There was a time – and wasn’t too long ago – when Liverpool could stake a claim to being the centre of the cultural universe. It wasn’t just about the Beatles. Then as now, the city was a thriving hub for music, poetry and the visual arts, all existing within the larger context of an…
As 2019 closed, we can look back on a year that has seen platform lending exhibit at least some of the characteristics of a market that has moved beyond the exuberance of youth into a period of rather more sedate and slightly troubled maturity. Growth in the market has continued, but commentators have pointed to…
What do High Net Worth Individuals require and, indeed, expect from their wealth managers? It’s an important question that you might have asked yourself – albeit from a slightly different perspective – when choosing a wealth management firm or assessing the performance of an existing provider. Equally, it’s a question that wealth managers should be…
It would be perhaps overstating the case to suggest that a decision to talk to a wealth manager represents one of the great milestones of life. It is true to say, however, that for many people, taking advantage of the services offered by a wealth management firm will mark the beginning of a new approach…
From an investment perspective, we are living through strange and jittery times that may ultimately lead to greater diversification. Let’s start with the strange. Around a quarter of bonds sold around the world are now said to be paying negative returns when the rate of interest is mapped on to the premium paid to buy…
Napoleon famously described the British as a “nation of shopkeepers.” Today, however, it might be more accurate to describe the United Kingdom as a nation of start-up founders. Over the past decade or so, entrepreneurs have achieved something close to mythical status. They are celebrated on television, courted by politicians as the future drivers of…
An individual’s response to inheriting a large sum of money – or indeed a portfolio of valuable assets – is often complicated. It’s not universally true, but an inheritance is frequently triggered by the death of someone close within a family. And while the value of the inheritance may be genuinely life-changing, the windfall often…
Stuff happens. Complex instruments designed to package up and take the risk out of subprime mortgages blow up in the face of the banking industry. The world’s fifth largest economy votes to leave the European Union. A newly elected president raises tariffs (or threatens to) on goods coming from his country’s biggest trading partners. Attacks…