Professional Adviser
In the red corner... Multi-managers versus model portfolios This is a discussion about whether a firm which offers asset allocation should conduct its own research or make use of commonly available templates: and whether firms should use funds at all. Independence Wealth Management's view is that asset allocation must be researched, analysed and advised upon in house if an asset management service is offered at all, and that funds are often so expensive to use that they should be discarded in favour of investing directly. We go through the rationale of this view in our book and the first day of our course. Read more ...
Financial Times
Too late to spend time with my ISA An article by Jonathan Eley, and quoting our estimate of the time it actually takes for a self directed investor to research economics; politics; market trends and asset allocation - and then, assuming one is not investing in funds, to research which securities to buy and when. Mr. Eley says that our estimate of 10 hours is "poppycock", but you might think, given the fact that Mr. Eley already writes for the FT that he might actually be spending this time already. To achieve a 6 to 8% return with no bought-in research, one needs to spend 10 hours a week in normal times, and 40 hours in a crash, and on our course we teach what to look for. Read more ...
FTSE Global Markets
Asset allocation and the decline of UK shares During the first part of our course we present how to compute the optimal asset allocation for a range of global world markets. This article picks up on one of our six monthly reports that highlighted the fact that the optimal allocation to UK shares has steadily been declining. Read more ...
Professional Adviser
What has changed since the crash The credit crisis of 2008 was forecast by Independence Wealth Management in 2006 and clients were prepared beforehand with a contingency plan. But it took another two years for clients to broadly agree the crisis was on-going, and that lower growth rates should be assumed for the forward planning we use to prepare the personal analyses we use in our course. This article discusses our views and others on these assumptions (see our Key Risks publication for a complete set of our assumptions). Read more ...
Professional Advisor
Why personal pensions are not suitable An article by Rob Noble-Warren explaining that the charges on retail packaged personal pensions are so heavy that, in today's low growth scenario, they usually return less than was put in. The alternative - not using packaged products - is presented as a better solution: and this is covered on the second day of our course. Read more ...
Expat Focus
Two State Pensions are Better than One interview with our strategist Rob Noble-Warren In our initial course we include how the attendee can benefit from the second most valuable way to accumulate wealth - to have multiple State Pensions. The reasons why are overwhelming:- there is no need to manage the money; it is very safe: and you get back far more than it costs you in premiums. Each country has an upper limit on their State Pension, but it often takes far less than a working lifetime to accumulate full benefits. Also, quite unbelievably, people tend not to ask what they can do after leaving one country to continue to get extra benefits from the State system just left. Read more ...
Professional Adviser
Family Affair Small discretionary trusts do not always achieve the goals they were set up for. Read more ...
Professional Adviser
What changes as you get to know clients? In financial services, the normal attitude is that if a salesman knows his or her client well then the client will be better served. Independence Wealth Management's view is that in practice the client is not 'better served' if the knowledge that a salesman gathers is turned only into a formula to justify a sale of another financial product. We believe that clients are best served where they know enough to distinguish for themselves products that are useful and those that are not - which is the purpose of our course. Read more ...