An independent (financial adviser's) view

The average financial adviser, we’re told, should be looking no more than 250 clients. We try to review their finances every year, and much of our time is spent, quite rightly, both preparing for and following those meetings. I was musing on this after a ‘phone call with my GP (booked 3 weeks previously), whom it was pretty obvious had not had time to prepare nor check on the conversation we’d had just a month or two ago. How much healthier as a nation might we be if every GP gave every patient an annual check-up? The problem is, of course, most have well over 2,000 ‘clients’ on their lists. So no easy answer. Anyway, no ‘View’ next week as I’m off to celebrate various birthdays and anniversaries. So a reminder that we’ll be featured in The Times on Saturday 18th March, because we’re a Vouchedfor Top Rated Firm. Whatever your views on R Murdoch, and especially if you’re normally a Telegrapher (I’m no fan of M Hancock, but come on), do switch papers for just a day to read all about us.

“What Recession? Some Economists See Chances of a Growth Rebound.”

Every fund manager update I’ve read in the past couple of weeks has asked, or tried to predict, whether or not we’re heading for a recession and what that’s likely to mean for your investments. Apparently, yield curves and other technical stuff which historically and with the great gift of hindsight have been precursors of a ‘downturn’ show that it’s coming. Apart from the fact that, both here and elsewhere, especially in the US, there are labour shortages, which make mass layoffs unlikely. In other words, nobody has much of a clue. As and when and if it does happen it’s quite likely to be good news for your investments, as those who make the big buying and selling decisions are always looking forward to what might happen next. And recessions, one way or another, are eventually followed by recoveries, as sure as peace follows war. Hopefully. Glass-half-full.

“Rough sleeping has risen by 26% in a year amid the cost of living crisis”

Whenever I go to London, as I did this week, I’m always upset to see how many are (still, in the world’s 6th largest economy) living on the streets. Those numbers have increased over 25% in the last year. And that’s just those at the very bottom of rock bottom, actually sleeping in filthy doorways, not the homeless who manage to find a hostel bed and soup kitchen of an evening. A volunteer who’s been helping to feed the homeless of Swindon for some years (our very own Donna) has in recent weeks seen parents arriving to feed their children alongside what we used to call ‘down and outs’. And a teacher in a not particularly deprived area told me that parents are coming to her school to ask for a school meal.??Interestingly, our Levelling Up Minister this week proposed that parents of truanting children could have their benefits cut. Perhaps offering them free school meals might be the carrot to match that rather mad and heartless stick. Anyway, if Rishi can sort, as he claims to have, the Northern Ireland Protocol, then feeding both the homed and homeless should surely not be beyond his genius. Rant over.

“Annual house price growth turns negative in February, Nationwide”

Negative growth. What a great and typical piece of economists’ jargon. I think they mean house prices actually fell last month. Not a surprise, as they seem to have continued to increase exponentially, defying supply-and-demand logic given the number of new developments on every brown and green field and the huge hike in mortgage interest rates. Anecdotally, however, the picture is very different. Those trying to buy tell me they’re having to join queues to view eligible properties, and that there’s still no chance of getting the house you want unless you offer over the asking-price-odds. So I guess that’s the danger of averages and statistics, that, depending on the type and location of the place you’re trying to buy or sell, some are indeed damn lies. Not much will really change until and if people start to lose their jobs; and that’s really not the way we want homes for our kids to become more affordable.

“England’s poorer pupils face ‘geographic exclusion’ from top state schools – study”

What’s this got to do with financial advice? Well, bear with me. I was a school governor for 15 years, through most of the Blair/Brown years and a bit of Coalition rule and in the heyday of the introduction of league tables and target-setting for everything. The idea was, of course, to encourage competition and focus the minds of those involved on what’s deemed to be important. And there’s the rub. If your funding and status is based on your SATS, GCSE and A Level results, ‘greater inclusivity’ is not likely to help; as a school you’re not going to try to pull in pupils from poorer areas who might bring your scores down. Now old-school financial advice firms were all about sales, competitions, incentives and glamorous overseas hols for the most successful, those flogging the most pensions, savings and life assurance plans. Our regulator decided that this might not encourage the best ‘consumer outcomes’ and all that sort of stuff has now disappeared. If you want to change schools’ behaviour, look at what you’re incentivising them to do. Or perhaps trust teachers (and financial advisers) to get on with the job, and trust that most of them actually do want to do a good one.

Not my usual style at all, to watch, let alone review a reality TV programme. On the face of it, this looked like another desperate attempt to find something new to add to a desperately overplayed genre. The format is that amateur pianists are asked to play those pianos which in recent years have appeared for anyone to come along and tinkle in big railway stations and shopping centres. And a couple of (hidden) annoying judges watch them and comment. I was told to give it a go, and have found it to be utterly magical. Although they know they’re being filmed, the pianists have no idea they’re being judged. There’s no whooping studio audience, just passers by whose reactions are genuine, from admiration to astonishment to tears. Because there is some amazing, unrecognised, all ages talent here. I defy anyone not to be moved by the blind, autistic 13 year old playing Chopin in episode 2. But I would highly recommend that you watch them all on All 4 or a catch up service of your choice.