I have lots of email shots through from product providers on the subject of the Chinese market meltdown. I have topped up a couple of my personal holdings, making the most of this summer sale in equities. “Be greedy when others are fearful”, to quote Warren Buffett.
Emerging markets look reasonably priced at the moment.
Tuesday
I was up early this morning to attend a networking event that commenced at 6:45am. I conducted a 10-minute presentation to around 30 people on pensions and investments, highlighting the benefits of seeking independent advice. I tried to make it as interesting as the topic allows, and had quite a few positive comments afterwards which were reassuring, as I am not the world’s most natural public speaker.
I had two client meetings today: one with a client who again was weighing up retirement options, and another with a mortgage client who is very keen to get started on a residential purchase application. I spent the early evening researching both cases and providing quotes.
Later on I started watching a new TV series called Mr Robot, starring Rami Malek and Christian Slater. The first episode is very interesting, with a sort of Fight Club/Matrix vibe.
Wednesday
Today I have been putting together two compliance files. One for a pension transfer case for a client with an adventurous attitude to risk who has been invested in a with profits fund that has not been performing particularly well. The other was for a mortgage application.
In the early evening I went to a client meeting to conduct a full financial review. We talked in depth about pensions and investments, and also identified that significant savings might be made over a life cover quote they had been given from their bank. Subsequent quotations demonstrated that they could make 40 per cent savings for matching cover.
Thursday
This morning I analysed some pension policy information that I have finally had through from a client’s providers – some of them are taking quite a while to respond at the moment. No doubt the changes in pension legislation have made it a busier than usual summer. I now need to get a second meeting in the diary to review the findings.
In the early afternoon I submitted a mortgage application.
Friday
This morning I attended the Seer Green monthly team meeting. It was very positive – we went through annual figures, and Seer Green has had its best year to date. Also we are currently making some big changes to our website that should help give us a stronger online presence. All exciting stuff.
This afternoon I have been mostly catching up with admin, now finishing up at around 3:30pm. I am off soon to attend a kids’ birthday party that involves mini-golf. I am told there is a bar on-site. Should be fun.
Matthew Bird is an independent financial planner of Cardiff-based Seer Green Financial Planning
Matthew Bird - Dip PFS, Cert PFS(DM), Cert CII(MP), BSc Econ
Independent Financial Planner
Seer Green Financial Planning
Tel: +44 (0) 79 2351 0703
Office: +44 (0) 16 3381 6522
