OUTLOOK
From Kunle There was a time when you would visit your bank manager for help with your finances and receive what is now known as ‘unregulated advice’. It was an informal chat between a couple of blokes (women were rarely involved in these kinds of conversations. Did you know that women could not open a bank account until 1975?) with some friendly advice, based on little more than what the bank manager personally believed. There was also a time when interest rates on savings accounts were over 10%, final salary pension schemes were prevalent and the need to take any investment risk was minimal (ISAs formerly known as PEPs were introduced on 1st January 1987). Those savings rates and the prevalence of final schemes have been resigned to the history books. We now live in a world where we need to take
SKQ issue 10 | 4
more control of, and interest in, our financial future. And we need more robust financial advice. As a financial adviser, I often get asked what my role really is. I typically say that I help my clients not to run out of money, which means making sure they are financially organised and more importantly, they stay financially organised. This is something that I focus on in my life too - like you, I want to be sure that I can do the things that are important to my family and me, now and in the future. With the help of some wonderful software we can provide helpful guidance for clients to understand if they will have enough money. No one wants any hidden surprises! For those of you who are not familiar with this software, here are two really powerful examples of what it can do:
