Central Scotland Regional Conference Q1 2019

2018 has been a difficult year for most asset classes as they’ve faced a mounting set of economic, political and policy related headwinds. As we move into 2019 we will consider whether these headwinds are heralding the end of the current economic and market cycle or not and what the implications are for investors.

• Understand the outlook for global growth and inflation in 2019 and beyond. 
• Outline the key fundamental factors likey to impact asset class performance. 
• Understand where Invesco's investment experts believe the best opportunities lie in fixed income and UK equity markets. 

Our industry is awash with TLA’s, I mean three letter acronyms. Our other favourite past time in the financial services sector is to explain ourselves through the use of numbers, charts and sometimes line drawings. When we present these to advisers and ultimately advisers use these with their clients, do they give any additional clarity and quality to an informed conversation or are they misunderstood or worse, confusing? Indeed, when we discuss what’s happening around the world we try to take complicated economic circumstances and put them into an easy to see chart. But do these charts really give us any ‘useful’ information? There are lagging indicators / leading indicators, surprise indices / surveys, yield curves / and spreads. What do they tell us? What can they be used for? What we should be looking for?

• Explain the principles behind the calculation of economic data.
• Understand some of the better and lesser well-known indicators.
• Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of relying on some of the better-known indicators.

Markets dislike uncertainty and perhaps nowhere has this been more apparent than in the UK over recent years. As politics has taken centre stage and Brexit has rumbled on, so has the unrelenting negative sentiment towards UK equities. In a lively presentation, Fidelity will challenge this narrative - assessing the current fundamental and valuation backdrop and analysing whether now in fact could be an opportune time to initiate or increase exposure to domestic equities. They will also look further ahead and explore some of the key themes that could shape the investment landscape in the UK over the next decade. In particular, exploring how demographic trends, technological advancements and changing consumer habits are intersecting and influencing an ever wider set of sectors with new winners and losers emerging.

• Challenge the commonly held negative view of UK equities
• Provide an insight into the key investment themes to watch in the UK over the coming years
• Understand the likely evolution of different industry sectors and how this could create opportunities for active stock pickers

Today we are on the cusp of a number of changes affecting financial advice, such as MIFID 2, changing FCA regulations, potential stock market corrections, changing client attitudes, as well as the threat, and opportunity, of technology. All of these factors could have an impact on the fees that people are prepared to pay for advice. Throughout the last 30 years financial advisers have added significant value to their clients, and their families, lives. This has been achieved by providing peace of mind: protecting the family, ensuring a happy retirement and supporting the estate. However, it has often been difficult to quantify and articulate this value. This presentation will focus on a pragmatic analysis of the potential challenges facing advisers. It will then demonstrate strategies and tools that can be used to help demonstrate the huge impact of receiving on-going professional advice. Financial advisers have been Making A Difference to their clients’ lives for decades and this presentation will help to quantify and prove it.

• An understanding of the potential challenges facing advisers, in relation to their fees. 
• An understanding of the psychology of advisers and clients, in relation to potential threats.
• A process to help to demonstrate the real value of the on-going advice fee. 
• An understanding and demonstration of some online tools that can be used to demonstrate and quantify the importance to clients of recieving professional financial advice.

Recent research suggests that a large percentage of advisers are not aware of the PROD rules that have been issued by the FCA under MiFID II. Product Governance is at the very heart of the suitability journey and the FCA has created a new set of regulations which required compliance by January 2018. This presentation by Square Mile will examine the PROD regime, what adviser firms need to look out for and what they need to do to comply with the new regulations.

• To understand the principles behind the PROD regulations
• To understand the key requirements that PROD places on adviser businesses
• An ability to articulate a target market and distribution strategy
• An ability to demonstrate governance and oversight

• Why it is important for your clients to think and act long term. 
• The behavioural challenges to long term investment.
• How you can help clients focus on the long term. 
• The benefits to your client and you.

Since Bill Bengen pioneered the ‘safe’ withdrawal rate research in 1994, researchers have developed several adaptations to the original framework, from the Guardrail strategies developed by financial planner Jon Guyton, to the Ratcheting rule developed by Michael Kitces. Further research identified that spending tends to decline progressively in retirement. This led researchers to coin terms such as the ‘Go-Go’ years, ‘Slow-Go’ years and the ‘No-Go’ years, to describe the unique phases in retirement. This session is a deep dive into the research behind the sustainable withdrawal rate framework.

• Summarise the pros and cons of main flexible withdrawal strategies.
• Understand the impact of fees, asset allocation and market valuation metric.
• Understand adjusting withdrawal rates for longevity.
• Discuss the aged-banded approach to retirement withdrawal.
• Know how to craft a personalised Withdrawal Policy Statement.