has risen unexpectedly in the year to April, reaching its highest level since September 2013.
-Buy-to-let mortgage activity has halved since the introduction of higher stamp duty for landlords.
-US investment giant Vanguard has prompted talk of an investment platform price war following the launch of their new service for personal investors in the UK.
-1.4 million UK households are struggling to pay their mortgage and 2.6 million people think their monthly mortgage payments are too high.
-Generation X entrepreneurs struggle to balance family life with their ambitions for business growth, according to new research from Lloyds Bank.
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Here at Informed Choice Radio, we're not afraid to examine the big ideas. And few ideas are bigger than the concept of a universal basic income.
Professor Guy Standing is a founder member and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network. This is a non-governmental organisation that promotes a basic income for all.
Basic Income is a regular cash transfer from the state, received by all individual citizens. It is an acknowledgement that everyone plays a part in generating the wealth currently enjoyed only by a few.
Political parties across the world are now adopting it as official policy and the idea generates headlines every day.
Guy Standing has been at the forefront of thought about Basic Income for the past thirty years.
His recent work has concerned the emerging precariat class and the need to move towards unconditional basic income and deliberative democracy.
Guy's new book is Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen.
In the book he covers in authoritative detail the impact of basic income on the economy, poverty, work and labour; he dissects and disproves the standard arguments against Basic Income; explains what we can learn from pilots across the world and illustrates exactly why a Basic Income has now become such an urgent necessity.
Welcome to Basic Income & How We Can Make It Happen, with Professor Guy Standing, in episode 216 of Informed Choice Radio.
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Today's episode of Informed Choice Radio is a little different. We're taking a closer look at achievement. What does it take to achieve more in life, in fact to become a super achiever?
My guest today knows all about becoming a super achiever; he's interviewed more than 4,000 of the world's highest achievers.
Corey Poirier is an award-winning speaker, host of the Conversations with PASSION Radio Show, a best-selling author and founder of a media company.
Corey has interviewed successful business people in all sectors and has discovered the key traits that all super achievers have in common. He's been described as the modern day Napoleon Hill due to his study of success.
Listen to this episode to find out what sets super achievers apart from mere achievers, the importance of continually feeding your mind, and how we can make sure we don't settle for an average life.
Welcome to Super Achievers, with Corey Poirier, in episode 215 of Informed Choice Radio.
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Hello and welcome to the final episode in a series of Informed Choice Radio podcasts as we celebrate Financial Planning Week 2017.
If you're one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you. It's a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year's campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK.
In this episode, it's the end of the week so we're talking about the end of the financial planning journey, retirement. Or is it the start of the journey? I'll let you be the judge of that.
Joining me for this episode is my father and fellow director, Informed Choice founder Nick Bamford.
Useful links
-Nick's Email
-Nick on Twitter
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Hello and welcome to the fourth of five special episodes of Informed Choice Radio as we celebrate Financial Planning Week 2017.
If you're one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you.
It's a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year's campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK.
In this episode of the podcast, following three days of guests talking about various parts of the Financial Planning journey, it's a solo-round. I'm going to talk about investing with confidence.
I share five key points to consider when investing money:
1 - Link your investing goals to your financial goals
2 - Consider attitude to risk and capacity for risk
3 - Diversify across major asset classes
4 - Rebalance your portfolio once a year
5 - Don't watch the news
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Welcome to the third of five special episodes of Informed Choice Radio as we celebrate Financial Planning Week 2017.
If you're one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you.
It's a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year's campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK.
In this episode of the podcast, on day three of Financial Planning Week 2017, I'm joined by my friend and fellow Financial Planner Justin King.
Useful links
-Justin's Website
-Justin's email
-Life Planning for You
-Man Searching For Meaning
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Welcome to the second of five special episodes of Informed Choice Radio as we celebrate Financial Planning Week 2017.
If you’re one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you.
It’s a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year’s campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK.
The Financial Planning Week campaign aims to raise awareness of how important financial planning is to your life. It’s not just for people who have never thought about their finances, it’s for everyone, whatever your situation.
Putting some simple financial plans in place and making some smart decisions to help achieve your goals and dreams in life is the first step towards really taking control of your life and gaining valuable peace of mind.
In this episode of the podcast, on day two of Financial Planning Week 2017, I’m joined by my friend and fellow Financial Planner Pete Matthew.
Useful links
-The Automatic Millionaire
-Enough?: How Much Money Do You Need For The Rest of Your Life?
-Meaningful Money
-Pete on Twitter
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Today is the start of Financial Planning Week 2017.
If you're one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you.
It's a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year's campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK.
In this episode of the podcast, on day one of Financial Planning Week 2017, I'm joined by my friend and fellow Financial Planner Ruth Sturkey to define Financial Planning and talk about the six-step process for Financial Planning.
Useful links
-The Red House
-Ruth on Twitter
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Nobody should regret the decision to retire, yet more than 80% of over 50s think they made the decision to retire too early. That's the main topic for the show today; how can you live a retirement with no regrets?
Personal finance news update
-Parents lending money to their adult children have become a top 10 UK mortgage lender, with children increasingly relying on financial support from the Bank of Mum and Dad.
-Rising pension deficits could result in "difficult discussions" for some of the largest businesses in Britain.
-Average house prices fell for a second consecutive month in April.
-Global prices for avocados have reached a record high following a poor harvest, growing demand and industrial action.
-Almost half of people would not use a live-streaming service to pay their respects if they had to miss attending a funeral for other reasons.
Money article of the week
How to Live a Luxurious Life While Still Saving
Random fact of the week
The first state pension was introduced in 1909 at just 5 shillings or 25 pence a week. It was paid to around half a million people who were aged 70 or over. At the time it was introduced, only one in four people lived to age 70. You didn't receive the pension if you had been in prison during the past ten years or if you owned too much furniture.
Inspirational quote Our money quote of the week comes from actor Will Smith who said:
"Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like."
Aftershow links
Cranleigh Trail Marathon
Martin's Instagram
Think Small: The Surprisingly Simple Ways to Reach Big Goals, by Owain Service and Rory Gallagher
Financial Planning Week 2017
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message
My guest on the podcast today is Dr Gleb Tsipursky.
Gleb is founder of Intentional Insights; a nonprofit that empowers people to refine and reach their goals by providing research-based content to help improve thinking, feeling, and behaviour patterns.
His primary vocation is helping people, organisations, and society as a whole use science-based decision-making and emotional and social intelligence to avoid disaster.
Gleb explains that, at their root, disasters stem from poor decisions. People make bad decisions in their everyday lives, which results in them losing money, time, relationships, health, and happiness.
This is a conversation of two parts. We start by chatting about purpose; the techniques we can use to live a more meaningful life and the role politics plays in finding purpose. And then we move onto decision making. I ask Gleb what's at stake when we make important financial decisions and who is most likely to make bad decisions.
Welcome to Purpose & Bad Decisions, with Gleb Tsipursky, in episode 208 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-How did you become a disaster avoidance expert? What does the career path look like to become that?
-What methods and techniques can be used to live a more meaningful life?
-What role do politics have to play when it comes to a sense of meaning and purpose?
-Something else I've seen you write about is the use of rituals and celebrations in order to construct our own personal sense of meaning and purpose. Does that also fit into this sense of community, and, I'm also guessing, into self reflection, too?
-What's at stake when we make really important financial decisions?
Thank you for listening!
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What is thanatology? Until speaking to my guest on the podcast today, I didn't know either. It's the scientific study of death and the practices associated with it, including the study of the needs of the terminally ill and their families.
Today on the podcast, I talk to Amy Florian; Thanatologist, visionary CEO, author, speaker, coach and teacher. Amy's work shines a light on grief and transition, topics widely overlooked in professional services industries.
Her practical, insightful, and inspirational training is crucial in helping service professionals do the right thing for clients, retain business across generations, and attract new business from less educated competitors.
An acclaimed speaker and expert, she is the author of over 100 articles and the book “No Longer Awkward: Communicating with Clients through the Toughest Times of Life”.
Amy holds a Master’s Degree and is a Fellow in Thanatology - the highest level of certification in the field of grief studies. She taught a graduate class at Loyola University of Chicago for nine years, has worked with over 2,000 grieving people, and consults with firms, corporations, and individuals around the globe.
In this episode we talk about why a death boom is coming and the tools we all need to handle it. I ask Amy about the key issues that people face when they experience the death of someone close to them. This is such an important conversation and it will give you the tools you need to help others, even to help yourself, through the grieving process.
Welcome to How to Handle Grief, with Amy Florian, in episode 207 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What is Thanatology?
-What are some of the key issues that people face when they experience the death of someone close to them?
-Why is it so important then for professionals like financial planners or rather I do to properly understand that process of grief and also transition?
-You mentioned some of the things not to say to people, I guess, some of the trite phrases that we come up with when somebody has experienced the death of a close person or other grieving processes. What are some of the things we should say? What are some the things we should do with somebody that's in that position to support them through the process?
-You said a moment ago that grieving is not just about when people die. It's about any transition or any change in circumstance. Do the skills that you talked about there play equally to supporting people who, for example, being diagnosed with a terminal illness?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
The snap election called by Theresa May last week is already upsetting some policies. In this episode, I'm taking a look at what the snap election means for your personal finances.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news – everything you need to know about what’s going on in the world of money in five news items.
I share my favourite money article this week, a random fact about money and an inspirational quote.
There’s also the aftershow, where I talk about what’s been going on at Informed Choice this week.
Personal finance news update
-8 out of 10 people who retire wish they’d kept working longer.
-House prices fell again in April, for a second month in a row.
-The majority of consumers underestimate the percentage of protection claims paid by insurers.
-More than half of parents of young drivers have ‘fronted’, or would consider ‘fronting’, a car insurance policy for their children in order to get them lower car insurance premiums.
-There is less than a week left to spend your old five pound notes, before they cease to become legal tender.
Money article of the week
-Women need to take back control of the financial agenda, by Iona Bain
Random fact of the week
5% of the people who buy lottery tickets account for 51% of all tickets sold. Add to that sad fact that a person who drives 10 miles to buy their lottery ticket is 3 times more likely to be killed in a car accident while driving to buy the ticket than they are to win the jackpot. Not the best odds!
Inspirational quote
Our money quote this week comes from Benjamin Franklin, who said:
"Beware of small expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship."
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
What's a doughnut got to do with the future of economics? My guest on the podcast today is Kate Raworth and her doughnut model is making big waves among economists, politicians and policy makers.
Kate is a renegade economist who focuses on exploring the economic mindset needed to address the 21st century’s social and ecological challenges. She's the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries. As you'll hear in this episode, it's a simple but important way to think about balancing economic prosperity with available planetary resources.
Kate's a Senior Visiting Research Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, where she teaches on the Masters in Environmental Change and Management. She is also a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Her internationally acclaimed idea of Doughnut Economics has been widely influential amongst sustainable development thinkers, progressive businesses and political activists, and she has presented it to audiences ranging from the UN General Assembly to the Occupy movement. And today, she presents the Doughnut to listeners of Informed Choice Radio.
Her new book, Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist, was published in the UK and US earlier this month. It's also being translated into Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and Japanese.
Over the past 20 years, Kate’s career has taken her from working with micro-entrepreneurs in the villages of Zanzibar to co-authoring the Human Development Report for UNDP in New York, followed by a decade as Senior Researcher at Oxfam.
She holds a first class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and an Masters in Economics for Development, both from Oxford University.
She is a member of the Club of Rome and serves on several advisory boards, including the Stockholm School of Economics’ Global Challenges programme, the University of Surrey’s Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, and Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute.
I really enjoyed this conversation with Kate, so much so that it inspired me to read Doughnut Economics in full and gain a better understanding of the arguments in the book.
Some questions I ask:
-Could you start by defining Doughnut Economics? It's a fantastic name for a book, but what's it mean?
-Why are economists, and the traditional economic model, why is that so obsessed with maintaining the equilibrium?
-What are some of the ways in which mainstream economics have led us astray to date?
-How do we get to a place where the practice of economics respects social and planetary boundaries? Does that require a complete revolution or is something we can achieve through a gentle evolution?
-Do you think it will be a case of a combination of individual changes to lifestyle, to behaviour and then some big progressive leaps forward from politicians, governments and sort led at the top?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Today on the podcast, I'm joined by Professor Steve Keen, author of Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis?
Steve is Professor of Economics and Head of the School of Economics, Politics and History at Kingston University.
We know what a major impact the global financial crash had on the global economy. It took most conventional economists completely by surprise. In fact, many economists had, shortly before the crash, declared the magical recipe for eternal economic stability had been discovered.
Steve Keen was one of the very few economists who anticipated the crash.
In his new book, Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis?, Steve shows why the self–declared experts were wrong and how ever–rising levels of private debt make another financial crisis almost inevitable. Inevitable that is unless politicians tackle the real dynamics causing financial instability.
He also identifies the economies that have become ‘The Walking Dead of Debt’, and those that are next in line including Australia, Belgium, China, Canada and South Korea.
His book is a major intervention by a fearlessly iconoclastic figure, and it's been described as essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the true nature of the global economic system.
If you want to get a better understanding of global economics and shortcomings in the financial system, this is the podcast episode for you.
Welcome to Avoiding the Next Financial Crisis with Professor Steve Keen, in episode 204 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Could you start by talking a bit about why these self-declared experts got it so wrong when it came to the global financial crisis?
-What signs ahead of 2008 were predicting a global financial crash and generally what signs predict a financial crash?
-Are there any underlying faults within the global economic system at the moment that lead you to believe that there might be another financial crisis?
-What do you think about the approach politicians take towards the economy in making sure it grows each year? Because politicians tend to take a quite short-term view of the world, and the economy I guess requires a bit more of a long-term view, so are politicians compatible with long-term economic planning?
-Are you hopeful about the future in terms of improvements to the understanding of these flawed economic models and some of the new models which are coming through?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
When is the right time to sell an investment? That's our main topic this week, inspired by a listener question.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news - everything you need to know about what's going on in the world of money in five news items.
I share my favourite money article this week, a random fact about money and an inspirational quote.
There's also the aftershow, where I talk about what's been going on at Informed Choice this week.
Personal finance news update
-Pet insurers paid out a record £706 million in pet insurance claims last year, the equivalent of £1.8 million a day.
-The number of self-employed workers in the UK has risen from 3.8 million to nearly 4.7 million in the past decade.
-The Financial Conduct Authority is planning to investigate the car finance market.
-Men have almost three times the pension savings of women, according to new research.
-Earlier this week was UK ‘Mortgage Freedom’ Day, when new borrowers will have earned enough to pay off the annual cost of their mortgage.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Today on the podcast, I'm joined by Holly Johnson, author of Zero Down your Debt.
Listen to this episode to understand how to use a zero-sum budget, learn how to budget when you've got a variable income, how to use the debt snowball method to clear your debts, and the key money lesson you should pass on to your children.
Getting into debt is ridiculously easy to do. But getting out of debt? That can be much harder.
My guest on the podcast today has written a fantastic book, along with her husband, sharing actionable tips and advice on how to get out of debt and enjoy debt free living.
As you'll hear from Holly in this episode, the secret is having a 'zero-sum budget'. This is described as the black belt of budgeting methods; it's the approach Holly and her husband Greg used to wipe out $50,000 of their own debt.
Holly Johnson is an award-winning writer who focuses on frugality, budgeting and credit. Her husband Greg is an entrepreneur who turned his love of budgeting and digital media into an online empire.
Together, they blog about money at ClubThrifty.com, travel the world and enjoy the good life with their two kids.
Holly and Greg started ClubThrifty together in 2012, in part, to figure out where their own money was going and why, despite two good salaries, they weren't saving.
They figured out how to stop the bleeding and began a journey of self-empowerment by getting a grip on their money. Their revolutionary approach to spending and saving inspired a website and enabled them to quit their day jobs and devote themselves to helping others.
Welcome to Zero Down Your Debt with Holly Johnson, in episode 202 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What first prompted you to embark on the journey to find out where all of your money was going?
-How does a zero-sum budget work?
-What about people with variable incomes, can that work for them too?
-How do you cope with unexpected items of expenditure and financial emergencies?
-I understand your motto is stop spending start living. How have you put that motto into practise?
-How bad is debt and what impacts does it tend to have on people's lives?
-What are some of the key money lessons you want to pass onto your children?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to David Orrell, author of The Money Formula.
Listen to this episode to learn how the global economy relies on quantitative finance, whether financial instruments like derivatives and credit default swaps can be a positive force in the world or just a way for bankers to make huge amounts of money, how money created out of thin air becomes real obligations which need to be repaid, and whether we've now got a better understand of quantitative finance and how it can be used safely.
David is one seriously clever chap. He studied mathematics at the University of Alberta in Canada before working on the design of particle accelerator projects in the US, UK, France, and Canada
He then returned to studying mathematics, this time at Oxford University. His doctoral thesis explored the predictability of nonlinear systems, with applications to weather forecasting.
His new book, co-authored with Paul Wilmott, is The Money Formula.
This is a book which goes inside the engine room of the global economy to explore the little understood world of quantitative finance. Orrell and Wilmott show how the future of our economy rests on the backs of this all-but-impenetrable industry.
Written not from a post-crisis perspective - but from a preventative point of view - the book traces the development of financial derivatives from bonds to credit default swaps, and shows how mathematical formulas went beyond pricing to expand their use to the point where they dwarfed the real economy.
If you've read The Big Short or watched the movie, you'll enjoy this conversation.
One of my favourite authors, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, said of The Money Formula, “This book has humor, attitude, clarity, science and common sense; it pulls no punches and takes no prisoners.”
Welcome to The Money Formula with David Orrell, in episode 201 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Could you start by defining quantitative finance, or quant?
-At what point did quant become a dominant form of global finance and also take control of the financial system?
-Has quant played a big role in every recent financial crash?
-Are financial instruments a positive force in the world, or do you think that they're just a way for bankers to make money?
-Do you think we've now got a better understanding of some of the risks involved and how it can be used more safely in the future?
-If we put you in charge for the day, what steps would you want to take in order to prevent another global financial crisis?
-Why are economists and traditional economic models having such a hard time of it lately?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher
Your reviews on Apple Podcasts are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Today’s episode is a big milestone, 200 episodes of this podcast.
I look back at some of the highlights of those past 200 episodes, and describe the evolution of this podcast during that time.
I also share a behind the scenes look at Informed Choice Radio; how do we actually produce three new episodes of this podcast each week?
And I talk about some plans for the future, the first time I’ve spoken about this publicly, what the future has in store for Informed Choice Radio.
Personal finance news update
-The UK housing market is stagnating, according to surveyors.
-Postal unions could take strike action following the news the Royal Mail is closing its final salary pension scheme next year.
-A new savings bond from National Savings & Investment has gone on sale, offering a ‘market leading’ interest rate of 2.2%.
-New research commissioned by Gocompare.com Money has found the average age parents expect their children to leave home is 25.
-Official figures released this week show that the UK employment rate is at 74.6%, with 31.84 million people in work.
Money article of the week
How Your Body Responds to a Financial Windfall from Investopedia
Random fact of the week
In what was generally considered to be the first recorded financial bubble, the Tulip Mania of 1636-1637 involved speculators inflating the price of tulip bulbs. By the peak of tulipmania in February 1637, a single tulip bulb was worth about ten times a craftsman’s annual income. The bubble subsequently burst and the Dutch economy was plunged into a mild economic recession which lasted for several years.
Inspirational quote
Our inspirational quote this week comes from James W. Frick, former vice president for public relations, alumni affairs and development at the University of Notre Dame, who said:
“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.”
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Aftershow links
–The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley are Changing the World, by Brad Stone
Today on the podcast, I'm joined by Lorenzo Fioramonti, author of The World After GDP.
Listen to this podcast to learn about the flaws in a system which values GDP as the primary measure for growth and also for prosperity, what the world after GDP might look like, and what a post-GDP world mean for politics and for politicians who seem to be completely obsessed with economic growth.
Lorenzo Fioramonti is Professor of Political Economy & Director of the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
His new book is The World After GDP: Politics, Business and Society in the Post Growth Era.
GDP is much more than a simple statistic. It has become the overarching benchmark of success and a powerful ordering principle at the heart of the global economy.
But the convergence of major economic, social and environmental crises has exposed the flaws of our economic system which values GDP above all else as a measure of prosperity and growth.
In this provocative and inspiring new book, political economist Lorenzo Fioramonti sets out his vision of a world after GDP.
Focusing on pioneering research on alternative metrics of progress, governance innovation and institutional change, he makes a compelling case for the profound and positive transformations that could be achieved through a post-GDP system of development.
Welcome to World After GDP with Lorenzo Fioramonti, in episode 199 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What are some of the flaws in a system which values GDP as the primary measure for growth and also for prosperity?
-How did we get to where we are today as GDP being this main measure of what we use?
-Is it fair to say that politicians will always find a reason to continue using GDP, it always suits their particular aims?
-What would an alternative measure look like and does it exist already or is it something we need to create?
-What would the world after GDP look like?
-Would there be any negatives associated with that world?
-Are politicians like Donald Trump compatible with a post-GDP world?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest on the podcast today is Ryan Biddulph, founder of Blogging from Paradise.
Listen to this episode to find out about making the leap from paid employment to the life of an online entrepreneur, why island hopping in paradise is more affordable than you might think, some of the mistakes Ryan has made during his life as a digital nomad, and much more.
As you're going to hear in this episode, Ryan and his wife Kelli have spent the past six years travelling, pretty much non-stop. They've spent a lot of that time in some incredible parts of South East Asia; when we spoke over Skype, they were kicking back in Thailand.
Welcome to Blogging from Paradise with Ryan Biddulph, in episode 198 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Where has your journey taken you since becoming a professional blogger?
-Have you always enjoyed travelling?
-What was it like making the leap from paid employment to becoming a digital nomad?
-Why did you choose blogging as a path to support this lifestyle?
-Are there any particular steps people should take to follow in your footsteps?
-How much research and preparation do you carry out before moving to a new location?
-Is the cost of travelling comparable to a more conventional lifestyle?
-What have you learned about money management when living overseas?
-Have you made any significant mistakes during your time as a digital nomad?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
How do you solve a problem like the nation's savings crisis?
Half of all UK adults do not have any savings or investments and are struggling to put away money. Two out of five UK adults also do not have any long term assets to fall back on, such as pensions or property.
The ONS have released figures for the final quarter of last year, which found the UK's household saving ratio absolutely plummeted to its lowest level since records began.
In this episode, I share seven tips for saving more.
Personal finance news update
-Millions of credit card customers are unable to clear their debts and need more help, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.
-Most active UK equity fund managers underperformed their benchmark last year.
-New research from Aviva has found a lack of confidence in the availability of a future state pension among younger people.
-Lloyds Bank have named the locations of 100 bank branches they will close between July and October.
-New research from Aegon has found that 14% of working age people are saving more into their pension as a direct result of the pension freedoms introduced in April 2015.
Money article of the week
How to improve your readiness for retirement, by Robert Powell on USA Today
Random fact of the week
In 1695, the English parliament passed The Marriage Duty Act or Registration Tax. This Act of Parliament imposed a tax on births, marriages, burials, childless widowers, and bachelors over the age of 25. The tax was introduced to raise money for war on France but also to ensure proper records were kept by an Anglican church official. It didn't prove particularly effective and the tax was abolished eleven years later, in 1706.
Inspirational quote
Our inspirational quote this week comes from Stoic philosopher, Seneca the Younger, who said:
“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.”
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Hello and welcome to this episode of Informed Choice Radio, where I'm joined by Sandra Navidi, author of Superhubs.
Sandra Navidi is a macroeconomic consultant and strategic relationship manager. She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BeyondGlobal, an international management consultancy.
Sandra worked closely with renowned economist Nouriel Roubini as Director of Research Strategies and Senior Relationship Manager at Roubini Global Economics.
She is an expert commentator on financial markets and author of the bestselling book “$uper-hubs: How the Financial Elite and their Networks rule the World“.
SuperHubs is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the global financial system and the powerful personal networks through which it is run, at the centre of which sit the Elites - the SuperHubs.
The book combines an insider's knowledge with principles of network science. In Superhubs, Sandra offers a startling new perspective on how the financial system really operates.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Sandra about what really happens at places like Davos, some of the common traits of the global financial elite, whether Brexit is an example of the elites losing their power, why women are the missing link, and much more.
Welcome to Superhubs with Sandra Navidi, in episode 196 of Informed Choice Radio. Some questions I ask:
-What happens at Davos which makes it such an influential event and such an important place?
-What's been the impact of the way these superhubs and these networks work on global finance?
-What are some of the common traits that you've identified?
-Where do women feature in this, and what role could they play within superhubs?
-Is where you went to school still really important when it comes to finance networks and superhubs?
-Is Brexit an example of superhubs starting to lose out to the power of the people?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
–Beyond Global
–SuperHubs on Amazon
–Sandra on Twitter
–Sandra on Facebook
–Sandra on YouTube
–Sandra on Instagram
–Sandra on LinkedIn
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Hello and welcome to this episode of Informed Choice Radio, where I'm joined by Gayle Roberts, author of the new book Room for Profit.
Gayle is a former lawyer turned CEO of an award winning short term lettings agency. She's the co-author of Room for Profit, along with the award winning travel journalist Tristan Rutherford.
The book is all about how to make money in the digital sharing economy, specifically the short-term rentals industry.
Within the digital sharing economy, the most lucrative and fastest growing sector is short-term rentals. In the last five years, Airbnb has experienced growth of 353 times and, in 2015 alone, more than 17 million people stayed with Airbnb hosts. It's forecast that next year, 20% of all accommodation bookings will be for short-term rentals.
Room for Profit shows readers exactly how to get their share of this booming industry. The rhythm of school-work-retirement is not as simple as it once was; we either need to work longer, harder, or think outside the box.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Gayle about why services like Airbnb have become so popular, how short-term rentals can help with retirement planning, how to get started in this market, some of the costs and risks involved, and much more.
Welcome to Room for Profit with Gayle Roberts, in episode 195 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What's driving such fast growth in the short-term lettings market?
-How can short-term lettings help with retirement planning?
-What factors influence how much you can make from letting a room or property?
-How can people get started in this market?
-Does it cost much or take long to get a property ready to let?
-What risks are associated with allowing strangers to stay in your home?
-What were the most interesting examples of property letting you found when you were researching the book?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Each Spring, around 5,000 private investors gather in London to learn from expert speakers how to make the most of their savings, talk directly to CEOs of companies they can invest into, and hear the UK’s leading entrepreneurs and fund managers speak about future trends.
Master Investor is now the UK’s leading, must-visit event for private investors. And this year, Informed Choice Radio was invited to attend as an exhibitor. We had a stand in the new personal finance bloggers area of the show, and spent the day meeting other exhibitors, speakers and lots of delegates.
In this episode, we speak to Ed Bowsher from Share Radio, Matthew Jennings from Fidelity International and Tom Murray Brown from ECf Solutions, before answering investment questions from a number of visitors to our stand.
Personal finance news update
-People’s confidence in their personal finances was stronger last month, according to the latest Spending Power Report from Lloyds Bank.
-The new £1 coin became legal tender this week. It’s the first new £1 coin to be introduced in more than 30 years and will be the most secure of its kind in the world, as HM Treasury aims to tackle counterfeits.
-New research from Aegon UK has found 45% of working age adults have no ISA savings for the purpose of retirement.
-Tesco has agreed to pay a fine of £129m to avoid prosecution for overstating its profits in 2014.
-Mortgage approvals from banks have reached their lowest level in three months, according to the British Bankers’ Association.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
My guest on the podcast today is Dr James Hannam.
James writes about the politics and policy decisions behind tax and economics. He’s particularly interested in the reasons the UK tax system works the way it does and the possible consequences of Brexit.
He's the author of the new book What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax.
His book takes an entertaining and informative look at the UK tax system in all its glory to show you just how much you pay, how the money is collected and how it affects ordinary people every day.
Giving context to recent controversies including the Panama Papers, tax avoidance by multinationals, Brexit and more, this book provides a straightforward explanation of tax and the policy behind it for non-specialists — no accounting or legal knowledge is required.
James has been a tax accountant for 20 years and currently works for a ‘Big 4’ accountancy firm in London.
In addition to his tax writing and consultancy, James is also the author of God’s Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science, which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to James about whether taxpayers tend to focus on particular types of taxes, if the wealthy have a different set of rules when it comes to taxation, the golden rules of tax we all need to know about, how the government could reduce levels of tax avoidance, and much more.
Welcome to What Everyone Needs To Know About Tax with Dr James Hannam, in episode 193 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Do you think that as tax payers we tend to focus on one type of tax more than the other?
-You mentioned about a third of national income goes to taxes, is this really a case of tax payers taking the time to understand each time they make a payment or each time they receive an income what amount is going away to taxation?
-Do you think the perception the wealth pay less tax is justified and is there really one set of rules for them and another for the rest of us?
-How much of an issue do you think tax avoidance has become and is that the result of the complexity of the UK tax code or is it because people with larger estates and more wealth simply have more motivation to structure their affairs to avoid tax?
-What do you think the best approach for the government would be to reduce tax avoidance?
-Will we eventually see a single structure of tax for each different type of employment?
-Can you tell our listeners about your three golden rules and why they're so important for tax payers to understand?
-Do you have a favourite tax and do you have a least favourite type of tax?
-Are there any taxes from history that are particularly interesting?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
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My guest on the podcast today is Lars Kroijer, former hedge fund manager and author of Investing Demystified.
Lars was the chief investment officer of Holte Capital, a London-based market neutral special situations hedge fund which he founded in 2002 before returning external capital in the spring of 2008.
Prior to establishing Holte Capital, he served in the London office of HBK Investments focusing on special situations investing and event-driven arbitrage. He's also worked at SC Fundamental, a value-focused hedge fund in New York.
Lars graduated Magna cum Laude from Harvard University with a degree in economics and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.
His first book was "Money Mavericks - Confessions of a Hedge Fund Manager". He's also the author of "Investing Demystified - How to Invest Without Speculation and Sleepless Nights", which has a second edition out next month from FT Publishing.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Lars about what makes investing so complex, why a low cost approach to investing works well for most investors, the lowest risk investment available in the current economic environment, the impact tax and liquidity has on portfolio returns, and much more.
Welcome to Investing Demystified with Lars Kroijer, in episode 192 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What is it that makes investing so complex?
-Why does a low cost approach to invest in work best for most investors?
-Where's that line drawn between investors who should go for a low cost passive approach and those that should put their faith in professional fund managers and hope to get better returns?
-How can investors go about constructing a portfolio which performs well?
-What steps would investors take to determine what the right split was between the equity proportion and the gilt proportion?
-What are the lowest risk investments that people can make in this current environment?
-How much of an impact does tax and liquidity have on your investment returns?
-To what extent does our behaviour influence investment returns?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Assumptions are at the very heart of financial planning as they provide the foundations for a robust plan.
Because financial planning is more of an art than a science, it is important to make a number of assumptions about what might happen in the future.
In this episode of the podcast, I'm talking about some of the key assumptions you need to make in your financial plan.
Personal finance news update
-Two reports for the government have recommended people wait longer before receiving their state pension.
-Higher prices for fuel and food have pushed price inflation to its highest since September 2013.
-The typical property in England and Wales now costs more than seven times the average earnings of employees.
-The proportion of women continuing to work into their 70s has doubled in the past four years, nearly reaching the same level as men doing the same.
-New analysis by Royal London shows that the typical person entering residential care will face total bills of between £50,000 and £93,000, depending on where they live.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
My guest on the podcast today is Tasneem Clarke, Research Officer at the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.
This is a really important conversation, and here's why. People with mental health problems are three times as likely to be in problem debt. The Money and Mental Health Institute was created to change that.
They are an independent charity, committed to breaking the link between financial difficulty and mental health problems. To do this, Money and Mental Health conduct research, develop practical policy solutions and work in partnership with both those providing services and those using them to find what really works.
The charity was launched last year by MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis, who funded it with a donation of two million pounds.
My guest from Money and Mental Health is Research Officer Tasneem Clarke. Tasneem is a social worker currently practising in a mental health crisis team. She has previous experience conducting research for policy and campaigns work in various organisations including Oxfam, Earthrights International, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Tasneem about the link between money problems and mental health problems, why people fail to seek help when they need it, how different mental health issues make it harder to deal with personal finances, the impact of austerity on vulnerable members of society, gaps in the public health system when it comes to helping those with mental health and money problems, what the regulator and others are doing about the issue, and much more.
Welcome to Money & Mental Health with Tasneem Clarke, in episode 190 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What's the relationship between mental health problems and money troubles? Does one cause the other?
-Does a failure to talk about money contribute to these issues?
-How can mental health problems affect the way we make important financial decisions?
-What impact is austerity having on services for the most vulnerable in society?
-Are there any particular gaps in our health system when it comes to mental health and money problems?
-Is the Financial Conduct Authority doing enough?
-What steps could the banks take to improve their services for people with mental health problems?
-Where can people turn for help in times of a mental health and money crisis?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest on the podcast today is Paul Mumford, one of the longest-serving fund managers in the UK.
Paul has 50 years’ experience in the markets as a stockbroker and fund manager.
He runs the Cavendish Opportunities Fund, AIM Fund and Select Fund, having launched the first in 1988 as the Glenfriars Opportunities Fund.
He is a stock picker who aims to find shares in undervalued companies and often ends up swimming against the tide and buying unloved shares.
Paul's new book is The Stock Picker: A financial history from the sharp end. The book is not an investing how-to: instead it is a financial history straight from the horse’s mouth.
It contains much from which investors can learn, and is also an evocative window into a vanished City of stock jobbers, messenger boys, luncheon vouchers and ledger-keepers - not to mention financial crises, booms and busts, and the life and death of companies great and small.
In the book, Mumford also covers how his own personal life has influenced his stock-picking approach: from running his own bookmaking business as a schoolboy to an ill-fated attempt at oil painting at night school.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Paul about what first attracted him to fund management, what's changed in the world of investing since the 1960s, Paul's secret to finding undervalued companies, any uncertainties he feels when swimming against the investment tide, the signs Paul looks for which suggests investor sentiment will change, some of his less impressive stock pick during his career, what the future might hold for active fund management, and much more.
Welcome to The Stock Picker with Paul Mumford, in episode 189 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Were you always attracted to investments and was that always a field you wanted to work in from day one?
-You mentioned the Big Bang, the deregulation of the stock market. What else has changed in the world of investing since 1963 when you started out in that business?
-What's your secret to finding under valued companies?
-When you're buying undervalued companies, what are some of the signs you look out for which indicate that sentiments going to improve and there's going to be a good opportunity to sell in the future?
-Your approach is very much active fund management, I know the FCA and others have been quite critical recently about the cost and value of active fund management. What do you think the future holds for that approach?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Today on the podcast, I'm talking about investor sentiment; what is it and why is it so important?
With the FTSE 100 index closing at a new record high and rising investment sentiment, we look at the definition of investor sentiment, some useful measures and how it can be applied to your investment decisions.
There's also an interview with Martin Dropkin, Director of Research for Fixed Income at Fidelity International, about the latest Fidelity International Analyst Survey.
Personal finance news update
-The FTSE 100 index of leading company shares has closed as a new record high.
-The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.25%, although one policymaker voted for a rise.
-Plans announced in the Budget last week to increase National Insurance contributions for the self-employed have been abandoned.
-The basket of goods and services used to calculate price inflation has been updated.
-The number of jobs available in London fell by 17% in February, according to data from Morgan McKinley’s latest London Employment Monitor.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
My guest on the podcast today is Jo Thresher, author of What’s Your Excuse for Not Being Better With Money?.
Jo is an award-winning financial services professional with almost 30 years’ experience, a trained money coach with a true understanding of the difference between what people want and what typical financial services businesses tell people.
Jo’s system of challenges and workshops are tried and tested to gently push people forward to being in a better financial place without being boring or selling anybody anything.
Her business is Better with Money, which was established to reduce financial misery and confusion in the UK.
They aim to bring money matters to life in an accessible and interesting way, delivered in the workplace to employees helping them think clearly about money so they are less stressed.
Better with Money help employees plan earlier for life’s ups and downs and the knowledge and tools gained from the workshops can reduce financial unhappiness, increasing people’s engagement with life, their career and workplace benefits.
In today’s episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Jo about the benefits of financial education, whether learning about personal finances can be fun, how improved financial education can reduce workplace stress, and much more.
Welcome to Better With Money with Jo Thresher, in episode 187 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What prompted you to start your new venture, Better With Money?
-What are some of the benefits of financial education in the workplace?
-Do you think learning about personal finance can be fun too? Should it be fun, or should it be a really serious subject?
-How can employers help to protect their employee's health from this impact of financial stress?
-Your new book is called What's Your Excuse For Not Being Better With Money? Can you tell us some of the reasons?
-Why did you write the book? What was the motivation behind it?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
Better With Money
What's Your Excuse for Not Being Better With Money?
Jo on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest on the podcast today is Malene Rydahl, author of the international bestseller, Happy as a Dane.
For decades Denmark has ranked at the top of the world’s happiness surveys.
How is it that these 5.6 million Danes are so content when they live in a country that is dark and cold nine months of the year and where income taxes are at almost 60 percent?
In Happy as a Dane: 10 Secrets of the Happiest People in the World, Malene shares anecdotes and research, and explores how the values of trust, education, and a healthy work-life balance with purpose – to name just a few – contribute to a “happy” population.
The book became a best-seller and was awarded the prize of the most optimistic book in 2014. It has been published in Japan, Korea,Taiwan and Russia, and will come out later this year in Spain, Germany and United States.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Malene about the factors that make the Danish lifestyle unique, their approach to work/life balance, how the Laws of Junte underline behaviour towards others, how gender equality contributes towards happiness, why so many Danish citizens are taking ant-depressants, how we can find a sense of purpose in life, and much more.
Welcome to Happy as a Dane with Malene Rydahl, in episode 186 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What factors make the Danish lifestyle unique?
-What’s the Danish approach to work/life balance like and how does this contribute to happiness?
-Can you tell us about The Laws of Junte in Nordic countries and how these laws underline behaviour towards individuals?
-To what extent do you think the Danish model of gender equality contribute to their happiness?
-As well as scoring highly on measure of happiness, Danish citizens are reported to be the highest consumers of anti-depressants in the world. How do the two things tally?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
Happy as a Dane: 10 Secrets of the Happiest People in the World
Malene’s TEDx talk
Malene on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of the podcast, I take a look at everything you need to know about the final Spring Budget which took place on Wednesday lunchtime.
I talk about the current state of the economy, changes to personal taxation for shareholders and the self-employed, and what the Budget means for pensions.
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
Personal finance news update
-Unclaimed cash lying dormant in investment accounts could provide a £2bn windfall for charities and community causes.
-Women in some ethnic groups have narrowed the gender pay gap and overtaken the earnings power of men.
-The estate agents Foxtons has reported a 23% fall in revenue from its property sales during 2016.
-New research has found 40% of people over 40 have no idea of the cost of a basic lifestyle in retirement.
-The squeeze on family and public finances will continue until well into the 2020s, according to a prominent think tank.
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
Aftershow links
Surrey Digital Awards
Hit Makers: How Things Become Popular by Derek Thompson
My guest on the podcast today is Diana Chambers.
Known as The Family Wealth Mentor, Diana is committed to helping her clients manage their wealth in emotionally intelligent ways.
She has always been a trailblazer. Not only was she the first woman hired into management as a member of the strategic planning team at Redland PLC, a major British company, but also she subsequently became the fundraiser for an educational project in Bosnia during the war, and then the team director launching schools of servant leadership in the United States.
In these settings and others, Diana reflected on the impact of money on her life and she is now a trusted confidant to others as they address the challenges and opportunities they and their families face when owning, spending, and allocating their wealth wisely.
Her new book is True Wealth: Letters on Money, Life, and Love.
In True Wealth, Diana gets to the heart of how we feel about money and shows us how to be truly wealthy. If you’ve dated someone who has more or less wealth than you do, tried to talk with your children or parents about sensitive financial topics, struggled to define your unique identity in the context of your family, sought to discern how best to share your wealth with others, or wondered about your impact and legacy, then True Wealth is for you.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Diana about how she became known as the family wealth mentor, the best ways to clarify what you want from your wealth and your intent in life, whether we have similar concerns about money regardless of our levels of wealth, giving children from wealthy families the best possible start in life, and much more.
Welcome to The Family Wealth Mentor with Diana Chambers, in episode 184 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-How have you become known as the family wealth mentor?
-What's the best way to clarify what you want from your wealth?
-Do people face similar challenges, regardless of their wealth levels?
-To what extent do our emotional behaviours play a role in the decisions we make with our money?
-What was the motivation behind your new book, True Wealth?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-Diana Chambers website
-True Wealth: Letters on Money, Life, and Love
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest on the podcast today holds something of a unique position in the world of pensions. He’s been a facilitator, networker, marketer, project manager and campaigner.
He’s been quoted as saying: “To get a pearl you need a bit of grit,” “I see myself as the bit of grit around which the pearl is created. I seem to have the ability to be the catalyst that helps others to do what they can do.”
Andy Agathangelou is Founding Chairman of the Transparency Task Force.
As you’ll hear in this episode, Andy has been involved in a number of collaborative communities, starting with the Association of Member Nominated Trustees, and more recently the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals.
He created and led the Friends of Automatic Enrollment Group, which had 1,400 members across the UK. Now he’s started the Transparency Task Force and is leading a mission to improve levels of transparency across pension schemes.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Andy about the purpose behind the Transparency Task Force, why now is such a relevant time for this transparency push, the hidden charges being paid by pension scheme members, whether investors are the only losers from a lack of transparency, how the UK compares to other countries, and much more.
Welcome to Transparency task Force with Andy Agathangelou, in episode 183 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Why was Transparency Task Force originally formed?
-What makes now such a relevant time for this transparency push?
-Can you describe some of the hidden charges paid by pension scheme members?
-Are pension scheme members the only losers from opaque and high charges?
-How does the UK fare on matters of transparency compared to other countries?
-Will the sector clean up its act following recent regulatory scrutiny?
-What steps should pension providers be taking?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
–Transparency Task Force
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of the podcast, I take a look at Warren Buffett's latest annual letter to shareholders and some of the lessons we can learn from it as investors.
Warren Buffett is a legend in the world of investing.
The 86 year old is widely considered to be one of the most successful investors in the world. He's also the second wealthiest person in the US, with a net worth of close to $80bn.
As head of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett writes a letter to shareholders each year.
These letters are designed to report on the performance of the company and he also uses them as an opportunity to share some investment or business wisdom with his investors and fans.
In his latest letter, he shares some wisdom about using low-cost index tracker funds, reminds us not to bet against America, considering value when paying for investment advice, and keeping our heads during investment market corrections.
Personal finance news update
-House prices in the UK rose faster in February, according to the latest survey from Nationwide.
-The state pension age could rise to a level above the typical life expectancy of men in the poorest areas of the UK.
-Car insurance premiums are due to soar by as much as £75 a year, due a new government ruling.
-New research from insurer Royal London has found that those who plan a ‘flexible’ retirement - reducing their working hours in later life and topping up with pension income - could have to work on into their late seventies or beyond to achieve a decent standard of living in retirement.
--More than half a million Brits holding at least one kind of interest-bearing debt are paying more than they need to by not moving to a better deal, according to new research by TSB.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Aftershow links
-Cranleigh Literary Festival, sponsored by Informed Choice
-Investment Management Certificate
-Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal
How much do you spend each week on food?
If you’re anything like me, you probably aren’t as frugal in the supermarket as you could be. When I’m food shopping, I’ve got one eye on the price label, but rarely go hunting for those yellow sticker bargains.
Kelly Eroglu is founder of the website Reduced Grub.
Her moto is ‘eat like a King for pennies’ and her blog is the home of sharing recipes, information and bargain alerts.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Kelly about finding food bargains in the supermarket, the community that is growing up around reduced grub, how much a family can save each week by shopping for these special offers, the best supermarkets for finding reduced grub, and much more.
Welcome to Reduced Grub with Kelly Eroglu, in episode 181 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What inspired you to start Reduced Grub?
-Who does shopping for food bargains tend to appeal to?
-How much can someone typically save from their shopping bill?
-Do all supermarkets reduce down to the same price levels?
-Is there a particularly good time of the day to go hunting for food bargains?
-What's the cheapest meal you've cooked using reduced grub?
-What difference does shopping for reduced grub make to a family's diet, in terms of quality and health?
-Is safety and hygiene a consideration when buying reduced grub?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-Reduced Grub website
-Reduced Grub on Pinterest
-Kelly on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest on the podcast today is Vicky Eves, founder of the blog I Beat Debt.
Vicky is in her early 30s and lives in Surrey. As she will explain during our conversation, Vicky found herself in debt following the death of her father.
She quickly took control of the situation and now shares her story with other people who want to get out of debt.
In today’s episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Vicky about her story of getting into and back out of debt, typical reactions to getting into debt, how to make the biggest impact on your debts, how winning a game show resulted in the repayment of half of her debt in one day, and much more.
You can find the show notes, full transcript and useful links for this episode at icradio.co.uk. If you enjoy listening, please let me know on Twitter @martinbamford. Please also say thank you to Vicky on Twitter @ibeatdebt.
I would also massively appreciate your review of this podcast on iTunes. Visit icradio.co.uk/itunes to leave us a review and we will read it out in a future episode.
Without further ado, welcome to I Beat Debt with Vicky Eves, in episode 180 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Can you share with us your story of getting into debt?
-Did the journey into debt happen quickly?
-What's the typical reaction to getting into debt?
-Is there a difference between functional and problem debt?
-Where did you go for help?
-What made the biggest impact - saving money or earning more?
-You took a fairly unconventional approach to repaying half of your debt - can you tell us that story?
-How do you make the serious subject of debt more accessible?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-I Beat Debt
-Quiz, and the debt was (half) gone: Clearing debt and quiz show tips all in one, by Vicky Eves
-Vicky on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Investing should be a long-term activity. And when I say long-term, I mean 20, 30 or 40 years. Really, truly, long-term.
Getting the asset allocation right, to meet your chosen investment goals, is crucial.
But when investing for the long-term, it's also important to think about what the world might look like in the future and which investment themes are likely to perform well.
What I share in this episode of the podcast is five different investment themes for the next decade and beyond.
These are the long-term investment themes I've used in my own portfolio, over and above of course those strategic asset allocation decisions which drive the bulk of returns.
Personal finance news update
-Businesses facing financial difficulty could be allowed to reduce pension benefits for staff, in a move suggested by the government.
-A global study looking into the saving habits of the self-employed revealed that in the UK, many are not taking adequate steps to prepare for their future retirement.
-The North East London Borough of Hackney has seen the steepest growth in house prices in the capital over the past 20 years, according to new research by Lloyds Bank.
-A top official at the Bank of England has admitted it will not be able to forecast the next financial crisis or recession.
-Self-assessment tax receipts and capital gains tax have boosted income to the exchequer, resulting in the lowest government borrowing for January in 17 years.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Aftershow links
-Messy: How to be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy Minded World, by Tim Harford
-Billions on Sky Atlantic
-Sean Walsh
-Cranleigh Literary Festival, sponsored by Informed Choice
-Master Investor Show at the Business Design Centre in London on Saturday 25th March (use code INFORMEDCHOICE)
My guest on the podcast today is Kalpana Fitzpatrick, founder of Mummy Money Matters.
Kalpana is an experienced financial journalist and broadcaster, who started her blog after she discovered that mums were often overlooked and kept out of the loop when it came to money.
As well as editing and writing for Mummy Money Matters, Kalpana appears regularly in the media as an expert commentator on personal finance and is often seen on television.
Kalpana was recently shortlisted for the Women in Journalism Awards and the National Press Awards 2016 and also the runner up for Personal Finance Blog of the year SHOMOS 2016.
She is extremely passionate about making finance simple and accessible as well as helping consumers make the most of their money.
As a parent herself, Kalpana often found that families were presented with jargon, making finance unnecessarily complicated, resulting in many missing out on entitlements and putting their money in poor returning products.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Kalpana about why mums are often overlooked when it comes to personal finances, the importance of financial education for children, favourite ways to scrimp and save money, why women should have a freedom fund, and much more.
Welcome to Mummy Money Matters with Kalpana Fitzpatrick, in episode 178 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What inspired you to get started in financial journalism?
-Why are mums often kept out of the loop when it comes to money?
-What makes financial education so important for children?
-As the financial journalist for Channel 4's Super Scrimpers TV show, what are some of your favourite ways to scrimp and save?
-Why is it so important for women to have a freedom fund and keep it secret?
-How does a freedom fund differ from an emergency fund?
-How should mums approach their personal finances differently from the rest of us?
-Are there any particular steps that moms can take when they're planning for retirement?
-Can you tell us what the 'pink tax' is all about?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-Mummy Money Matters
-Kalpana on Facebook
-Kalpana on Twitter
-Kalpana on YouTube
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
What is money, where does it come from, and who controls it?
These are the questions answered in the new book from my guest on the podcast today, leading political economist Ann Pettifor.
Ann is a UK-based economist, director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME), an honorary research fellow at the Political Economy Research Centre at City University, London and a fellow of the New Economics Foundation.
She is also executive director of the consultancy Advocacy International, which advises governments and organisations on international finance and sustainable development.
Ann is best known for correctly predicting the Global Financial Crises in several publications including “Coming soon: The new poor”and her 2006 publication “The coming first world debt crisis”.
Pettifor’s background is in sovereign debt. She was one of the leaders in the Jubilee 2000 debt campaign, which succeeded in writing off $100 billion of debts (in nominal terms) owed by 35 of the poorest countries.
Her new book is The Production of Money: How to Break the Power of Bankers. In this book, Ann argues that democracies can reclaim control over money production and subordinate the out-of-control finance sector to the interests of society, and also the ecosystem.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Ann about what money really is, the fundamental issues with the money system, what happens if nothing changes, whether we can still trust economists, if women are better positioned than men to control the money system, and the rise in the popularity of gold bugs.
Welcome to The Production of Money with Ann Pettifor, in episode 177 of Informed Choice Radio.
Click here to get the full episode transcript
Some questions I ask:
-What is money really?
-Are there any fundamental issues with the current money system?
-What happens if nothing changes?
-How can we use the money system to meet the real needs of society?
-Can we still trust economists?
-Are women better positioned than men to reclaim control over the production of money?
-What’s behind the rise in gold’s popularity and the presence of goldbugs?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
–Prime Economics
–The Production of Money by Ann Pettifor
–Ann on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Click here to get the full episode transcript
Today on the podcast, I'm talking about what happens to your pension when you die.
I know it's a morbid subject, but it's so important. Our pensions are usually the second biggest asset in our lives, after the value of our homes, so from a financial perspective, it's important we take them seriously, both during our lifetime and when planning for our death in the future.
I'm talking about this today after the recent Supreme Court ruling on pension death benefits which marks a major extension of unmarried cohabitees’ rights and could affect millions of families.
In this episode, I start by talking about that Supreme Court ruling and what it means for unmarried couples, then look at pension death benefits more generally, before finishing with some specific action steps you need to consider to get your own pensions in order from the perspective of death benefits.
Personal finance news update
-Price inflation has risen to its highest rate for two-and-a-half years.
-Wages grew faster than the rate of inflation at the end of 2016, according to the latest official figures.
-Average incomes for pensioner households after housing costs now exceed those of working-age people.
-UK consumers are leaving over a billion pounds to sit idle in current accounts.
-Research from Co-op Insurance has revealed that 91% of homeowners think their house value has increased since they bought it - by an average of £33,125.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Aftershow links
-Reimagining the Laws of England exhibition at Cranleigh Arts Centre
-The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone
There's an old saying on Wall Street; Nobody rings a bell at the top or the bottom of a market.
As true as this is, many investors have concerns about the risk of a bond bubble bursting.
With gilt yields testing historical lows and the threat of rising interest rates, many investors have been questioning the outlook for fixed income.
Once interest rates do start to rise in the UK and Europe, what will it mean for the capital value of bond holdings in portfolios?
My guest on the podcast today is Curtis Evans, Investment Director - European Fixed Income at Fidelity International.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Curtis about whether a bond bubble continues to exist, the impact of rising interest rates on capital values, why it's so difficult to call rising rates, steps investors can take to reduce the impact of rising interest rates, whether enough liquidity exists within the bond markets to cope with a sharp sell-off, and much more.
Welcome to Outlook for Fixed Income with Curtis Evans, in episode 175 of Informed Choice Radio.
To get you started, click here for the complete transcript for this episode (it’s FREE!). Get the transcript here!
Some questions I ask:
-Is the fear of a bond bubble still relevant?
-What impact would rising interest rates have on the capital values of bond holdings?
-Why is the timing of interest rate rises so hard to call accurately?
-What steps can you take to protect a fixed income portfolio from the impact of rising rates?
-How far can investors go within a strategic bond environment before they take on risks equivalent to equity holdings?
-Can international bond holdings form part of the solution?
-If there was a sharp sell-off, could bond market cope with the necessary liquidity?
-Can cautious investors still treat bonds as a cautious holding within their portfolios?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Click here to get the full episode transcript
My guest on the podcast today is Jo Read, author of the new book Suddenly Single.
Jo is an experienced Financial Planner, who has a real passion for helping her clients get peace of mind, understanding and clarity around their money.
Her clients are typically women who are Suddenly Single through divorce or bereavement. Jo personally has found herself Suddenly Single and when not advising clients she leads a very busy and fulfilling life; travelling, playing sport, keeping fit and having a very busy social life!
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Jo about how her focus on helping suddenly single women came about, the tendency for women to find themselves suddenly single, some of the first steps people should take in light of divorce or bereavement, her three step process for helping people who are suddenly single, and much more.
Welcome to Suddenly Single with Jo Read, in episode 174 of Informed Choice Radio.
To get you started, click here for the complete transcript for this episode (it’s FREE!). Get the transcript here!
Some questions I ask:
-How did your focus on working with suddenly single women start?
-Why is it women who are most commonly in need for assistance?
-What are the first steps people should take in light of divorce or bereavement?
-Can you talk us through your three step process when working with people who find themselves suddenly single?
-What part do emotions play in the decision making process?
-Where is the balance between making financial decisions for the short-term and long-term?
-What are the pressing concerns for individuals who are suddenly single?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-Suddenly Single website
-Suddenly Single on Amazon
-Jo on Facebook
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
This week on the show, I take a closer look at the new government white paper which aims to fix our broken housing market.
The housing white paper, ‘Fixing our broken housing market’, was published earlier this week by the Department of Communities and Local Government.
In this episode I will take you through the key proposals in this white paper, look at some of the reaction, and then share my own thoughts on how we might fix the broken housing market.
There's also a real life case study of a 25 year old who is desperate to get onto the housing ladder, and my suggestions for her.
Personal finance news update
Our newsreader this week is Informed Choice paraplanner Victoria McNulty.
-An unmarried woman whose long-term partner died has won a landmark legal battle that could improve the pension rights of unmarried couples in the public sector.
-Annual house price growth slowed in January, with this trend expected to continue during 2017.
-The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a new Discussion Paper seeking views on the practice of investing in illiquid assets through open-ended funds.
-Premium Bond holders will have a lower change of winning the biggest prizes from May.
-Tax as a share of the UK's income is set to rise to its highest level since 1986.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Aftershow links
-Unbiased Awards 2017
-Master Investor Show
-Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain - for Life, by Dr David Perlmutter
Canna Campbell is a Financial Planner and money vlogger from Sydney, Australia.
She's founder of SugarMamma.TV, which serves not only an educational platform for everyone to access her knowledge, experience and information, but to more importantly inspire you to believe in yourself and empower you to step up to the plate.
SugarMamma.TV is filmed inside Canna's home in Sydney, often featuring her two dogs, Giuseppe and Sofia, and her cheeky son, Rocco.
In her videos, Canna shares everything that you need to know today, which will help you create a future where money is not an issue but a powerful tool which you use and respect to create the future which you deserve and crave.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Canna about the inspiration behind SugarMamma TV, how to get rid of credit card debt quickly, her $1,000 project to create passive income and financial independence, financial literacy in Australia, and Australia's economic position in the world.
Welcome to Sugar Mamma with Canna Campbell, in episode 172 of Informed Choice Radio.
To get you started, click here for the complete transcript for this episode (it’s FREE!). Get the transcript here!
Some questions I ask:
-Have you always had a commercial mindset?
-What inspired you to start Sugar Mamma TV?
-What steps do you recommend people follow to get rid of credit card debt?
-Can you tell us what your $1,000 project involves?
-How do handbags play a role in your motivation strategy?
-Is buying shares the best way to get started creating a passive income?
-Do levels of financial literacy differ between the UK and Australia?
-What's Australia's position in the global economy?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-Sugar Mamma website
-Sugar Mamma TV on YouTube
-Canna Campbell on Instagram
-Canna Campbell on Facebook
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest on the podcast today is an investment expert with more than quarter of a century of experience.
Trevor Greetham is Head of Multi Asset at Royal London Asset Management.
He joined RLAM in April 2015 from Fidelity where, as Asset Allocation Director, he was responsible for implementing tactical investment decisions across a range of solutions including the Fidelity Multi Asset Strategic fund with a strong performance track record.
In the newly-created role of Head of Multi Asset at RLAM, Trevor became responsible for managing Royal London’s existing multi-asset solutions and also responsible for driving the development of new asset allocation solutions.
Trevor is known for his work on the Investment Clock; an approach linking the performance of various investments to the different phases of the economic cycle.
This is just one of a range of tactical asset allocation models that bring science to investment decision making but crucially, it leaves room for good judgement and experience to play its part.
In today’s episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Trevor about the current stage of the economic cycle and how long this might last, whether the so-called Trump Rally is significant for investors, what might spook investors as the UK triggers Article 50 in March, whether the Bank of England was right in its decision to cut interest rates again last year, why China is on his investment radar for 2017, and how gold represent a bad choice of safe haven for investors.
Welcome to Rock Around The Investment Clock with Trevor Greetham, in episode 171 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-How does the Investment Clock work and where do we find ourselves today in the economic cycle?
-Is the Trump Rally significant and can we expect it to continue?
-Last year was good for index trackers but challenging for actively managed funds. Is this likely to repeat in the future?
-What are you looking out for as the UK negotiates its exit from the European Union?
-Was the Bank of England right to cut interest rates following the Referendum last summer?
-What other factors should investors be considering? What's on your investment radar at the moment?
-Is there too much correlation between the different asset classes? Can investors still achieve effective diversification?
-Why is gold a bad idea at the current stage of the investment cycle?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
How much are you paying for financial advice and investment products.
In this episode of the podcast, I'm joined by Nick Bamford to chat about fees, charges and the cost of financial advice.
The Sunday Times recently published an article which was critical of the charges levied by tied adviser St James Place, with particular criticism of their exit charges of up to 6% on some financial products.
We also hear a lot about the cost of fund management charges, particularly with reference to lower cost index tracker funds.
And there's a lot of debate about what financial advisers charge, whether investors should pay a percentage of their money to invest, or a flat fee.
Nick and I spend some time in this episode talking about the fees investors typically pay, some of the different remuneration structures offered by financial advisers, understanding value for money when it comes to fees, and the importance of fee transparency.
Personal finance news update
Our newsreader this week is Informed Choice paraplanner Kelvin Riches.
-The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.25% whilst increasing its forecast for growth in the UK economy.
-Annual house price inflation weakened in January, falling to its lowest level since November 2015.
-Brits lack a plan for passing on wealth to future generations, according to a new survey.
-Widespread confusion over financial terms means millions of people may be taking out important policies or products without completely understanding what cover the product offers.
-Savings protection available from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the FSCS, has risen by £10,000 this week.
Listener question
David Horton from Brisbane in Australia writes in with the following question that we answer in this episode:
The rule on 'don't borrow to invest"; does that apply to borrowing to buy a "buy to let" property? Saving to buy outright would be impossible or very slow, and I think would run you up against rule 10, don't pay too much tax. Though I guess such savings pay so little interest the tax would be minimal.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Aftershow links
-Deep Work by Cal Newport
-Martin's book review on Medium
-10% Happier by Dan Harris
-Being Mortal by Atwul Gawande
-Unbiased Awards 2017
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Martyna Sroka is Money Saving Girl; a money blogger born in Poland and based in London.
She likes finding money saving deals and offers. Martyna tries to test the deals and offers and then shares her money saving tips with you, so you can have more for less and be happier.
Martyna’s credo is that nothing is impossible, some things are just a bit harder to achieve but if really want something you will get it.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Martyna about what first sparked her interest in saving money, how her upbringing informed her attitude towards money, the strategies Martyna used to save £2,400 last year, an introduction to matched betting, areas of spending where people tend to overspend, and so much more.
Welcome to Money Saving Girl with Martyna Sroka, in episode 169 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What first sparked your interest in saving money?
-How did you manage to save so much last year when you had some big items of expenditure too?
-Can you explain to our listeners how matched betting works?
-Are there some areas where it's easier to save money than others?
-What are the particular areas where people tend to overspend?
-Are there any particular cashback websites you recommend?
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-TopCashBack
-Quidco
-Latest Free Stuff
-Latest Deals
-Money Saving Girl
-Martyna on Facebook
-Martyna on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Have you ever dreamed about moving to the country, living more simply and making the most of life?
My guest on the podcast today is Faith Archer.
Faith is an award-winning money journalist, who also writes the blog Much More with Less about moving to the country, living with less and making the most of it.
Faith was formerly Deputy Personal Finance Editor at the Telegraph Media Group. She’s now a freelance journalist and writer, specialising in personal finance.
In today’s episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Faith about how she started her blog, living below the line on just £1 a day, some of the benefits of living a frugal lifestyle, things that discourage frugality, highlights from saving £5,000 in a year, and much more.
Welcome to Much More With Less with Faith Archer, in episode 168 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Your blog is Much More With Less. How did that get started? Was that a natural spinoff from personal finance journalism and when you went freelance, and what was the motivation behind it?
-What are some of the benefits of a more frugal lifestyle, of living frugally?
-What are some of the first steps that people can take if they want to approach life in a more frugal manner?
-What tends to put some people off frugality and trying to cut back a bit? Are there some secret elements which discourage people?
-You mentioned on your blog that you want to make 2017 a money saving year, so what steps are you taking to make that happen?
-Are there any quick wins when it comes to spending less and saving more money for the future? Where do you get the most satisfaction from saving money?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
Much More With Less
Faith on Twitter
Faith on Instagram
Faith on Facebook
Much More With Less
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
We often hear about strategies to get rich quick and treat these, quite rightly, with suspicion and distrust.
Instead of focusing on dubious get rich quick schemes, in this episode of Informed Choice Radio I’m sharing some ways to get poor quick.
The goal of sharing these lessons is to help you identify behaviour that will result in you losing money.
Unlike making money where guarantees are few and far between, I can absolutely guarantee you that the ten lessons shared in this episode of the podcast will result in you losing money.
Personal finance news update
Our newsreader this week is Informed Choice paraplanner Andy Bodman.
-The Dow Jones Industrial Average has set a new record level, trading above 20,000 for the first time on Wednesday this week.
-Girls get less than boys in pocket money each week, according to new research from Childwise.
-Two thirds of us expect to leave an inheritance and, according to new research, one in five adults are relying on receiving one.
-60% of actively managed investment funds perform better than index trackers.
-Professor Ted Malloch, the man tipped to be Donald Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, has predicted the collapse of the Eurozone within the next 18 months.
Aftershow links
–January book giveaway competition
–Too Much of a Good Thing: How Four Key Survival Traits Are Now Killing Us by Lee Goldman
–Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Simon Watkins, author of Trade Financial Markets Like The Pros.
Simon worked for many years as a senior Forex trader and is now a consultant to a number of the world's biggest hedge funds.
He's written extensively on Forex, equities, bonds and commodities for publications including: The Financial Times, Euromoney, FX-MM, The Emerging Markets Monitor, Global Finance Magazine, World Finance Magazine and FTSE Global Markets.
In Trade Financial Markets Like The Pros, Simon covers how to balance risk against reward, how to search out correlations between asset classes that offer trading opportunities, and the major factors that could continue to twist financial markets into wildly contradictory modes.
The book also offers a refresher course in technical analysis and the full range of hedging techniques, including options, to offset possible losses.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Simon about why investing is becoming more difficult, greater correlation between asset classes, the shift in global interest policies and opportunities this has created for traders, currency weakness post-Brexit, prospects of an oil price recovery, the premise behind technical analysis, and much more.
Before we get into the episode, a few words of warning. During this interview we cover some fairly advanced trading strategies and concepts. Whilst a lot of what we talk about will I'm sure be of interest to retail investors, please only consider things like options trading and technical analysis if you're an experienced investor and you know what you're doing.
As always, what we discuss in this podcast is for information only and does not constitute advice. The value of investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns.
With that caveat out of the way, welcome to Trade Financial Markets Like The Pros with Simon Watkins, in episode 166 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Why has it become so much harder to make money from trading investment markets?
-What issues does closer correlation of asset classes create?
-What impact has the shift in global interest rate policy had on trading opportunities?
-Is the current weakness of Sterling particularly unusual or a return to historic norms?
-How stable is the Eurozone economy?
-Is the oil price likely to recover as a result of recent output cuts?
-What's the premise behind technical analysis?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-Trade Financial Markets Like The Pros by Simon Watkins
-ADVFN Books
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
There are a handful of books which have genuinely inspired me to live a better life.
I've always thought that the measure of a good book is not how many times it is read or even recommended, but how many times you gift it and share the wisdom with others.
My guest on the podcast today is James Wallman, author of the groundbreaking book Stuffocation: Living More With Less.
Stuffocation is one of those rare books that makes a lasting impact, is regularly re-read, and I'm pleased to gift to my friends.
James is a journalist, trend forecaster, speaker, and author.
He has written for GQ, the New York Times, the FT, and advised clients such as Absolut, BMW, Burberry, and Nike. James wrote the futurology column in T3 magazine and was editor of The Future Laboratory's forecasting publication.
In Stuffocation, James shares intriguing insights on psychology, economics and culture, resulting in a vital manifesto for change.
The book has inspired those who have read it to be happier and healthier, and to live more, with less.
In today’s episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to James about defining Stuffocation, the mental and physical health consequences of having too much stuff, some of the barriers preventing people from experientialism, buying things to facilitate experiences, whether the tide is turning for consumerism, and much more.
Welcome to Stuffocation with James Wallman, in episode 165 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-How would you define Stuffocation?
-What was the inspiration behind writing this book?
-Are there mental and physical health consequences from having too much stuff?
-What are some of the main barriers preventing people from experientialism?
-Is the tide turning for consumerism?
-What are some of the future trends that most excite you?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-Stuffocation: Living More With Less by James Wallman
-James on Twitter
-The Future Is Here
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
I’m a parent to three wonderful children.
As all three grow up, we are very aware of the importance of teaching them about money.
There’s slightly more pressure on me to do a great job at this, as a parent and a Financial Planner!
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I share 10 important money lessons to teach your kids.
This covers budgeting, delayed gratification, making choices, and much more.
To get you started, click here for the comprehensive checklist of all 10 lessons and some valuable notes (it’s FREE!). Get my detailed checklist here!
Click here to download the free PDF
Personal finance news update
-Tens of thousands of grandparents could be missing out on National Insurance credits worth £231 a year when they retire.
-House price inflation is on the rise, at 6.7% for the year to the end of November.
-Lenders have reported a growing number of borrowers who are facing difficulties repaying loans and overdrafts at the end of last year.
-Rich Kids of Instagram wannabes are taking advantage of credit and rented schemes to replicate lavish lifestyles portrayed on social media, according to new research.
-Over a third of Brits are worried about falling victim to fraud, according to new research.
Aftershow links
–Confidently Speaking
–Jigsaw 10k
–Too Much of a Good Thing: How Four Key Survival Traits Are Now Killing Us by Lee Goldman
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Latest iTunes reviews
“Business podcasts are often an amateurish sideline, but this is a notable exception. Clearly a labour of love for Bamford, who never does anything by halves, Informed Choice Radio stands apart through a combination of slick production, high-quality guests and incisive questioning. A top-drawer podcast.” – Brian Walters
“Picked this up with the Dan Hannan interview and took it from there. Currently back-listening to the last few. Very clear and easy to listen to. Keep them coming please.” – tomt_techman
My guest on the podcast today is Professor Tim Jackson, author of Prosperity without Growth.
Tim is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey. He's also a Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). His 2010 TED Talk, An economic reality check, has been watched more than a million times.
Tim has been at the forefront of international debates about sustainable development for over two decades. He's worked closely with the UK Government, the United Nations, and numerous private companies and NGOs to bring social science research into sustainability. His research interests focus on the economic and social aspects of the relationship between people’s lifestyles and the environment.
Tim's landmark work is the book Prosperity without Growth: Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow, first published in 2009. Tim's piercing challenge to conventional economics openly questioned the most highly-prized goal of politicians and economists alike: the continued pursuit of exponential economic growth. His findings provoked controversy, inspired debate and led to a new wave of research building on its arguments and conclusions.
A new edition of Prosperity without Growth was published last month, at a launch to coincide with Professor Jackson's appointment as a 2016 Hillary Laureate.
In today's episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Tim about what sparked his interest in sustainability, why our current model of economic success is so flawed, the dilemma of growth (to trash the planet or crash the system), whether technology is the solution to all of our problems, how humanity can flourish with sustainability, the right measure of success, and much more.
Welcome to Prosperity without Growth with Tim Jackson, in episode 163 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-What first sparked your interest in sustainability?
-Why is our current model of economic success so flawed?
-Is there a compromise in the battle between economic and ecology?
-What choice is offered by the dilemma of growth; trash the planet or crash the system?
-Will technology ever catch up and offer solutions to finite resources?
-How can humanity flourish?
-Is the way in which we measure economic success part of the problem?
-Can a solution can from evolution, or is a revolution required?
-Does change need government backing or will a grassroots movement be enough?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity
-Prosperity without Growth: Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow by Professor Tim Jackson
-Tim Jackson on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
I've got a confession to make. On Thursday 23rd June 2016, I visited the polling station and, like every other adult in this country, answered a question; Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union? And like the majority of others who voted in this referendum, I voted to leave.
I wasn't always in the leave camp. In the months leading up to referendum day, I devoted a huge amount of time to reading, debating and doing my best to understand the issues. As part of Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce, I helped to arrange and host two panel debates on the subject. I also attended a panel debate hosted by on of my professional bodies, the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.
The more I learnt about the European Union, the more I swayed towards Leave. The biggest single factor in making up my mind was reading Why Vote Leave by my guest on the podcast today, Daniel Hannan.
Dan Hannan is a writer and journalist. After 17 years as a Member of the European Parliament, campaigning for British withdrawal from the EU, he succeeded in abolishing his job in the Brexit referendum on 23 June 2016.
He is the author of nine books, including New York Times bestseller 'Inventing Freedom: How the English-Speaking Peoples Made the Modern World', and Sunday Times bestseller 'Why Vote Leave'.
His latest book, and the subject of our conversation today, is 'What Next: How to get the best from Brexit'.
In today’s episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Dan about why the experts got it wrong, how we should aim to have freest possible trade with our European allies, understanding the difference between a free trade area and a customs union, why the Prime Minister would be crazy to share her negotiating strategy, whether we are still on track to trigger Article 50 by the end of March, and much more.
Welcome to What Next for Brexit? With Daniel Hannan, in episode 162 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Did you originally become an MEP with the goal of the UK leaving the EU?
-Why did all of the experts get it so wrong?
-How can we get the best deal from Brexit?
-What's the difference between a free trade area and a customs union?
-Does Theresa May have a plan for Brexit?
-Where does the balance of power lie in the upcoming negotiations?
-Will Brexit be a smooth ride?
-How long is the uncertainty over Brexit likely to continue shaking investment markets?
-Are we still on track to trigger Article 50 by the end of March?
-What's your one concern about how we might get Brexit wrong?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
-Dan on Twitter
-What Next: How to get the best from Brexit
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Today on the podcast, I'm sharing some thoughts on How To Make More Money By Doing Less.
One of my personal goals for 2017 is to do less. This isn't about being lazy, but wanting to make more of my time.
After all, we all have finite time and it’s so easy to fill with ‘being busy’.
So I gave some thought to how we might make more of our wealth by doing less. Here are some ideas.
To get you started, click here for the comprehensive checklist of all 5 points and some valuable notes (it’s FREE!). Get my detailed checklist here!
Personal finance news update
-The spending power of the average UK household rose by nearly £600 in the last financial year. Disposable income for the typical UK household rose to £26,332 after taxes, according to the ONS.
-The price of petrol and diesel in the UK has risen to its highest since July 2015. This follows a three-pence-a-litre increase during December.
-Younger generations are due to inherit more than their predecessors, but with greater inheritance inequality. New research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found the wealth of older generations has risen by an average of 45% over the past ten years.
-New research from Gocompare has found that, on average, people now manage over 30 accounts across all aspects of their lives. These range from online banking and shopping, to gym memberships and subscriptions for home entertainment.
-Millions of credit card holders face a New Year financial hangover because they aren’t clued up about their credit card. The new research from MoneySuperMarket reveals two thirds of credit card holders don’t keep a close eye on how much they spend on credit and only check their statement at least once a month.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Are you part of Generation Cherry? This is the generation who benefited from free education and abundant employment opportunities, often with a gold-plated final salary pension too. They could afford to buy houses, but today find themselves asset rich and cash poor.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Tim Drake, author of the new book Generation Cherry.
Generation Cherry has been described as a toolkit for the new era. It’s full of practical steps for avoiding “retirement” and the grey slide towards death.
In the book, Tim explains why it’s so important to develop a fresh outlook on life. He details how to rethink our priorities, recognise our blessings, and take advantage of today’s new work landscape, rather than feeling trapped by it.
At its centre is an understanding that to live a life of meaning, variety and fulfilment, we need to take responsibility for how we think, feel, and act as individuals. We must build a grounded self-confidence – something that’s possibly wobbling at this point.
Generation Cherry will guide you through embracing Enlightened Thrift, something I discuss with Tim in this conversation.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Tim about the key challenges faced by Generation Cherry today, steps we can take to regain conscious control, why longevity is a really positive development, not the bad news story portrayed by the press, and much more.
Welcome to Generation Cherry with Tim Drake, in episode 160 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-How do we define Generation Cherry? Is this the same cohort as the Baby Boomers?
-Can you describe the concept of enlightened thrift?
-What are some of the key challenges faced by Generation Cherry?
-How can people in this generation take positive, conscious control?
-Do you place an equal weight on each of the four autonomies?
-Why is improved longevity so often framed in such a negative light?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–Generation Cherry on Amazon
–Tim Drake’s website
–Tim on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Sophie Robson.
Sophie is a consultant at MRM Communications, part of a multi-disciplined public relations consultancy in London. They provide award-winning communications solutions for companies, organisations and individuals operating in and around the financial services sector.
Sophie is author of MRM’s annual Young Money Report. We chat today about the fourth edition of this report, titled “Generation Austerity: Brexit and Beyond.”
The report examines the attitudes to finance of 1,00 18 to 25 year olds who have grown up in the dark shadow of austerity.
The study considers the views of young people on a range of topics including pensions and benefits, advice and access, saving and spending, and investing and the economy. It also features contributions from key industry experts across the financial services sector.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Sophie about why this generation is known as Generation Austerity, how disengagement extends from voting apathy to personal finances, some of the financial barriers faced by Generation A, and what the research means for the future of financial services.
Welcome to Generation Austerity: Brexit and Beyond with Sophie Robson, in episode 159 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask:
-Why are we calling this Generation Austerity?
-How is disengagement with politics linked to a lack of engagement with personal finances?
-What are some of the financial barriers faced by this generation?
-Did you discover anything about access to financial advice for younger people?
-What are the retirement ambitions for Generation A?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–Young Money Report
–MRM London
–Sophie on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
As we head into a New Year, it’s important to revisit our relationship with money.
What I’ll share with you in this episode isn’t personal finance or investment tips, but a series of 7 questions you need to ask yourself to change your relationship with money.
Set aside some time to ask each of these, with your spouse or partner if necessary, and consider how your relationship with money could improve as a result of better understanding of each of these areas.
To get you started with this important exercise, click here for the comprehensive checklist of all 7 questions and some valuable notes (it’s FREE!). Get my detailed checklist here!
Click here to get the checklist
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–The Seven Stages of Money Maturity: Understanding the Spirit and Value of Money in Your Life by George Kinder
–Meaningful Money Podcast
–The Financial Wellbeing Podcast
–The Number: What Do You Need for the Rest of Your Life, and What Will It Cost? by Lee Eisenberg
–The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way To Be Smart About Your Money by Carl Richards
–The Financial Wellbeing Book by Chris Budd
–Money Life Live
Personal finance news update
-The top paid executives had earned more by Wednesday this week than typical workers earn in an entire year. Dubbed ‘Fat Cat Wednesday’ in the press, the High Pay Centre think tank said it was an important reminder of the unfair pay gap in the UK.
-Levels of household debt have risen to the highest level since the global financial crash of 2008, according to the latest official figures. The Bank of England data has shown personal debt rising by 10.8% in the year to 30th November 2016, rising to £192.2bn.
-The government has claimed that thousands of homes for first-time buyers will be built this year. 30 different areas in England are due to receive funding from the £1.2bn “Starter Homes Land Fund” for new property developments on brownfield sites.
-More than a million over-45s have fallen victim to email scams, according to Aviva’s latest Real Retirement Report. The report also also highlights that the experience of being targeted via email is 22% more common among this age group than by phone.
-MoneySuperMarket’s annual insight into the nation’s financial stress levels shows over 11 million people cite daily money worries as their main cause of stress.
Aftershow links
–Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioural Economics by Richard H Thaler & my book review
–Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent by Ryan Holiday
–Cranleigh BIG Awards 2017
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Maria Nedeva.
Maria is the founder and blogger behind The Money Principle.
As you will hear in this interview, back in 2009 Maria and her husband discovered they had £100,000 in consumer debt, accumulated through a combination of the global financial crisis, reduction of income, financial ignorance and an absolute refusal to engage in sound money management practices.
Maria had reached a crisis point but, and this is the reason her story is so compelling, managed to turn it all around. In three years, they had repaid all of the consumer debt. A couple of years later, and they have saved a sizable pot of money for the future.
As well as being a money blogger, Maris is a Professor at a well-respected business school. She has a PhD, teaches creativity and innovation, and talks to Prime Ministers about wise ways to spent their country’s money on science.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Maria about her incredible journey into and out of debt, why you have to reach a crisis point in order to take control, the difference between an emergency fund and a freedom fund, how frugality sucks but frugalartisty works, and much more.
Welcome to Money Principle with Maria Nedeva, in episode 157 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How did you get into £100,000 of consumer debt?
-Was being a Professor at a business school helpful in understand how to get out of debt quickly?
-Was being in so much debt the wakeup call you needed?
-What makes the biggest difference when repaying debt; cutting expenditure or increasing income?
-What's the balance between debt repayment (frugality) and satisfaction with your life?
-Can you explain to our listeners what you call the game of wealth?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-Maria on Twitter
-The Money Principle website
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Have you set your goals and made resolutions for 2017 yet?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I share the process I use to establish goals and give them the best possible chance of succeeding.
This involves reflecting on 2016, establishing goals for 2017, and using some techniques to make those goals ‘stick’ during the next twelve months.
Useful links
–Reflecting on 2016
–Books read in 2016
–Chris Guillebeau annual review process
–Setting goals for 2017
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Welcome to Best of 2016 Part Three, in episode 155 of Informed Choice Radio.
This is the third in a three part episode showcasing the best of Informed Choice Radio in 2016.
It’s been an incredible year for the podcast, with more than 27,000 episode downloads in the past twelve months, 89 new episodes and 44 expert guest interviews.
In part three of this three-part ‘best of’, we’re sharing some of our favourite guests from 2016.
In part one, we revisited guests who talked about money management, ageing and the economy. In part two, the themes were investing, our American friends, and financial scams.
Today in part three, we’re bringing you some of the guests who talked about behavioural economics, pensions and FinTech.
Welcome to Best of 2016 (Part Three), in episode 155 of Informed Choice Radio.
Interviews mentioned in this episode
-Lynda Shaw
-Daniel Crosby
-Steve Webb
-Richard Parkin
-Alistair McQueen
-Gemma Godfrey
-Tom Blomfield
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Welcome to the Best of 2016 (Part Two), in episode 154 of Informed Choice Radio.
It’s been an incredible year for Informed Choice Radio, with more than 27,000 episode downloads, 89 new episodes and, 44 interviews with expert guests.
In part two of this three-part ‘best of’ episode, we’re sharing some of our favourite guests from 2016.
In part one on Monday, we revisited guests who were talking about money management, ageing and the economy.
In part two today, the themes are investing, our American friends, and scams.
Interviews mentioned in this episode
-Tim Price
-Robin Powell
-Jon Beckett
-Jordan goodman
-Joe Saul-Sehy
-Joan Sotkin
-Rodney Hobson
-Nick Hewer
-Darren Cooke
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Welcome to Best of 2016 (Part One), in episode 153 of Informed Choice Radio.
It’s that time of the year, when we look back and reflect, before we look forward to the New Year ahead.
It’s been an incredible year for this podcast. We’ve published 89 new episodes this year, moving to three new episodes a week since October. Informed Choice Radio broke through the milestone of 5,000 monthly downloads in November and looks set to exceed that figure again in December.
In part one of a three part best of episode, we revisit interviews about money management, ageing and the economy.
Interviews mentioned in this episode
-Michelle McGagh
-Pete Matthew
-Jasmine Birtles
-Chris Budd
-Professor Andrew Scott
-Angela Sherman
-James Rickards
-Stewart Cowley
-Cahal Moran
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
What had the biggest impact on your personal finances in 2016? What lessons can we learn from these events in order to make better choices in the future?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin explores the big investment stories from this year.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news.
The big personal finance events of 2016
As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good time to reflect.
2016 has been a fairly tumultuous year. We’ve had Brexit, we’ve had Donald Trump, and we’ve had the death of Terry Wogan, David Bowie, Alan Rickman and Victoria Wood, among many others.
But what were the big events that had an impact on your personal finances? What can we learn from some of these to make better choices with our money in the future?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about some of the big investment stories from 2016 and what we can learn from these, in order to make better decisions in the future.
Personal finance news update
-MPs have recommended the Pensions Regulator is given more powers to deal with rogue employers who fail to properly support their pension schemes.
-HM Treasury is set to receive record tax revenues from property sales, despite a fall in the number of property transactions.
-Citizens Advice has warned that thousands of people in their twenties are struggling with debt after signing up to buy now, pay later deals.
-New research from SunLife has revealed that today’s over 50s are having the time of their lives – free to do what they want, when they want, and they don’t care what anyone thinks.
-The local authority district of Winchester (which includes the City of Winchester) has been named the UK’s best place to live.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Richard Parkin.
Richard is Head of Pensions Policy at Fidelity International.
He has over 20 years’ experience in the pensions and investment industries, particularly defined contribution retirement savings.
As Head of Pensions Policy at Fidelity, Richard leads their work on assessing the ever changing landscape for pensions and retirement in the UK. His role involves identifying opportunities to help Fidelity’s customers and develop their products and services.
He is also responsible for Fidelity’s retirement thought leadership combining with colleagues around the globe to provide fresh insight into the ever more complex issues customers face in saving for and living in retirement.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Richard about whether we can expect a period of stability ahead when it comes to pension changes, if it was right to scrap plans for a secondary annuity market, unfinished business on pensions tax relief, how providers have coped with the introduction of pensions freedoms, and much more.
Welcome to Save More Tomorrow with Richard Parkin, in episode 151 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-Could we have a period of stability ahead of us when it comes to pensions?
-What does the future look like for pensions and pension tax relief?
-What should we expect the state pension provision to look like in the future?
-How have pension providers coped with implementing pension freedoms, and what were some of the consequences?
-Has auto enrolment proceeded as planned, and what do you think it will mean for the next generation of pension savers?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
Fidelity
Richard on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Claire Walsh.
Claire is Head of Advice at Unbiased.co.uk, the UK’s biggest and most versatile search for regulated and independent advisers.
Her role includes representing unbiased in broadcast media with recent appearances on BBC News, Channel 4 News, Moneybox and Share Radio.
As a practicing independent financial adviser, Claire provides a unique perspective drawing from her day to day experience with clients together with unbiased.co.uk’s data and insights on the wider market.
Claire is a Chartered Financial Planner at Aspect8 in Brighton. She was named Young Independent Financial Adviser of the Year at the Unbiased Media Awards 2014 and in the same year was shortlisted for the Financial Times Life and Pensions Adviser of the Year award.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Claire about attracting more young women to financial planning, some hot topics in the world of personal finance, restoring confidence in pensions as a retirement planning tool, taking control of money in the New Year, and much more.
Welcome to Unbiased with Claire Walsh in episode 150of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-Why do you think it is that women don’t tend to become financial planners and what can we do to encourage more women to enter the profession?
-How do people go about finding the right financial advisor?
-Do you think pensions have still got a positive reputation?
-What are some of the other hot topics in personal finance at the moment?
-What tips do you have for people who are wanting to take control of their personal finances?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
Claire on Twitter
Unbiased
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
This week on the show, Martin has run out of things to talk about in 2016, so instead he’s looking through some seasonal press releases about money.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news.
Money matters at Christmas
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we’re getting festive with a look at some of the seasonal money and personal finance research that has landed in Martin’s email inbox recently.
It’s that time of the year, again, when financial services companies try their best to put a festive spin on what they do. Some of it is genuinely interesting and useful; some of it is just fluff. In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin takes a look at some of the best ones.
He talks about returning unwanted Christmas gifts, last minute shopping, spending money to avoid upsetting family and friends, the cost of insuring Father Christmas, putting Christmas on credit cards, and a different approach to Christmas shopping.
Personal finance news update
-Price inflation has been driven higher in the year to November, with the biggest rise in clothing prices in six months a major factor.
-Transfer values on offer from defined benefit pension schemes are shooting up, according to pension provider Royal London.
-The total value of privately owned housing stock in the UK has grown to over £5.5 trillion for the first time, according to new research by Halifax.
-Savings rates offered by so-called challenger banks is double that offered by traditional banks, according to new research.
-The government has announced a review of automatic enrolment to encourage more people to save into a workplace pension.
-The Bank of England has voted to keep interest rates on hold at 0.25%.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
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In episode 148 of Informed Choice Radio, we’re getting ScamSmart with Nick Hewer and Darren Cooke.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we’re talking about scams; how to spot them and how to stay safe when the scammers are going after your money. I’ve got a couple of guests joining me today who share their experience and expertise to protect your personal finances.
The reason we’re talking about scams is a new campaign from the Financial Conduct Authority. It’s called ScamSmart and it’s designed to encourage consumers to take the time to check before handing over their money.
The campaign was launched with new research which found one in five over 55s, with above average incomes, suspect they were targeted by a fraudulent investment scam in the past three years. This rises to one in three of those aged 75 or over.
On average, victims of investment fraud lost £32,000 each last year. According to the FCA, recent pension freedoms and low interest rates are making the over 55s increasingly vulnerable to approaches from fraudsters.
Despite the high number of people potentially contacted by these scammers, one in eight over 55s which have invested in financial products, such as stocks and shares, spend little or no time researching them before handing over their money.
To find out more about the ScamSmart campaign, I spoke to Apprentice star and Countdown host Nick Hewer. Nick is fronting the FCA ScamSmart campaign after himself being targeted by investment scammers.
I also spoke to Darren Cooke, a Chartered Financial Planner at Red Circle in Derbyshire, about the petition he launched to ban cold calling for pensions and investments.
Darren’s campaign was a success, and in the Autumn Statement the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the Treasury would consult on a ban.
I gave Darren a call to talk about why he launched the petition, the support he received, and how it has raised awareness about this important issue.
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Angela Sherman.
Care to be Different is an information website set up by Angela after her own parents’ experience of the UK care system.
Based in Buckinghamshire, Angela challenged the NHS twice on its decisions to force both of her parents to pay for nursing care – and won, first for her mother, then a second time for her father.
She developed Care to be Different as a specialist information resource, providing practical information about NHS Continuing Healthcare funding and other care matters.
I heard Angela speak at the Institute of Financial Planning annual conference in Newport last year, and she’s been on my guest list since then. I’m really pleased to bring you this interview today.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Angela who pays for long-term care, the lack of awareness surrounding NHS Continuing Healthcare, how serious your health needs to be in order to qualify for NHS funding, and much more.
Welcome to Care to be Different with Angela Sherman, in episode 147 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-More people all need some form of care in later life, who pays for that care?
-Is there a lack of awareness around continuing health care?
-What does the typical process look like for this continuing health care assessment, how does someone intriguer it in the first place?
-What do families have to look out for during the assessment process?
-What are the moral arguments about claiming NHS care?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–Care to be Different Website
–Angela on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In episode 146 of Informed Choice Radio, Martin reviews Dave Ramsey's seven baby steps to financial freedom.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Dave Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps
Dave Ramsey is an American personal finance guru, author, radio host, TV personality and motivational speaker. He has a syndicated radio programme and YouTube show, The Dave Ramsey Show, and has written several New York Times bestsellers.
He likes to use financial rules of thumb to get his followers to take action, and his seven baby steps are all about simple steps for taking control of your money.
In this episode, Martin runs through Dave Ramsey's seven baby steps and explains how you can apply them to improve your own personal finances.
Personal finance news update
-Over a third of Brits are very or fairly concerned about being able to meet their financial commitments in 2017.
-The Financial Conduct Authority is urging over 55s to undertake the necessary checks when investing in financial products.
-Final salary pension schemes face a ‘tough’ year ahead in 2017, with many simple ‘treading water’.
-Two charities have been fined over data protection breaches, because they secretly screened the wealth of potential donors.
-The European Central Bank has extended its programme of quantitative easing until December 2017, albeit at a slower pace.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Our latest iTunes review
I heard about the Informed Choice podcast through the Meaningful Money podcast and have not been disappointed. In the last few months I’ve worked my way through around 125 episodes and have nearly caught up to the current episode. Packed with top quality interviews, personal finance news updates and a nice light hearted peak behind the scenes of Informed Choice.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Adam Piplica.
Adam made a career change into financial planning after spending years studying investment and financial planning in his spare time. His original career was in market research and data analysis.
Now a Diploma qualified Paraplanner at a firm of Chartered Financial Planners in York, Adam is organising Money Life Live. This a life-changing event for people who may not have ever considered meeting with a financial planner before, but want more out life.
To make Money Life Live a reality, Adam has brought together a number of financial experts and coaches, along with every-day people with extraordinary stories.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Adam about the role of a Paraplanner, what inspired him to organise Money Life Live, the future of personal finance, priorities when it comes to personal financial planning, and much more.
Welcome to Money Life Live with Adam Piplica, in episode 145 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-What is the role of a Paraplanner and how does this differ from a Financial Planner?
-What can people expect from Money Life Live?
-Who will be speaking at the event?
-Is financial jargon making it harder for people outside of the finance sector to engage with our services?
-What are some of the main financial priorities you come across?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–Money Life Live
–Magical Penny
–Adam on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Michael Fotis.
Mike is a man on a mission. He’s the founder of Smart Money People, a business seeking to deliver real change in financial services by leveraging the power of its unique customer insight.
His clients include retail banks, building societies, insurers, alternative finance providers and trade associations.
Mike has written about financial services for a number of publications, including The Spectator, The Money Advice Service and ResPublica. He’s spoken at events including the ABI’s Big Data conference.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Mike about whether the boring reputation of financial services results in swerving scrutiny about their customer experience, what the rise in FinTech means for customer service in financial services, if customer reviews can be manipulated by the firms seeking them, and much more.
Welcome to Smart Money People with Michael Fotis, in episode 144 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-Why do banks have such a poor reputation for customer service and for trust?
-Why do you think there’s that disconnect between someone’s individual experience with their bank or insurance company or fund manager, whoever it might be, and a collective reputation of the sector?
-How do you work with banks and other financial services companies to improve their reputation or help them improve their reputations?
-Talk to me about transparency. What role does that play when we’re trusting a large organisation?
-With all of this growth in Fintech do you think that’s going to force the established players to up their game a bit?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In episode 143 of Informed Choice Radio, Martin is searching for the Santa Rally and explaining why investors should pay it no attention at all.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Searching for the Santa Rally
Stock markets often have a pretty good time of it in December.
This is known as the Santa Rally or December Effect. It was first recorded by Yale Hirsch in his Stock Traders Almanac back in 1972, and since then it’s been frequently observed by investors and analysts.
New research by Schroders has found stockmarkets are more likely to rise in December than during any other month. The research looked at nearly three decades worth of data before confirming the existence of a Santa Rally.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin is searching for the Santa Rally before explaining why investors should ignore it.
Personal finance news update
-House price growth has slowed to its lowest rate since January.
-Bank of England governor Mark Carney has issued a warning about high levels of household debt.
-For nearly three in ten women, the inability to support themselves or their families financially is their greatest financial fear.
-The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) have agreed to cut output.
-An influential committee of MPs have criticised HM Revenue & Customs over its lack of scrutiny on whether tax reliefs are being used effectively.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is James Rickards.
Jim is the Editor of Strategic Intelligence, a financial newsletter, and Director of The James Rickards Project, an inquiry into the complex dynamics of geopolitics and global capital.
He is the author of The Road to Ruin (2016) and The New Case for Gold (2016), and two New York Times best sellers, The Death of Money (2014), and Currency Wars (2011).
James is a portfolio manager, lawyer, and economist, and has held senior positions at Citibank, Long-Term Capital Management, and Caxton Associates.
In 1998, he was the principal negotiator of the rescue of LTCM sponsored by the Federal Reserve.
He is an adviser on capital markets to the U.S. intelligence community, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and is on the Advisory Board of the Center on Sanctions & Illicit Finance in Washington DC. He served as facilitator of the first-ever financial war games conducted by the Pentagon.
In his new book, The Road to Ruin: The Global Elites’ Secret Plan for the Next Financial Crisis, Jim shares his thoughts on how investors can prepare for the next financial panic and why it’s coming sooner than you think.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Jim about why he believes the collapse of the global monetary system is inevitable, the possible triggers for the collapse, the role the International Monetary Fund could play, some steps we can all take to protect our wealth, and the role China is playing with massive stockpiling of gold reserves.
Welcome to The Road to Ruin with James Rickards, in episode 142 of Informed Choice Radio.
**Some questions I ask**
-What inspired you to write this series of books?
-What's going to be the trigger for the next financial collapse?
-What will the collapse look like for the ordinary citizen? How are we going to feel it in our everyday lives?
-Are there any strategies investors can follow to deal with the short and long-term impact of the global monetary system collapsing?
-Does China play a role with its stockpiling of gold?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Gary Antonacci.
Gary has over 40 years’ experience as an investment professional, focusing on underexploited investment opportunities.
Since receiving his MBA from Harvard, Gary has concentrated on researching, developing and applying innovative investment strategies that have their basis in academic research.
His research on momentum investing was the first place winner in 2012 of the prestigious Wagner Awards for Advances in Active Investment Management, an annual award from the National Association of Active Investment Managers.
Gary’s research introduced the investment world to dual momentum; this combines relative strength price momentum with trend following absolute momentum.
Gary is the author of Dual Momentum Investing: An Innovative Strategy for Higher Returns with Lower Risk.
The book is based on Gary’s award-winning work and presents an easy-to-understand, straightforward model that transforms momentum concepts into an actionable investing strategy called Global Equity Momentum.
By combining relative-strength momentum and absolute momentum, the book explains a proven methodology to help investors take advantage of intramarket trends while avoiding large drawdowns.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Gary about how momentum investing works, what his research into dual momentum investing found, the reasons why all investors don’t follow momentum strategies, and what happens in a market where asset prices are closely correlated.
Welcome to Dual Momentum Investing with Gary Antonacci, in episode 141 of Informed Choice Radio.
Episode sponsor
Today’s episode of Informed Choice Radio is sponsored by audible.com – get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at audibletrial.com/informedchoice. There’s over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone or Kindle.
A title I personally recommend is How to Live a Good Life by Jonathan Fields. This is an excellent and very practical book, a modern-day manual for the life well-lived.
Narrated by Fields himself, the book walks you through 30 days of fun, yet powerful mini-challenges. These are designed to rekindle deep, loving, and compassionate relationships; cultivate vitality, radiance, and graceful ease; and leave you feeling lit up by the way you contribute to the world.
To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/informedchoice, and download How to Live a Good Life or another free audiobook of your choice.
Some questions I ask
-Can you explain in simple terms how momentum investing works?
-Does momentum investing come with any guarantees, or can future performance vary?
-What happens when the two main styles of momentum investing are combined?
-Why aren’t all fund managers and investors following momentum strategies?
-Can momentum investing be applied using active management as well as passive approaches?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin explains what you really need to know about the Autumn Statement.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
What you really need to know about the Autumn Statement
On Wednesday, the new Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his first Autumn Statement to the House of Commons.
Despite being fairly light on new policies, this was an important Autumn Statement; it’s the first proper assessment of the UK economy we have seen since the EU Referendum in June.
In a nutshell, we heard from Hammond that economic growth is forecast to slow down. As a result, the national debt is forecast to rise. There was however some good news for the lowest paid in society and those now referred to as JAMs; the "just about managing".
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks you through some of the main features of the Autumn Statement, as they apply to your personal finances.
1 – £122bn worse off because of Brexit
2 – Salary sacrifice is sacrificed
3 – Money Purchase Annual Allowance slashed
4 – Plans to tackle pension scammers
5 – Market-leading savings bond to be offered
6 – Hammond’s final Autumn Statement
What did you think about Philip Hammond’s first and last Autumn Statement? We would love to hear from you.
Personal finance news update
-The maximum compensation limit for bank customers is being returned to its previous level of £85,000.
-New figures from HM Revenue & Customs show the sale of homes in the UK stayed sluggish during the autumn.
-Brits plan to spend nearly £1,500 each this festive season.
-Nearly a quarter of over-50s plan to cash in their pension after withdrawing their tax-free lump sum, according to a new a survey from Retirement Advantage.
-New research by SunLife has found that 82% of over 50s don’t want a hymn at their funeral and that Always look on the bright side of life from Monty Python’s Life of Brian is the song most would choose to have played instead.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Stewart Cowley.
Stewart has worked in financial markets in New York and London since the 1980s. He has written columns for many of the world’s leading business publications including the Sunday Telegraph and the financial publisher Citywire.
Stewart is a regular guest on BBC’s Newsnight, Radio 4 and Sky News.
His new book is Man vs. Money: Understanding the Curious Economics that Power Our World.
In Man vs. Money, Stewart distills the complexities of the economy and provides an essential guide to modern-day money and our relationship with it.
Along the way he explains how the statistics that govern our world are based on guesswork, why stock markets are like a wandering drunken man, what you need to live like a millionaire and why cooking has made man the dominant species on the planet.
Man vs Money shows you how understanding a little more economics can improve your life.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Stewart about how debt has become a way of life, why Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn are in fact joined at the hip, why Mark Carney will never raise interest rates at the Bank of England, how Bitcoin is breaking banking models, and how business, like love, will find a way when it comes to Brexit.
Welcome to Man vs. Money with Stewart Cowley, in episode 139 of Informed Choice Radio.
Win a copy of Man vs Money
I’ve got a copy of Man vs Money by Stewart Cowley to give away to one lucky listener.
Here’s how you can win. Leave an honest review of the Informed Choice Radio podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.
You can find us on iTunes by visiting icradio.co.uk/itunes and on Stitcher at icradio.co.uk/stitcher.
Once you’ve left your review, let us know about it and we will put your name in the hat to win a copy of Man vs Money by Stewart Cowley.
Drop me an email to martin@icfp.co.uk or tweet me at @martinbamford to let me know you’ve left a review.
I’ll announce the winner in episode 143 of Informed Choice Radio, next Friday, 2nd December 2016, so leave your review and get in touch please by midday on Wednesday 30th November.
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is James Mee.
James is an investment manager at Waverton Investment Management.
He joined the company in September 2012 as an Assistant Portfolio Manager for the Managed Portfolio Service Team. He is now the lead manager of the Waverton Cautious Income Fund and sits on the Macro Research Team contributing macro analysis and reports to the Asset Allocation Committee.
James graduated from Bristol University in 2012 with a degree in Law and is a CFA charterholder. In May 2016 he won the WealthBriefing European Rising Star Award.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to James about the challenges investors face generating a reasonable level of income from their portfolios, why income investing still has a future, the first steps in building an income portfolio, how diversification works for investors and why 2017 could be a repeat of 2016.
Because we’re talking about investing money in this episode, a couple of important reminders. This podcast does not represent a personal recommendation or advice. You should speak to an independent financial adviser before making any investment decisions. The value of your investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
With that said, welcome to Income Investing with James Mee, in episode 138 of Informed Choice Radio.
Episode sponsor
Today’s episode of Informed Choice Radio is sponsored by audible.com – get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at audibletrial.com/informedchoice. There’s over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone or Kindle.
A title I personally recommend is The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking, written and narrated by Oliver Burkeman.
I finished this one just last week and it’s a fascinating new book, which Burkeman narrates himself. He argues that “positive thinking” and relentless optimism aren’t the solution to the happiness dilemma, but part of the problem. In The Antidote, Burkeman sets out an alternative path to contentment and success that involves embracing the things we spend our lives trying to avoid – uncertainty, insecurity, pessimism, and failure.
To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/informedchoice, and download The Antidote or another free audiobook of your choice.
Some questions I ask
-What are the challenges that investors currently face around generating a realistic income level from their portfolios?
-So what’s the life of an income investor like today? Is it still something that people are actively pursuing?
-Is there a balance that can be struck between maintaining an acceptable level of income from your portfolio and ensuring that it’s sustainable – it’s not eroding the capital. What should investors be considering if they are chasing that high yield?
-For an investor looking to start an income portfolio, what would be the first steps? How would they start building that portfolio? What would they look for to include within that type of portfolio?
-Do you think that portfolios are going to need to change as a result of Brexit as a result of president Trump?
-Do income investment tragedies need to change as we get older as we enter retirement?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–Waverton Investment Management
–Insights article from Waverton
–Waverton Cautious Income Fund
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about solving the biggest problem with living longer.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
How to Solve the Biggest Problems With Living Longer
Earlier this week Martin gave a presentation at the Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. This episode includes a re-recording of that presentation.
Martin talks about a remarkable French lady and the deal she did with a property lawyer, the state of longevity in the UK today, what is on the cards for the State Pension, how reform of funding adult social care was watered down, and why many older people feel they are second-class citizens.
He finishes with five ideas to address the challenges of an ageing population and helping people live well in later life.
1 – Become a Dementia Friend
2 – Become more accessible to older customers
3 – Invest in your old age today
4 – Talk to your kids about the future
5 – Re-rethink retirement
Personal finance news update
-The Financial Conduct Authority has warned some consumers might not fully understand the new Lifetime ISAs which are due to launch next April.
-Unemployment in the UK has fallen to reach an 11-year low, according to new figures.
-Early exit penalties for people withdrawing money from their pension pots are set to be capped at 1%.
-Teenagers are ill-prepared for the financial realities of adulthood, according to the Money Advice Service.
-Grandparents are gearing up to spoil their grandchildren to the tune of £1.4bn this Christmas according to research by Saga Money.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Rodney Hobson.
Rodney is an experienced financial journalist who has held senior editorial positions with publications in the UK and Asia.
He was previously News Editor for the Business section of The Times, Business Editor of the Singapore Monitor, Head of News at Citywire and Editor of Shares magazine. Rodney has also contributed to the Daily Mail, the Independent and Business Franchise Magazine.
He’s a regular contributor to Share Radio and writes a weekly column about stockmarkets, the economy and investment news for the financial news website Morningstar.
Rodney is the author of several financial books including Shares Made Simple; Small Companies, Big Profits; Understanding Company News; How to Build a Share Portfolio and The Dividend Investor. He is also author of the Detective Inspector Paul Amos Lincolnshire Mystery series of books.
His latest book is The Book of Scams, published by Harriman House. It describes the types of scams perpetrated on the public, how to spot the tell-tale signs and how to avoid becoming the next victim.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Rodney about the history of scams, how modern technology makes it easier to be scammed, why sophisticated investors are just as likely to fall victim, and much more.
Welcome to The Book of Scams with Rodney Hobson, in episode 136 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
– What made you want to become a financial journalist, what made that journey happen?
– What was the transition like coming from financial journalism in Hong Kong to the UK?
– Have stories about financial scams always been common place in your work, is it something that’s always been there in the background?
– Who gets scammed?
– Are scams becoming more sophisticated, are they becoming harder to detect?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Jon Beckett.
Jon is a thought leader in the fields of fund strategy, research and governance. He’s been a fund selector and strategist for over 16 years, acting as a gatekeeper for one of the UK’s largest insurance platforms. He’s held a portfolio of senior roles, including with the Association of Professional Fund Selectors and Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.
Jon, affectionately known in the industry as ‘JB’, has long been an outsider of the City. He loves to challenge the status quo and cast light on the relationship between fund selectors and fund managers.
JB is author of New Fund Order: A Digital Death for Fund Selection?
In the book, JB hunts down the value chain between fund buyers and fund managers, tackling the difficult issues head-on. It’s described as a digital survival guide for anyone working in the fund and wealth industry.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to JB about the life of a professional fund selector, the relevance of human fund selection in an increasingly digital world, using liquid alternative investments in the current economic environment, and the danger of super tanker funds.
Welcome to New Fund Order with Jon Beckett, in episode 135 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How did you become a fund selector?
-What inspired you to write the book, New Fund Order?
-How is fund selection changing in this increasingly digital world?
-Can you explain what alternative liquid investments are and how they tend to perform in volatile market conditions?
-What's the problem with giant investment funds?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about saving for retirement without using a pension.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Saving for retirement without using a pension
Some new research by Alliance Trust Savings has found that over a third of savers are using cash ISAs to build a retirement fund. This rises to almost half of those living in the north of the country.
This research raises some interesting points about saving for retirement. We often think of retirement planning as the preserve of the pension. Pensions are the tax-efficient instrument of choice that people have historically used to save for later life.
But does that still make sense? Should your retirement savings rely entirely on pensions or is there a better way?
Personal finance news update
-A different measure of price inflation is being introduced which will better reflect everyday price changes and the cost of owning a home.
-9,000 Tesco Bank customers who were victims of fraud have received £2.5m of refunds.
-A ‘dire’ shortage of housing is continuing to drive up prices in the UK, according to surveyors.
-New research has identified the great British inheritance tug of war. Parents and children are banking on financial support from each other, according to the latest findings from SunLife’s Cash Happy report.
-Women are effectively working for free from now until the end of the year as a result of the gender pay gap.
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Craig Palfrey.
Craig is a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and a board member of the Institute of Financial Planning.
He started in Financial Services back in 2000 and considers himself extremely fortunate that he’s found his vocation.
Craig is author of The Wealth Secret: Create, Build and Protect Your Future – The Penguin Way.
Setting out eight key principles, Craig and his team at Penguin Wealth in Cardiff have provided provide a step by step methodology for dealing with your finances. The book shows how these principles tie together into one effective plan. A plan that spans all life stages.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Craig about what prompted him to write the book, whether a savings habit can start in adulthood, the investment fads he has identified as a financial planner, and what investors should look for when choosing a wealth management team.
Welcome to The Wealth Secret with Craig Palfrey, in episode 133 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-What prompted you to write the book?
-Why has saving for the future become such a lost art?
-Does a savings habit have to start with education at school, or can it be developed later in life?
-What investment fads have you identified as a Financial Planner?
-How can investors find a great wealth management team?
-Is there still a lack of trust, particularly when investors are looking for a Financial Planner for the first time?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Cahal Moran.
Cahal is chairman of the Post-Crash Economic Society.
The Post-Crash Economics Society is a group of economics students at The University of Manchester. It is their belief that the content of the economics syllabus and teaching methods could and should be seriously rethought.
He became a member of the PCES after becoming dissatisfied with the narrow and abstract nature of economics education during his undergraduate degree.
Cahal is a co-author of The Econocracy: The perils of leaving economics to the experts.
One hundred years ago the idea of 'the economy' didn't exist. Now, improving the economy has come to be seen as perhaps the most important task facing modern societies.
Politics and policymaking are conducted in the language of economics and economic logic shapes how political issues are thought about and addressed. The result is that the majority of citizens, who cannot speak this language, are locked out of politics while political decisions are increasingly devolved to experts.
The Econocracy explains how economics came to be seen this way - and the damaging consequences. It opens up the discipline and demonstrates its inner workings to the wider public so that the task of reclaiming democracy can begin.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Cahal about how an economics education is failing to equip experts with the tools they need, why economics should be more of an art form, and why we need to start talking about economics in a more accessible way.
Welcome to The Econocracy with Cahal Moran, in episode 132 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-
How did you get into the field of economics and become a Phd student studying that particular field?
-
What does a traditional economics education look like, what are they being taught these days?
-
Would you argue that economics needs to be both an art and science?
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What an readers expect from the book, what subjects does it cover?
-
Hows the book and the movement being received at university, what do your professors think?
-Why did the general public stop trusting the experts when it came to economics?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin explains why so many people are seeing an amount deducted on their new State Pension forecasts.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Why are they reducing my State Pension?
Martin answers a listener question from Nigel, who has discovered he and his wife are due to receive lower State Pensions because they were previously contracted-out.
Lots of people are finding themselves in this position; in fact, most people have been contracted out of the additional state pension at some point in their working lifetime.
Martin explains how the old State Pension system worked and what it meant to be contracted out of the additional State Pension, and also how to find out if this was the case.
He explains the ‘contracted out pension equivalent’ or COPE which is appearing on so many State Pension forecasts for people reaching State Pension age on or after 6th April 2016, and what you can do if you want to top-up your State Pension income.
Personal finance news update
-The US Federal Reserve has left interest rates unchanged ahead of the US Presidential election next week.
-Price inflation in the UK is set to soar to 4% towards the end of next year, according to a leading think tank.
-UK houses now cost six times annual earnings, according to the Nationwide.
-£53.9m in Premium Bond prizes remain unclaimed, according to National Savings and Investments.
-The State Pension is no longer fit for purpose, with newly published government data revealing the fragility of the State Pension system.
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–State pension top up calculator
–The Pensions Advisory Service briefing note on topping up your State Pension
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Our latest iTunes review
Look at learning about the world of finance – start here!
* in iTunes by David Dhannoo from UK on October 31, 2016
I’ve been listening to this podcast since Jan-Feb this year – I like Martin’s insights and the guests he has on. I find a lot of finance content stuffed with jargon but this podcast is easy flowing and have learnt a lot since tuning in from the start of the year. Definitely give this podcast a listen!
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Dr Lynda Shaw.
I met Lynda a year ago, when she was leading a workshop for the Society of Later Life Advisers all about communicating with older clients.
As you will hear in this interview, Lynda is an incredible woman. She’s a cognitive neuroscientist and business psychologist, specialising in consciousness, emotion and the effects of ageing.
Lynda has a long list of affiliations, including Fellow of Royal Society of Medicine, Chartered Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and Fellow of the Professional Speaking Association.
In addition to her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, Lynda has a Masters of Research in Psychology, and a joint honours degree in Psychology and Social Anthropology.
When I heard Lynda speak a year ago, she was covering the psychology of communication and the older client. I wanted to touch on some of this area again, to get a better understanding of how our brains change as we age and what impact this has on our decision making.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Lynda about her journey from business to academia, the link between emotion and below conscious awareness, how we can make better decisions about our money by reframing our state of mind, why retiring from work might be the most unhealthy decision you make in your life, and much more.
Welcome to Greed, Decision Making, & the Ageing Brain with Dr Lynda Shaw, in episode 130 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How do you go from being a business woman to a psychologist and a neuroscientist?
-How is this application of neuroscience applied in business generally and in life generally?
-If we enter the decision making processes in the wrong state of mind, are we going to approach the decisions differently?
-What are the changes that we go through as we age?
-Do we lose confidence in our decision making as we age because of changes to our brains?
-Tell us about greed, can it be a positive and a negative emotion?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Andy Webb.
Andy is a personal finance blogger, bargain hunter and journalist, covering all things money and consumer.
He is the founder of Be Clever With Your Cash, a website which he launched in February 2014 following a long career with the BBC, including a stint working on The Money Programme.
You might recognise Andy’s voice, as he is a regular on television and radio, as a money expert for The Money Advice Service.
Andy’s website, Be Clever With Your Cash, gets more than 70,000 visitors a month and has resulted in some fantastic awards for Andy, most recently Best Personal Finance Blog at the 2016 Money Blogger Awards. He was also highly commended for Best Personal Finance Blog at the 2016 Headlinemoney Awards.
As you will hear in this episode, Andy is passionate about not wasting cash and wants to help others achieve their dreams. He’s the founder of UK Money Bloggers; a network of personal finance and money saving bloggers who get together to share ideas, experiences and opportunities.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Andy about the growing community of money bloggers in the UK, how people with an interest in personal finance can get started online, and some basic steps to make the most of your money.
Welcome to Cash Hacking with Andy Webb, in episode 129 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-Why is personal finance blogging growing in the UK, despite the subject failing to capture the imagination of mainstream broadcasters?
-How can you be confident the person behind a money blog is legitimate?
-What’s topical at the moment in the world of money blogging?
-For someone just getting started, what are the basics for making the most of your money?
-Which members of the UK Money Bloggers community regularly give the best tips?
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–Be Clever With Your Cash
–Andy Webb on Twitter
–UK Money Bloggers on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has started a consultation about its new mission.
As a firm of Chartered Financial Planners providing independent financial advice, we are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
In the past week, we received our annual invoice from the FCA, which pays not only for the regulator but for some other related regulatory bodies too.
In this episode of the podcast, Martin provide a breakdown of this invoice, explaining where the money goes and what it covers.
He explains the cost of the FCA, FSCS, FOS, Money Adviser Service and Pension wise, as well as other regulatory costs including professional indemnity insurance and capital adequacy.
What do you think about the cost of financial services regulation? Do we pay too much, too little? Do you get good value for money? We would love to hear from you.
Personal finance news update
-The UK economy has grown by a better than expected 0.5% between July and September, in the wake of the EU referendum result.
-More retirees are taking advantage of the pension freedoms and cashing in their pension pots, but the average withdrawal amounts has fallen.
-The deadline for submitting a paper tax return is looming, with HMRC warning of fines for late returns.
-The lowest earners have experienced the fastest pay rises, thanks to the introduction of higher minimum wages.
-Homebuyers looking to live in one of England’s picturesque market towns will need to pay a premium of £34,000 compared to neighbouring areas.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Dr Daniel Crosby.
Educated at Brigham Young and Emory Universities, Dr Daniel Crosby is a psychologist, behavioural finance expert and asset manager who applies his study of market psychology to everything from financial product design to security selection.
He is founder of Nocturne Capital and co-author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller Personal Benchmark: Integrating Behavioral Finance and Investment Management.
Daniel is at the forefront of behavioralising finance. His ideas have appeared in the Huffington Post and Risk Management Magazine, as well as his monthly columns for WealthManagement.com and Investment News.
Daniel was named one of the ’12 Thinkers to Watch’ by Monster.com, a ‘Financial Blogger You Should Be Reading’ by AARP and in the ‘Top 40 Under 40’ by Investment News.
His new book is The Laws of Wealth: Psychology and the secret to investing success where he offers an accessible and applied take on a discipline that has long tended toward theory at the expense of the practical.
In The Laws of Wealth, readers are treated to real, actionable guidance as the promise of behavioural finance is realised and practical applications for everyday investors are delivered.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Daniel about the basics of behavioural finance, how the messiness of lived experience can be integrated as an investor, whether all investors are as bad as each other when it comes to negative behavioural traits, and much more.
Welcome to The Laws of Wealth with Dr Daniel Crosby, in episode 127 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-Could you explain what is behavioural finance, how does it work, what are the principles behind it?
-How does behavioural finance work on a practical basis when investing money?
-Are all clients as bad as each other when it comes to behavioural traits?
-Why do people tend to fear high-profile, low-probability events, like getting bitten by a snake?
-How does consumer behaviour drive investment markets?
-What can we expect to see from the field of behavioural finance in the future?
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
Win a copy of The Laws of Wealth
I’ve got a copy of The Laws of Wealth by Dr Daniel Crosby to give away to one lucky listener.
Here’s how you can win. Leave an honest review of the Informed Choice Radio podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.
You can find us on iTunes by visiting icradio.co.uk/itunes and on Stitcher at icradio.co.uk/stitcher.
Once you’ve left your review, let us know about it and we will put your name in the hat to win a copy of The Laws of Wealth by Dr Daniel Crosby.
Drop me an email to martin@icfp.co.uk or tweet me at@martinbamford to let me know you’ve left a review.
I’ll announce the winner in episode 131 of Informed Choice Radio, next Friday, 4th November 2016, so leave your review and get in touch please by midday on Wednesday 2nd November.
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–The Laws of Wealth by Dr Daniel Crosby
–Daniel Crosby on Twitter
–Nocturne Capital
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I talk to Gemma Godfrey, FinTech influencer, quantum physicist and founder of Moo.la.
I’ve got the pleasure of introducing you today to an incredible individual. She’s been described as a trusted business expert and FinTech influencer, as well as one the best people in the world at clarifying complex conditions as they unfold.
My guest for this episode of Informed Choice Radio is Gemma Godfrey, one of the brightest minds in the world of FinTech and investing.
Gemma is the Founder and CEO of Moo.la, an online wealth manager described as the future of investing. Moo.la has been ranked among the top ten FinTech companies to watch. A trusted business expert on daytime television, Gemma makes investing simpler, more engaging and accessible.
Gemma drives companies to achieve strong financial performance and public engagement, having managed investments for the world’s largest organisations, including Brooks Macdonald, where she was Head of Investment Strategy.
As you will hear in the interview, Gemma has a background in quantum physics, which gives her a unique perspective on the world of FinTech, business and investment management.
Ranked amongst the ‘savviest’ on Wall Street by the Wall Street Journal and on CityAM’s FinTech Powerlist, Gemma was selected by the BBC as one of the world’s top 100 women “striving to make the world a better place”.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Gemma about how a quantum physicist got into the world of investments, why London is such an attractive location for FinTech, how customer experience in financial services is going to change over the next decade, and why we all need to learn how to KISS.
Here’s my conversation with Gemma Godfrey in episode 126 of Informed Choice Radio, Everyone Needs To KISS More.
Some questions I ask
-How on earth does a quantum physicist get into the world of investments?
-What’s driving the growth in FinTech and what can we expect to see from that sector over the next decade of so?
-In practical terms, how do you think FinTech’s going to change the customer experience with financial services broadly, especially banking?
-What are your thoughts on how Brexit will result in changes to FinTech and will it hamper the growth in the UK FinTech sector?
-Can you talk us through why it is so important to KISS, especially within financial services?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–Moo.la
–Gemma on Twitter
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about five important tax breaks you might be missing.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
5 important tax breaks you might be missing
The UK has the longest tax code handbook in the world, containing more than 17,000 pages. This results in a wasteful tax system.
This year, our collective national tax waste was calculated by unbiased.co.uk to be £4.6bn.
In this episode, Martin talks about five important tax breaks you might be missing.
1 – Marriage tax allowance
This was introduced last April and is worth £220 this tax year. Despite 4.2m married couples and civil partnerships in the UK being eligible for this tax break, HMRC say only 1m couples have done so.
Marriage tax allowance allows one partner to transfer part of their tax-free income tax personal allowance to the other partner.
One of the partners must earn less than £11,000, the level of the personal allowance, and the other has to be paying income tax at the basic rate.
It takes less than five minutes to apply online for marriage tax allowance and you can backdate the claim to the previous tax year. Claim online at https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance/how-it-works
2 – Tax relief on pension contributions
Every single year, thousands of people who pay their income tax through the self-assessment system fail to claim the full income tax relief to which they are entitled on the contributions made to personal pensions.
When you make a personal pension contribution, basic rate income tax relief is automatically added to your pension pot. But if you’re a higher or additional rate taxpayer, you need to claim the difference through the self-assessment process or by contacting HMRC.
HMRC will allow you to claim the extra tax relief for the last four tax years, so if you’ve forgotten to claim or didn’t realise you could, get on the phone to the taxman and ask for your money back!
3 – Not using tax efficient savings and investments
Last year, £1.2bn of income tax was wasted by people not using their cash ISA allowances.
£104m in capital gains tax was wasted by investors not using their stocks and shares ISA allowances.
Adults have an ISA allowance of £15,240 in the current tax year, rising to £20,000 next April.
With the introduction of the Personal Savings Allowance, Martin explains in this episode why the cash ISA might not be as important as before, but over time it can still be worth using your ISA allowance each and every tax year.
4 – Failing to reduce capital gains tax
We each get a capital gains tax allowance, which is £11,100 in the 2016/17 tax year. So profits on the sale of investment assets realised up to that amount are free of capital gains tax.
One of the biggest mistakes we see people make with capital gains tax is failing to use their annual allowance and their partner’s annual allowance.
Husbands and wives, or civil partners, can effectively combine the £11,100 annual allowance to realise up to £22,200 of capital gains in this tax year.
Martin explains how this works.
5 – Paying too much inheritance tax
Inheritance tax is paid at 40% on the value of your taxable estate above the level of your nil rate band, which is £325,000 at the moment.
The nil-rate band is due to be higher in the future with the introduction of an additional nil-rate band when a residence is passed on death to a direct descendant. This will be £100,000 in 2017 to 2018, rising in stages to £175,000 in 2020 to 2021.
But despite the availability of the nil rate band, we still waste millions each year in unnecessary inheritance tax payments.
Last year, that figure for the UK was a total of £550m. We’re wasting this money because we fail to plan.
Personal finance news update
-Government plans to allow pensioners to sell their pension annuities back to insurance companies have been abandoned.
-Price inflation rose sharply in the year to September, according to the latest official figures.
-House prices have continued to rise strongly following the EU referendum in June, with rise in eastern and southern England driving prices higher.
-Nearly two-thirds of Brits always splurge when buying teabags while more than three-quarters scrimp on frozen foods and cleaning products.
-New research from American Express has found the half term holiday will cost parents £276 per child, equating to £552 for the average family with two children.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Tim Price, author of Investing Through The Looking Glass.
Tim Price has worked in the capital markets for 25 years. A graduate of Christ Church, Oxford, he spent a decade as a bond specialist before going on to serve as Chief Investment Officer at three separate wealth management firms.
Tim has been shortlisted for five successive years in the UK Private Asset Managers Awards programme and was a winner in 2005 in the category of Defensive Investing.
He is the co-founder of Price Value Partners, a fund manager established in 2004 which has a focus on value investing.
Tim is the author of Investing Through The Looking Glass: A Rational Guide to Irrational Financial Markets.
In Investing Through the Looking Glass, Tim identifies and shatters a number of investment myths and misconceptions. He questions whether stock markets inevitably rise over the longer term, whether bonds continue to be relevant as a fail safe low-risk asset, whether professional fund managers represent "smart money", and much more besides.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Tim about the basis of value investing, delusions in the investment markets, whether central bank intervention has created a ‘new normal’, calling the end of the bond bubble, and much, much more.
Welcome to Investing Through The Looking Glass with Tim Price, in episode 124 of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Lisa Stanley, founder, director and head of communications at Good with Money
Good with Money is a website offering views on how well products and providers match our vision of being both a good deal financially and ethically. It’s a resource for people who want both.
Before setting up Good With Money, Lisa was head of communications for Triodos Bank, the pioneering ethical bank. Prior to this, she worked at comms agency Bray Leino, and was partner and associate director at Lansons Communications, one of the UK’s biggest financial services PR firms.
Lisa started Good with Money along with Becky O’Connor, a freelance writer and former award-winning finance journalist for The Times. Together, they describe themselves as two blonde mums with a bit of a conscience and a fair amount of background in personal finance
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Lisa about the growing number of people choosing to do good things with their money, how ethics go beyond investing and into all aspects of your personal finances, and how you can get started in making a positive difference with your money.
Welcome to Good with Money with Lisa Stanley, in episode 123 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-Have you always been interested in the ethical side of financial services?
-What's the driving force behind your website, Good with Money?
-Is it possible to do good with your money and get low prices?
-How will ethical investing and financial decisions becoming mainstream change the face of money management?
-Can being good with your money extend into other areas of personal finance, such as borrowing?
-Where is the best place to get started, if you want to do good things with your money?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about the falling pound and why it matters to your personal finances.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
The falling pound and why it matters to your personal finances
In this episode, Martin talks about the reasons why the pound is falling, what it means for your personal finances, and what you can do about it.
At the time of recording the episode, Pound Sterling was valued at $1.21 or €1.10. It has fallen by 17.1% and 15.4% respectively since 22nd June, the day before the UK voted to leave the European Union.
Martin explained that Brexit is not the sole reason for this fall in the pound, sharing new small business survey results that suggest SMEs are not fussed about Brexit.
He explains the contrasting fortunes of the UK and US economies, with the interest rate outlooks for both prompting investors to shun the UK markets.
There is good news for some and bad news for others as a result of the falling pound.
Martin explained why a weaker pound was good news for exporters, equity investors, foreign tourists and people selling property. And why it could be bad news for bond investors, motorists and shoppers.
There was talk of planning ahead if overseas holiday plans are being made and considering the options for long-term diversified investment portfolios.
Personal finance news update
-Housing minister Gavin Barwell has suggested grandparents should hand their inheritance directly to their grandchildren to help them buy their first home.
-The government plans to introduce a new financial guidance service to cover pensions, managing debts and other money issues.
-Older men are most likely to be the victims of investment fraud, with new figures showing more than 77% of victims are men with an average age of 65.
-Older men are most likely to be the victims of investment fraud, with new figures showing more than 77% of victims are men with an average age of 65.
-Two former pensions ministers have claimed thousands of women should have been given better notice that they must wait longer for their state pension.
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-How to take your pension pot - free seminars in Cranleigh
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Tom Blomfield, CEO and co-founder of Monzo, a new smartphone-based bank.
He previously founded GoCardless, the UK's largest Direct Debit Processor, which has gone on to raise over $12m from investors.
In 2013, Tom was nominated one of the top 5 Entrepreneurs under 30 by the European Commission.
His new startup is Monzo; a new smartphone-based bank which started last year and raised £1 million through crowdfunding in just 96 seconds.
I wanted to chat with Tom about Monzo, but also the future of the banking sector in light of new technology.
It’s no secret that the traditional High Street banking model is suffering from a lack of trust with its customers. Traditional banks are seen as slow to innovate and seem to focus more on their own profits than things like customer satisfaction.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Tom about the inspiration for Monzo, how digital disruption could change the face of banking, what the banking sector could look like in five years’ time, whether smartphone-based banking will appeal to everyone, and what makes London such an attractive home for Financial Technology.
Welcome to A New Kind of Banking with Tom Blomfield, in episode 121 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-Where did the idea to start Monzo come from?
-Is Monzo part of the digital disruption that is going to change the face of banking?
-How are concerns about security and trust addressed with smartphone-based banking?
-Will this new kind of banking appeal to everyone?
-What makes London such an attractive hub for FinTech and how will Brexit change things?
Thank you for listening!
To get new episodes of Informed Choice Radio sent directly to your device as soon as they are published, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher
Your reviews on iTunes are incredibly helpful and really appreciated. We get notified about each one; please leave a note of your name and website URL so we can mention you in a future episode.
It’s official, we are all living for much longer! The latest data shows more than half a million people over the age of 90 living in the UK. So how can you make your money last until you reach your 100th birthday?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about 7 ways to make your money last in retirement. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
7 ways to make your money last in retirement
Last week, the Office for National Statistics published some very interesting figures which confirm that we are, as suspected, all getting older.
The headline was that half a million people in the UK are now aged 90 and over.
In fact, the ONS estimate that 556,270 people living in the UK are aged 90 and over.
By way of comparison, this is up from just 194,670 people back in 1985, 30 years before the current set of data.
The main driver of population ageing in recent decades has been improving mortality at all ages, but particularly at older ages.
Life expectancy is a big deal when it comes to your personal finances, here’s why.
We all know our date of birth, none of us can predict our date of death. This makes it really hard to plan for our finances in the future, because we don’t know how long we need to make our money last in retirement.
In this episode, Martin discusses 7 ways to make your money last in retirement, until you celebrate your 100th birthday and receive a telegram from The Queen.
The seven strategies Martin talks about are:
1 – Secure your basic income needs with a guaranteed and inflation linked income.
2 – Stick to the 4% rule.
3 – Don’t retire too early.
4 – Retire in stages.
5 – Age-proof your property
6 – Keep your investment portfolio simple
7 – Stay fit, healthy and active
Personal finance news update
-As much as £38bn could be lost if the UK leaves the single market, according to a report commissioned by TheCityUK.
-Bank of England analyst Jonathan Fullwood has said that the financial “gobbledygook” used by banks risks perpetuating a “great divide” between them and consumers.
-More than 300,000 pension savers a year are being left to fend for themselves when they retire.
-The FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares closed just short of its record high on Tuesday, at 7,074 points.
-A petition to ban pension and investment cold calling has exceeded 1,000 signatures.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Joan Sotkin, a holistic prosperity and mindset mentor.
Joan has spent the past 30 years examining alternative ways of dealing with life on many different levels.
She has spent this time looking for something deeper and more meaningful and learning to integrate what she discovers into her business and personal life.
Joan is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she studies how we act out family-of-origin issues through our businesses and finances.
This was an interesting conversation, something a little different to the usual experts we feature in episodes of Informed Choice Radio.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Joan about what prompted a decision to give away everything she owned, how a holistic approach can apply to financial planning, and the relationship between money and happiness.
Welcome to Holistic Approach to Prosperity with Joan Sotkin, in episode 119 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-What prompted your decision to give away everything you own?
-Who does your business, Prosperity Place, serve today?
-How can a holistic approach apply to personal financial planning?
-Are money and happiness related to each other?
-Is there more value in experiences than buying things?
-How long does it normally take to reframe attitudes towards money and success?
-Does either candidate in the US presidential election take a holistic approach to prosperity?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks to seven personal finance experts about the most important thing to improve your financial wellbeing.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
"The Most Important Thing To Improve Your Financial Wellbeing"
This week on Informed Choice Radio, Martin asked his favourite personal finance podcasters and other experts to share their most important thing to improve financial wellbeing.
In this episode, you will hear answers from the following stars:
-Pete Matthew from Meaningful Money
-David Stein from Money For the Rest of Us
-Chris Budd from The Financial Wellbeing Podcast
-Damien Fahey from Money To The Masses
-Joe Saul-Sehy from Stacking Benjamins
-Claire Walsh from unbiased.co.uk
-Nick Bamford from Informed Choice
Personal finance news update
-HM Revenue & Customs has won a £143m battle against a firm promoting tax avoidance schemes.
-The rich have become richer due to the UK's policies of low interest rates and quantitative easing.
-People over the age of 50 are spending more and more on holidays, including luxury cruises, while younger people are travelling less.
-Families should be given breathing space to repay debts otherwise the stress can affect children's mental health, according to The Children’s Society.
-Workers in London could save themselves almost £450,000 on the cost of a home if they are prepared to commute daily for an hour each way.
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-International Podcast Day
-The Financial Wellbeing Book: Creating Financial Peace of Mind (Concise Advice)
-How to Take Your Pension Pot
-Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Robin Powell.
Robin was a TV reporter, producer and presenter for more than 20 years, working for Sky News, ITV and BBC 1, where he worked on The Sunday Politics. He reported from locations including Baghdad, Soweto and Guantanamo Bay, and made award-winning documentaries on the Holocaust and on Britain’s Romany Gypsy community.
He is the founder of Ember Television, a television and online video production company based in Birmingham. Notable clients include The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Church of England, Birmingham City Council, University of Warwick and Incisive Media.
For three years, Robin was a consultant to Sensible Investing TV, for whom he produced and presented the highly acclaimed online documentary How to Win the Loser’s Game. He also works as a brand journalist and content marketing consultant for advisers in Europe, North America and Australasia.
Robin is a member of the Chartered Institute of Journalists and was a Visiting Media Fellow at Duke University in North Carolina. Married with two children, Robin lives in rural North Warwickshire and works in Birmingham.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Robin about his move to producing tailored content for financial services, what sparked his passion for evidence based investing, whether index funds have reached a tipping point and will become more popular than actively managed funds, and much more.
Welcome to Evidence Based Investing with Robin Powell, in episode 117 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-If you were to go back through your broadcasting career and maybe pick out a few of your best moments, what would they be?
-What were the drivers behind that transition from mainstream political and geopolitical broadcasting to more tailored content for financial services?
-What are index tracker funds and evidence-based investing and how do they work? How would you sum them up in a nutshell?
-How can investors identify index trackers which best replicate their chosen index and best suit what they're trying to achieve?
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using social media or by sending a tweet.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we get an investment market update from Ayesha Akbar, Portfolio Manager in the Fidelity Multi Asset team, and Martin talks about getting divorced and what it means for your money.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Financial tips for Brad & Angelina
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would have heard the news this week that actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are set to divorce.
Jolie filed for divorce on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences. The Hollywood couple have been together for 12 years, married for 2, and have six children.
For this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin shares 6 financial tips for Brad & Angelina, or anyone else when going through a divorce or separation.
His six financial tips for Brad & Angelina are:
1 – Get an overview of your current financial position.
2 – Set a reasonable budget for divorce proceedings
3 – Don’t rush into making big financial decisions
4 – Think about the short, medium and long-term!
5 – Update your will and beneficiaries
6 – Ignore your well meaning friends
Also in this episode, Martin spoke to Ayesha Akbar, Portfolio Manager in the Fidelity Multi Asset Team.
Martin asked Ayesha about the outlook for volatility in the investment markets. Volatility has been relatively low during the course of the summer. Is this likely to last?
He also asked what are the main risks to the investment market outlook which needs to be considered right now?
Martin asked Ayesha what’s the current market outlook in light of these risks? Are there any particular market areas with good prospects?
And finally, Martin asked how does investor perception of emerging markets need to change?
Personal finance news update
-Uncertainty around the EU referendum didn’t have an impact on UK house buying, with a slight rise in transaction levels during August.
-A financial scam was committed once every 15 seconds during the first half of the year, according to Financial Fraud Action.
-The EU referendum result has created a “challenging period of uncertainty and adjustment”, according to the Bank of England.
-Withdrawing money out of pensions is leaving over 55s at risk of paying thousands of pounds in inheritance tax.
-Yorkshire Building Society is urging the Government to consider reforming stamp duty land tax to make it paid by sellers not buyers, removing the tax burden entirely for more than 225,000 people getting on the housing ladder every year.
-The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold during its meeting this week.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please get in touch with any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
What happens when a money manager responsible for billions of dollars of investments feels burnt out and decides to become a personal finance teacher instead?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to David Stein.
David is a former chief investment strategist and chief portfolio strategist, responsible for $33 billion of investments, heading up in this role a 21-person strong research group.
He is host of the incredibly popular Money for the Rest of Us podcast, his primary platform for teaching thousands of people about money, investing and the economy. David’s podcast has been featured in Business Insider, Forbes, and US News & World Report.
David also helps hundreds of individual investors improve their portfolio performance by providing asset allocation and investment guidance via the Money For the Rest of Us Hub, a premium multimedia investment education platform.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to David about the difference between institutional and retail investment decisions, the impact of Brexit on US fund management, his favourite podcast episodes, and much more.
Welcome to Money For The Rest of Us with David Stein, in episode 115 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How did you make the transition from institutional investment management to personal finance podcasting and education?
-Did you always want to work in finance and investing?
-Can the same broad strategic thinking apply to multi-billion dollar institutional investing and individuals from a personal financial planning perspective?
-Is Brexit a big deal for US investors?
-What's the current 'wall of worry' for investors?
-Why is index investing becoming so much more appealing than active fund management?
-Who gets your vote in the upcoming US presidential election?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-Money For The Rest Of Us podcast
-David on Twitter
-Email David
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks to Abraham Okusanya, founder of research firm Finalytq, about new research into multi-asset investment funds.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Multi-asset funds vs Brainless Portfolios
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin speaks to Abraham Okusanya, founder of investment research firm Finalytq.
I invited Abraham onto the podcast because he has been causing something of a storm in the world of retail financial services this week.
It’s because of the publication of his latest research, which found that the massive multi-asset fund market is doing a disservice to investors, generating far lower returns than the cheaper alternatives.
The report claims that multi-asset fund managers are “not only genuinely unskilful” but “systematically reduce clients’ odds of accomplishing their objectives”.
As part of the research, Abraham rated 65 different multi-asset funds, looking at their charges and performance, as well as the financial strength of the fund provider.
Of these 65 funds, he only identified one fund considered to be excellent value for money, with only 6 rated as good. The other 58 funds were scored as either fair or poor.
This is an important topic for investors, as many billions of pounds are invested in these multi-asset funds. They are often seen as set it and forget it portfolios, which require little involvement from investors once the initial decision has been made to invest.
Personal finance news update
-The new Chancellor Philip Hammond has set a date for his first Autumn Statement, which will be presented to Parliament on Wednesday 23rd November.
-Nearly half of UK employees are suffering from a crisis of confidence when it comes to making financial decisions.
-Interest rates have remained on hold at 0.25%, with the Bank of England saying another interest rate cut is a possibility.
-Price inflation has remained steady at 0.6% in the year to August.
-The new plastic £5 note has entered circulation this week, although many parts of the country will have to wait to get their hands on one.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Jasmine Birtles, founder of Moneymagpie.com.
Jasmine is an internationally recognised finance expert, financial and business commentator, journalist, TV and radio presenter, author and humourist.
Her consumer website Moneymagpie.com is the UK’s leading self-help money site for those seeking a richer life.
It is packed with fun and easy to understand articles, eBooks and videos on how to make money, save money and manage your money wisely.
Jasmine is a familiar voice on radio and television, making regular appearances on Good Morning Britain, BBC Breakfast, BBC News, This Morning, The Wright Stuff, Channel 4 News, Sky News and many others.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Jasmine about combining humour with finance, making money more attractive to women, and why making money is often a smarter move than saving money.
Welcome to Putting Funny Into Money with Jasmine Birtles, in episode 113 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How do you combine humour and finance?
-What's more fun; being on television or writing books?
-What's the main driver behind your website, Moneymagpie.com?
-Are there financial topics your audience ask you about the most?
-What do you think is going to happen now to people's finances and just generally the economy in Britain now we've voted to leave the EU?
-Are low interest rates the biggest financial challenge we face today?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-Moneymagpie.com
-Jasmine on Twitter
-Money Magpie on Facebook
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about 7 quotes to change your relationship with money.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
7 quotes to change your relationship with money
This week on the show, Martin talks about 7 quotes to change your relationship with money.
Six of these quotes were contributions from people Martin follows on Twitter. He finishes with a favourite of his own.
Martin shared each quote before talking about what it means for your personal finances and how it has the power to change your relationship with money.
Here are the seven quotes Martin talks about this episode, along with the Twitter name of the personal who suggested it.
Benjamin Franklin - "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest"(@UKCF_Tweets)
Seneca – “It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” (@brettdavidson)
William Bernstein - “This time it’s different.”(@fryer_nathan)
Warren Buffett – “It’s only when the tide goes out that you discover who’s been swimming naked.” (@AronGunningham)
Warren Buffett - “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” (@npton_adviser)
Benjamin Franklin - “a penny saved is a penny earned.” (@Plannergrrrl)
Dave Ramsey - “Financial peace isn't the acquisition of stuff. It's learning to live on less than you make, so you can give money back and have money to invest. You can't win until you do this.” (@martinbamford)
We would love to hear what you think. What is your favourite personal finance or investing? If we get enough of these, Martin will produce another episode rounding them up.
Personal finance news update
-Women are as pushy as men when it comes to pay, dispelling a myth that this factor is the reason they get paid less.
-Illness is forcing one in eight people to quit work before they reach state pension age.
-The government is pushing ahead with its plans to introduce the Lifetime ISA next April, despite some criticism over timing and product features.
-New standards for Pension Wise staff giving guidance about the proposed secondary annuity market have been proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority.
-The Bank of England was responsible for the UK avoiding a new recession, according to its governor Mark Carney.
-Clueless young Brits have been dubbed the YOLO generation, with almost two-thirds of under-30s admitting they are ignorant of their money and financial options.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Joe Saul-Sehy.
Joe is a former financial advisor, spending 16 years advising families, and representing a Fortune 500 company in the media.
He was the “Money Man” at Detroit television WXYZ-TV, appearing twice weekly.
He’s appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Detroit News and Baltimore Sun newspapers. He’s also appeared online in more than 200 different places, including CNBC.com and WSJ.com.
Now Joe is host of Stacking Benjamins, the Plutus award-winning podcast broadcasting live from his mom’s basement. Stacking Benjamins is a magazine-style podcast featuring fewer gurus and more discussions, with a focus on entertainment rather than hardcore financial tips.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Joe about his inspiration for Stacking Benjamins, the creed which guides his approach to personal finance, the main financial issues people are struggling with today, and much more.
Welcome to Stacking Benjamins with Joe Saul-Sehy, in episode 111 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-What inspired you to start Stacking Benjamins?
-Can you take us through your creed for personal finance?
-Who was your favourite guest interview and who else is on your dream guest list?
-Should we expect a sharp fall in bond values or a gentle unwinding of monetary easing?
-Do you have advice for people in the sandwich generation, financially supporting adult children and elderly parents?
-How do you go about finding the right financial adviser to work with?
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-Stacking Benjamins
-Joe on Twitter
-Stacking Benjamins on Facebook
-Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about saving for tomorrow, today.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Saving For Tomorrow, Today
This episode of Informed Choice Radio was prompted by an email from listener Tony, who was looking for direction about saving for the future.
Tony wanted to start investing a small amount each month for the long-term, but didn’t know where to start.
In this episode, Martin talked about the cost of using investment platforms to make regular investments and then shared his top seven tips for saving for tomorrow, today.
1 – Start with a plan
2 – Build the foundations first
3 – Set it and forget it
4 – Keep it simple
5 – Don’t pay any tax
6 – Save more as you earn more
7 – Don’t beat yourself up
Personal finance news update
-Millions of savers have been hit by further interest rate cuts in August, according to Moneyfacts.
-House prices have picked up slightly in August, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index.
-The Financial Conduct Authority has banned an adviser and fined her over £100,000 for lying about qualifications.
-More than a third of people aged 18 to 24 have debts of almost £3,000 and live with significant concerns about money.
-Young Brits are looking forward to a greater later life with three in four millennials expecting their quality of life to be improved or maintained in retirement.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Daniel Ameduri, Chief Strategist at Future Money Trends.
Daniel is a self-made millionaire and full time fact finder.
He says he credits his success to a strong desire to research economics and surrounding himself with the right people.
After warning family and friends in 2007 about the coming market and mortgage collapse, he started his own YouTube channel, VisionVictory, which has received 8 million video views.
On March 18, 2008, Daniel called the collapse of Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Washington Mutual. During the mortgage crisis, he helped people buy Put Options on Countrywide Mortgage, and these Puts saw a gain of 1,400%.
When it comes to economics or macro-economic investing, Daniel is a real trend forecaster.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Daniel about his background in economics and investing, the signs that informed his forecasts, some views on Brexit, the outlook for commodities, and why he is a supporter of Donald Trump.
Welcome to Choose To Be Rich with Daniel Ameduri, in episode 109 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How did you first become involved with economics?
-What signs helped you forecast the collapse of Lehman Brothers?
-What is your forecast for the British economy following the EU referendum result in June?
-Is Brexit going to have an impact on the US economy?
-Could you explain to our listeners how a put option works and why you might use one?
-With the US presidential election coming up, why are you supporting Donald Trump?
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please email martin@icfp.co.uk and let us know what you think!
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it on social media or by sending a tweet.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Daniel Ameduri, Chief Strategist at Future Money Trends.
Daniel is a self-made millionaire and full time fact finder.
He says he credits his success to a strong desire to research economics and surrounding himself with the right people.
After warning family and friends in 2007 about the coming market and mortgage collapse, he started his own YouTube channel, VisionVictory, which has received 8 million video views.
On March 18, 2008, Daniel called the collapse of Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Washington Mutual. During the mortgage crisis, he helped people buy Put Options on Countrywide Mortgage, and these Puts saw a gain of 1,400%.
When it comes to economics or macro-economic investing, Daniel is a real trend forecaster.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Daniel about his background in economics and investing, the signs that informed his forecasts, some views on Brexit, the outlook for commodities, and why he is a supporter of Donald Trump.
Welcome to Choose To Be Rich with Daniel Ameduri, in episode 109 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How did you first become involved with economics?
-What signs helped you forecast the collapse of Lehman Brothers?
-What is your forecast for the British economy following the EU referendum result in June?
-Is Brexit going to have an impact on the US economy?
-Could you explain to our listeners how a put option works and why you might use one?
-With the US presidential election coming up, why are you supporting Donald Trump?
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please email martin@icfp.co.uk and let us know what you think!
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it on social media or by sending a tweet.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about 10 ways to improve your financial resilience.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
10 ways to improve your financial resilience
This week on Informed Choice Radio, Martin shares his ten tips for improving your financial resilience.
This topic was prompted by a couple of things; the news that the German government is thinking about making it mandatory for citizens to stockpile food and water in case of a terrorist attack; and a conversation Martin had this week with fellow personal finance podcast David Stein.
We started by asking the people of Cranleigh how they would cope in case of a national emergency or the collapse of the banking system.
Martin shared the following ten tips for improving your financial resilience and explained the practical importance of each one:
Tip #1 – build a cash emergency fund
Tip #2 – diversify your investments
Tip #3 – deal with your debt
Tip #4 – insure the essentials
Tip #5 – control your expenditure
Tip #6 – live simply
Tip #7 – create multiple streams of income
Tip #8 – get in better shape
Tip #9 – plan ahead for the future
Tip #10 – stockpile the essentials
We would love to hear what you think. Are you financially resilient? How would you cope with a collapse of the financial system?
Personal finance news update
-Gender pay inequality has widened, according to the latest figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
-More than 1.6 million families in the UK are living with ‘extreme problem debt’.
-Oil prices fell this week, after an unexpectedly large inventory build in the US renewed fears about an oversupply.
-More money was withdrawn from investment funds distributed in the UK in July than in the past three years.
-Help to Buy ISAs have faced criticism this week after the revelation that the government will withhold adding its bonus until after the completion of the property purchase.
-People taking money out of their pension pots using the new pension freedoms are being hit with unexpected tax bills.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Brad Baldridge.
Brad is a Certified Financial Planner based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He is a College Funding Consultant specializing in late stage college funding planning and the chief podcaster of Taming The High Cost Of College.
Brad provides customised planning using the latest financial aid, tax, cash flow and academic strategies. With these strategies Brad helps families save a significant amount of money on their college expenses and make a student’s college dream a reality.
Over the past 10 years, Brad has directly helped hundreds of families plan and pay for college. He has provided in-depth college plans resulting in increased financial aid, scholarships, identification of the right schools at the right price, and better loans.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Brad about the pressure families’ face to balance their retirement funding with the cost of higher education for their children. We chat about how coaching helps to prioritise these different objectives.
We also cover Brad’s work with business owners and his views on the upcoming presidential election.
Welcome to Taming the Cost of College with Brad Baldridge, in episode 107 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How do financial priorities change at different stages of life?
-Do you feel that families in America are under huge pressure and stress to save money not only for their children's education but also to save enough for their later life?
-How has the regulatory environment affected financial services in America?
-You are also a co-author of a book; Strictly Business: Planning Strategies for Privately Owned Businesses, a book written to educate business owners on financial topics. Could you tell us a little bit about the book and what were your motives behind helping to write it?
-The US presidential election is coming up, Trump or Clinton? What does the next four years look like in terms of politics for the US?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about making sensible withdrawals from your pension pot.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Sensible pension pot withdrawals
Earlier this week, the Association of British Insurers, the ABI, published the first full year of data since pension freedoms began in April 2015.
These figures show that most people are being sensible about pension withdrawals.
They found that over half of people withdrawing money from their pots in the first three months of 2016 took out 1% or less of their value.
However, more than 3,000 people took out more than 10% of the value of their pension pots during this time.
In this episode of the podcast, we hear from Nick Bamford of Informed Choice, Jamie Jenkins of Standard Life, and Fiona Tait of Royal London to get their views on these new ABI pension freedom figures.
Personal finance news update
-Retail sales were up by 5.9% in July compared with the same month last year, boosted by warmer weather.
-Accountants and advisers face new tougher fines for helping their clients bend tax rules to gain a tax advantage.
-Regulated rail fares in England and Scotland will rise by 1.9% next year, following the publication of the latest price inflation figures.
-Savers face lower returns after one of the most competitive savings accounts slashed its interest rate in half.
-New official figures show house price inflation was up by 8.7% in the year to June.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about how to avoid inheritance tax like the Duke of Westminster.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Avoid inheritance tax like the Duke of Westminster
Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, died this week of a heart attack, at 64 years old.
The duke was the third richest person in Britain and his passing has prompted a debate about inheritance tax.
By all accounts, Gerald Grosvenor was a remarkable man.
He became the sixth Duke of Westminster in 1979, and is described on the Grosvenor Estate website as : “…a passionate country man, committed soldier, an excellent shot, a true entrepreneur and, importantly, he went out of his way to be courteous and humorous with all people, regardless of status or wealth.”
Following his death, his son Hugh Grosvenor, previously known by the honorary title Earl Grosvenor, has inherited an estate worth £9bn.
Despite the substantial inheritance, the new Duke of Westminster is expected to pay very little inheritance tax.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about the use of trusts, business property relief and agricultural relief to avoid inheritance tax.
Personal finance news update
-UK government bonds have offered negative yields for the first time ever.
-Life assurance company Aegon has confirmed a £140m acquisition of fund supermarket Cofunds.
-The Royal Mint has reported a surge in demand for gold bars and coins, following the Bank of England interest rate cut earlier this month.
-The UK housing market took a pause for breath in July, following the referendum result.
-A study for the charity Shelter has found one in three families in England would not be able to pay their rent or mortgage for more than a month if they lost their job.
Higher education is an expensive business.
Tuition fees, the cost of accommodation and lost earnings potential all take their toll, often resulting in a lifetime of student debt.
In the United States, the cost of college is even higher than it is in the UK, as my guest on this episode of the podcast will explain.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Adam Bauer.
Adam is Financial Literacy Program Director at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
Adam describes his role as developing WSU’s financial literacy program. He says: Sometimes I teach. Sometimes I coach. Rarely, I sleep.
A former English teacher, Adam is passionate about using his MBA in finances to improve financial literacy for college age students.
In this episode, we talk about how college in the US differs from the UK. I ask Adam about the financial fundamentals students typically lack and whether higher education is still worth its high cost.
Welcome to Cost of College with Adam Bauer, in episode 103 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How did you get involved in financial literacy?
-What are the different types of colleges in the US and how do their fee structures differ?
-Do many students drop out of college because they struggle with financial literacy issues?
-What financial fundamentals do students typically lack?
-With such high tuition costs, is going to University still worth the money?
Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about the Bank of England cutting interest rates and what it means for your personal finances.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
They've only gone & cut interest rates!
UK interest rates have been cut from 0.5% to 0.25%. This is a new record low for interest rates in the UK and the first rate cut since 2009.
Announcing the rate cut, which was a unanimous decision, the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England also signalled that interest rates could go lower still if the British economy worsens.
The Bank announced extra measures to stimulate UK economic growth. This included a £100bn scheme forcing banks to pass on the low interest rate to households and businesses. There will also be an extension to the Bank’s programme of quantitative easing, buying £60bn of UK government bonds and £10bn of corporate bonds.
What does this interest rate cut and extra QE mean for your mortgage payments, cash savings, retirement planning or investment portfolio?
In this episode, Martin shares the views of a range of personal finance experts to help you figure it out.
Personal finance news update
-Home ownership is falling in England, with the sharpest falls recorded in large cities.
-One of the fund managers who penalised investors withdrawing money from their commercial property fund following the referendum result has eased restrictions for investors.
-A deadline for making claims for payment protection insurance mis-selling could be introduced.
-The state pension ‘triple lock’ could have a limited shelf life, with two former pensions ministers disagreeing about its future.
-The world’s first ever “masala” or rupee-denominated bond issued outside of India by an Indian company was listed on the London Stock Exchange earlier this week.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please email martin@icfp.co.uk with any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or on social media.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Surrey is often considered to be an affluent county.
Yet 27,000 young people and children are living in poverty in Surrey, and more than 108,000 people are providing unpaid care.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Laura Thurlow.
Laura is Deputy Director at Community Foundation for Surrey, working closely with donors to manage their funds and supporting them in awarding grants.
The Community Foundation for Surrey is an independent charitable trust established in 2005 to inspire local giving for local needs.
They work with donors who want to give something back to their local communities and voluntary groups providing vital services for local people and disadvantaged individuals.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we talk about how philanthropy can fit within the overall framework of Financial Planning.
We look at Hidden Surrey and what constitutes poverty in the county. We also talk about how you can get involved and support the Community Foundation for Surrey in their work.
Welcome to Love of Humanity with Laura Thurlow, in episode 101 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
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How does philanthropy differ from charity?
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Do you have to be wealthy to get started with philanthropy, or can anyone get involved?
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Do you find that a lot of people are unaware of these issues that need to be tackled?
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What does the future hold for the Community Foundation for Surrey?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-Community Foundation for Surrey
-@CFSurrey on Twitter
-@ThurlowLaura on Twitter
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or send a tweet.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin looks back over the past 100 episodes and we hear from some past guests on the show.
He interviews someone very close to home, Nick Bamford, executive director and founder at Informed Choice.
And then they look to the future, for both this podcast and the business itself.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
The Live Episode
This was a very special episode of Informed Choice Radio, celebrating the milestone of 100 episodes.
It was broadcast live on Blab.im, with Martin hosting the show along with Nick, who he interviewed briefly.
Martin and Nick also played messages from past guests Chris Budd, Pete Matthew, Michelle Hoskin, Simonne Gnessen, Michelle McGagh and Keith Richards.
Fellow podcast Roger Edwards popped in to say hello too!
Personal finance news update
-Lloyds Bank is closing another 200 branches and cutting 3,000 more jobs, despite reporting a £2.5bn pre-tax profit for the half year to the end of June.
-More than six million people have now been automatically enrolled in a workplace pension scheme.
-Credit card providers are doing too little to address persistent debt, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.
-The average house price in the UK has exceeded £205,000 on average for the first time.
-Despite appearing confident about their short-term finances, a fundamental shift in priorities is causing 30 year old women to grow increasingly concerned about their financial future.
Pensions have become increasingly political in recent years.
They rarely seem to be out of the headlines and the recent appointment of a new Prime Minister has created fresh debate around the importance of pensions policy in government.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Steve Webb.
Steve is formerly Minister of State for Pensions, in David Cameron’s coalition government from 2010 to 2015.
He is now Director of Policy and External Communications at the insurance giant Royal London.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we cover a lot of ground, talking about the importance of the pension portfolio in government and what it means to move this to a more junior ministerial role.
We also talk about Steve’s big three achievements as Pensions Minister and what he ran out of time to do.
Steve was famously quoted saying he would be relaxed in pensioners used their new freedoms to buy a Lamborghini with their pensions pots, and fall back on the state pension in later life.
We talk about that and how responsible pensioners have been since the introduction of new pension freedoms.
There are also questions about the challenges faced by new retirees who receive a flat-rate state pension, a possible solution to the Women Against State Pension Inequality, or WASPI, campaign; and why a growing number of people are making their homes their pensions.
Welcome to Politics of Pensions with Steve Webb, in episode 099 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How important is it for Pensions Minister to be a senior role in government?
-What were your biggest achievements as Pensions Minister?
-Did people rush out to buy a new Lamborghini as a result of pension freedoms?
-What will the new flat-rate state pension mean for future generations of pensioners?
-Can you give any advice to younger people who are being told to work longer and save more for retirement?
-What is your stance on the WASPI campaign? Is there a solution which satisfies everyone?
-Should people rely on their property to fund their retirement?
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or on social media.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about the personal finance implications of Pokémon Go, the new gaming craze that is sweeping the world.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Gotta Catch ‘Em All
Have you caught any Pokémon yet? This week on the show, it’s all about catching Weadles, Jigglypuffs and, of course, the beloved Pikachu.
In the space of just 10 days, the Japanese game maker Nintendo has seen its share price double.
Pokémon Go, the new augmented reality game, which is played as a smartphone app, was launched on 6th July and became officially available in the UK last week.
In this episode we are talking about Pokémon Go, the surprising global game playing phenomenon, and what it means for your personal finances.
Could Pokémon Go offer an addition source of income in retirement, along with the opportunity to meet new people, get plenty of exercise and learn new skills?
What does the runaway success of Pokémon Go mean for investing in technology companies?
Have you thought about protecting your digital legacy when you die – have you made plans to pass on your Pokémon Go to your children or grandchildren?
Personal finance news update
-Mortgage lending has risen sharply in June, with total loan advances reaching £20.7bn.
-Lying when you make an insurance claim doesn’t necessarily invalidate it, according to a Supreme Court ruling.
-Younger people have experienced a big fall in their incomes, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
-The decision to leave the European Union could have a horrible impact on the British economy, according to one leading fund manager.
-Despite widespread expectations of an interest rate cut, the European Central Bank have voted to leave interest rates unchanged this month.
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–Providing for your Pokémon in your Will
–XPLAN from Iress
–MRM London – Beer & Bytes Podcast
–Informed Choice Radio Episode 100 on Blab.im (Thursday 28th July at 1pm)
–Puppy photos on Martin’s Instagram
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Women face a number of challenges when it comes to money. They tend to earn less, have more career breaks, save less in their pensions and live for longer.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Holly Mackay.
Holly is the founder of Boring Money; a website offering practical tips and ideas on savings and investments.
After a twenty year career in the finance sector, Holly established Boring Money a year ago to help people with limited financial knowledge and experience make some smart decisions quickly and painlessly.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we talk about Holly’s latest campaign, Ladies Losing Out.
We chat about what makes women different from men when it comes to investing money, how people can get started with investments and what the future holds for investing money.
Welcome to Ladies Losing Out with Holly Mackay, in episode 97 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-What inspired Boring Money?
-What should women be thinking about when saving for the future?
-Tell me about some of the common misconceptions people have about stock market investing?
-Are there basics people should consider when starting with investing?
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or send a tweet.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about how to stop the scammers from taking your money.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
How to stop scammers taking your money
It's Scams Awareness Month in July and in this episode Martin talks about how to stop scammers from taking your money.
Scams Awareness Month is all about creating a self-supporting network of confident, alert, consumers. People ready, willing and able to spot scams.
In this episode, Martin talks about financial scams, so you’re aware of what you’re up against, some of the tactics used by the scammers, and some top tips for how to stop scammers from taking your money.
According to the Financial Conduct Authority, scammers use five tactics in an attempt to control your decision making - the pre-caller, the opener, the loader, the closer, and the recovery room.
So how do you stop scammers from taking your money? The FCA recommends three steps – reject unsolicited contact about investments, check the FCA warning list, and get impartial advice.
Please stay safe out there. Don’t assume that you’re scam proof because nobody is.
There are steps you can take to reduce your vulnerability to scammers and understanding their tricks and techniques are one of these.
Personal finance news update
-The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.5% in July, despite widespread expectations of a rate cut following the referendum result.
-Fewer people are cashing in their pensions as appetite for pension freedoms made available last year appears to weaken.
-A new council tax surcharge designed to boost local authority adult social care budgets has failed to prevent cuts to care services.
-Savers should prepare for tougher times ahead, according to new research by financial information service Moneyfacts.
-The value of claims made against life and pension advisers in default have risen by 138% in 2015/16, despite overall claims payouts falling by 17%.
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-Pension liberation fraud falls as crooks target larger savings
-The Confidence Game: The Psychology of the Con and Why We Fall for It Every Time by Maria Konnikova
-FCA Scam Smart website
-Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success by Matthew Syed
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Money is fundamentally simple. Or at least it should be.
We often get overwhelmed by the complexity of choices, especially when it comes to investing for the future.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Pete Matthew.
Pete is founder of Meaningful Money, where he is on a genuine mission to educate, inform and inspire the world about personal finance.
He is the creator of more than 300 videos and 160 podcast episodes covering just about every aspect of financial planning you can imagine.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we talk about Pete’s ‘BPI’ model for financial success, how bad habits can derail our financial planning and why financial advisers with flash cars are like dentists with bad teeth.
Welcome to Meaningful Money with Pete Matthew, in episode 095 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
-How did you develop your skills as a financial educator?
-What have been the most important lessons from over 300 videos and 160 podcasts?
-Can you talk us through Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball approach to repaying credit card debt?
-What are the priorities for your listeners and how might this change following the EU referendum result?
-How important is it for investors to work with financial planners who practice what they preach?
Useful links mentioned in this episode
–Meaningful Money
–Pete on Twitter
–Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
–The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it on social media.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about about the recent spate of property fund suspensions – why won’t they let me sell my property fund?!
He also speaks to Nick Peters, a portfolio manager at Fidelity International, about interest rates, the global economic outlook and whether now is the right time to sell out of bonds.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
They won’t let me sell my property fund!
The big issue this week in the world of investment management has been the suspension of trading in several popular commercial property funds.
At the start of the week, Standard Life Investments suspended trading in their £2.9bn UK Real Estate Fund, citing ‘exceptional market circumstances’. This suspension will stay in place until it is practicable to lift it and will be reviewed at least every 28 days.
It was the first time a UK commercial property fund has been closed since the global financial crisis in 2008. The company said on Monday, “The suspension was requested to protect the interests of all investors in the fund and to avoid compromising investment returns from the range, mix and quality of assets within the portfolio,”
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin explains the reasons for the suspensions and why he believes it is no big deal for investors.
Martin also speaks to Nick Peters, a portfolio manager at Fidelity International, about interest rates, the global economic outlook and whether now is the right time to sell out of bonds.
Personal finance news update
-Sterling has fallen to a 31 year low against the US dollar, despite making modest gains relative to the embattled euro.
-House price growth fell to an average of 8.4% in the year to June, down from 9.2% in May.
-The cost of mortgages has fallen to record lows, with the markets betting on an interest rate cut next week.
-Identity thieves are hunting for potential victims on social media websites.
-It costs more to raise girls than boys, according to new research by Sainsbury’s Bank.
When a financial analyst became a father and realised his work had become pretty soulless, he started sharing his personal finance knowledge online.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to Damien Fahy.
Damien is creator of Money to the Masses, a blog and podcast offering money advice to everyone. Damien is also the author of the 30 Day Money Plan, Take Control of your Finances In 5 Minutes A Day
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we talk about the inspiration for Money to the Masses, how to get a grip on your personal finances, investing as a way of building wealth for the future, and how to cut the cost of financial advice.
Welcome to Money to the Masses with Damien Fahy, in episode 093 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask
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What inspired you to launch Money to the Masses?
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How do you define advice, guidance and information?
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Who are your customers? Can you really offer advice to anyone?
-
What are some examples of how someone can take control of their finances in a few minutes a day?
-
How can we motivate people to take an interest in their personal finances?
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it on social media.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about how Brexit will affect your investments.
How Brexit will affect your investments
When the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union last week, investment markets reacted with sharp losses.
The British Pound experienced its biggest one-day selloff in recent history. It fell from $1.50 against the US dollar to around $1.33 in the space of one day.
The FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares opened sharply down last Friday, before finishing the day down by 199 points or minus 3.1%.
And it wasn’t just UK equity markets that suffered. The S&P Global Broad Market Index lost $2.08 trillion on Friday.
However, the FTSE 100 index has finished June at a new high for 2016. The index ended June up by 4.4% during the month.
This was its biggest monthly gain since last October and was helped along by strength in its commodity sector and also company shares with international exposure.
Martin spoke to some investment experts to find out how Brexit will affect your investments.
His first conversation was with Ben Kumar.
Ben is an Investment Manager at Seven Investment Management and a CFA Charterholder.
Martin asked Ben about the immediate impact on investment markets of the referendum result and what we might expect to see from bond and equity markets over the coming weeks and months.
Martin also spoke to Chris Fleming.
Chris is Financial Analytics Director at Distribution Technology, the firm we use for risk profiling and asset allocation here at Informed Choice. Chris has also completed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification and heads up the Investment Committee at Distribution Technology.
In this episode, Martin explains how volatile markets remind us about the fundamentals of investing success; diversification, long-term investment goals, the fallacy of market timing, linking your portfolio to your financial planning goals, and investing within your capacity limits.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
Does the thought of living to celebrate your 100th birthday fill you with dread? Or can you see the potential for a more stimulating future as a result of having so much extra time? In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin speaks to Professor Andrew Scott. Andrew Scott is Professor of Economics at London Business School. He is also a Fellow of All Souls, Oxford University and Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research. He previously held lecturing positions at Harvard University, London School of Economics and Oxford University. In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we talk about Andrew’s new book (written with co-author Lynda Gratton), which is called The 100-Year Life: Living and working in an age of longevity. Andrew describes the inspiration for the book, what a 100 year life might look like and how we will need to structure our longer lives in new ways. Welcome to The 100 Year Life with Professor Andrew Scott, in episode 091 of Informed Choice Radio. Some questions we ask -What might the 100 year life look like? What good is a longer life if much of it is spent living in poor health? -What is the alternative to living a three stage life consisting of education, work and retirement? -How can people overcome the dilemma of choosing a suitable retirement age, to make sure they don’t outlive their assets? -How do we encourage people to make short-term sacrifices for really long-term benefits? Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it on social media. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks to Steven Cameron from Aegon about selling your pension annuity and why they have been lobbying the financial services regulator to ensure consumers are well protected.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Selling your pension annuity
This week, Martin spoke to Steven Cameron at Aegon about the new secondary market for pension annuities which is being introduced next April.
Steven is responsible for regulatory and legislative analysis, and for lobbying on behalf of Aegon UK and the life and pensions industry.
He joined Aegon UK in 1996 and is an actuary by profession, with 30 years of experience in financial services.
Steven represents Aegon on a number of committees for the Association of British Insurers, including the Long Term Savings and Life Insurance Committee. He is also a member of Scottish Financial Enterprise’s Insurance, Life & Pensions Sector Policy Group.
Martin asked Steven if he could explain how the planned secondary market for pension annuities might work when it was introduced next April.
Earlier in the week, Aegon called on the Financial Conduct Authority to go further in setting out clearly its protection measures for potentially vulnerable consumers.
Martin asked Steven what measures Aegon would like to see the regulator introduce before next April in order to protect consumers.
Finally, he asked Steven how important it was for financial advisers to be involved in the new secondary annuity market and what a lack of participation from financial advisers would mean for consumers.
Personal finance news update
-Millionaires in Asia are now in control of more wealth than those in North America, Europe and other regions.
-More than 100,000 people are set to receive letters telling them they won’t qualify for the new state pension.
-Consumer group Which? has warned that the most loyal customers of banks are getting ‘woeful’ interest rates on their Individual Savings Accounts.
-The UK population has risen by over half a million during the past year, or 0.8%, to reach 65.1m people.
-Half of UK’s mortgage holders have no life insurance cover in place, meaning that 8.2 million people are leaving themselves and their families financially exposed if the unforeseen were to happen.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
What does The Walking Dead have to do with life insurance?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks to Kathryn and Alan Knowles from the Special Risks Bureau.
Kathyrn and Alan specialise in high risk insurance; getting insurance cover at an affordable price for people with health conditions, who engage in hazardous pastimes or have risky jobs.
In this interview, we talk about how high risk insurance differs from ordinary insurance, what being a high insurance risk means in practice, and how Kathyrn and Alan have used characters from The Walking Dead to raise awareness of insurance needs.
Some questions I ask
-What is high risk insurance and how does it differ from low risk insurance?
-Do people with medical conditions or those working in hazardous occupations sometimes assume that they would not be eligible for insurance, and therefore ignore financial protection entirely?
-What does being a high risk for insurance mean in practice? Higher premiums to pay? Less choice when it comes to products? Restrictions on the types of cover you can get?
-If someone is a high risk, can they still go directly to insurance companies to apply for cover? Is there a lot of choice in this specialist market?
-You recently launched a new campaign, ‘The Walking Dead meets the Special Risks Bureau’. What inspired this and what was it all about?
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about keeping your money in cash versus investing it in shares.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Cash versus shares
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about whether keeping your money in cash beats investing it in shares.
Personal finance journalist Paul Lewis has this week published new research showing money held in best buy cash savings accounts has fared better than money invested in the stock market over most investment periods since 1995.
Lewis compared 'active cash' with the return from a FTSE 100 index tracker fund.
He found that savings accounts beat the tracker in the majority of five year periods beginning each month from 1 January 1995 to the present.
But over the full 21 year term of the study, the chosen index tracker fund ended up producing a compound annual return of 6%, higher than the 5% produced by best buy savings accounts during that time.
Martin spends some time unpicking this study, agreeing with some parts and asking questions about others.
Personal finance news update
-Price inflation in the UK, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, stayed unchanged at 0.3% in May.
-UK unemployment has fallen to 5%, its lowest since October 2005.
-The interest rate on benchmark 10-year German Bunds, bonds issued by the German government, has turned negative this week for the first time.
-Lloyds Banking Group has won its UK Supreme Court Case against a group of thousands of investors.
-The Bank of England has issued a warning to say that uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum result is the "largest immediate risk" currently facing global financial markets.
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-Cash can beat shares for up to 18 years, study says
-Paul Lewis Money - Cash vs Shares (full study)
-It's time to abolish the FTSE 100
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Money worries are a big deal. They can cause a great deal of stress, and that stress can harm our general wellbeing.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to my friend Chris Budd, a very talented author, business coach and Financial Planner, and we talk about creating financial peace of mind.
Chris is the author of the newly published The Financial Wellbeing Book.
His book provides a simple and practical guide to planning your daily and long-term finances by understanding your objectives and motivations. In doing so, it offers respite from the anxiety and stress caused by money problems.
During our conversation, we talk about how Chris’ approach to financial planning is a little different to others in the profession; he explains where the idea for The Financial Wellbeing Book came from and what makes it such an important subject for all of us; and he also shares how writing fiction differs from non-fiction writing.
Welcome to Creating Peace of Mind with Chris Budd, in episode 087 of Informed Choice Radio.
Some questions I ask in this episode
-How do you incorporate coaching into your financial planning process? (05:24)
-Where did the idea for The Financial Wellbeing Book come from and what’s it all about? (11:03)
-What makes financial wellbeing such an important subject? (12:19)
-Are there any practical steps people can take to reduce levels of financial stress and improve their general well being? (13:56)
-Did the experience writing a fiction novel influence your approach to non-fiction? (18:17)
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-Buy a copy of The Financial Wellbeing Book
-Penny Brohn UK
-A Bridge of Straw by Chris Budd
-Learn more about Financial Wellbeing
-Chris Budd on Twitter
-Financial Wellbeing on Twitter
-Ovation Finance in Bristol
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about Financial Planning Week 2016 and we get an investment market outlook from Kevin O'Nolan, a portfolio manager at Fidelity Worldwide Investment.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Financial Planning Week & Investment Market Outlook
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, it’s Financial Planning Week 2016 and we get an investment market outlook from Fidelity Worldwide Investment.
Martin was a guest on the Morning Money show on Share Radio very early on Monday morning, at the start of Financial Planning Week 2016.
He shares a recording of the interview with Share Radio presenters Nigel Cassidy & Emma Wall during which he talks about the value of Financial Planning.
Also in this episode of Informed Choice Radio is an investment market outlook from Kevin O'Nolan, a portfolio manager at Fidelity Worldwide Investment.
Kevin joined Fidelity Solutions in 2008, and is Portfolio Manager across a number of multi asset strategies. During his time at Fidelity Solutions Kevin has been instrumental in the development of their Tactical Asset Allocation capabilities.
Martin asked Kevin for his general outlook before chatting about how this has changed over the past year, how much of an influence the EU Referendum is having on markets, and whether commodities are now staging a recovery.
Personal finance news update
-Chartered surveyors are predicting a short-term fall in UK house prices, prompted by the EU Referendum and a cooling down of the housing market following the stamp duty increase on second homes in April.
-You can now buy gold bars from The Royal Mint to hold within your pension fund.
-A new survey for The Times has found that a third of middle-class families would need to borrow money in order to pay an unexpected bill of £500.
-European political leaders need to do more to reform their economies to create more jobs, as part of an effort to save the region from its ageing crisis.
-Concerns have been raised by The Treasury Committee about the extra burden placed on small businesses by ‘Making Tax Digital’.
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page.
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Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
What happened when a financial journalist Googled ‘getting rid of stuff’ and decided to spend twelve months buying nothing?
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I speak to the personal finance journalist Michelle McGagh.
Six months ago, Michelle embarked on a personal challenge to dramatically reduce her spending and buy nothing other than the essentials.
In this interview, we talk about what inspired this challenge, the consequences of stepping out of the consumer rat race, and how Michelle reduced the number of her possessions by 80%.
Welcome to the year of buying nothing with Michelle McGagh, in episode 085 of Informed Choice Radio.
You can get in touch with Michelle on Twitter @mmcgagh
Some questions I ask
-What inspired such a dramatic lifestyle choice? (05:09)
-What's it like living with someone who is free to spend money on anything, when you've chosen not to spend? (10:04)
-Do you risk becoming a bit of a hermit, when you're not spending money on going out? (12:36)
-Have you ever come close to breaking your spending rules? (13:24)
-What's the plan for all of the money you have saved during this challenge? (15:28)
-What happens at the end of the year? Have you planned an epic shopping trip? (16:10)
Useful links mentioned in this episode
-Buy Nothing Day
-Stuffocation: Living More With Less by James Wallman
-The Minimalists Podcast
-Skint London
Help us spread the word!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page or by sending a tweet.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about what happens when your defined benefit pension scheme goes bust.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
What happens when your pension scheme goes bust?
Retail giant BHS going into liquidation is clearly bad news for its 11,000 employees, but what about the 20,000 members of its pension scheme?
There are around 6,000 defined benefit pension schemes in the UK. The majority of these are in deficit, which means they don’t have enough assets to cover their liabilities.
The latest estimates suggest it would cost £571m to fully cover the BHS Pension Scheme liabilities, using insurance or a buyout.
That money simply isn’t there, so what happens to members of the BHS Pension Scheme?
There is a lifeboat scheme in the UK, it’s called the Pension Protection Fund.
This was established to pay compensation to members of eligible defined benefit pension schemes, when there is a qualifying insolvency event in relation to the employer and where there are insufficient assets in the pension scheme to cover Pension Protection Fund levels of compensation.
In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin explains how the Pension Protection Fund works, who pays for it and what level of compensation the members of bust pension schemes might expect to receive.
Personal finance news update
-The most expensive seaside town in the UK is Sandbanks in Dorset, closely followed by Salcombe in Devon.
-Older investors appear to be holding their nerve ahead of the EU Referendum, with almost three quarters not changing their investment strategy since the vote was announced.
-The final design for the new £5 bank note has been revealed, before it enters circulation on 13th September.
-Bond giant Pimco has warned that a "radical" political party taking power in the eurozone could tear the bloc apart.
-Department store giant BHS is going into liquidation, after attempts to find a buyer for the stores failed.
-A vote to leave the European Union could result in a 10% fall in the value of the FTSE 100 index during the next year.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about what will happen when you retire.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
What will happen when you retire?
More than half of people expect to continue working during what might have previously been viewed as a traditional retirement.
18% of those who expect to continue working plan to stay in full time employment and one in four plan to work on a part time basis to boost their income in retirement.
Those who can afford to retire might not choose this option.
The average retiree gets bored of not working after only ten months and will then look for other ways in which to fill their time.
Martin talks through the seven things people typically miss about working when they retire.
1 – workplace banter and colleagues
2 – their job title and the feeling of importance that goes with it
3 – the stress and satisfaction of a job well done
4 – the routine of a 9-5, five days a week
5 – time away from the other half
6 – being kept busy and out of the house
7 – salary!
If you’ve already retired, what did you miss most about working and what steps did you take fill those gaps?
Personal finance news update
-The price of oil has reached $50 a barrel for the first time this year, following disruptions to supply and a continued recovery in global demand for the commodity.
-The Financial Conduct Authority is considering plans to introduce a maximum exit charge of 1% on pension pots.
-A vote for the UK to leave the European Union could result in a big fall in house prices.
-Insurance giant AXA has announced it will stop investing in the tobacco industry, selling investments worth more than £1.3bn as a result.
-One in five investors are deferring their investment decisions ahead of the EU Referendum.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about selling an investment portfolio in May and staying away from the equity markets until after a horse race has finished.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Sell in May
You might have heard investors and commentators talk about the old adage ‘Sell in May and go away, come back on St Leger Day’.
This is based on a theory that November to April is has significantly stronger investment growth, on average, than May to October.
So if you follow the sell in May strategy, you would sell your equity holding at the start of May and keep that money in cash over the summer months, before reinvesting it after St Leger Day.
St Leger Day refers to the St Leger Stakes, a flat horse race in Doncaster, which takes place each year in September.
So does this investment theory stack up? Should you be rushing out to sell your investments in May and keeping them all in cash until after the last of the British Classic Flat Races?
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin examines the research and shares his thoughts on whether this investing strategy make sense.
Personal finance news update
-Payday lenders will no longer be able to advertise their services on Google, as the search engine giant attempts to limit what it calls a ‘harmful’ industry.
-The number of people looking for a new home to buy has fallen to its lowest level since 2008, according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
-UK industry has slipped back into recession for the third time in eight years, according to the Office for National Statistics.
-Tens of thousands of property purchases fall through between offer and exchange of contracts each year, as the average time it takes for property lawyers to progress to this stage takes just shy of three months.
-Only 1% of people know all of their loved ones’ funeral wishes.
-Adults in the UK spend more time organising their music collections, photos, and wardrobes, than they do reviewing their pensions and long term savings plans.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitteratwww.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about a big night at the Toast of Surrey Business Awards 2016 and Nick appearing on BBC Radio 4's Money Box Live.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
And the winner is...
In a bit of a catch-up episode of the podcast, after missing an episode last Friday, Martin shares highlights from Informed Choice over the past fortnight.
Informed Choice won the top prize at the Toast of Surrey Business Awards 2016 last week. Martin shares audio from the night as the award was announced.
Nick was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Money Box Live with Paul Lewis, answering questions from listeners about access to free financial guidance and paid financial advice.
Martin finishes the episode by revealing some plans to improve the podcast in the future. Do let him know what you think.
Personal finance news update
-UK economic growth has nearly stalled, with uncertainty about the EU referendum partly to blame.
-The average cost of renting a property outside of London has risen by 5.1% during the past twelve months.
-Global food prices rose again April, but remain around 10% lower than a year earlier, according to the United Nations food agency.
-Almost two thirds of UK adults do not have a will and could therefore be at risk of losing control over their estate if they die.
-The Bank of Mum and Dad is set to lend adult children £5bn in 2016.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this special episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin interviews Simon Ferrar and Adrian Shaw of Clandon Wood about Naturial Burial.
Clandon Wood is a 31 acre natural burial site in the Surrey Hills, named Cemetery of the Year in 2014. It’s a nature reserve for natural burials.
Their website at clandonwood.com explains, the creation of a self-sustaining, wildlife environment is the answer to the enduring question: how do we find enough space to accommodate human burials responsibly?
The site consists of wildflower meadows, a lake and wetland.
Martin interviewed Clandon Wood founder Simon Ferrar, and his colleague Adrian Shaw, in their striking glass and timber frame pavilion.
This was Martin’s second visit to Clandon Wood.
He interviewed Simon for his documentary about retirement planning back in 2014, and at the time was impressed with his approach to end of life planning and natural burial.
This interview and episode of the podcast is, we think, important for everyone to listen to and we hope it will get you thinking about some of the most important questions in life.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about mortgage freedom day and the cost of living.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Mortgage freedom day & cost of living
The UK’s Mortgage Freedom Day is calculated as the date when the average new mortgage borrower – covering both first-time buyers and home movers taking out a mortgage in the final quarter of last year – will have paid off their annual mortgage payments.
It is calculated on the basis that all their earnings from the 1st January are devoted to mortgage payments until these annual payments have been paid in full.
This year, mortgage freedom day was earlier this week on 19th April.
The date is calculated by mortgage lender Halifax.
It’s based on the average annual mortgage repayment cost of £7,584 and the average net annual income of £26,023.
Halifax calculated that homeowners with a mortgage will have by 19th April earned enough on average to cover their mortgage payments for the rest of 2016.
Mortgage Freedom Day this year occurs just a day later than in 2015, when it fell on 18th April as a result of average annual mortgage repayment edging up by £17 during the year.
They also calculated Rental Freedom Day, which is calculated using annual rental payments as a percentage of average disposable earnings.
This doesn’t come around until 5th May, 16 days later than Mortgage Freedom Day, greater burden of renting rather than buying a property. Rental Freedom Day is also a day later than it was in 2015.
Martin talked about regional variations in these mortgage and rental freedom days, as well as some financial rules of thumb designed to allocate your net monthly income to different costs such as housing, necessities, luxuries and the future.
After recording this episode, he calculated his own mortgage freedom day this year as 19th April, the same as the national average!
Do you know when your mortgage or rental freedom day is? We would love to hear from you.
Drop Martin a line at martin@icfp.co.uk or say hello on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can also leave a voicemail message for the show, which we will play in a future episode. Visiticfp.co.uk/podcast and scroll to the bottom of that page to use the Speakpipe plugin, which allows you to record a voice message for the show using the microphone in your computer.
Personal finance news update
-Young women are at risk of pension poverty in retirement, because they are cutting back on their savings to pay for childcare.
-The over-40s might be best suited to working a three day week, according to new research.
-The price of crude oil rose to $46 a barrel following an announcement by the International Energy Agency about supply expectations.
-Offshore companies buying UK property could be forced to reveal their ultimate owners, as a result of a new crackdown on tax evasion and money laundering.
-Pensioners will be able to cash in their annuities from April 2017, as part of ongoing reforms to the pension system.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the podcast, Martin talks to Sophie Robson, Public & Regulatory Affairs Consultant at MRM London about Generation Austerity and her latest Young Money Report.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Generation Austerity & Young Money
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks to Sophie Robson, Public & Regulatory Affairs Consultant at MRM London about Generation Austerity and her latest Young Money Report.
This is the third Young Money report produced by MRM London, and it examines four main areas – pensions and benefits, saving and spending, investing and the economy, and advice and access.
Martin talks to Sophie about the background to this report, the definition of Generation Austerity, some of the challenges faced by young people when it comes to their money, and some suggestions for improving access to financial advice for younger people.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the personal finance things you need to know in the new tax year.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Things you need to know in the new tax year
The new tax year started on 6th April 2016, bringing with it some changes to tax rates and allowances, as well as some investment and pension changes.
As promised in the podcast, here are the facts and figures you need to know.
The new personal allowance for 2016/17 is £11,000, up from £10,600 last year.
There is no more age-related personal allowance for people born before April 1938, removing the dreaded age-allowance trap.
Higher earners face an income limit of £100,000 with their personal allowance reduced by £1 for every £2 of income over this limit, so earn over £122,000 and your personal allowance is reduced to zero.
The personal savings allowance is now in force, giving tax-free savings interest to those with taxable income of less than £16,800, or a £1,000 tax-free savings allowance for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers.
Dividend income is subject to a new tax regime, with a £5,000 tax-free allowance and then income tax charged at 7.5% for the basic rate, 32.5% for the higher rate and 38.1% for additional rate taxpayers.
The marriage allowance increases from £1,060 to £1,100, allowing unused personal allowance to be transferred to a basic rate taxpayer.
Landlords and second-home buyers will pay a 3% stamp duty surcharge, applicable on completions from 1st April 2016 onwards. For existing landlords, the 10% wear and tear allowance is removed in 2016/17.
Capital gains tax rates are reduced from 20% to 10% for basic rate taxpayers and 28% to 18% for higher rate taxpayers, with the exception of capital gains on residential property sales (other than your principle private residence).
No change to the ISA allowance this tax year, which stays at £15,240. The Junior ISA allowance remains at £4,080.
The new tax year saw the launch of the new Innovative Finance ISA, allowing peer-to-peer lending to be held within an Individual Savings Account for the first time.
The pension lifetime allowance is reduced from £1.25m to £1m for 2016/17. The annual allowance is reduced to as low as £10,000 for higher earners. Listen to episode 68 of the Informed Choice Podcast for more on these pension changes and to hear about the protection options available.
Personal finance news update
-The new state pension was introduced this week, offering a single flat-rate income to new pensioners from 6th April 2016.
-Fewer people are cashing in their pension savings, one year after the launch of new pension freedoms.
-The new National Living Wage has come into force, with workers over 25 now receiving a minimum income of £7.20 an hour.
-Over 11.5 million confidential files have been leaked from the database of international law firm Mossack Fonseca, revealing details of how the rich exploit secretive offshore tax regimes.
-HM Revenue and Customs has received more than £4bn in inheritance tax receipts during the past year, the largest amount ever received by the tax man in a twelve month period.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin answers listener personal finance questions.
If you’re new to the Informed Choice Podcast, this might not be the best episode to start with.
Most of our podcast episodes are a different format this; either our weekly episodes on a Friday which take a deep dive into a particular topic, or our mid-week expert interviews.
Listener personal finance questions
-Do I need a financial planner or a stockbroker? I need some help managing my money and making investment decisions for the future. Is there is a difference between financial planners and stockbrokers, or are they just different names for the same thing?
-I run a small business with 6 employees and have been sent letters about the new pension rules. I have to set something up by July or we risk being fined. Which pension provider should I choose for my company pension scheme?
-I like the sound of the new lifetime ISA. Can I open one for my 3 year old son? With the way house prices are going, I’m worried he won’t be able to afford to buy a property when he is older unless we can afford to give him a lot of financial assistance. The new Lifetime ISA seems to be a good way to save for him and give him a helping hand onto the property ladder.
-How much money do I need to have to be able to afford to retire? I’m 43 years old and want to retire by the time I’m 60. What’s a sensible target to save?
-I’m 58 and planning to retire in about five years time. My pension fund is currently invested in a fairly aggressive mix of funds. Is now the right time to start cutting back on the level of risk and moving it to more conservative assets?
-My financial adviser is recommending that my wife and I transfer all of our pension plans to a single provider. Is this a good idea? We’ve got eight pensions between us, from previous employment and periods of self-employment in my case. Should we really be putting all of our eggs in one basket?
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the latest research in the world of long-term care and dementia.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Latest long term care & dementia research
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about a few subjects related to long-term care.
This is a specialist advice area for Martin and it is becoming increasingly important with our ageing population.
As a result of our longer lives, more of us are likely to need long-term care in later life.
Martin talks about three reports in this episode of the podcast, starting with Situation Critical, with was recently debated at The Astellas Innovation Debate.
This challenges current perceptions of long-term care support from government in later life, with two-thirds of those surveyed expecting to receive free, high quality social care from the goverment.
Martin move on to discuss a blog by Dr Sabine Best, Head of Research at Marie Curie.
This examines new research which found people with advanced dementia in care homes across the UK don’t always receive the care they need at the end of their life.
He finishes by looking at a report by Natural England published earlier this month, Is it nice outside? Consulting people living with dementia and their carers about engaging with the natural environment.
Interaction with the natural environment is an important aspect of quality of life for people living with dementia.
Personal finance news update
-Leaving the European Union could cost Britain £100bn and 950,000 jobs.
-The average asking price for a property coming onto the UK market has reached six record highs in the past year.
-Price inflation has remained static in February at 0.3%.
-The manufacturing sector is still in recession, according to the Confederation of British Industry.
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this special episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin chats to Alistair McQueen about Aviva’s Voice of New Retirement Report.
The Voice of New Retirement
In this interview, Martin asks Alistair about the background to the report and why it was commissioned.
They talk about Aviva’s Happiness Index; what does it measure and how do happiness levels change in retirement?
New retirees increasingly feel more in control of their lives. What does vision have to do with this and what role can planning play in putting you in control in retirement?
According to the report, retirees are generally quite content with their health in later life. But what are the three big health fears people have in retirement?
Martin and Alistair also talk about leisure time in retirement; it’s not all about reading books, gardening and walking holidays. Aviva found there is a real appetite for adventure in retirement too.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about a Budget for the next generation.
Budget for the next generation
This episode of the Informed Choice Podcast is a Budget special, recapping the main personal finance and investing measures announced earlier this week in the Budget.
Martin breaks this down into the five main areas of the economy, pensions, taxation, savings and business. He also covers some of the miscellaneous Budget measures announced this week.
This was a politically important Budget with the EU referendum looming in June.
Chancellor George Osborne had to balance a desire to impose radical reform on the pension system with keeping Tory backbenchers happy.
His Budget was presented against a backdrop of challenging global economy, with the Office for Budget Responsibility cutting their UK economic growth forecasts, again.
It has been described as a Budget for the next generation, with the introduction of a Lifetime ISA designed to encourage younger people to save for the future.
What did you make of the Budget? Email Martin at martin@icfp.co.uk or get in touch with him on Twitter @martinbamford to share your thoughts.
Personal finance news update
-The shopping baskets of goods and service used to calculate price inflation have been updated.
-The Financial Advice Market Review has been published by HM Treasury, making 28 recommendations to reform the market for financial advice.
-Women could be given early access to the State pension, if proposals put forward by a committee of MPs are accepted.
-Nursery costs for one and two year olds may increase substantially when free childcare for older children is increased from 15 to 30 hours a week.
-The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has forecast that the UK residential housing market will slow down over the next quarter.
-The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.5%, again.
-Donald Trump becoming the new President of the United States is one of the top ten risks facing the global economy.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about sexually transmitted dementia and staying healthy in retirement.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Sexually transmitted dementia
Could Alzheimer's disease be sexually transmitted? A worldwide team of scientists are warning that microbes including the STD chlamydia could be the major cause of dementia.
This refers to an editorial in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, suggesting a viral or bacterial infection could trigger the plaque build-up in the brain responsible for some forms of dementia.
The editorial is particularly interesting because it makes reference to the gene mutation APOEe4. This makes people more susceptible to Alzheimer's Disease but also raises susceptibility to infectious disease.
Another study found that most people are unaware that a healthy lifestyle can help prevent Alzheimer's in later life.
This is a new survey by Alzheimer’s Research UK, which was designed to raise awareness of how the disease is not an inevitable part of ageing.
They found that a quarter of adults in the UK knew that simple lifestyle changes can affect their chance of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.
There are various ways to lower the risk of dementia, including rating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, drinking moderately, not smoking, and maintaining weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
These two stories come at a time when the government is campaigning to encourage unhealthy middle aged people to improve their lifestyles in order to enjoy a healthy retirement.
Public Health England's One You campaign is urging the over 40s to drink less, exercise more, eat better and give up smoking.
Personal finance news update
-The European Central Bank has cut its key interest rate to zero, with a larger than expected package of monetary easing.
-A snap poll of UK financial advisers has revealed that the majority of advisers who responded to a survey on the stay/leave EU referendum want to stay part of the European Union.
-More than two million elderly Brits feel trapped in their homes, according to new research.
-Energy bills could be about to fall, after the Competition and Markets Authority proposed a new price cap for households using pre-payment meters.
-Singapore is the most expensive city in the world in which to live, according to new research by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this special episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, we bring you a talk by Chris Budd about creating financial peace of mind.
Chris delivered this talk at the Cranleigh Literature Festival on Friday 4th March ahead of the publication of his new book, The Financial Wellbeing Book.
Creating Financial Peace of Mind
In his important talk about creating financial peace of mind, Chris Budd shares the five main areas of well-being, with a focus on financial well-being.
He helps us redefine success, moving away from the notion it is all about money and fame. In fact, social factors are a better definition of success and can even help us live longer, healthier lives.
Chris explains the five parts to financial well-being, talking in detail about two of these; a clear path to achieving identifiable goals and having control of daily finances.
He talks about how knowing what you want out of life and having a financial plan to get there can make you happier.
Chris explains why he isn't a fan of the word 'goals' and what he prefers instead.
He shares the secret to spending money in a way which can bring happiness, with a more lasting impact than the buzz we receive from retail therapy.
Chris also explains why you should stop watching television advertising, why taking his family to Copenhagen increased their long-term well-being and the importance of putting money aside for the future you have mapped out.
You can pre-order Chris Budd's new book, The Financial Wellbeing Book: Creating Financial Peace of Mind, now on Amazon.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about rethinking the state pension age.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Rethinking the state pension age
How old will you be before you get your state pension?
The government has launched a review into the state pension age and system.
The review will be chaired by Sir John Cridland, the former head of the Low Pay Commission, and will assess whether the current pensions system is "affordable in the long-term".
You might have noticed the state pension age is changing.
A process of equalisation is taking place between men and women, with the pension age rising from 60 to 65 for women, and then rising again to 66 for men and women.
It is due to rise further in the future; to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and to 68 between 2044 and 2046.
Their is speculation the government review could result in an even higher state pension age as high as 75. We might even see the end of the "universal" state pension, with it instead based on occupation and region.
Personal finance news update
-Business leader John Longworth, head of the British Chambers of Commerce, has said the UK's long-term economic prospects could be "brighter" outside the European Union.
-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for reform of the banking industry and warned it not to treat customers as “cash cows”.
-The UK services sector recorded its weakest growth in nearly three years in February, according to a new survey.
-Strategists at Barclays believe the era of zero or negative interest rates could continue for several more years.
-US jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week, but the underlying trend still points to a strengthening labor market.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this bonus episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Nick chats to Keith Richards, Chief Executive of the Personal Finance Society, about Chartered Financial Planner status.
Keith Richards has over 30 years experience within financial services operating at executive level across both manufacturing and distribution.
He has an established media profile and is a visible figurehead within the intermediary sector, regularly called upon for comment on UK financial services matters both home and abroad.
Keith was appointed Chief Executive of the Personal Finance Society in May 2013.
In addition to guiding the strategic evolution of the society he has evolved a greater government and regulatory engagement, brought about enhancements to membership benefits and its national CPD programme and introduced a number of key consumer facing initiatives - the Consumer Confidence and United Profession Campaigns being such initiatives that have been embraced by the majority across the advice profession.
Nick spoke to Keith Richards about the Personal Finance Society and how it differs from a trade body.
They talk about what individual financial advisers have to do in order to become a Chartered Financial Planner.
There is also a chat about what firms need to do in order to qualify for corporate Chartered status, with even higher standards being introduced from next year.
Nick asks Keith what value the Chartered Financial Planner status delivers to the consumer of retail financial services and what he feels the future looks like for consumer access to professional financial advice.
Find out more about the Personal Finance Society at www.thepfs.org or visit their consumer website at www.thepfs.org/yourmoney
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
Big changes are being made to the pensions lifetime allowance and annual allowance in April 2016. In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about these important changes for pension savers and what you can do about them.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance new and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Lifetime allowance and annual allowance changes in April 2016
The lifetime allowance is a limit on the total amount of pension benefit that can be drawn from all pension schemes, either as a lump sum or retirement income, without paying an extra tax charge.
It currently stands at £1.25m and is being reduced to £1m on 6th April 2016.
People with large pension funds or large pension benefits have some options to consider for protection against this lifetime allowance reduction.
In the podcast, Martin talks about Individual Protection 2016 and Fixed Protection 2016, and how these two forms of protection works.
The annual allowance is the maximum you can save into a pension fund and receive tax relief. For the 2015/16 tax year, this is £40,000. It’s also possible to carry forward any unused annual allowance from the previous three tax years.
From April 2016 onwards, higher earners will have a restricted annual allowance. The annual allowance will be tapered down from £40,000 to £10,000, depending on the level of earnings.
Personal finance news update
-Star fund manager Neil Woodford says Leaving the EU would not necessarily damage the UK economy.
-Official figures have confirmed the UK economy grew by 0.5% in the final quarter of last year.
-Lloyds Banking Group has paid a surprise £2bn dividend to investors, boosting shares by 13.6%.
-Royal London has warned that the Budget on 16th March could amount to ‘daylight robbery’ if the Chancellor replaces the current system of pension tax relief with a pension ISA or a low flat-rate of tax relief for all.
-Average house prices have increased by more than the average employees net earnings in more than a quarter of local authority districts across the UK over the past two years, according to the latest Halifax research.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
Follow Martin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/martinbamford or email him at martin@icfp.co.uk.
In this bonus episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin chats to Justin Harper, Life & Health Specialist at LV, the UK's largest friendly society, about the 13th annual LV Cost of a Child report.
The report has found that the cost of raising a child is at an all-time high, increasing by more than £2,500 in the last year alone.
Some of the key figures from their research included
-The average annual cost of raising a child now takes up more than a third of the average UK household’s net income.
-The biggest increase over the year has been 4.3% for childcare costs.
-Six in ten parents admit they’re struggling to manage their outgoings.
-Half (49%) of parents don’t have a plan in place if the main breadwinner were to lose their income due to accident or illness.
Do visit lv.com to find out more about their annual Cost of a Child report, which includes a useful online calculator you can use to calculate your own costs of raising a child until their 21st birthday.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
Follow Martin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/martinbamford or email him at martin@icfp.co.uk.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about what could happen to investment markets if the UK votes to leave the European Union in the referendum this June.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance new and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
What happens to investments if the UK leaves Europe?
David Cameron has finally announced a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union will be held on Thursday 23rd June.
This follows intense negotiations about the UK’s membership of the EU, including changes to child benefit, migrant welfare payments, keeping the pound without fear of discrimination, protection for the City of London and a so-called ‘red card’ system for national parliaments who want to block EU legislation.
So, where do you stand on Europe and how will you be voting in the referendum this June? When you are asked, "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?", will you be answering yes or no?
What would be the likely impact on investment markets if UK voters decided to leave Europe?
Please let Martin know how you plan to vote in the EU referendum and what impact you think a decision either way could have for investment markets. Email him at martin@icfp.co.uk or get in touch on Twitter @martinbamford, he would love to hear from you.
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Personal finance news update
-House prices rose by 6.7% in 2015, according to the Office for National Statistics.
-Price inflation rose by 0.3% in the year to January, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index or CPI.
-The cost of stamps is going up in March, with a first class stamp costing 64p. Second class stamps will also go up in price, to 55p from 29th March.
-No UK or European banks have sold any so-called Coco bonds this year, following concerns about the health of the banking sector.
-Chancellor George Osborne is likely to miss his public borrowing goals for the 2015/16 tax year after recording a smaller-than-expected surplus in January.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
Follow Martin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/martinbamford or email him at martin@icfp.co.uk.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about love and money.
There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Love and Money
With Valentine’s Day coming up, this episode of the podcast is all about love and money.
Martin starts by sharing some tips for martial bliss with money.
Talking about money in your marriage is really important. Understanding how each spouse feels about money, what they want it to achieve in your life together and their preferred approach to managing finances will help with marital harmony.
Keeping secrets about money can place unnecessary strain on a marriage. According to research by BlackRock, most people don’t keep financial secrets from their significant others.
With Valentine’s Day coming up, lots of the personal finance press releases we have been sent have romantic theme.
According to new research from American Express, Brits are set to spend £431 million this Valentine’s Day as 41% of UK adults plan on celebrating with their loved ones.
Confused.com found that Brits are expected to splurge more than £240 million in last minute Valentine’s Day spending on February 14th.
TopCashback research reveals single Brits feel short-changed from their dating experience – some are even asking their dates for money back!
Ocean Finance have done some research and found that uncovering secret debts is the biggest financial turn-off in a relationship.
Please let Martin know what tips you have for money and relationships. Email him at martin@icfp.co.uk or get in touch on Twitter @martinbamford, he would love to hear from you.
Personal finance news update
-Stock markets in Europe and the US remain shaky with investors worry about the state of the global economy.
-A surge in buy-to-let property investing is raising house prices.
-Food shoppers are failing to identify the best deals.
-Charity Age UK has reportedly stopped a commercial deal with energy supplied E.On, after facing criticism.
-Low interest rates could be here to stay.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
Follow Martin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/martinbamford or email him at martin@icfp.co.uk.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about rethinking the emergency fund.
There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.
Rethinking the emergency fund
All Financial Planners talk about the importance of a cash emergency fund. This is a pot of cash put aside to cover any financial surprises in your life.
But why is an emergency fund so important? How much do you need to save? Where should you keep it?
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin answers all of these questions and starts to rethink some of the conventional wisdom about emergency funds.
He describes some scenarios where that old rule of thumb to keep the equivalent of three months committed expenditure in cash is far too little.
Personal finance news update
-The price of oil has rallied above $35 a barrel, as support from a weaker US dollar offset investor concerns about oversupply in the oil market.
-Average house prices in the UK grew by 9.7 per cent in the year to January, according to the Halifax.
-British pensioners overseas could see their state pension income uprated in the future.
-According to a new report, the largest proportion of happy people in England live in Mid Sussex.
-The charity Age Concern faces an investigation by the Charity Commission, following allegations they promoted unfavourable gas and electricity deals in return for cash.
-Lloyds Banking Group is cutting 1,755 jobs and closing 29 branches in an attempt to save money.
Martin and Informed Choice
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
Follow Martin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/martinbamford or email him at martin@icfp.co.uk.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about what the name of your road means for house prices, some investment market predictions for 2016, and there’s a roundup of the latest personal finance news.
In the personal finance news roundup this week:
-The final sale of the government’s stake in Lloyds Banking group has been postponed.
-The UK economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the final quarter of last year.
-A row is growing over the controversial tax deal between Google and HM Revenue & Customs.
-The average deposit required to buy a home in Britain has exceeded £80,000 for the first time.
-There has been a 6.7 per cent increase in registrations for new homes across the UK, according to the National House Building Council.
Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets.
Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement.
“Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
Follow Martin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/martinbamford or email him at martin@icfp.co.uk.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about stock market volatility. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.
It's been a pretty terrible start to the year for investors. The FTSE 100 officially entered bear market territory, falling by 20% from its peak last April. Investors are worried about a slowdown in China's economy and the very low price of oil.
Why should you, as an investor, hold your nerve at a time like this?
Martin explains why volatility is a normal part of equity investing, how market timing can go horribly wrong, that diversified portfolios are not experiencing the massive falls being reporting in newspapers, and how Financial Planners add substantial value to investment portfolios at times like these.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes at www.icfp.co.uk/itunes and write a review!
Find out more about Informed Choice at www.icfp.co.uk and follow us on Twitter @InformedChoice www.twitter.com/informedchoice.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin answers a listener question about moving the entire value of her pension pot to cash ahead of retirement. He takes a look at a new survey from Barings which suggests property is growing in popularity as a retirement income option. And he talks about an open letter from 40 charities to Prime Minister David Cameron calling on the government to take more seriously the issue of our ageing population.
In this special episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin explains why investors should avoid panic, despite current investment market events and doom-mongering. Talking about a note from the RBS credit team predicting a 20% fall in global equity markets in 2016, Martin explains the importance of portfolio diversification, taking the long-term view, the fallacy of market timing and some words of wisdom from Warren Buffett.
Subscribe to the Informed Choice Podcast at www.icfp.co.uk/itunes and check out our back catalogue of episodes at www.icfp.co.uk/podcast.
You can follow Martin on Twitter @martinbamford www.twitter.com/martinbamford and find out more about Informed Choice at www.icfp.co.uk.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about what makes women much better investors than men and what the latest retirement income survey figures tell us about the income decisions people are making in later life. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin reviews progress at Informed Choice in 2015 before looking ahead to 2016, sharing his business and personal goals, and explaining how we can best make personal finance resolutions stick.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin answers a listener question about the best way to invest a defined contribution pension. There's also a roundup of the latest news from the world of personal finance and investing.
You can find more episodes of the Informed Choice Podcast at www.icfp.co.uk/podcast.
This week, Martin would like to hear about your New Year's Resolutions. You can email him at martin@icfp.co.uk, get in touch via Twitter at www.twitter.com/martinbamford or record an audio message by following the link at www.icfp.co.uk/podcast.
This week in episode 56 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about selling your pension annuity, pretending to be rich, and some of the things that could go wrong for investment markets in 2016.
There’s also a roundup of the latest news from the world of personal finance and investing.
In the personal finance and investing new roundup this week:
Price inflation in the UK is back in positive territory, with the Consumer Prices Index, CPI, measure of price inflation rising to 0.1% in the year to November.
HM Treasury have confirmed it will be possible to sell a pension annuity for a cash lump sum from April 2017 onwards.
The first tranche of National Savings & Investments, NS&I, 65+ Bonds are due to mature in January and savers could see their interest rates cut in half.
The Work and Pensions committee of MPs have launched an investigation into pension auto enrolment and its impact on smaller employers.
The US Federal Reserve has increased its key interest rate for the first time in nine years, in a move welcomed by the stock markets.
Main topics Should you sell your pension annuity back to the provider in return for cash which you can then access under the new pension freedom rules?
HM Treasury have now confirmed that, from April 2017 onwards, it will be possible to sell your pension annuity in return for a cash lump sum. This move is designed to extend the pension freedoms introduced earlier this year to pension annuities.
But will doing this offer good value to consumers? What protections will be put in place by the government?
What might go wrong for global investment markets in 2016?
It’s not been the best of Decembers so far for investment markets. Investors often benefit from a so-called Santa Rally, which might still come just before Christmas, but it’s been a poor end to the year for equity markets so far.
An article from Bloomberg describes ten scenarios which could be bad news for investors next year, based on the views of former and current diplomats, geopolitical strategists, security consultants, and economists.
Have you ever pretended to be rich?
A new article from Business Insider claims too many people are pretending to be rich.
It looks at a couple in their seventies who have put away virtually nothing for their retirement, because they spent their working lives pretending to be rich.
The author concludes that a balanced financial life that involves living within your means includes things like saving for retirement.
Help us spread the word! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review!
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In this special episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin chats to Andrew Tully about a Retirement Sentiment Index.
Andrew is Pensions Technical Director at Retirement Advantage, a specialist pensions provider which dates back to 1852.
Retirement Advantage recently published a new Retirement Sentiment Index which asked over 50s what they want from retirement income.
In this interview, Martin talks to Andrew about retirement expectations, how retirement has changed and how to best provide for income needs in later life.
You can find Andrew Tully on Twitter at @pensionstully.
Help us spread the word! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review!
Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
This week in episode 54 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about really understanding investment risk, a growing imbalance between the wealth of the generations and dressing smarter for success.
Find show notes and more at icfp.co.uk/podcast.
There’s also a roundup of the latest news from the world of personal finance and investing.
-The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a name-and-shame list of banks and building societies offering low interest rates to savers.
-A thematic review by the FCA has found widespread failings in wealth management firms.
-A cut to the pension lifetime allowance from £1.25m to £1m next April is going to cost employers and pensions schemes nearly £50m to implement.
-Pensioners who wish to sell higher value annuities once a new second-hand annuity market is launched will be required to take ‘appropriate financial advice’.
-Oil prices fell this week to nearly a seven-year low, with an expectation that crude prices will continue to fall in 2016.
Main topics Does your financial adviser understand how much investment risk you can take with your money?
Martin explores an article published recently in Canadian publication The Globe & Mail by Rob Carrick, with findings by the Ontario Securities Commission’s investor advisory panel which found that the risk questionnaires used by financial advisers are mostly junk.
He argues that risk profiling questionnaires should only ever be a starting point for understanding investor risk attitudes, and issues such as the need for risk and capacity for risk are far more important to consider.
What’s happening to financial demographics in this country at the moment?
The Resolution Foundation has published some new research which has found the recently retired now enjoy a larger share of the UK’s wealth than the under-45s.
According to the think tank, households headed by a 65-74 year-old hold about 19% of the country's wealth, compared with 16% for the under-45s.
Martin explores these findings and shares some constructive criticism from an Informed Choice Podcast listener about 'affordable housing'.
How does the way we dress affect the way we feel?
Carl Richards talked about enclothed cognition in his latest episode of Behaviour Gap Radio; this is the link between what we wear and how we feel.
Martin explores this link between sartorial standards and success in life, asking whether he should start wearing a suit to work.
Help us spread the word! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review!
Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
Hello and welcome to a special bonus episode of the Informed Choice Podcast.
In this episode, you will hear Informed Choice executive director Nick Bamford delivering a presentation live at the Personal Finance Society 2015 National Financial Planning Symposium.
This presentation was recorded live at the International Conference Centre in Edinburgh on 26th November 2015.
The title of Nick’s talk is Building a professional adviser practice - three components of success.
Within this presentation, Nick shares the importance of having robust systems and processes, the value of teamwork and building your own brand.
Here are the slides which accompany this presentation:
Building a professional adviser practice - three components of success from Informed Choice Thank you to the Personal Finance Society for providing this audio and giving us their permission to reformat this into a bonus podcast episode.
This episode of the Informed Choice Podcast is likely to appeal mainly to Financial Planners and Wealth Managers, but for our usual audience it will also hopefully be of interest, giving you a real insight into the inner workings of a firm of Chartered Financial Planners.
Help us spread the word! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review!
Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.
This week in episode 52 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about how to cope with an unexpected windfall and the level of investment returns we might expect in 2016.
There’s also a roundup of the latest news from the world of personal finance and investing.
-Supermarket chain Morrisons has fallen out of the FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares.
-Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg are giving away 99% of their shares in the social media company to good causes.
-Housebuilding has slowed in the UK in November, with the construction industry expanding at its lowest rate since 2013.
-The Bank of England has warned insurance companies not to dip into their financial reserves to boost earnings if by doing so it would undermine their resilience to market shocks in the future.
-The National Advice Clinic has been fined £850,000 by the Claims Management Regulator after making almost six million calls between October last year and April about noise-induced hearing loss claims.
-The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced that the government will publish its next Budget on Wednesday 16th March 2016.
Earlier this week, a journalist got in touch with Martin asking for his comments on protecting your finances after an unexpected windfall.
This is for you if you ever receive a lottery win, Premium Bonds prize and unexpected inheritance.
How can you protect your finances if you receive an unexpected windfall?
What should you factor into your Financial Plan if you suddenly receive a large amount of money?
Why is it so important to keep the details of an unexpected windfall top secret – even from family and close friends?
In this episode of the podcast, Martin also talks about the levels of investment returns we can expect to receive in 2016.
You can find the show notes for this episode at www.icfp.co.uk/podcast/52.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners. Visit www.icfp.co.uk/itunes to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review.
This week in episode 51 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin examines the Autumn Statement 2015.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.
This week in episode 50 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin takes a behind the scenes look at producing the podcast and shares some highlights from previous guest interviews.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.
This week in episode 49 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about what investors should do when a fund manager leaves.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.
This week in episode 48 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the importance of staying fit and healthy in later life.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.
This week in episode 47 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin discusses some new research by Which? asking why so many financial advisers appear reluctant to publish their advice fees on their websites. There is also a round up of the latest news from the world of personal finance and investing.
This week on the show, Martin talks to Nick Britton, head of training at the Association of Investment Companies, all about Investment Trusts. If you’re an investor, this interview will provide a great introduction to Investment Companies, how they work and the risks involved.
There’s also a round-up of the latest personal finance and investing news.
This week in episode 45 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks to his colleagues Nick and Andrew about pension freedoms, the end of investment commissions and important assumptions for Financial Planning.
Back in April we experienced the introduction of new pension freedoms. Have these been a success?
What is coming next in the world of pensions? With a new Pensions Green Paper, could we see a change in pensions tax relief?
Ongoing commissions on many types of investments are coming to an end next April.
What is happening to these fund based commission payments and what options do investors have when it comes to paying for financial advice?
Assumptions underpin good Financial Planning, but how do we arrive at the assumptions we use for interest rates, inflation, investment returns or life expectancy?
Why is it so important to keep these assumptions under regular review?
This week in episode 44 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks to Chris Daems, founder of AE in a Box and one of the leading experts in pension auto enrolment.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.
This week in episode 43 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks to Dr Peter Westaway, Chief Economist at Vanguard Asset Management about the five things influencing investment market sentiment.
There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.
This week in episode 42 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks to David Sinclair, Director of the International Longevity Centre, about the myth of the baby boomer.
He also shares the three questions you need to ask yourself about retirement and asks whether how you wear your shirt influences your success in life.
This week in episode 41 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks to Michael Scott, manager of the Schroder Monthly High Income Fund, about what rising interest rates mean for high yield bonds, explains why building societies are better than banks, and tells you what it takes to retire ten years early.
This week in episode 40 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the causes of intergenerational wealth inequality, whether Alzheimer’s disease can be transmitted by medical procedures and why teenagers are better with money decisions than young adults.
This week in episode 39 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about time perspectives for retirement planning, what it means that we’re all living longer, and why nothing is often the best thing to do with your investment portfolio.
In the personal finance and investing new roundup this week:
–The payment limit for contactless payment cards has been increased.
–Chinese authorities have punished 197 people for allegedly spreading online rumours about the recent stock market crash and factory explosions in Tianjin.
–The state pension age could rise to 70 by the year 2050, based on the latest life expectancy figures published by the Office for National Statistics.
–US Federal Reserve official Eric Rosengren has warned that stockmarket volatility and falling commodity prices could represent a setback to US growth prospects.
–Morgan Stanley has issued its first ‘full house’ buy alert for global stockmarkets since early 2009.
-The European Central Bank has cut its price inflation and economic growth outlooks for the rest of 2015 and the following two years.
How can you use time perspectives to improve outcomes in retirement? Martin explores why understanding better how people relate to time, and the perspective they have on the past, the present and the future, can enable financial planners to help clients plan more effectively, particularly during times of maximum uncertainty.
One in three women in England will live to at least 90 years old. A female baby born between 2010 and 2012 can, on average, expect to live to 82.8, while a male should live to 79. When the ONS last issued figures a decade ago, female longevity was 80.6, while for males it was 76. What does this rising longevity mean for your financial planning?
When is doing nothing your best option for investing? Trying to time the markets can be a recipe for disaster, as new analysis from Fidelity shows. Missing out on the best few days of market returns can reduce overall investment returns dramatically. Time spent in the markets is far better than trying to time the markets.
No listener question in the show this week, but we would love to hear from you!
If you have a personal finance or investment question, we would love to hear from you and have the opportunity to answer your question in a future episode of the show.
To leave your question as a voicemail, call 020 8144 2745 and record your message.
Please leave a note of your full name, mention your website or blog if you have one, and then record your question. If you could keep the question to under 60 seconds, that would be perfect, and then we will feature it on a future episode of the podcast.
Alternatively, if you click here you can record a voicemail for the show there using the microphone on your PC or Mac.
This week in episode 38 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the Great Fall of China, signs you might be financially unstable and the ostrich effect when it comes to your financial health.
He also answers a listener question about investing in Investment Trusts.
In the personal finance and investing new roundup this week:
-The number of people complaining about packaged bank accounts has risen dramatically.
-The government has sold more of its stake in Lloyds Bank.
-The number of new homes being built in England rose by 15 per cent in the year to June.
-Britain spends £4.5bn a year in coffee shops, with 1 in 3 adults visiting a coffee shop every week.
-Spain has topped the list of favourite overseas retirement hotspots.
Our listener question this week comes from George, who emailed martin@icfp.co.uk with the following:
“My dad has told me that he has built up a lot of money by buying Investment Trusts. What are they exactly and should I be investing in them?”
If you have a personal finance or investment question, we would love to hear from you and have the opportunity to answer your question in a future episode of the show.
To leave your question as a voicemail, call 020 8144 2745 and record your message.
Please leave a note of your full name, mention your website or blog if you have one, and then record your question. If you could keep the question to under 60 seconds, that would be perfect, and then we will feature it on a future episode of the podcast.
This week in episode 37 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the most important money lessons from the rich and why retirees are shunning financial advice.
He also answer a listener question about investing his pension pot in a Croatian hotel. Yes, really.
New episodes of the Informed Choice Podcast are published every Friday morning. To subscribe, visit www.icfp.co.uk/itunes.
We love to receive your questions, views and feedback. Visit www.icfp.co.uk/podcast to leave a voicemail for the podcast, or call 020 8144 2745 to leave a voicemail with your personal finance question.
You can get in touch with Martin on Twitter @martinbamford or email him at martin@icfp.co.uk.
Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice. Don't forget that everything mentioned in this podcast is for information-only! For proper, regulated, independent financial advice, speak to us about becoming a client.
Informed Choice Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can find us in real life at Sundial House, 20 High Street, Cranleigh, Surrey, GU6 8AE.
Have a great day.
020 8144 2745
New episodes of the show are published every Friday morning, featuring practical tips for making the most of your money and interviews with leading experts.
Your host for the Informed Choice Podcast is Martin Bamford; a Chartered Financial Planner, CFP professional and published personal finance author.
- See more at: http://www.icfp.co.uk/podcast/#sthash.ZC4m0v1c.dpuf
New episodes of the show are published every Friday morning, featuring practical tips for making the most of your money and interviews with leading experts.
Your host for the Informed Choice Podcast is Martin Bamford; a Chartered Financial Planner, CFP professional and published personal finance author.
- See more at: http://www.icfp.co.uk/podcast/#sthash.ZC4m0v1c.dpuf
New episodes of the show are published every Friday morning, featuring practical tips for making the most of your money and interviews with leading experts.
Your host for the Informed Choice Podcast is Martin Bamford; a Chartered Financial Planner, CFP professional and published personal finance author.
- See more at: http://www.icfp.co.uk/podcast/#sthash.ZC4m0v1c.dpuf
This week in episode 36 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about investment sharks who are after your pension fund, why couples are choosing to put in place 'pre-pup' agreements in case of divorce, and how the rapper 50 Cent tricked us into believing he was living a luxury lifestyle. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investment news.
If you have a money question for Martin, you can leave a voicemail by calling 020 8144 2745 or visit our online voicemail system at www.icfp.co.uk/podcast.
In episode 35 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin answers a listener question about whether cautious investors should still be investing in fixed income funds, there's a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and the big topic this week is staying healthy in old age.
You can find all of the notes from this episode at www.icfp.co.uk/episode35.
Follow Martin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/martinbamford or send him an email at martin@icfp.co.uk. To find out more about Informed Choice, visit their website at www.icfp.co.uk.
In episode 34 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin shares the latest personal finance news, and talks about coping with higher interest rates and your biggest money regrets.
How would your household cope with higher interest rates? There’s been a lot of talk recently about interest rates rising. As the British economy continues to improve, the prospect of a rate rise becomes more likely.
According to a new report from credit ratings agency Moody’s, British households will be able to withstand a rise in interest rates as they have been "toughened up" by the global financial crisis.
Is this really the case? Martin shares a couple of exercises you might want to complete today to make sure your household budget could cope with higher interest rates.
Question of the week; when do you think interest rates will rise and by how much?
What are your biggest money regrets? A recent survey conducted by banking group Wells Fargo found wealthy individuals wished they had made better investing decisions, saved more and spent less, and stopped to enjoy their wealth more often on the road to accumulating their wealth.
Is Financial Planning the answer to investing with purpose and spending more time on 'fun'? Martin thinks it might be and explains why.
In episode 33 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the ten principles for the ideal retirement, a rather expensive new retirement community opening in London, and why investment fund managers are increasing the cash balances in their funds.
If you listen to this podcast, please take one minute to leave an honest review on iTunes.
Reviews from listeners are so important to help others find the podcast, and we also really want your feedback so we know which elements of the show you enjoy and what we can improve. To leave a review, simply visit www.icfp.co.uk/itunes.
Martin will read out reviews at the end of each future episode, so please make sure you leave a note of your real name, so you get a mention.
If you have a personal finance or investment question you would like Martin to answer on the podcast, you can leave a voicemail for the show by following the link at icfp.co.uk/podcast. We’ll answer your question in a future episode and send you a gift to say thank you for taking part.
In episode 32 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about getting divorced, care fees cross-subsidy, and how well the new pension freedoms are actually doing.
If you listen to the Informed Choice Podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes at www.icfp.co.uk/itunes. We will read out your review during a future episode.
You can follow Informed Choice on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice and find Martin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/martinbamford.
For more information about the Informed Choice Podcast, and the show notes for each episode, visit www.icfp.co.uk/podcast.
This week in episode 31 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about a stock market plunge in China, why the lifetime cap on residential care fees might be postponed, and of course the emergency Summer Budget.
This week in episode 30 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about what people want from the emergency Budget next week, properly qualified Financial Planners, the cost of a housewife, the Golden Age Index from PwC and what on earth is going on in Greece.
According to some new research by SunLife, the public would cut state support for older people in the emergency Budget next week. Why do we favour short-term gratification over long-term reward?
Greece owes its various creditors an awful lot of money. Martin explains what has been happening with Greece this week as the possibility of a ‘Grexit’ draws ever closer.
When you seek advice from a Financial Planner, you expect them to be qualified. Here in the UK, the minimum qualification requirement is at QCF Level 4. Many Financial Planners believe the minimum should be higher. What’s the difference between Level 4 and Level 6 qualifications?
PwC has developed a new ‘Golden Age Index’ to compare how well different countries are utilising workers aged 55 and over. Their Golden Age Index includes relative employment, earnings and training rates for older workers for 34 OECD countries over the period since 2003. Martin reviews the findings.
How many hours do you work each week? Some new research from LV= has found that homemakers work an average of 56 hours a week, not including childcare duties. What are the financial and lifestyle implications?
Leave a review for the Informed Choice Podcast at www.icfp.co.uk/itunes. Check out our podcast episode archive at www.icfp.co.uk/podcast.
Follow Martin on Twitter @martinbamford. Follow Informed Choice on Twitter @InformedChoice. Find out more about Informed Choice at www.icfp.co.uk.
This week in episode 29 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about how private wealth managers are shunning the moderately rich, why Britain's ageing population will ruin the budget surplus plan, and how a new blood test could pick up the early signs of dementia.
This week in episode 28 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about a return to inflation in the UK, interest rates expectations in the US and why experiences make you happier than material possessions. He answers a listener question about taking tax-free cash from a pension pot, but leaving the taxable bit behind. And he talks about why the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned the sale of a complex investment instrument called CoCos for retail investors.
This week in episode 27 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks silver splitters, retirement as a worst case scenario, and the importance of Lasting Powers of Attorney.
This week in episode 26 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the worrying lack of female fund managers, why your genes cause you to make bad financial decisions and why he doesn't wear a suit and tie to client meetings.
This week in episode 25 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin chats to Michelle Hoskin, founder of Standards International, about what it means to be a Wow! Financial Adviser.
As founder of Standards International, Michelle is best known in the world of financial services for the concept of Wow!
Martin talks to Michelle about the areas where Wow! can be applied by financial advisers, how the Financial Planning profession differs overseas and what people looking for an adviser should consider.
Subscribe now to the Informed Choice Podcast at www.icfp.co.uk/itunes to automatically download a new free episode every week on Friday.
If you enjoy listening to the Informed Choice Podcast, please take a minute to leave us a rating and review on iTunes.
This week in episode 24 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin interviews author and financial educator Paul Claireaux.
Paul's first book, "Who can you trust about money?" offers an explanation of how financial experts can mislead us and also how we can mislead ourselves when it comes to money.
Martin chats to Paul about his new financial freedom workshops which are aimed at younger people. They also talk about books, with Paul suggesting a comprehensive reading list for addressing the financial and non-financial aspects of money, life and happiness.
If you listen to this podcast, please take one minute to leave an honest review on iTunes.
Reviews from listeners are so important to help others find the podcast, and we also really want your feedback so we know which elements of the show you enjoy and what we can improve. To leave a review, simply visit www.icfp.co.uk/itunes.
Martin will read out reviews at the end of each future episode, so please make sure you leave a note of your real name, so you get a mention.
If you have a personal finance or investment question you would like Martin to answer on the podcast, you can leave a voicemail for the show by following the link at icfp.co.uk/podcast. We’ll answer your question in a future episode and send you a gift to say thank you for taking part.
This week in episode 23 of the Informed Choice Podcast, we talk about election results, forgotten subscriptions and bond bubbles.
Martin starts the podcast this week by talking about his filming weekend with the GB TREC Team and the election results last week.
New research has found that people in Britain are wasting £338 million each month in unused subscription fees. Are you one of them and what steps can you take to avoid wasting money through forgotten subscriptions?
Another big finance story this week was the news that China has cut interest rates. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) at the weekend delivered another cut to the benchmark lending and deposit rates. Both the lending and deposit rates were cut by 25 basis points, or 0.25 per cent, taking the lending rate to 5.1% and the deposit rate to 2.25%.
What does this mean for the Chinese economy and investment markets?
Martin looks at an excellent article by Duncan Weldon, BBC Newsnight economics correspondent, which explains the reasons for the sovereign bond bubble bursting. Is your investment portfolio positioned correctly?
If you listen to this podcast, please take one minute to leave an honest review on iTunes.
Reviews from listeners are so important to help others find the podcast, and we also really want your feedback so we know which elements of the show you enjoy and what we can improve. To leave a review, simply visit www.icfp.co.uk/itunes.
Martin will read out reviews at the end of each future episode, so please make sure you leave a note of your real name, so you get a mention.
If you have a personal finance or investment question you would like Martin to answer on the podcast, you can leave a voicemail for the show by following the link at icfp.co.uk/podcast. We’ll answer your question in a future episode and send you a gift to say thank you for taking part.
In the Informed Choice Podcast this week, Martin interviews Angela Brooks of Pension Life about pension liberation scams. With significant financial and human costs involved, what is pension liberation, how to the scammers target their victims and what steps can you take to keep your pension pot safe? We also hear from Justin King of MFP Wealth Management to get some practical tips on keeping your money safe. Martin asks whether financial advice should be compulsory at retirement, and explains why he is spending this weekend behind the camera lens with Team GB to produce a short documentary. To get all of the show notes from this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, visit www.icfp.co.uk/episode22. Please take a minute to leave a rating and review for the podcast at www.icfp.co.uk/itunes. Your support is appreciated.
This week in episode 21 of the Informed Choice Podcast, it’s a General Election 2015 special!
With less than a week to go before Britain decides who should govern the country, Martin speaks to Nick Peters, Co-Manager of the Fidelity Multi Asset Income Fund to get his thoughts on what this election is likely to mean for investment markets.
He also interviews Dee Searle, a client of Informed Choice who you might remember from episode 17 of the podcast.
Dee is standing as parliamentary candidate for the Green Party in Tottenham. Martin spoke to Dee earlier in the week to find out how her campaign is going, what she thinks her chances are of becoming an MP next week and whether she would do it all over again.
There’s also some pre-election thoughts from Financial Planners Chris Budd from Ovation Finance in Bristol and Chris Daems from Cervello Financial Planning in London and Essex.
This week in episode 20 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin answers five personal finance questions from the Unbiased.co.uk MoneyFit Week campaign. He asks whether you would invest in a property scheme offering 50% annual returns. And he explains why the record pre-tax losses announced by Tesco this week are important for all investors.
If you have a personal finance or investing question you would like Martin to answer in a future episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, you can record a short voicemail message at www.icfp.co.uk/podcast. Alternatively, you can send your questions to Martin at martin@icfp.co.uk or get in touch with him on Twitter @martinbamford.
In episode 19 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin answers a listener question about what sounds like a very dodgy investment scam being offered to her dad.
Why do sexy men make average looking men take greater risks with their money? There's now over 157,000 Certified Financial Planner professionals globally, a cause for celebration. Martin explains why Japan has joined UK in the Noflation Club.
For links to everything discussed in this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, please check out the show notes at www.icfp.co.uk/episode19.
In the latest episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks to independent pensions consultant Rachel Vahey about the new pension freedoms introduced this week; who will be the winners and losers from these reforms? He also discusses why there has been a sudden fall in life expectancy for female pensioners and why Abenomics might finally be working in Japan.
This week in episode seventeen of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin interviews Certified Financial Planner and financial sketch artist Carl Richards about the publication of his new book, The One Page Financial Plan. Listen to the episode for a chance to win a copy of the book. There's also a short interview with one of our clients, Dee Searle, who is hoping to become Tottenham's first Green Party MP. To find out more about the Informed Choice Podcast, please visit www.icfp.co.uk/podcast.
Noflation has landed in the UK! Martin talks to James Griffin from Fidelity Worldwide Investment to find out what CPI inflation at zero means for the economy and markets. There's a listener question asking how to tell friends about a six-figure inheritance. Martin shares five tips for effective end of tax year planning, to help you avoid wasting tax this year. He also talks about what a good Financial Planner does for you. Subscribe to get the Informed Choice Podcast automatically every Friday morning at www.icfp.co.uk/itunes.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin reviews the pre-election Budget, delivered by George Osborne on Wednesday 18th March 2015. There's an interview with Steve Lewis of LV= about their latest State of Retirement Report. Martin also looks at new research which suggests a genetic link to our investment risk profiles.
In episode 14 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin explains why pension freedom day on 6th April 2015 could be pension fleecing day. He answers a listener question about the future direction of the FTSE 100 index, which set a new record high last week. What is your true purpose in life? Martin has 13 questions to help you figure it out. He also talks about why it can make sense to spend your ISAs and your house first, and then your pension pot.
In the latest episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin reveals the details of a study which proves his catchphrase; "When it comes to money, the more you know, the faster it can grow!" There's also news on his recent BBC Radio Money Box appearance, talking about crowdfunding. He answers a listener question about buying an annuity in retirement, sets a challenge for reviewing time and money, and takes a look at the latest five star review on iTunes. Find the show notes for this episode at icfp.co.uk/episode13 and learn more about the Informed Choice Podcast at www.icfp.co.uk/podcast.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin examines new research which suggests investors are less likely to invest with fund managers who have foreign sounding names. Bizarre? Almost certainly, but the research backs it up. He also talks about a new report suggesting dementia is now the biggest killer of women in the UK, and the latest attitudes of investment advisers when it comes to where to invest in 2015. There's also an update on what Martin's been reading and listening to this week, a request to take part in a survey on life expectancy, and news about his plans for a 'podding shed'.
In epsiode 11 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin interviews Abraham Okusanya about his new white paper, Pound Cost Ravaging. He also talks about five misconceptions about retirement and answers a question from listener Angela about care fees planning for her elderly parents. As usual, there's an update on the books Martin has been reading and some new podcast discoveries. He's also been giving blood and walking to work every day.
In the latest episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the five big risks to wealth creation in the year ahead. He also looks at the reasons why you might not want to withdraw money from your pension pot once the new pension freedom rules are introduced in April. Finally, he looks at a new report about 'pound cost ravaging' and how to best forecast a safe withdrawal rate from portfolios. Also in this episode, Martin reveals his result from the Unbiased Media Awards this week, tips some great podcasts and gets a haircut.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin test drives the new BBC cost of care calculator. He talks about the new retirement advice directory from the Money Advice Service and looks at the latest statistics for investment fund inflows for 2014, which show a growing popularity of index tracker funds. Martin also plays a short clip of an interview between Abraham Okusanya and Justin King, about the book Ready, Steady, Retire! Martin gives a short recap of his week so far, the books he is currently reading and what is coming up next week, with a trip to London for the Unbiased Media Awards 2015.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has fired its BIG BAZOOKA, with at least 1.1 trillion euros of quantitative easing due to be injected into the ailing eurozone economy this year and next. What does it mean? Martin explains.
In the latest edition of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the new 65+ Guaranteed Growth Bonds from National Savings & Investments, asks why price inflation is falling so quickly and reveals the results of his DNA test from personal genome service 23andme.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin interviews Simonne Gnessen of Wise Monkey Financial Coaching and also talks about the falling oil price - what does it mean for investors?
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about why pension providers continue to fail consumers reaching retirement and attempts to quantify the value of a good financial adviser. He also talks about his week, why he missed out on a Christmas lunch yesterday and how his dad trumped him with a bigger radio appearance.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin takes a closer look at the main Finanical Planning and investing measures contained in the Autumn Statement. He also recaps his week, talks about being a media IFA and the charity race he sponsored on Sunday.
In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks to Justin King about Financial Life Planning and their new book - Ready, Steady, Retire! We look at whether you should reduce or increase equity exposure in retirement, and some of the challenges faced by growing old without children.
In this episode of The Informed Choice Podcast, Martin interviews Sue Whitbread from the Institute of Financial Planning and talks to her about Financial Planning Week 2014. He examines an article in The Telegraph by Alex Proud which claims that, if you're under 30, you're screwed. He also takes a closer look at the latest price inflation figures. There's also a round-up of his week, the books he's been reading and an invitation to pose your Financial Planning or investing questions to be answered by Martin in a future episode of the show.
This week on the Informed Choice Podcast was all about making introductions and talking about higher risk investing.