It's hard to describe what we do and just how powerful it can be, but in this abridged version of a financial plan you can begin to see how useful working with a Financial Planner can be.

Here we have a fictional scenario, Rupert who is in the fortunate position of having considerable assets, has asked us for some advice!

Roger Jackson, who is a Certified and Chartered

At FMB, we often talk about wellbeing, both with our clients and our staff and most of our events are linked with improving our wellbeing in one way or another:-

• Nordic Walking taster classes
• ‘The Psychology of Retirement’ seminar with Psychologist, Shelly Rubenstein
• ‘The Art of Looking Good’ workshop with Image Consultant, Jasmin Hall
• Regular Conversation and Coffee

The Personal Finance Society has introduced a set of principles which we have signed up to. After meeting the standards we are able to call ourselves an Associate Firm.

You an find out about the Personal Finance Society and what it means to be an Associate Firm here.

The Eight Core Principles of being an Associate Firm

1. Act in the best interests of clients, using a

A bit like the word "love" or "nice", the word "risk" can be rather meaningless without any context.

We talk about risk with clients, probably at every meeting and I hope we explain it well, but it's always worth a reminder. Also, it sometimes helps to explain things in a different way, to provide a more thorough understanding.

I often wonder why people choose to invest

In addition to organising your finances to ensure your assets are protected for your loved ones on your death, estate planning also encompasses ensuring you have enough money to live on; it is a tenuous balance for many. A good starting point is obtaining a comprehensive view of your assets, to assess the value of your estate and ensuring you have the right documentation

Recent data* on flexible payments from pensions shows that in Q1 2020, almost £2.5bn was withdrawn from pensions – a 19% increase on Q1 2019 withdrawals, and the highest recorded Q1 of any year since pensions freedoms began. Although the average amount withdrawn per person was £7,100 (down 3% from Q1 2019 £7,300), the total value of flexible withdrawals from pensions since

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...

UK fraud prevention groups are warning individuals to be extra vigilant following a huge increase in the number of scams seeking to exploit the pandemic; as these scams increase in sophistication, we are all vulnerable.

Your best tactic is to equip yourself to stay ScamSmart; you can do this through checking the FCA

Investors will understandably be pondering their portfolios as economic challenges endure. You may have heard the age-old investment dictum – time in the market, not timing the market. If so, recent research* has explored the concept, with some very compelling results.

In March 2000, during the height of the dot-com boom, if an investor made an investment of £1,000 in the