Monday
An early start. I arrive in the office at 7am on Mondays. I avoid the traffic and work through correspondence to make sure I am fully prepared for the week ahead.
At 10am, I sit down with Melanie, my administrator. She is great; she is bright, chirpy and very efficient, and between us we work through details of the week’s meetings.
I have a couple of phone conversations with clients before an afternoon meeting.
This is a first meeting with a potential client who has been made redundant. There is a lot to work through – the starting point is to make sense of his finances and understand what he wants to do next.
Tuesday
My first meeting is in Peterborough with a couple where the husband, aged 68, is retiring. His wife will continue working part time.
He has both defined benefit and defined contributions pensions and has delayed taking his state pension. We work through their income requirements.
I then travel to Oakham to meet an elderly couple who have been clients for 17 years.
We review their investment portfolio and the wife’s health, which has not been good. The couple are spending less and have more disposable income, so we decide what should happen with that.
My final meeting is with a brother and sister who are attorneys for a longstanding client who is in a care home. The client has a large portfolio and is selling his house. We look at the best way to release money to pay for care fees.
I am at home by 5pm. I check emails and prepare dinner for myself and my wife before settling down to watch Champions League football. I dream Wolves will be playing in this in a few years’ time.
Wednesday
I have a long drive today as I am meeting a client in Ringwood, Hampshire. He is moving there to be nearer his sister and has sold his home.
He needs to withdraw some capital from his portfolio to pay for a more expensive property and envisages he will need more income to cover the higher living costs down south.
We are planning to use an old Scottish Mutual (now Phoenix) pension which has a really attractive 13 per cent guaranteed annuity rate.
I go to lunch with the client before heading home. This evening I head to the gym.
Thursday
I have a meeting with a lady whose husband has recently died. She is at the stage where she can review her finances and assess her future needs.
We consider income and look at her widow’s pension. We also discuss the merits of making gifts to her children.
I then head to a presentation in Birmingham I am giving to a group of 15 people who have been made redundant. I hold these presentations regularly.
I talk them through redundancy packages, budgets, pensions and plans. Feedback is positive and six attendees want follow-up meetings.
Friday
I am back in the office and it is good to catch up with Melanie. We have an adviser team meeting, hosted by Steven Haldane, our team manager.
We have an investment presentation from Ben Willis, our head of portfolio management, and Patrick Connolly, head of communications, has ventured up to Birmingham to give a presentation on press coverage and communications.
I spend the afternoon dealing with correspondence and go for a quick drink before heading home.
Harjinder Khosah is an independent financial adviser based in Chase de Vere’s Birmingham office.
