2020: My debut into journalism with Professional Adviser

Happy New Year, Happy New Decade, I wish you all the best for the coming year and welcome to the 2020s.

I am delighted that my debut into journalism with Professional Adviser has been well received and has had over 1000 views on LinkedIn and a similar number on Twitter and Facebook. My article reflects on my 30 years of providing help to clients as their financial adviser and I hope that you enjoy reading it. I have been engaged to provide a monthly article and with 30 years’ experience I will not run out of things to say.

I have also been engaged to write a book with the working title of ‘Making a difference to client’s lives by providing client centred financial planning’. I think that it’s a good time to put down in writing what good client centred financial planning looks like and provide some client stories to show how it has made a difference.

In 2017 we started on a project to make our website the place to go to as a source of information. The website now has almost 40 guides on a wide range of subjects which can be read on screen, downloaded as pdfs, or provided in hard copy. There are a similar number of video guides and there are numerous other leaflets and sources of information. One client referred to our website as the Interpedia of Financial Advice, so I believe that we have achieved our aim of becoming the place to go to for information on financial planning.

Comprehensive information is available for clients who like to read or for clients who like to watch but we had missed clients who like to listen and for that we apologise. It was only when some clients said that they wanted something that they could listen to when driving, on the train, or “when ironing” that we realised that we had no audio guides and for that we apologise. This has started to be rectified this week with the launch of our Podcast channel where there is already one live podcast and another four will be made live within the next few days.

Many of us were shell shocked last month by the result of the election. I do not know of another circumstance where another country has voluntarily decided to perform an act of such self-harm. We are now dictated to by a government which had a minority of the number of votes cast. The Conservatives won 56.2% of the seats with just 43.6% of the vote. First past the post delivered a majority of 80 for a party rejected by over half of voters.

I joined the Electoral Reform Society in 1973 and I have hoped that I would see a democratic system in the UK within my lifetime. Currently a lot more people are voicing their dissatisfaction with our current undemocratic system which gives me some hope. However, there are so many vested interests with big money supporting the current system and they are heavily supported by their right-wing press so I cannot see how it is going to happen. In the meantime, we have to attempt to hold this government to account and support Scotland’s democratic right to break free. The lemmings may choose to jump off the cliff, and while we can decide not to follow, it will give me no pleasure watching them fall to their deaths.

Please get in touch if you have any queries or need any help.