Money Talks Archives | Page 5 of 11 | Oliver Asset Management

Mail Madness! Simple customer service that’s easy to forget

April 15, 2013

I can’t remember the exact date that I got my very first e-mail, envelope but since that fateful moment I’ve been under its spell.

I will not be alone in thinking that e-mail has controlled me and been the thief of time over the last 15+ years or so.

I also have tried on many occasions to change my relationship with the electronic menace and to better disciplined (like my colleagues!) and have better “systems” for dealing with my inbox.

Whether its just a symptom of my personality or just plain stupidity, nothing has really worked until now…

I have now discovered a fantastic system that sorts out my emails into the really important ones and the ones that can be read later and puts them into my inbox or not.

It does a whole lot more besides and I’m not doing it justice here but that is only a small part of the point I wanted to make.

The reason I so happy with my new email system is not just that it works and does what I need it to do, but it was the experience from a customer perspective that rang my bell most.

The trialing and buying of the system was all done remotely and was just fine, but there is always that slight feeling of “what have I done” after handing over money when I’d had no contact with anyone at the company.

One personal email thanking me for purchasing from the system’s owner and creator (correctly allowed into my inbox!), and I felt vindicated, valued and happy.

I did actually email him back to say how I felt and the real point is saying thanks to your clients and customers is key to ensuring that they or their business don’t feel taken for granted.

It’s such a simple thing to do that we simply don’t do enough.

Thanks to Stuart for reminding me to thank my customers better and more often.

Back to my emails I think…

Roland Oliver

PS – please get in touch if you want to know more about the system.

The Price of Advice

April 12, 2013

In the build-up to – and in the aftermath of – the Retail Distribution Review advisers up and down the country have been scrambling to find a charging mechanism that works.

For many the end of commission has been a death knell; bond pushers that used to take up to 7% initial and advisers that offer no ongoing service have found themselves suddenly having to become transparent and losing client interest as a result.

There is no doubting that this is a very positive thing; for a long time the smoke and mirrors in financial services have served to cloud the clear picture to consumers.

In terms of pure economics, the worst thing about lack of transparency in a marketplace is the fact that the market cannot operate efficiently and competition is hindered. And the moment competition is hindered consumers get a bad deal.

For a charging structure to ‘work’ it must be fair, not daunting, actually cover the work being done and cover costs the clients don’t see – regulation, compliance, software etc.

The charging structure must also be manageable. We have seen difficulties with some investment platforms as to the logistics of how the product fees to the adviser are actually generated. Some say nothing has changed, some require a wet signature on a fee statement for each and every piece of business, and some require us to manage a time consuming and complex method of moving money around within a client’s investment to cover charges.

As a business trying to do the best by our clients and get paid properly for the valuable work we do, without any hidden agenda, it can be challenging. Edinburgh_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_28

We have discussed every way we can structure our fees so that they are attractive, fair, workable, easy to implement and simple.

Each time we reach this undeniable fact: a simple initial and ongoing fee, not linked to the value of the assets managed and paid externally from any platform, is the only way forward.

It will take time to implement fully, but we shall be extracting ourselves from any overly complicated or confusing charging and shouting the virtues of this from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle.

It’s financial planning, stupid!

April 8, 2013

As I write there have been a few tweets this morning about managers of active funds using index or passive structures for their own investments.

Not earth-shattering news probably, but does make you really question the real worth of active management at those prices if those who do it, won’t pay!

The thread of the tweets led on to question further where the current CEO’s of investment platforms invest their own money.

Do they put their own money where their mouths are?

We await the answer to that particularly thorny question…

All this idle speculation did lead me to consider whether or not these CEO’s (or fund managers for that matter) had actually submitted themselves for some financial planning in the first place.

One question begets another as they say. What would these CEO’s or fund managers actually consider as financial planning?

Would they approach their local bank manager, accountant, solicitor or would they seek out advice from within their own industry?

Would a plain ordinary IFA be the port of call or do they require something a bit more in keeping with their status?

Wealth Management (our current transatlantic term of choice) sounds so much more sexy and enticing than plain-jane Financial Planning and might be sufficiently high brow enough to attract the CEO, but what is it?

Well…its Financial Planning I think.

Which is what we do here. I had a discussion with Malcolm our Client Project Manager today about what Wealth Management actually means and we’ve agreed it’s Financial Planning.

It’s the heart of providing elegant, efficient solutions to making sure you get the best from your money, making sure it goes to the right people when you’ve gone, and that your family won’t be compromised if you die early.

Tax efficiency and legal structures that avoid challenge are provided too.

In other words, a Financial Planning service that takes care of all your current needs and will adapt as your circumstances change in time.

We won’t be getting to carried away with changing our terminology on the website but for all you CEO’s and fund managers out there, before you get concerned about active v passive or if you should put your own money onto your own platform, please see us for some Wealth Management or our particular version which we like to call Financial Planning.

Oliver Asset Management. We do Financial Planning.

Roland Oliver

Life cover, it’s about more than insurance

April 4, 2013

When it comes to protecting ourselves and our loved ones from the worst happening, whether it’s a critical illness or untimely death, we all know some sort of life cover or critical illness cover is required to ease the financial strain of these events.

Time and again couples and families are left feeling the financial and emotional pressure because the cover was never put in place. It was never the right time to look at it, they were always too busy, they didn’t think they could afford it, they didn’t see the need to buy insurance as it never gives anything back.

However, there is a shift in the industry now towards providing more than pure insurance as the customer wants to know what’s in it for them, what are the additional benefits and why should they have the cover in place.

Apart from providing peace of mind that your loved ones will be taken care off on your demise a handful of providers are now looking to enhance the benefits available to you while you live a healthy life and in fact they work hard to ensure you stay fit and healthy while saving money.

Pru Protect is a front runner with their Vitality and Vitality Plus schemes which allow their policy holders to follow a Vitality cover healthier living programme which not only could add years to your life but reduce the need to claim for a critical illness. Their Vitality programme doesn’t just help clients stay healthy but rewards them for their efforts too by means of reducing the premium paid for the cover as they accrue Vitality points.

They also offer discounts with their health partners for half price health screening, discounts on Champneys spa breaks and even member deals with Cineworld, Vue, Legoland and Thorpe Park to name a few.

Pru Protect recognise that just selling insurance isn’t going to cut it in today’s climate and that everyone wants to know their money is being well spent with immediate benefits in return.

Bright Grey are also in on the act, offering a free Helping Hand service with their cover which is aimed at helping policy owners and their families cope with the trauma of loss or serious illness. helping hand pack

They offer a support service at a time when it is most needed whether its assigning a RED ARC nurse to help you come to terms with your illness, guiding you through the questions you need to ask a consultant or offering bereavement counselling for the family left behind.

They can help with getting you back on your feet with alternative therapies if conventional medicine isn’t the answer and provide rehabilitative support to get you back to work.

Just this morning I had a call from our contact at Aviva to let us know they have now launched their own RED ARC nurse service with their life and critical illness cover and in addition to this they also offer a free 2^nd opinion on your medical diagnosis.

red arc assured There has never been a better time to review your protection or get something in place if you have been putting it off. It’s about more than just insurance these days and there are a range of additional enhancements and benefits at your finger tips so why not get in touch today to find out more.

If you’re still thinking it’s going to be too expensive then watch this space as I will be blogging again shortly to demonstrate the real cost of cover and how there is something for every budget.

Dr Claire Armstrong

The Greatest

March 27, 2013

The use of positive affirmations is often used by personal and business coaches as a way of creating the right mindset in order to help you achieve goals and targets that can appear beyond you.

Tony Robbins has long used the fire walk as away of demonstrating how your mind can overcome obstacles (in this case 1000 degree burning coals) to achieve great physical feats. Muhammad Ali

Famously Muhammed Ali declared “I am the greatest” and not many argued that he wasn’t.

My personal favourite was attributed to Henry Ford who said “whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right”

All very touchy feely and New Age, Roland, but what’s the point?

Following on from my “No Hidden Agenda” blog, there were a number of positive comments. Many agreed this when dealing with large financial institutions and how that it is incredibly difficult for these types of business to win back customer trust.

There might be real determined and skilled management at the heart of these businesses but if the people really don’t believe, then you’re fighting a losing battle.

My local branch of Lloyds TSB were throwing out so may negative and unhappy vibes recently at the teller level, I nearly got the rope out…

Naturally it leads to a poor customer experience and unsatisfactory feeling all round.

I truly pity the poor front-line staff at any Cypriot bank when it opens its doors again on Thursday.

I’m very lucky that the people that work with me have a serious desire to provide the best service they can to clients and go the extra mile.

We like to believe that this approach is both nature and nurture but you have to continue to want to do better and create the right business attitude and environment to do this.

Providing a better service, more enjoyable customer experience is what we are all about.

I personally don’t think banks in the UK will ever regain their status in the eyes of the public and the new paradigm is businesses that do care about their clients and the service they offer.

I also think as a nation we need to vote with our feet more than ever and if you have any doubts about how you will looked after and treated by any business, then look for somebody else.

Our Second Opinion Service is designed to provide prospective clients with a view on the current service they receive for their adviser and suggest one of three possible outcomes;

continue with your existing arrangements as it works.

here is the name of an adviser that might be better suited to your requirements.

or you might want to considering working with us.

Either way, you’ve nothing to lose and we might just be your greatest decision.

Roland Oliver

Budget 2013

March 22, 2013

George Osborne revealed his mid-term budget on Wednesday 20^th. Here is our summary of the most relevant points for your future financial planning:

Inheritance tax – As mentioned in our blog recently, the amount of an estate that can be passed to the next generation tax free will remain at £325,000 until April 2018 (anything above being taxed at 40%). Another 5,000 estates are expected to become taxpaying estates by this time. If this is you, careful use of allowances today can reduce your bill.

State pension – this will rise by 2.5% to £110.15 per week. The Basic State pension and State Second Pension will be combined in April 2016 to a flat £144 per week (in today’s money). This should make it easier to plan for the future.

Pension drawdown – From Tuesday 26^th March capped income drawdown rates will rise from 100% to 120% of GAD. While this could be useful for those of you that need more income, please be aware there is no guarantee your pension fund can sustain this. GAD is also set to be overhauled which should lead to good news in the future.

Capital gains tax allowance – the amount of gains that you can make on disposal of assets before having to pay tax increases to £10,900 for 2013/14. The rate remains at 18% for non and basic rate taxpayers, 28% for higher rate taxpayers.

ISA (tax free savings vehicle) – The stocks and shares ISA allowance will be £11,520 and the cash ISA allowance will be £5,760 in 2013/14. Please contact us for details of how you could use these depending on your circumstances. If you are yet to use your £11,280 allowance for 2012/13 contact us ASAP!

Income Tax – The personal allowance, currently £8,105, will increase to £9,440 in April this year and then £10,000 in April 2014.

Pension allowances will be cut next year – Personal annual contribution allowance down from £50,000 to £40,000 and lifetime allowance down to £1.25m.

Abusive tax avoidance – The Government will publish a report on how it will tackle tax avoidance and evasion this week. Needless to say, any tax mitigation strategies recommended by OAM are not abusive and are a key part of good financial planning.

That concludes our non-exhaustive list of points to be taken from Wednesday’s budget. The above points are based solely on our understanding of intended HMRC rules and should not be used to influence planning decisions on their own.

If you are a current client and require any clarification on how the above might affect you then please get in touch.

If you are not, then we would be happy to give you a second opinion on any aspect of your planning. There’s never been a better time to contact us.

Malcolm Stewart

No Hidden Agenda

March 18, 2013

As previously mentioned by Claire in her blog, we recently ran a seminar on our approach to customer-led Wealth Management.

Of the number of noticeable comments made was that the attendees felt that the was “no hidden agenda” in our presentation and that people could see that we clearly had an interest in providing a service that had them at the centre of it.

As big business and politicians continue to try and win back our trust, the phrase “no hidden agenda” keeps coming back to me.

We are all incredibly sensitive to this feeling. Dealing with anybody providing a service of any type today must make sure that our needs are being met in a way that suits us first and not the provider.

Whether its a local restaurant, or high street bank, hiding you must be clear about what you are providing to your customer as nothing will sour the relationship quicker than the discovery of a hidden agenda.

The gaining of a client’s trust is a privilege that is repaid in long term customer loyalty. In the post RDR world when fees are going to be scrutinised, ensuring you don’t lose it through any hidden agenda is crucial.

In a day when the the Cypriots are perhaps finding out about another hidden agenda, its clear to me that we need to continue to be clear, open and honest about what we do for our clients.

In case you were counting, I mentioned the phrase “no hidden agenda” 5 (6, if you include this one) in this short blog.

Nothing to hide here.

Roland Oliver – March 2013

Wealth Management Seminars

March 15, 2013

Anyone who follows us with regularity will know that we are passionate about what we do here at Oliver Asset Management and committed to providing a superior wealth management experience.

We decided early on this year that it was crucial for the business to spread the word about what we do and help educate people in how they can manage their finances better with our help.

If you follow us online or receive our newsletter you will have known we had our first seminar last night at the prestigious Greywalls hotel.

I am delighted to note that the inaugural event was a great success and provided us with the opportunity to meet some new and very interesting people.

I am also pleased to note this will be the first of many seminars for 2013 and if you missed last night and would be interested in hearing more about our next seminar do get in touch or keep checking in on the website.

We’ll be confirming the next date and location soon!

Dr Claire Armstrong

Inheritance Tax Nil Rate Band to stay at £325,000 after all

February 15, 2013

After the last budget we had been expecting the inheritance tax nil rate band to increase from £325,000 to £329,000 in 2015. This has now been set back to 2018, by which time it will have been frozen for 10 years. This means the potential saving of £1,600 per estate (40% of £4,000) in each of those years is lost.

The extra tax revenue for the Government will go towards paying for the imminent capping of long term care costs at £75,000.

These two decisions together form an interesting blend from an advice point of view.

The introduction of the cap is designed to encourage individuals to begin saving towards the possibility of needing care in later life. Long term care costs are currently both unpredictable and uncapped, and as a result there’s been little focus on saving for it. When a target is both unknown and unlimited it is hard to turn it into a realistic goal.

The cap will allow planning with greater certainty and with a known funding target. In addition, if care isn’t needed, individuals would still have access to their savings or they could be passed on through their estate.

So, from a holistic advice point of view, it makes sense to mark this down as something to work towards.

In terms of the change in the planned IHT band, careful planning can more than offset the £1,600. The use of allowances and exemptions over time, for example regular income gifts or one off larger gifts can help wealthier clients stay on track to minimise or remove inheritance tax as a problem. Of course this is better started sooner rather than later, as these allowances do not accrue year by year.

If you have any questions about planning for later life, be it covering the costs of long term care or passing your estate on to the next generation, please get in touch and we will be happy to advise.

Investment Decisions Based on your Personality

February 8, 2013

You may have seen the recent piece online by Kevin Peachy the Personal Finance Reporter for BBC News.

He opened his article with the following observation:

“A learner driver’s natural instinct, when their vehicle is veering to the left, is to overcompensate and find the car is swerving to the right.

With experience, the driver learns how to maintain a steady course by taking stock of where they are on the road and making slight adjustments as they go along.

The same can be argued for making choices about financial investments. Panic buying and selling when markets plunge or soar might not be the best course for what is generally a long-term strategy – even if that feels like the thing to do.”

He goes on to note that ignoring our natural instincts when it comes to investing is a mistake and that the psychology and personality of an individual is a very important factor when it comes to making financial decisions.

We couldn’t agree more and we were delighted when one of our clients who had also seen this article pointed out that our approach to investing would appear to have been ahead of the game when taking account of behavioural finance.

It has long since been an integral part of our process to ensure we not only know the basics on all our clients but that we have established their investing personality and carried out a complete client interview to ensure we know what makes them tick.

Of course we need to know all the general details of assets and liabilities but we find time and again what strikes a chord with all our clients is our genuine interest in how they feel about their financial position and wealth, what their future goals are and how they would approach their investment strategy.

We make a point of finding out about their values and goals, important relationships, interests and how they manage all aspects of their life. Along with the investment personality quiz this allows us to establish the psychology behind the individual and to ensure we get the investment strategy right.

We strongly believe our approach goes beyond the typical financial adviser’s questions about attitude to risk and market exposure and that once we complete the full interview process anyone who proceeds to work with us can be confident they have an investment strategy which fits with their personality and is tailored to their psyche.

Whatever the personality type we also strive to educate all our clients on the philosophy behind investing and adopting a good investment strategy for the longer term. We will never advocate panic buying when the markets shift dramatically up or down and we strongly believe in a maintaining a good investment discipline.

Roland already touched on this in his last blog and our Informed Investor brochure available for download from this site covers our approach to investment discipline in great detail.

The New Year is a great time for people to start to review their finances and although we are already racing through February there is no time like the present to really find out what you value when it comes to your wealth and what investment strategy would suit your personality.

We’ve been told in the past our interview process is “like a therapy session” and many clients have come away from the meeting really feeling like they have finally grasped what is important to them financially and as if a weight has been lifted.

Why not get in touch and book a “session” on the purple sofa to find out more about your personality type when it comes to investing and to start a new approach to planning a better financial future.

Dr Claire Armstrong