Then the flowers became very wild/ because it was early September/ and they had nothing to lose – or something like that. The August haze is over. Usually, the month is known as silly season among those in the news business. One of my tutors was a radio journalist in Ulster during the troubles and told us they were ill equipped for the first silly season after the agreement because, as horrendous as the situation had been since the late 1960s, you could count on there being news. I’m pretty sure she told me some convoluted fable about throwing together a story about a dolphin in the Foyle. Anyway, August, nothing happening, civil war, dolphins, you get the picture.
But worry not, Autumn is here and everyone is slouching towards Bethlehem (their desks) to be born (attempting to summon remembrance of what the hell it is they do again).
Anyway, here are a few very wildflowers I have picked for this week:
LANG CAT & CLIENT MENTIONS
Targeted advice can help with your aims
Alison discusses why the end of August can be a great time to get finances in order and why the coming targeted support may be able to help.
Source: The Scotsman
The cheapest platform to buy funds, shares and a mix of both | Trustnet
Trustnet examines the cheapest and most expensive options for lump sum investing strictly in funds, in shares (including investment trusts) and a mixture of both, using lang cat data.
Source: Trustnet
Revealed: St James’s Place will charge exit fees until 2036
SJP will continue charging controversial exit fees for some clients until 2036, despite scrapping the charges for new customers. Mike questions whether the FCA’s stance on SJP’s scrapping exit fees as a good example of Consumer Duty can still stand in this context.
Source: Citywire WM
PortfolioMetrix unites teams to create Partner Group | Money Marketing
PortfolioMetrix has combined its business development and client service teams under a new structure.
Source: Money Marketing
Iress partners with Aviva on fully digital fixed income plan – FTAdviser
The plan is available through an online annuity quote and application process on The Exchange.
Source: FT Adviser
Clifton Wealth Partnership completes two acquisitions adding £146m AUM
Private equity-backed Clifton worked with the two firms for more than ten months to facilitate the final acquisitions.
Professional Adviser
ADVISERS
Growth rethink: Tech, talent and consolidation drive change in financial planning
Professional Adviser talks to four firms about how they’re rethinking growth
Source: Professional Adviser
Starting Out: Helping young people take alternative routes into advice | Money Marketing
University is expensive and doesn’t appeal to everyone, but there are other ways for school leavers to enter the advice profession, writes Amanda Newman-Smith.
Source: Money Marketing
Training the future: what are the alternatives to adviser academies? – FTAdviser
FT Adviser looks at how we can adapt adviser education to be more inclusive.
Source: FT Adviser
INVESTING
Gen Z zoom in on digital gold, says HSBC report
Younger investors in the UK also tripled their allocation to alternative assets over the last 12 months, while also leading on the move away from cash, reducing average holdings from 35% to 15%. God, are we going to become the boomers of the twenty-first century?
Source: Citywire WM
Encore! Music royalties buzz rebounds in private markets
Good for investors, likely concerning for music.
Source: Citywire WM
UK fintechs explore buying US banks to speed up push for licences
Revolut and Starling stepping up plans to buy US banks as regulators signal a more relaxed approach to mergers under the Trump administration.
Source: FT
Investors are ‘sleepwalking’ into a dividend tax shock
AJ Bell’s Laura Suter warns about complacency when it comes to new dividend allowances. “You might think this is only a problem for the wealthy with six-figure portfolios, but that’s the dangerous misconception.”
Source: Professional Adviser
Andrew Goodwin: Investing, gambling and the importance of the long game
Comparisons between investing and gambling, or gambling at the horse racing more accurately and approaches to trying to back winners and relationships with certainty (or lack thereof). The metaphor can be rearranged differently I think though: gambling, rightly or wrongly (but definitely wrongly) has done a much better job at appealing to the general public and sanitising its image.
From his file of ‘Grimness from the 1980s’, one thing my dad likes to observe is gambling was not a well thought of proclivity and bookies were not a glamourous place to be. The introduction of apps has made them pervasive and I have many pals that gamble most weekends who I don’t think would even think about investing. Though I ‘m not sure those who want to get folk investing more should do so via the Bet365 approach and get Ray Winstone to go “putting your savings in equity will see better returns over time and will is more likely beat inflation. Invest your savings Noooooaaaaaaawwwww.”
Or maybe not considering TV star Ross Kemp joins pension engagement campaign. Nat did write well a couple months ago on why gamified investing apps could be a danger – in many ways sticking a coupon on comes from a very different place from trying to grow capital.
Source: Professional Adviser; FT Adviser; The Scotsman
US-based asset manager to launch first ETFs in Europe
Dimensional plans to launch its first exchange-traded funds in Europe by the end of 2025, subject to regulatory approval.
Source: Money Marketing
REGULATION & POLICY
‘Long overdue’ but must be wary of duplication: fraud measures come into force – FTAdviser
“Long overdue” fraud legislation has come into force today with the offence of failure to prevent fraud, but some in the industry have concerns.
Source: FT Adviser
FCA urged to ‘think again’ on targeted support annuity rules
In the regulator’s targeted support framework, firms offering targeted support will not be able to expressly refer to a particular annuity in client conversations and must signpost consumers to MoneyHelper’s comparison tool.There are industry concerns that this could highlight the limits of targeted support.
Source: Professional Adviser
AI
How ChatGPT made one wealth adviser feel ‘replaceable’ – FTAdviser
“The financial planning ideas were very good. It spat out a financial plan in less than 30 seconds and it was very similar to what I would recommend. It took me over a decade to have the knowledge and expertise to do this.”
Source: FT Adviser
Majority of consumers prefer human financial advice compared to AI – Money Age
Almost three quarters (74%) of British consumers prefer to receive financial advice from human advisers rather than using artificial intelligence (AI), Unbiased has found.
Source: Money Age
UK firms splash out almost £236,000 in past year on AI, poll finds | The Independent
The survey of 1,000 decision makers at firms found that nearly nine in 10 companies are turning to AI to solve key business issues.
Source: The Independent
PENSIONS & RETIREMENT
Rathbones reports surge in estate planning queries – Money Age
Wealth manager Rathbones has reported a surge in client queries about estate planning amid concerns of possible changes to the inheritance tax regime.
Source: Money Age
James Floyd: Why clients are reluctant to fund children’s home deposits | Money Marketing
“With sky-high property prices and stagnant wages, many young adults continue to look to the “Bank of Mum and Dad” to fund their first home. But a growing number of Gen X parents, typically aged between 45 and 60, are shutting the vault.” Spoiler alert: it’s pensions.
Source: Money Marketing
Sharp rise in UK pension lump sum withdrawals over tax concerns
The amount withdrawn from UK pensions in tax-free lump sums rose more than 60 per cent over the past financial year as savers prepare for possible changes to the tax rules on retirement funds.
Source: FT
TRADE & ECONOMY
Britain needs a wealth tax on property
Interesting. Many in the comments are not happy; I think it’s okay to disagree with him but to call for him to be ousted as a contributor is the equivalent of saying: “I want to pay my very expensive FT subscription not for balanced news and insight, but to be told what I want to hear.”
Source: FT
UK services growth for August hits fastest pace in over a year
The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index for Britain’s services sector, the largest contributor to the UK economy, rose to 54.2 in August from 51.8 in July, reaching its highest level since April 2024.
Source: FT
Manufacturing jobs cut for 10th month in a ROW as bosses fear Budget tax raid | This is Money
British manufacturing firms cut staff headcount for the 10th consecutive month in August as the embattled sector shouldered higher costs and a fall in new orders.
Source: Daily Mail
Scotch whisky industry sheds jobs amid tax and export crisis
Bosses fear more pain is to come in Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget on top of President Trump’s tariffs. Think this is overstated really, US is a nice market to have but really most in whisky are focused on other markets. There is definitely more both Westminster and Holyrood can do for the domestic market, right enough.
Source: The Times
CRAZY CAT STORIES
Passenger fined after loud cat sparks complaints on French train | The Independent
Can we fine people £172 for having loudspeaker conversations in our train stations?
Source: The Independent
OUTSIDE THE TRADE
London’s top hotels are now selling breakfast leftovers from £3.99 – I put them to the test
This was quite funny actually. “When I opened my surprise buffet offering, I was indeed quite surprised to find a heavy box of boiled potatoes, sitting on top of a row of sausages, served with a sprinkling of fried mushrooms. Plonked on top, with the mushroom juices seeping into its backside, was a pain au chocolat,” among the highlights.
Source: The Telegraph
Young drinkers put beer on ice — to the horror of pub purists
Yes it’s very wrong, but I kinda think it’s like folk lining up at the bar incorrectly, it’s not really as endemic as is made out to be (still irritating where you see it, right enough). Even still, if it keeps trade up in pubs and as long as it’s not in my McEwan’s Export, then have at it.
Source: The Times
Typo Analysis – by Ed Park – The Dizzies
Fascinating look at style guide writing.
Source: The Dizzies Substack
Would explain certain odd behavior in corporate environments.
Source: The Economist
Science Confirms Your Daily Brew Really Does Make You Happier
A new study from Bielefeld University and the University of Warwick found that drinking coffee or tea can boost happiness, especially within the first two and a half hours after waking.
Source: Food & Wine
I assumed the nudes incident would be a one-off anecdote for humour but she cites more than one occasion.
Source: The Guardian
Sean McKinven is PR account executive at the lang cat
