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Expert Blogs

Read our experts' opinions here. The writer's views are their own.

In the words of the John Lennon song...

22nd December 08 By: Resident IFA

“ So this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun .” Yes, it is that time of year when some seemingly unavoidable introspection and self-assessment takes place. ...

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The 100 most powerful people in the City, mid-Credit Crunch

17th December 08 By: Resident IFA

If you are a business-person and your commute takes you into the City of London each day, it is likely that you have perused a copy of the CityAM newspaper. This business-focused paper today announ...

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Are you considering transferring your pension?

14th December 08 By: Resident IFA

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published guidance for Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) as to what could be perceived as an inappropriate pension transfer from one provider to anothe...

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RIP Woolworths (and my portfolio update)

11th December 08 By: Resident IFA

So here it is, a final indication of how bad things are in late 2008. One of the most well-known UK High Street retailers, Woolworths , is being read its last rites. With £385 million-odd of debt...

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With Icesave thawed, what next?

7th December 08 By: Resident IFA

A while back, I penned an article admitting to the heinous crime of having money in Icesave , the failed Icelandic bank. This act of folly aside, my interest was then in how long the process would t...

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Financial Advice: Trust, transparency, and shopping around

3rd December 08 By: Resident IFA

I’ll try not to be smug, however, I think this story bears repeating. One year ago a Client came to my door in his search for an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). He had seen an advert in his S...

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What does the Pensions Act 2008 means to me as an Employer or Employee?

30th November 08 By: Resident IFA

The Pensions Act 2008, started by the White Paper of December 2006 entitled ‘Personal Accounts: A new way to save’, has now made its way through Parliament and into legislature. From this, the Govern...

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Life insurance and the reformed Smoker

26th November 08 By: Resident IFA

I receive a lot of e-mail from life insurance companies. The majority is not of interest to me, but one grabbed my attention last week. It urged me as an IFA (Independent Financial Adviser) to consi...

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Rarer than the Yeti, I have spotted some excellent mortgage rates and products from 2 large lenders in the last week

23rd November 08 By: Resident IFA

It is fair to say that mortgage advice has been off my agenda since March. This is not for the want of trying, however. Being a ‘good’ IFA (Independent Financial Adviser), I have sent letters and ma...

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Treating Customers Fairly...the limitations of principles-based regulation

19th November 08 By: Resident IFA

Out of memory, it has been a couple of years now since the Financial Services Authority (FSA) introduced the concept of Treating Customers Fairly , aka TCF. The grand plan was to set down a framew...

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Mortgage advice, empty post boxes, and my Share progress (or lack of!)

15th November 08 By: Resident IFA

3 topics for the price of 1 today. We have added a Mortgage Advice area to the site, soon to be followed by a fuller Mortgage section. This has been written, now in the process of having web pages d...

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Vodafone Dongle fiasco...surprised & disappointed

12th November 08 By: Resident IFA

I have owned a mobile telephone since July 1997. I have had one mobile telephone company since July 1997, being Vodafone. I have had few problems with Vodafone since July 1997. I have been a low-ma...

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My business networking ‘Elevator’ speech

10th November 08 By: Resident IFA

I recently attended an event run by Barclays Bank , entitled (sic) ‘Let’s look at the profit angle’. This was quite worthwhile, the hired guru/speaker being skilled in such matters as business excel...

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1.5% Base rate cut…who saw that coming?!

7th November 08 By: Resident IFA

Not me. I was sold on a 1% drop, but not a 150 basis point drop to blow away the cobwebs. The Bank of England (BoE) is perceived as a cautious body, not prone to dramatic action. This changes that,...

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James Caan and Crispin Odey - The ‘dream team’?

3rd November 08 By: Resident IFA

It appears that James Caan, of Dragon’s Den fame, has pulled off a coup in securing Crispin Odey’s talents for his recently-founded INSYNERGY Investment Management venture. The fund, only launc...

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My share portfolio...Complete!

29th October 08 By: Resident IFA

I am sure you have been waiting with baited breath to see the chronically inept company share purchases I have made! My 8 shares are listed below, including the rounded-up purchase price in pence. ...

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The start of my share trading adventure!

26th October 08 By: Resident IFA

I have finally taken the plunge and opened an online trading account. Despite being more Personal Finance oriented, I have always held a certain fascination with shares. Working with lse.co.uk has o...

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The recession mindset

22nd October 08 By: Resident IFA

Gordon Brown has today said a recession is likely. It is fair to say that Columbo is one of the few people secure in their job based on that insightful pronouncement. The figures to prove the UK is ...

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Share trading via lse.co.uk

20th October 08 By: Resident IFA

We see lse.co.uk as an ever-evolving animal, a ‘Forth Bridge’ of the Share world if you like. Just look at the recent improvements : - Savings & Investment section, including Savings rates and tax ...

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Reasons to be cheerful

15th October 08 By: Resident IFA

I have arrived back at the office, quickly checked that everything is still as I left it, and settled down for a quick ‘surf’ around some News sites. On the ‘Business’ homepage of a single site, I fo...

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