News & Insights

This time we look at what the central bank of France's latest predictions may signal for the country's economy and President Macron's reactions to the latest pension protests.

Banque de France has predicted slower than expected growth of the French economy over the next 12 months as the second largest economy in the eurozone negotiates twin obstacles in the form of global uncertainty and simmering trade wars. It also comes on the back of a 5 December nationwide strike and controversy over President Emmanuel Macron's proposed pension reforms.

If you are worried about the Lifetime Allowance (LTA), we understand. LTA is a limit on the amount of pension benefit that can be drawn from pensions schemes without an extra charge being triggered.

Not only can the LTA seem complicated, it can also come across as an instrument that does little more than unfairly punish the most prudent and hardworking of retirement savers, particularly those who have taken advantage of what Albert Einstein once dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world": compound interest.

For all but the highest net worth individuals, a pension pot will be the most valuable retirement asset in the long-term financial plan. Despite this, many retirement savers take a passive approach to pension planning and ultimately fail to realise the benefits of considering all the options and opportunities available to them.

One such opportunity is to transfer pension savings into a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and then drawdown to access your money.

But what exactly is a drawdown pension, and what should you be mindful of when considering pension drawdown options?

Are we on the cusp of a brave new world of robo-advisers in the financial advice industry?

If the latest poll from artificial intelligence (AI) innovator Rainbird is anything to go by*, the answer is "yes", with the company predicting the emergence of "meaningful" AI platforms, which, it says, will become integral to the financial advice market over the coming years.

There is a lot I have learned over more than three decades in the financial services industry and while this period of managing client investments was made possible by my education and enthusiasm, the years have taught me that there is no substitute for experience. There is a big difference between knowing something theoretically and having first-hand, practical experience of it.

However, another side of my experience has been as a financial planning "firefighter"; learning, after the event, from the experiences of others, typically those clients who come to me a little crestfallen or embarrassed as a result of losses or stagnation caused by regrettable investment decisions.

This week we put the Spotlight On…Rosemary Sheppard who is a Blacktower International Financial Adviser in France, based in the Dordogne.

Rosemary's career in the financial services sector began in 2008 when she signed up for what she initially imagined would be a "regular 9 to 5 job" at a bank. However, in the wake of that year's global banking crisis, Rosemary re-evaluated her professional priorities and realised that the best way she could help clients in the difficult financial climate of the time would be to climb the career ladder to a position of influence. She was further excited by working under a new set of regulations that would offer clients an unprecedented level of extra protections.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published a guide to UK Retirement Living Standards* as part of a mission to assist people in working towards a prosperous future retirement.

Research by the PLSA found that 51% of retirement investors are overly focused on their current economic needs, with only 23% properly educated on what it will likely take for them to adequately fund their retirement. However, the newly published Standards are designed to address this shortfall by providing investors with the knowledge and guidance they need to picture their future lifestyle.

This week we look at what the recent re-election of the Socialists in Portugal means for expats and foreign visitors.

While Prime Minister Antonio Costa may be jubilant, it is likely that he will continue to rely on the investment and economic stimulation generated by foreign citizens and expats if he is to help the country keep its spiralling debt under control.