Hello. There was some sad news last week as the venerable Peter McDougall has revealed he only has six months to live.
He sat down with The Herald and revealed he has a “full Scottish breakfast” of lung and throat cancer. For those of you who may not know, McDougall is an accomplished playwright and screenwriter. His route to writing was unconventional, having had a pretty miserable stint working on the shipyards (where he met longtime friend and collaborator Billy Connolly), before moving to London to become a painter and decorator.
Apparently, while paining Colin Welland’s house, he recounted certain absurdities of being involved in the Orange Walks at a young age. Welland encouraged him to write it down and that became Just Another Saturday, which captures viscerally parts of the Twelfth marches in Glasgow. Although in a much different climate, they still happen to this day. At the time, it was inherently controversial, with the head of Glasgow polis remarking that there’d “be bloodshed on the street, both in the making and showing”.
His early work continued to capture a brutal realism of the West of Scotland in the seventies. Just a Boy’s Game is set in his hometown of Greenock. It gave insight into the razor gangs and hardmen culture that used to have its associations with Glasgow through No Mean City and was chronicled in songs like Cod Liver Oil and the Orange Juice. But by setting it in Greenock, the ability for anybody to romanticise it – as was/is done (cough cough Peaky Blinders) falls a bit flat. It also features one of the most devastating bits of dialogue ever.
The Elephant’s Graveyard is also an interesting piece; it stars Billy Connolly (who also had a role in Just Another Saturday) and follows two strangers encountering each other on a walk and realising that they are both unemployed men pretending to be at work. Although particularly salient at the time, the masterful thing about it that I think we can all relate to is having an unproductive day of wandering and waxing lyrical.
McDougall continues to write. He featured heavily down the year in a Play, a Pie and a Pint – a truly excellent concept. He would go on to write a film where Billy Connolly is a bank robber in Down Among the Big Boys and is reported to have written a screenplay for what one Ian Anderson calls the greatest Scottish novel, The Private Memoir and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg.
But what I find interesting (particularly as I need to relate this back to financial services at some point), is the production of his early work. They were all part of the Play for Today series run across the BBC. As seen with Just another Saturday, there were definitely challenges, but it allowed him to get access and represent some very real stories.
Anyway, I digress. What with the current focus on the labour market, and questions over where the next wave of advisers is going to come from, what McDougall shows is that given the right access and encouragement, and with the understanding that hard work is put in, rewards can be reaped. You too can become successful and grow a monster moustache to boot. I think any recruitment strategy should take this into account, at least until AI gets there.
The News:
LANG CAT & CLIENT MENTIONS
Can we close the gender money gap?
Nat in the Scotsman.
Source: The Scotsman
The lang cat identifies AdviceTech firms to watch
A look at the shortlisted firms at Catwalk.
Source: IFA Magazine
Pension transfer times hit 10-day mark in early 2026
Some figures from Origo.
Source: Professional Adviser
Some of our data used here.
Source: Daily Mail
Alison Gay: Nothing is certain except death, taxes and Consumer Duty
Headline of the year.
Source: Money Marketing
Why advice firms need to be ‘more intentional’ when attracting new talent
Source: Professional Adviser
‘We got our DFM partners to cut fees by £1m’ – PWM’s Fiona Oliver
Source: Citywire NMA
Renaming vulnerability could change everything: Hood
Guardian’s CEO Carlton Hood advocates rethinking how to approach vulnerability and protection.
Source: COVER
IHT on pensions: ‘HMRC wants to have its cake and eat it’
John Rawls would approve of HMRC’s cake eating and of the cake analogy in general. He used cake as an example of Justice as Fairness
Source: Professional Adviser; Medium
ADVISERS
Advisers say sustainable investing is set for a comeback – research
Advisers and investing crossover episode.
Source: Professional Adviser
Moneybox preps regulated advice offering as assets climb to £22bn
Adviser and platforms crossover episode.
Source: Financial Planning Today
PLATFORMS
Platforms see jump in new JISAs and trusts in IHT gifting surge
IHT liabilities touted as a motivating factor.
Source: Citywire NMA
PE-backed Foster Denovo joins advice AI back office race
PE cookie monsters love their AI.
Source: Citywire NMAAI
PROTECTION
How tax and targeted support will help boost annuity sales to Britons
As annuity sales rise, there’s hopes that targeted support will help challenge the notion that annuities are an archaic part of financial planning.
Source: FT Adviser
Major insurer applies for targeted support
It’s Aviva – we see the photo.
Source: FT Adviser
INVESTING AND WEALTH MANAGERS
Exclusive: Treasury stalls on cash ISA rules over complexity concerns
Bad news seemingly for anyone holding money market funds in their stocks and shares ISA.
Source: Citywire NMA
REGULATION & POLICY
Monzo gets FCA go-ahead for targeted support
The neo-bank wants to target those who “who don’t know where to begin with investing”. I think I have a squirrel they could speak to.
Source: Citywire NMA
City watchdog FCA to host annual meeting in Edinburgh for first time
Regulation comes to Auld Reekie.
Source: The Scotsman
Non-financial misconduct: Rising expectations and rising exposure
Get prepared for changes is the message.
Source: Professional Adviser
AI
Starting Out: How using AI can help new advisers
Some perspectives on AI and new blood.
Source: Money Marketing
Why consistency is key to ensure auditable AI outputs in advice
A call to standardise AI use.
Source: Professional Adviser
Rosemount launches AI compliance tool
AI adviser crossover episode.
Source: Money Marketing
PENSIONS & RETIREMENT
DC savers aware they are under-saving for retirement, says TPT
Some worrying numbers.
Source: Money Marketing
Clive Bolton: Why a Pension Health Check could herald a new dawn for financial advice
Proposal to tap into success of auto-enrolment and the pensions dashboard to provide pensions health check.
Source: Money Marketing
Pension schemes bill: what could mandation actually look like?
Armageddon if you ask the investment managers.
Source: FT Adviser
Labour leadership contest: What a change could mean for IHT on pensions
Hate to say it guys, whatever your view, I don’t think anyone will have stopping IHT on considerable sums amassed on pensions at the top of their lists.
Source: Professional Adviser
Over 70m pension records connect to dashboards ahead of final deadline
Source: Money Marketing
TRADE & ECONOMY
Spotify chief defends AI-generated music
Rich man defends his bid to get richer.
Source: FT
CRAZY CAT STORIES
Finally, news for the rest of us.
Source: The Scotsman
OUTSIDE THE TRADE
Spanish TV show hilariously mistakes Irish comedy sketch for real life
The Spanish TV show though the “most sunburnt mad in Ireland competition” was real.
Source: Joe.ie
Sean McKinven is PR account executive at the lang cat
