John F Kennedy once said, “The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable.” This is particularly true when it comes to investing; there is very little that is certain. The media, however, often makes forceful claims about the efficacies of alternative investments, especially gold. In times of volatility, the media switches its attention to the gold price and the implied promise of glistening … Continued
“The goal isn’t about more money. It’s about living life on your terms.” – Will Rogers A recent survey* exploring “who has a financial adviser” reported that 83% of respondents felt financial advice wasn’t for them. I struggle to come to terms with this idea. What assumptions are people making about financial advice? We prefer to describe what we do as financial planning. We believe it goes beyond simply providing advice. Many have … Continued
The last 20 years have seen over a billion people lift themselves out of poverty. Employment rates have risen creating the opportunity for people to enjoy better homes, food, education, health, and career prospects. This normally generates high levels of trust in our institutions, governments, business, and indeed capitalism itself. However, research suggests the very opposite is happening, in the developed world, and especially in the UK. Uncertainty over the … Continued
Who Knew 28th October Was National Chocolate Day? At least in the US it was. However, it seems that it’s not all sweetness and light in the milky smooth world of chocolate. People are boycotting some chocolate brands, but not for health reasons. It stems more from moral outrage at the practices hidden beneath that seductive dark brown coating. I was reading a piece from Virtual Capitalist about the journey our favourite chocolate makes from … Continued
We have two coffee drinkers in the office. Tim, and myself. Simon is a tea drinker. Our coffee selection reflects our individual tastes with coffee from every corner of the known world including Brazil, India, Columbia, Kenya, Guatemala, and more. (For the record, Simon’s happy with English Breakfast Tea.) There’s the old joke of what does Brazil produce more of than any other … Continued
“The best way to teach your kids about taxes is by eating 30% of their ice cream.” – Bill Murray. Many years ago, we were planning our first foreign family holiday to Florida, so the kids were talking through where we should go, and what we should see. No prizes for guessing that Disneyland was top of their list followed by every other theme park you could think of. … Continued
“Learning to choose is hard. Learning to choose well is harder. And learning to choose well in a world of unlimited possibilities is harder still, perhaps too hard.” – Barry Schwartz. I don’t know about you but I find shopping easy, but not simple. I start with a shopping list. I go to the supermarket, get … Continued
“It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” – Howard Huff It’s easy to plan around certainty. Unfortunately, life has a quirky sense of humour and likes to keep us guessing. Who amongst us woke up on the first of January and wrote off 2020 due to the global pandemic, economic meltdown, travel bans and decided not to book their summer holidays until 2021… or 2022? Imagine knowing when … Continued
Back in the days when alchemists roamed the earth, their ultimate challenge was transforming lead into gold. Looking at the chart below, that would have been the equivalent of filing down the corners of a fifty pence piece to make ten pence pieces. Lead has been a far more valuable investment than gold on many occasions. … Continued
“The truth is revealed by removing things that stand in its light, an art not unlike sculpture, in which the artist creates not by building, but by hacking away.” – Alan Watts There are two sides to every story with the truth lying somewhere in between. In the red corner we have US Consumer Sentiment, … Continued
