At this time of year, thoughts naturally turn to the previous twelve months before we all start to look ahead to the New Year.
In what has been a busy, interesting and exciting year at Informed Choice, it seems an opportune time to reflect and also describe some of our plans for the year ahead.
Bad banks
A report published in January set the anti-banking tone for the rest of the year, finding that bank-run investment funds generally underperform those operated by independent asset managers.
This was followed shortly afterwards by a record FSA fine for Barclays for investment advice failings. On top of the £7.7m fine, they were ordered to compensate customers with a further £60m.
The price inflation figures published in January showed the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) increased from 3.3% to 3.7% for the year to December. They went on to peak at over 5% later in the year.
High price inflation has been a recurring theme throughout 2011, although there are some indications it is now starting to fall back towards target.
Fairer FSCS funding
At the end of January, we launched a campaign calling for fairer funding of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Our petition collected 678 signatures within a fortnight and eventually led to legal action being taken against IFA firms who had recommended failed Keydata investment products, in an attempt to recoup the cost of the interim FSCS levy for firms such as ours.
Another award-winning year for Informed Choice got off to a great start in February at the Professional Adviser Awards 2011 where we won Best IFA Website. Andrew Neligan collected the award on behalf of the company at an award ceremony which took place at The Hilton on Park Lane in London.
February saw the publication of evidence by the Treasury Select Committee who were looking into the regulation of independent financial advisers. We submitted evidence that later featured in a report from the Treasury Committee.
Best IFA Firm
At the unbiased.co.uk Media IFA of the Year Awards 2011 in February we were named Best IFA Firm by the journalists voting for these awards, with our managing director Martin Bamford winning Best IFA Individual and Best Social Media IFA. Martin was runner-up in the Best Pensions IFA category.
At the end of February we completed a project to redesign our suite of materials, unveiling a brand new look for Informed Choice that better reflected our values and market position.
In March the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered its ruling that insurers can no longer discriminate on the basis of gender. This ruling comes into force in December 2012, and insurers are working hard to get ready for this major change to their pricing rules.
Budget for growth
George Osborne delivered his second Budget on 21st March, describing it as a “budget for growth”. It included a corporation tax cut, higher tax relief for Enterprise Investment Schemes and a series of new Enterprise Zones.
The Government put forward proposals for changes to the State pension in March, including moves towards a flat-rate pension.
Promotions and progress
Also in April, we promoted Andrew Neligan to the board of Informed Choice Ltd, as our new Financial Planning Director. At the same time we also promoted Lizanne Doyle to the position of Client Services Manager. Andrew and Lizanne will become shareholders of the business in 2012.
We published an update in April describing how the business had responded to recent regulatory changes and our positive outlook for the future.
Index-linked Savings Certificates from National Savings & Investments came back onto the market in May, after being withdrawn from sale in July 2010. They were withdrawn from sale again in September as a result of their popularity.
A day in the life…
On 24th May the team at Informed Choice shared regular updates on Twitter, to offer an insight into a typical day in the life of an award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners. Tweeting with the @aninformedday account, we posted over 100 updates to provide an insight into the activities of an IFA firm.
June saw the start of an uncertain few months for the residents of Southern Cross care homes, as they attempted to renegotiate their rents in order to improve their financial situation. We have seen a big increase in the demand for professional care fees planning advice this year, with three of our team of Financial Planners qualified to cater for this demand.
We were pleased to welcome Emma Calvert to Informed Choice in June, adding additional support to our administration team as the business continues to grow.
Greece turns to junk
Also in June we saw the eurozone sovereign debt crisis raise its ugly head once more, with the sovereign credit rating of Greece cut by three notches by Moody’s. The issue would go on to dominate investment markets and politics for the remainder of the year.
The FSA issued a warning about pension loan schemes in June, almost a month after we had first identified the dangers in a blog on our website. Later that month we warned about the dangers of investing in Land Banking.
The Dilnot review published proposals on capping the cost of long-term care in July. Whilst sensible, the proposals now look likely to be deferred due to the costs of implementing them in these austere times.
15 minutes of fame
Managing Director Martin Bamford was interviewed by Paul Lewis on BBC Radio 4’s Moneybox in July, discussing options for a 55 year old listener who wanted to access the tax-free cash from his two pension funds without buying an annuity.
The business celebrated its 17th birthday on 11th July. At the end of our company year a few days later, we announced it had been another record year for the business.
After months of hard work, we implemented a new software system in July and started using it to create a new-look client review report. Since we pressed the ‘go live’ button, we have used the new system to create over 250 client review reports and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Sponsoring Dexter cattle
The start of August saw us sponsoring the 65th Cranleigh Show, our first time sponsoring the Dexter Heifer class at our local agricultural show.
The FSA published a Policy Statement looking at the use of investment platforms, often referred to as ‘wraps’, in the context of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). This included a contentious proposal to ban payments by product providers to platforms and cash rebates made to investors.
Investment markets suffered a big shock in August when the US lost their coveted ‘AAA’ credit rating, following a downgrade by Standard & Poor’s. Fear returned to global stock markets, with the FTSE 100 falling by 4.49% in a single day on 18th August.
In September we placed the Newton Growth fund under review, following news that the fund was to be merged by BNY Mellon with the Newton Income fund. We later removed the fund from our model portfolios and replaced it with an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) replicating the performance of the FTSE 100 index.
Brand new website launched
We launched our new website in September, following extensive planning and consultation with clients, professional connections and the Informed Choice team. It now attracts over 7,000 visitors each month and has been joined recently with a mobile edition.
Our senior paraplanner Shelley McCarthy passed her CFP assessment in October, becoming the fifth CFP professional at Informed Choice; joining Martin, Andrew, Sandy and Angela as holders of this prestigious internationally recognised professional title.
In November we wrote about the need for all financial advisers to obtain a Statement of Professional Standing (SPS) in time for the start of new financial services regulations on 31st December 2012. Since then we have all been completing the work required to obtain these, with three of our eight Financial Planners already listing them on their website profiles, more than a year before the deadline.
A hairy month
Our managing director Martin Bamford stopped shaving part of his face in November, in support of the charity initiative Movember. He went on to raise nearly £150 from his impressive moustache growing efforts.
In support of Financial Planning Week 2011, we recorded and published a series of short videos discussing the financial planning considerations for different life stages.
The Gold Standard
Our award-winning year was finished off nicely in November when we won the Gold Standard for Independent Financial Advice at the Gold Standard Awards 2011. It was the fifth time that Informed Choice received this accolade at the prestigious Gold Standard Awards at the House of Commons.
The Autumn Statement was delivered by George Osborne on 29th November and offered little in the way of cheer for the festive season ahead. Most of the highlights were leaked to the press in advance, which made our commentary very easy to deliver on the day!
Earlier this month, HSBC added to the bad reputation of the banking sector when it comes to the provision of financial advice, with their record retail fine of £10.5m from the FSA for delivering inappropriate investment advice to elderly customers.
Our executive director Nick Bamford was interviewed on ITV News that evening, sharing his views on why elderly investors need more care when it comes to financial advice.
The outlook for 2012
We have no doubt that the economic outlook for the 2012 will be challenging and investment markets are likely to remain very volatile. The need for professional independent financial advice has never been greater.
Despite the tough new regulations being introduced by the Financial Services Authority at the end of 2012, every indication suggests the majority of IFAs are getting ready for the challenge. We look forward to going beyond the new minimum requirements and delivering best advice to our clients as the sector continues to evolve from an industry into a profession.
Following another record year for the business, we look forward to welcoming more new clients to Informed Choice in 2012 and continuing to provide a great ongoing service to our existing clients.
At the start of 2012 we are welcoming another Financial Planner to the Informed Choice team, working with Andrew to deliver advice to our clients and work with local professional advisers.
We wish all of our clients, professional connections and staff a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Thank you for all of your support in 2011. We look forward to working with you in 2012.
