2018 Financial Planning Symposiums – Resistance is futile
Incredibly powerful forces are driving change in the way professional financial advice is delivered. Should you resist or let the forces guide you? Demographics, longevity, later life and a new retirementality. Shifting social values that are driving innovation and a quickening pace of change that is demanding scenario planning and clearer financial roadmaps to aid decision making.
Register now to secure your free place and let the forces guide you.
*Please be advised that this conference is a 2 day event, starting on Thursday noon and ending early Friday afternoon. If you are interested in attending for either 1 or 2 days, please register your interest for the entire event.
Frank Witte will take you on an exploration of how people deal with and prepare for unexpected events, or events they do not want to expect but know to be possible future reality anyway. He will do so by exploring stories and narratives that people share with each other taken from and/or exemplified by narratives from the Galaxy far far away. Almost seamlessly that will also involve the question which role the stories and narratives that we tell clients play when they confront their choices concerning risk and opportunities still in the future. Although we will look at examples from a different universe, it will all very much apply to us, here and now.
The FCA’s Retirement Outcomes Review has made it very clear that when it comes to delivering good client outcomes the bar for good practice is high and only set to rise. But clients now have so many options that helping them to understand what will deliver the best outcome for their needs is challenging. This session takes a step back and looks at how thinking through scenarios with a client can help to improve outcomes.
The aim of the session is to answer investor demands for a decent income with limited risk. It will explain why we have to say that so called safe bond investments still yield very little, and come with the added risk of capital loss if you buy a longer dated instrument. It will examine the case for taking more risk to access higher yields on shares and properties, and explain the circumstances where that cannot be done. It will also provide a view on how long this cycle might last and when we should fear a recession and bear markets. It will introduce the concept of total return and the way in which some charities and pension funds look at sustainable income, which combines actual income with an element of capital drawdown from capital gains.
When markets shift, resistance is futile. So what are the forces for change and how do you respond? Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, called it the Innovators Dilemma; “how successful, outstanding companies can do everything "right" and yet still lose their market leadership – or even fail – as new, unexpected competitors rise and take over the market.” (Wikipedia) Financial advice is likely to be affected by precisely this challenge as advisers continue to work in the high profit “at retirement” market, whilst new generations of clients come through seeking a totally different business model. Current industry discussion focusing solely on ‘price’ and ‘how to charge’ might be missing this broader change. Brett Davidson of FP Advance believes it’s time for some new thinking. Come and find out what he suggests advisory firms should be doing to position themselves for this exciting future.
The so-called pension freedoms are the most important change to our pension system in a lifetime. The value of accrued past DB entitlements for many millions of people is significant. While it was once possible to regard all DB pension income as a retirement income stream that is no longer the case irrespective of whether such accrued entitlements are taken as income or not. Advice given to people who have substantial past DB entitlements must take account of them. Advisers are the most likely source of information about pension entitlements going forward. From a public policy viewpoint it seems crucial that individuals’ rights are enhanced to allow partial surrender of accrued DB entitlements as a right.
Brexit is an issue that is dominating the energy of government, diverting it from dealing with some of the pressing issues facing the UK that would exist with or without Brexit. That latter is purely a decision made by the UK and any economic consequences that flow from it is avoidable but could and will interact with some of the unavoidable risk and issues that the country faces. Rising inflation and interest rates, slower growth, buoyant equities, low bond yields, tight credit spreads and yet Brexit uncertainty, protectionist attitudes – what do these and other challenges mean for the UK’s economic prospects after Brexit? Former Lloyds Bank Chief Economist, Professor Trevor Williams, moves beyond the headlines to uncover what the current situation means for your business.
Gain an understanding of those challenges ranging from:
NOTE: Separate registration is required. Please go to events.thepfs.org to register
NOTE: Separate registration is required. Please go to events.thepfs.org to register
In the age of robo-advice, AI, and other tech innovations, where does the adviser value lie? As alpha becomes more and more elusive, how does the adviser role evolve in order to remain relevant to clients?
We all know that WOWWing your clients on a regular basis simply won’t happen by accident! In fact, most planning practices are failing miserably to deliver a consistent service; never mind designing one that they can, hand on heart, say they are truly proud of. Why is this? Well, as the saying goes, you can’t see the outside of the label when you’re looking at it from inside the bottle! So, equipped with over 20 years’ experience in designing and assessing exceptional standards of client service, Michelle will inspire you to adopt a fresh perspective by sharing some of her top tips (from ‘The Little Book of WOWW!’). She will help you to supercharge your client journey and deliver a service which will not only burst through regulatory requirements, but also support you to operate in line with the highest levels of global standards.
In this session Abbie will share insight into how advisers are harnessing digital, using examples, and evaluate the evolution of adviser business models in response to emerging trends.
There have traditionally been two ways to exit a business. Management buy out, or trade sale (typically a consolidator). Both are riddled with issues. Now there is a third way – the Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), offering the ideal solution for owner, employees and clients alike. Transitioning to an EOT is about much more than the legal and tax aspects, however. Having been through such a transition, Chris Budd looks at why the EOT is ideal for owners thinking about retirement, and employees who want to get involved in their business but may not have the money to buy shares. He provides an answer to the challenge of how to create a sustainable business.
In this session, we’ll think about when it’s right to make a change to both your clients’ investments and your own propositions. We’ll talk about what makes a compelling case for a change, and what is harder to justify. Can it ever be OK to make a change which costs a client more? And how do you balance your own requirements as a business with suitability for the client? These aren’t new issues, but changes in technology and problems for providers with – amongst other things – replatforming – have brought them back into focus. At the same time PROD, MiFID II and the Investment Platforms Market Study are upping the ante on demonstrating suitability. It never gets any easier…
In recent years, cash-flow planning has moved from being a niche activity to being much more mainstream. You could argue that every adviser should now be using cash-flow planning to a greater or lesser extent. In this session, Rory will explain his understanding of the FCA’s expectations in this area, how cash-flow planning can be used to meet FCA requirements, highlight some pitfalls to avoid and give examples of good and poor practice.
Helen Sharman is a pioneer, scientist, role model and inspirational speaker. Shebecame the first British Astronaut in May 1991 when she launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. She spent 8 days orbiting the Earth, living and working on the MIR Space Station. Selected from 13,000 applicants,Helen didn’t think she stood a chance of being chosen, after hearing an advert on the radio on her way home from Mars Confectionery, after work. But Helen was exactly the right person - calm, practical, friendly, professional and a team player. Helen enthuses and inspires as she speaks about Space, STEM and the wonders of science. She describes the meticulous training and preparation, learning Russian, launch and landing, how weightlessness feels, her science experiments, the team spirit, and readjusting to life on Earth. Awarded the OBE in 1993, she was further awarded a rare and special honour in the New Year Honours List 2018, being made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for services to Science and Technology Educational Outreach. She received the CMG personally from Her Majesty The Queen at Windsor Castle in February 2018.
This event has been accredited by the Personal Finance Society and the CII and can be included as part of your CII CPD requirement should you consider it relevant to your professional development needs.
Sarah Cruddas
Space for Humanity
Keith Richards
Personal Finance Society
Frank Witte
University College London
Jason Whyte
EY
John Redwood
Charles Stanley
Brett Davidson
FP Advance Ltd
Steve Bee
Jargonfree Benefits
Trevor Williams
TW Consultancy
Sarah Cruddas
Space for Humanity
Justin Urquhart-Stewart
Seven Investment Management
Abraham Okusanya
FinalytiQ Limited
Michelle Hoskin
Standards International
Abbie Knight
DISCUS
Christopher Budd
Ovation Finance Ltd
Model Office and Engage Insight
Mark Polson
The Lang Cat
Rory Percival
Rory Percival Training and Consultancy
Helen Sharman
The First British Astronaut
Justin Urquhart-Stewart
Seven Investment Management
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Please email the Conference Office at regionals@pfsevents.org after the Conference and we will send you all the post event literature.