Welcome to this, the 99th edition of IFA Magazine – with the added bonus of the latest edition of GBI Magazine included too. We hope you’ll find plenty of great reading in both to get you thinking. And here’s a drum roll ahead of next month’s 100th edition – which also celebrates our tenth anniversary. How exciting – and how time flies!
For the time being at least, the financial advice profession continues to work from home. Our reliance on software programmes like zoom or teams have meant that supporting clients and running businesses has continued remotely. But for how much longer will this remain the case? As stage 4 of the Prime Minister’s Roadmap is scheduled for late June in England, change may be around the corner.
GETTING THE ADVICE RIGHT
Keeping up to date with the advice which clients receive is key. This month, we’ve been talking to some of the leading figures in the world of investment – and protection too. M&G’s Randeep Somel talks to us about investment opportunities on the road to zero carbon emissions. Neil Blankstone of the Liverpool-based investment manager and stockbroker Blankstone Sington tells us about working with IFAs and planners. We’ve also been chatting to JM Finn’s Freddy Colquhoun about how the wealth manager works with IFAs based on a collaborative approach. Octopus Investments’ Paul Latham explains how tax-efficient investing is good for your clients and your business too. I’ve also been talking to Adam Higgs of Protection Guru, about all the information and support this technical information website provides free of charge to advisers about protection products.
TAKE A BOW
There is little doubt that the profession has proved itself to have been hugely resilient and adaptable. But these changes to working practice have hidden personal and business costs which can often be overlooked. Our online series of articles during UK Mental Health Awareness Week last month paid particular attention to this important aspect.
BACK TO THE PRESENT TIME
Across the pages of this magazine, business continuity, growth and development for financial advice and planning firms are also on the menu – amongst other topics of course.
Many of the articles focus on providing practical tips and different ways you can think and approach business and team development strategies. Faith Liversedge has excellent advice about paying attention to the detail of building your brand as client acquisition comes back to the fore. Michelle Hoskin has practical advice on how to build a communications and collaboration strategy for your team – regardless of whether you’re office or home based. Olivia Fahy, of compliance consultancy TCC Group highlights how after a prolonged time away from the workplace, financial advice and planning firms now have a unique opportunity to remodel the way they do things. And that’s by ensuring they have a purposeful and inclusive culture right at the heart of strategy. Moneypenny’s Louise Wilson has an interesting take on interruptions – and how an effective strategy here can help avoid burnout.
So, it’s time to get yourself a coffee and settle down to check out this month’s selection of articles. As always, there’s plenty more great reading available on a daily basis on www.IFAMagazine.com
See you there!
Sue Whitbread
Editor, IFA Magazine
