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Spotlight On … Aimee Speight – Head of Marketing

I’ll hold my hands up and say I was something of an… unlikely candidate for a brokerage at face value, with a diverse back-catalogue of PR clients from sparkling wine and mobile payment apps, to granola and bingo – plus, something of a cavalier attitude towards my pension, for which even the most benevolent financial adviser would send me to the naughty step.

The day of my interview I was turning the house upside-down looking for a pen ‘with gravitas!’ because all mine were either covered in glitter or pom-poms; however, I’d set my eyes on Blacktower and come hell or high water, I was joining the team.

I saw so many opportunities for this superb brand and two years later, we’ve seen some incredible results; the business is expanding at an exhilarating speed and we’re only just getting started – sparkly pen and all.

What is your special interest or particular field of expertise in the financial services sector right now?

My background is communication; professionally and personally. I grew up in a lot of different countries and went to thirteen schools so being able to communicate and build relationships quickly in other cultures was paramount.

It’s that borderline lust for words, semantics, gestures and signals that has shaped almost a decade in marketing for me and at Blacktower, it’s my job to make sure that audiences are aware of and engaged with the services we offer, and that Blacktower continues to build meaningful connections with people in an increasingly impersonal world.

What is the most important aspect of your work, in relation to clients, or the part of your day-to-day role which gives you the most satisfaction?

I’m not client facing (I’ve a weakness for Sisley face masks and artisan jam that I know full well is at the detriment of my early retirement plans so I leave the investment advice to the experts) but I work behind the scenes making sure that every communication, story, research or piece of content that we push out of the business is relevant, informative and engaging for the public.

The most joyful elements of my job are seeing ideas that I’ve had brought to life and in front of our audiences, and working with the wider international teams to make sure that the Blacktower brand experience is second to none.

What’s special about working at Blacktower?

  1. The people. We’re a fast-paced company with a team scattered all over the world but someone or other has made me laugh every single day since I joined and I don’t take those relationships for granted.
  2. How working parents are embraced and not just tolerated. Whether it’s an IFA jumping off a call to go pick their daughter up from school, a lockdown toddler demanding snacks on a call or a newborn crying in the background of a Zoom meeting, in two years at Blacktower, I’ve never seen as much as a raised eyebrow from anyone and that tells you everything you need to know about the people here.
  3. True integrity. You see a lot of brokers in the industry who can’t always put their money where their mouth is when it comes to watertight licencing or the best client interests. You only have to spend five minutes with any one of the Blacktower team to see how much they care about the work they do; it starts with the Group Chairman and reverberates throughout the company.

Blacktower already has a long and successful history in the sector, how will you and your colleagues continue to offer value to clients in the next 20 years and beyond?

With authenticity and adaptability, holding on to our 35 years of heritage while evolving our strategies and solutions to align with the ever-evolving client needs.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.

I performed in a children’s choir production at the Royal Albert Hall when I was a kid… I can’t say that without cringing now though so I’ll stick with the fact that I used to run my friend’s Border Collie in the Kennel Club flyball trials and competed at Crufts two years running. We won silver in 2007!

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.

Other News

More Taxing Times Ahead

From April 6th this year, individuals who do not spend sufficient time in the UK, or have insufficient ties with the UK to be resident there for tax purposes but who nonetheless own a home in the UK, may now need to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on any gains arising on the eventual sale of the property. 

How will the tax work?

Only gains made from 6th April 2015 are taxable in calculating the gain on the property disposal i.e. non-UK resident property owners will substitute the value of the property as at 6th April 2015 for its actual acquisition cost, thereby rebasing the value to its market value as at that date. Alternatively, property owners may elect to calculate the gain by using the actual acquisition cost but paying tax only on the time-apportioned post-5th April 2015 part of the gain.

If the non-resident usually files a UK self assessment tax return any gain must be included in the appropriate year’s return, otherwise any tax must be paid within 30 days of completion.  Non-residents will continue to be exempt from CGT on disposals of commercial property and other assets.

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Defined benefit schemes – a ‘ticking time bomb’?

Following the news that no new buyer was interested in BHS and its £571 million pension deficit, a number of our clients with a working history in BHS got in touch with us to find out their position and options with regards to their future pensions. Unfortunately, it was too late as the window had closed. The BHS scheme got into the Pension Protection Fund, a statutory fund in the U.K., intended to protect pensioners if their pension fund becomes insolvent. What this means is that they are now locked in without any possibility of looking at alternatives and transferring out. For deferred members, this means a potential reduction in pension income as the PPF only compensates 90% of the income up to a certain cap.

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