Week in review: Friday 4th September 2015

With a shorter than usual working week following the Bank Holiday weekend, the Informed Choice team were delighted to welcome Andy Bodman as our new Assistant Paraplanner on Tuesday.

Andy is working with Shelley on research and reporting, with the goal of becoming a Financial Planner in the future.

Martin has been working hard this week completing his self audit for Later Life Adviser Accreditation with the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA).

With an ageing population, demand for advice for older clients (especially around care fees planning) is growing quickly, so having an accredited specialist adviser on the team is important for the future.

As the children go back to school and families return to some sort of normality, the rest of the team have been busy speaking to clients and engaging with new clients who need our services.

This week the Informed Choice team have been writing about repaying your mortgage with your pension, the financial stress faced by wedding guests, our latest monthly investment update, and the back to school blues.

Blogs

Repaying your mortgage with your pension

According to new research from the specialist insurer Partnership, just over half a million people in the UK intend to use all or part of their pension to help repay their mortgage balance.

Weddings & financial stress

Weddings can result in a great deal of financial stress, and not just for the couples getting married. Experian’s latest survey suggests that the rising cost of weddings is rocking the boat for many couples, and not just for the bride and groom.

Monthly Investment Update – September 2015

The FTSE 100 index of leading UK companies finished August with its worst monthly decline since May 2012, following fears about slowing economic growth in China hit investor sentiment across global markets.

Back to school blues

After what feels like a relatively short summer holiday, our daughter Lottie went back to school today. The back to school blues (and, naturally, some excitement) are definitely here.

Podcasts

Informed Choice Podcast 039: Time Perspectives, Longevity & Doing Nothing

This week in episode 39 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about time perspectives for retirement planning, what it means that we’re all living longer, and why nothing is often the best thing to do with your investment portfolio.

Ready Money Podcast

This week we softly launched a new daily podcast series called Ready Money. This is our new daily podcast sharing inspirational, educational personal finance and investing quotes.

Subscribe in iTunes here

Press

How to prosper in the market mayhem 

Martin comments for The Times about investment strategies following the recent bout of stock market volatility.

A wanderer returns

Martin comments for FT Adviser on a new marketing programme being launched by insurer Standard Life.