Informed Choice Radio Personal Finance Podcast

In this episode, I share everything you need to know about the Spring Statement. There's an interview with Tim Roache General Secretary of GMB Union and Jon Craven from UIA Mutual Insurance about new research which has found 65% of UK workers are not part of any trade union. And I chat with Martin Dropkin, director of research for fixed income at Fidelity International, about Fidelity's new analyst survey which has found corporate confidence among the world’s largest companies for the year ahead has reached a five-year high.  There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and I share the latest from Informed Choice, including the reason why this episode has been published a day late. 

After the shock decision to leave the EU in 2016, what can we learn about our divided and increasingly unequal society and the need to listen to each other? This episode isn't strictly about personal finance, but the points we discuss have significant implications for the economy and politics, and therefore personal finance.  My guest on the show today is Victor Seidler. Vic is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology, at Goldsmiths University of London. The topic of our conversation today is Vic's new book, Making sense of Brexit: Democracy, Europe and uncertain futures. This engaging and accessible book addresses the causes and implications of Brexit, exploring this moral anger against political elites and people feeling estranged from a political process and economic system that no longer expressed their will.

In this episode, I'm joined by Abraham Okusanya, author of a new book called Beyond The 4% Rule: The science of retirement portfolios that last a lifetime. Regular (and loyal) listeners to this podcast will remember Abraham from episode 11, back in February 2015, and more recently in episode 114, in September 2016, when we spoke about 'brainless portfolios'. Abraham is hosting a conference in London next week called The Science of Retirement, and he's just published a new book called Beyond The 4% Rule: The science of retirement portfolios that last a lifetime. Before I share our conversation with you, here's the blurb from the book, to give you some context: "Retirement income planning used to be so simple. Most people never had to worry about how to convert their retirement savings into income for the rest of their lives. Today's low annuity rates, closure of increasing numbers of defined benefit schemes and the Pension Freedoms, introduced by the UK Government in 2015, ripped up the retirement income planning rulebook. "The book confronts the challenge of how to secure a sustainable income that lasts a lifetime from your portfolio. It delves into the detail of the various withdrawal strategies, asset allocation and the unavoidable question of how long before you pop your clogs. This book helps retirees and their advisers navigate the treacherous retirement income landscape, using sound empirical evidence and practical application." The reason I wanted to chat to Abraham about his book was because we often refer to the 4% rule and it's become one of those throwaway financial rules of thumb, often mentioned without really digging into the details. As Abraham will explain in a moment, the rule is based on really robust science, but there's more to consider for individuals - in particular, the impact of fees, the underlying asset allocation and the assumption that retirement income will stay at the same level for the rest of life - spoiler alert, it doesn't!

My guest on the show today is Warren Hogarth. Warren spent eight years as a Partner at the number one venture capital firm in the world, Sequoia Capital.  Sequoia have invested in companies like Square, Uber, WhatsApp, and AirBnB, and Warren stood shoulder-to-shoulder with founders to build large, enduring businesses; three of them went from zero to over $1 billion. While at Sequoia, Warren saw first-hand how fintech startups were changing the way people approached managing money, payments, and investing.  He launched his startup, Empower Finance, in 2016 based on the belief that all people deserve access to expert financial advice. As well as talking about Warren's experience funding startups and early stage companies at Sequoia Capital, we get into how fintech has the potential to save us money and make our relationship with money much simpler.  You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/314. There's useful links and you can also read the full interview transcript. That's all at icradio.co.uk/314. Here's my conversation with Warren Hogarth, founder of Empower Finance, in episode 314 of Informed Choice Radio.

In this episode of the podcast, I'm talking about getting divorced. Not an uplifting topic for conversation, I know, but an important one, especially from a financial planning perspective. I'll be sharing a few of the most important financial things you need to do when you get divorced. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news; I answer a listener question about whether to invest in one go or drip-feed money into investments; and there's the aftershow where I talk about what we've been up to at Informed Choice this week - the week that saw the arrival of...the Beast from the East.

My guest on the show today is Meredith Jones. Meredith is an internationally-recognized researcher, writer, speaker and expert in the alternative investment industry with more than 20 years of experience. She's is an alternative investment consultant and author of Women of The Street: Why Female Money Managers Generate Higher Returns (And How You Can Too), which won an Axiom Award Gold Medal in 2016. Meredith was also named as an Inc. magazine’s “17 Inspiring Women To Watch in 2017” and as a Distinguished Author by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018. Something we talk about in this interview is Meredith's involvement as a board director of Rock the Street, Wall Street - a non-profit that provides one-year financial and investment literacy courses for high school girls. In this episode, we talk about the characteristics that make women better investors than men, how men can invest more like women, and how we can all make the world of investing more appealing to women. Here's my conversation with Meredith Jones, in episode 312 of Informed Choice Radio.

I've called this episode a mixed bag, because that's what it is! All will become clear, so please listen on as I share the story of how I spent Saturday and then some big news. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news.

Jim Mellon, a visionary entrepreneur, discusses longevity trends and investment opportunities in his new book Juvenescence. He explores the impact of increased life expectancy on retirement age, work dynamics, and the potential rise to 110-120 years. The podcast delves into advancements in medical technology, ethical considerations, and investment opportunities in the longevity sector.

In this episode, I'm joined by Jeff Keen from Waverton Investment Management to talk about gilts - the bear market has begun. With rising interest rates and inflationary pressures, what can cautious investors expect from gilts and bonds in the years ahead, and what alternatives offer similar levels of diversification within a portfolio. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow, where I talk about some of the things we've been up to at Informed Choice this week.

Whether it’s affording the basics in life, feeling more in control of your money, or balancing today’s spending needs with those in later life, many of us struggle to manage our finances as well as we would wish. My guest on the show today is Jason Butler, author of a new book called Money Moments: Simple steps to financial well-being. Jason is a Fellow of both the Personal Finance Society and Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. Before becoming a full-time author, speaker and investor, he had a 25-year career as a successful financial adviser. He now focuses on speaking and writing about financial and personal wellbeing, as well as being an angel investor to various innovative financial technology start-up businesses, something we cover in our conversation today. Jason is the author of five personal finance and self-improvement books and is a columnist for the Financial Times, where as ‘The Wealthman’, he writes about personal finance related issues. He also provides expert comment on personal finance to the BBC and Sky and a range of other publications, media and websites. Here’s my conversation with Jason Butler, author of Money Moments, in episode 308 of Informed Choice Radio.