Elven safety at #langcatlive
So we’ve had Mr Polson’s version of the #langcatlive experience. A perspective largely from behind a camera which, after a little cross-London sprint and some highly educational narrative, was happily attached to a tripod. (There’s a lesson in there: checklists are great as long as you remember to put stuff on them.) We’ve also had […]
Does anyone know a decent plumber?
Paul Lewis has hit a raw nerve with many in the financial services industry. His piece about the transparency of charging here (and let’s remember he’s not having a pop at advisers specifically) has caused much consternation below the line and on his twitter timeline. I imagine Paul had never expected such a fierce reaction, […]
What I learned at #langcatlive
Well, that was a blast. Our first ever solo event went pretty damn well, we exceeded our expectations on numbers, all the speakers were ace and Henry Cobbe of Birthstar stole the show with a blow-up doll joke. I say consider that day seized. As much for my remembrance as anyone else’s, here are a […]
Statutory redundancy secured: 2 years at the lang cat
Today is the second anniversary of me joining the lang cat so it feels as good a time as any to salute the relentless regularity of the Gregorian calendar and share some views on my time in the world of consultancy thus far. I’m going to take a break from my typical existential-level crisis over […]
Why? An inaugural blog from Mike Barrett
Sorry if I’ve mislead you with the blog title, but this blog is about me and nothing to do with Annie Lennox’s 1992 smash (no. 5) hit. Everyone knows you should never start a presentation with an apology, although curiously some of the best presenters I’ve seen do. On that basis it must be even […]
Sparryheid and the Internet of Things
It’s summer 2010. The first investment platforms have just turned 10 years old. The digital revolution is in full swing. There is no One Direction. In a (sort of) alternate reality called THE PLATFORM WORLD a keen young development analyst (we will call her Janice) has, whilst on annual leave in that free thinking state […]
A dam fine retirement guide
Having spent the last couple of months SWIMMING in the pool of change that is the UK at retirement market – not just DIPPING A TOE, you understand but DIVING right on in there – a couple of things struck me. First, that freedom can be a pyrrhic victory. Old King Pyrrus of Epirus might […]
D2C #heatmaps – Update
With ISA season upon us, it’s time for a quick refresh of the lang cat pricing #heatmaps. There’s been a bit of activity recently in the market, so it’s worth having a very quick Woody’s Roundup of what’s been going on; Nutmeg complimented its ISA offering with the launch of a pension. Same charges apply. […]
Launch a secondary annuity market and then you can go out to play
For anyone even skimming HM Treasury’s consultation paper on the launch of a secondary annuity market, the lack of enthusiasm in its presentation was palpable. The press release and subsequent paper is permeated with the belief that for most people, sticking with an annuity is the right thing to do. It feels very much like […]
the lang cat recruits Mike Barrett from Old Mutual Wealth
Yes, you read it right. Big news and great times for us. The below is the text of a press release that’s going out today. We are very excited, but we’re sitting down so you can’t tell… The lang cat, Leith’s leading[1] independent platforms, pensions and investment consultancy is almost childishly excited to announce the […]
