Are we there yet?

We all remember those time as children when we were on a car journey and very excited to get to our final destination. Within a very short time of starting out we were frequently asking “Are we there yet?”. Despite being told “no” and despite the annoyance of our parents for constantly asking, we still…

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And the winner is …

At last week’s Citywealth Powerwomen awards I was delighted to receive the Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year award, having been shortlisted from over 100 other nominees. It was a total delight to be recognised for the difference I’m making in my client’s life by helping her feel confident and secure about her long term financial…

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I now feel much more secure, and financially sound

I recently spoke to one of my clients , let’s call her Grace, to ask what benefit she obtained from us working together. What prompted you to have a meeting with me? I was quite anxious about my financial future, and had no clear idea of where I stood. I didn’t know what information I…

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Improving your state pension entitlement

  Prior to 6th April 2016 if a couple were going through divorce, or dissolution of a civil partnership it was possible to substitute the National Insurance (NI) record from a former spouse/civil partner if they had a better NI record. Therefore, potentially a non-earning spouse could still receive a full state pension if their…

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I know nothing about the wine list!

Let me be totally honest with you, I am a total dunce when it comes to wine; and I laugh at the number of times I have bluffed my way through a business lunch or simply nodded in approval when I’ve been lunching with a wine buff. To me, a glass of “plonk” tastes pretty…

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I’ve been shortlisted for CityWealth’s Power Women Awards 2017

The reason I decided to specialise in financial advice to women was because I didn’t think the financial services industry was particularly female friendly. Many of the ladies I work with are going through divorce. Often their husband has dealt with the finances during the period of the marriage. Therefore, if things go wrong and they end up…

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How rich are you?

I had a meeting with a lovely client recently. Let’s call her Janet. Janet and her husband (let’s call him James) had received a large cash sum following the sale of their business. They needed advice as to how best to invest their money. However, what they needed much more than this was the knowledge…

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Are you going to run out of money?

You probably have an idea of how much you have saved in your pension plans and investment accounts. But do you know whether this is enough money to last you for your lifetime and enable you to do all the things you’d love to do. “Fingers crossed it all works out OK” is generally not…

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Do men and women need different financial advice?

I’m a female independent financial adviser specialising in financial advice to women, particularly women going through divorce. A number of people (mostly men it has to be said!) think this is sexist and suggest it’s unnecessary since women do not need different advice to men. Most of the females I talk to think it’s a…

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Is seeing your IFA like going to the dentist?

There’s not many things in life that really scare me. It’s not because I think I’m particularly rufty-tufty. I just tend to be up for trying most things, without necessarily realising just how scary they will be. (White water rafting was a particular example!). Then once I’ve done it, it’s not that scary anymore. I…

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