Informed Choice Radio Personal Finance Podcast

This week in episode 56 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about selling your pension annuity, pretending to be rich, and some of the things that could go wrong for investment markets in 2016. There’s also a roundup of the latest news from the world of personal finance and investing. In the personal finance and investing new roundup this week: Price inflation in the UK is back in positive territory, with the Consumer Prices Index, CPI, measure of price inflation rising to 0.1% in the year to November. HM Treasury have confirmed it will be possible to sell a pension annuity for a cash lump sum from April 2017 onwards. The first tranche of National Savings & Investments, NS&I, 65+ Bonds are due to mature in January and savers could see their interest rates cut in half. The Work and Pensions committee of MPs have launched an investigation into pension auto enrolment and its impact on smaller employers. The US Federal Reserve has increased its key interest rate for the first time in nine years, in a move welcomed by the stock markets. Main topics Should you sell your pension annuity back to the provider in return for cash which you can then access under the new pension freedom rules? HM Treasury have now confirmed that, from April 2017 onwards, it will be possible to sell your pension annuity in return for a cash lump sum. This move is designed to extend the pension freedoms introduced earlier this year to pension annuities. But will doing this offer good value to consumers? What protections will be put in place by the government? What might go wrong for global investment markets in 2016? It’s not been the best of Decembers so far for investment markets. Investors often benefit from a so-called Santa Rally, which might still come just before Christmas, but it’s been a poor end to the year for equity markets so far. An article from Bloomberg describes ten scenarios which could be bad news for investors next year, based on the views of former and current diplomats, geopolitical strategists, security consultants, and economists. Have you ever pretended to be rich? A new article from Business Insider claims too many people are pretending to be rich. It looks at a couple in their seventies who have put away virtually nothing for their retirement, because they spent their working lives pretending to be rich. The author concludes that a balanced financial life that involves living within your means includes things like saving for retirement. Help us spread the word! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

In this special episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin chats to Andrew Tully about a Retirement Sentiment Index.  Andrew is Pensions Technical Director at Retirement Advantage, a specialist pensions provider which dates back to 1852. Retirement Advantage recently published a new Retirement Sentiment Index which asked over 50s what they want from retirement income. In this interview, Martin talks to Andrew about retirement expectations, how retirement has changed and how to best provide for income needs in later life. You can find Andrew Tully on Twitter at @pensionstully.  Help us spread the word! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

This week in episode 54 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about really understanding investment risk, a growing imbalance between the wealth of the generations and dressing smarter for success. Find show notes and more at icfp.co.uk/podcast.  There’s also a roundup of the latest news from the world of personal finance and investing. -The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a name-and-shame list of banks and building societies offering low interest rates to savers. -A thematic review by the FCA has found widespread failings in wealth management firms. -A cut to the pension lifetime allowance from £1.25m to £1m next April is going to cost employers and pensions schemes nearly £50m to implement. -Pensioners who wish to sell higher value annuities once a new second-hand annuity market is launched will be required to take ‘appropriate financial advice’. -Oil prices fell this week to nearly a seven-year low, with an expectation that crude prices will continue to fall in 2016. Main topics Does your financial adviser understand how much investment risk you can take with your money? Martin explores an article published recently in Canadian publication The Globe & Mail by Rob Carrick, with findings by the Ontario Securities Commission’s investor advisory panel which found that the risk questionnaires used by financial advisers are mostly junk. He argues that risk profiling questionnaires should only ever be a starting point for understanding investor risk attitudes, and issues such as the need for risk and capacity for risk are far more important to consider. What’s happening to financial demographics in this country at the moment? The Resolution Foundation has published some new research which has found the recently retired now enjoy a larger share of the UK’s wealth than the under-45s. According to the think tank, households headed by a 65-74 year-old hold about 19% of the country's wealth, compared with 16% for the under-45s. Martin explores these findings and shares some constructive criticism from an Informed Choice Podcast listener about 'affordable housing'. How does the way we dress affect the way we feel? Carl Richards talked about enclothed cognition in his latest episode of Behaviour Gap Radio; this is the link between what we wear and how we feel. Martin explores this link between sartorial standards and success in life, asking whether he should start wearing a suit to work. Help us spread the word! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

Hello and welcome to a special bonus episode of the Informed Choice Podcast. In this episode, you will hear Informed Choice executive director Nick Bamford delivering a presentation live at the Personal Finance Society 2015 National Financial Planning Symposium. This presentation was recorded live at the International Conference Centre in Edinburgh on 26th November 2015. The title of Nick’s talk is Building a professional adviser practice - three components of success. Within this presentation, Nick shares the importance of having robust systems and processes, the value of teamwork and building your own brand. Here are the slides which accompany this presentation: Building a professional adviser practice - three components of success from Informed Choice Thank you to the Personal Finance Society for providing this audio and giving us their permission to reformat this into a bonus podcast episode. This episode of the Informed Choice Podcast is likely to appeal mainly to Financial Planners and Wealth Managers, but for our usual audience it will also hopefully be of interest, giving you a real insight into the inner workings of a firm of Chartered Financial Planners. Help us spread the word! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

This week in episode 52 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about how to cope with an unexpected windfall and the level of investment returns we might expect in 2016. There’s also a roundup of the latest news from the world of personal finance and investing. -Supermarket chain Morrisons has fallen out of the FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares. -Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg are giving away 99% of their shares in the social media company to good causes. -Housebuilding has slowed in the UK in November, with the construction industry expanding at its lowest rate since 2013. -The Bank of England has warned insurance companies not to dip into their financial reserves to boost earnings if by doing so it would undermine their resilience to market shocks in the future. -The National Advice Clinic has been fined £850,000 by the Claims Management Regulator after making almost six million calls between October last year and April about noise-induced hearing loss claims. -The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced that the government will publish its next Budget on Wednesday 16th March 2016. Earlier this week, a journalist got in touch with Martin asking for his comments on protecting your finances after an unexpected windfall. This is for you if you ever receive a lottery win, Premium Bonds prize and unexpected inheritance. How can you protect your finances if you receive an unexpected windfall? What should you factor into your Financial Plan if you suddenly receive a large amount of money? Why is it so important to keep the details of an unexpected windfall top secret – even from family and close friends? In this episode of the podcast, Martin also talks about the levels of investment returns we can expect to receive in 2016. You can find the show notes for this episode at www.icfp.co.uk/podcast/52. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners. Visit www.icfp.co.uk/itunes to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review. 

This week in episode 51 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin examines the Autumn Statement 2015. There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.

This week in episode 50 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin takes a behind the scenes look at producing the podcast and shares some highlights from previous guest interviews. There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.

This week in episode 49 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about what investors should do when a fund manager leaves. There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.

This week in episode 48 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the importance of staying fit and healthy in later life. There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance and investing news.

This week in episode 47 of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin discusses some new research by Which? asking why so many financial advisers appear reluctant to publish their advice fees on their websites. There is also a round up of the latest news from the world of personal finance and investing.