Equitable Life update

Since the near collapse of the Equitable Life in 2001 there have been unanswered questions, in particular, did the Government fail her policy holders?

The Parliamentary Ombudsman is to write to the Government this week and Ann Abraham is expected to report by the end of the year. Should I be cynical and suggest that there maybe further delay?

Anyhow, yesterday, there was a delegation of MEP’s looking into whether or not the Equitable policy holders were failed and did the UK Government sufficiently implemented European directives on financial regulation.

If you still hold monies within the Equitable, especially With Profit monies, I do advise that these are reviewed and ensure that they are at least monitored. The penalties to exit (Market Value Adjuster) have fallen and if it’s been a while since a review, then maybe it’s time for a check up?

Johnny

National Identity Fraud Prevention Week 16-22nd October

I touched on this subject last week and here is a bit more information. I know of a few clients and friends that have suffered this, even our own staff!

It can happen to anyone, but some simple measures can reduce the chances of it being you. I have attached link below and although much of it is basic stuff, I think it is worth making sure that we are keeping up to date with the latest forms of attacks we might come across.

Prevention is obviously better than cure, but if you have been attacked then you will need repair your credit rating. This can be a difficult task and professionals even suggest consulting with a solicitor if needs be, which will cost!

Have read, be vigilant and this week, have a think why it’s National Identity Fraud Prevention Week!

http://www.stop-idfraud.co.uk/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6047174.stm

Johnny

Dilko Wizard

Martin Dilke-Wing, Director at Morgans, finished 18th in the ‘Times National Crossword Solving Championship’ last week. Out of 172 finalists who were required to solve 3 puzzles in one of 2 qualifying sessions, he qualified 8th out of 83 from the second session (all correct in approximately 30 minutes) to get to the Grand Final of 24 where sadly he made one mistake on one of the 3 puzzles to finish 18th out of 24. His average time per puzzle was 13 minutes. This is still a personal best for Martin and this also means that he gets an automatic exemption from pre qualifying into next year’s finals.

Good stuff Martin!

Jonny

Nike Run London 2006


5 of our guys did the run and here are the times for each of them;

Alun Webster (Big Al) - 46 mins 18

Lloyd French- 46 mins 56

Matthew Leaver - 47 mins 30

Quan Liu- 1 hr 3 mins

Candice Fields - 1 hr 12 mins

They all did well and you can see each of them finish on the Run London website, if you click on ‘watch your finish’ you might just catch a glimpse of them coming in.

https://www.runlondon.com/

Plenty of training and pre-run banter was about prior to yesterday and I’m sure there was probably a little bit of niggle/competition between the lads with Big Al (obviously running for North of the River (that’s the not so dangerous side!)) getting in ahead of his gym/running partners.

Well done guys, great effort!

No I didn’t forget, I’m sure you’ll agree that the advertising for this was fantastic….of course it was, our clients Wieden & Kennedy did it! www.WKLondon.com

Johnny

How to make the best conkers

Ok, so this is really financially related….

You can’t send your kids off to school without giving them the best chance. We help with the schools fees planning, university funding, residency ideas for uni, such as buy-to-lets and in general try and help with ideas.

Anyhow, school is also about having a bit of ‘street cred’ and if little Timmy can smash his way through to a double figure conker that Dad has prepared, then that’ll surely bring you a smile.

Here are two of my methods, but don’t blame me if they bust on the first swing!

Preparations :

Gather plenty of conkers, bigger in this case is often better. Get something out of the garden that has water in it (as opposed to using the tap!) and see if the conkers sink or float. Discard all the sinkers as they will have either fractures or internal damage. Then with the others, put them in a warmish, dry place for next year!

Ok, so you didn’t do that last year and need to crack on with this year…

Method One: soak in vinegar for 15 minutes, then bake on high for 5 minutes. Leave to dry, drill a hole through the middle and it must be the middle and don’t use skewers or such, you need the drill to pull out the debris so as to avoid damage to the conker! Then coat in ‘sneaky marine varnish’, get a couple of coats on there and once dry, get nylon cord probably 4 or 5 mm and get a big knot the other end, cord should be circa 250 to 300 mm.

Method Two: soak in olive oil for a week, then use the same method for the hole.

Both have worked pretty good and should get you up to a ten-er, I do prefer the first one though I have to admit….

Safety Disclaimer…Oooh, don’t forget to wear safety goggles when drilling and playing, get an adult to secure the conker in a vice before drilling, wear gloves and other safety apparel and shin pads, when engaging in conker games….. yeah right, nothing like a bruised shin when you miss!

Johnny

Anti Money Laundering

Every brokerage has a reporting officer and we are no different.

We have to treat this seriously, we have to obtain details of who our clients are and now many of the providers with whom we place business will want to know the origin of the monies, such as inheritance, savings and so on. Failure to comply isn’t an option as advisers face imprisonment for certain breaches and I certainly don’t fancy that!

So we do our bit, but there is another threat that both we and our clients face and it is worth taking a bit of time every now and then to make sure that our own pc’s are protected.

I’ve added a link that I came across on the BBC, it’s worth a read.

Most of it is basic stuff, but as these criminals become more and more sophisticated, it’s worth making sure that you get up to date with your software protection, firewalls and preventative measures to combat data theft.

Have a look at the links below :

Please remember that Morgans is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5414502.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5414696.stm

Johnny

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

For all of you who may of doubted ......

Weekend Press

I’m going to post up articles that I feel are useful for our clients.

In the Sunday Times, there was a good piece on the frightening letters that 10 million people would have received.

It will heap more pressure on employers being forced to consider alternative options for their staff due to the already expensive cost of providing defined benefit schemes and possibly now added pressures from staff and the trustees.

There are of course options and we’d urge our clients to speak to us if they feel their scheme or employer (more importantly) is in trouble. Many final salary or defined benefit schemes has under 100 members and if you are in one of these, you are unlikely to have received one of these letters.

Have a look at the article.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8214-2382453_2,00.html

Johnny

Saw this headline and thought ‘wow’

Slash your tax bill by £10,000 down the pub!

In the Sunday Times it certainly caught my eye and although I initially started drifting off in the thought of a Pint of Pride, I soon realised this wasn’t going to be some form of tax relief for every pint I had down my local. Pity.

Anyhow, we’ve got Michael Coulson-Tabb who is our in house specialist for tax schemes and although this particular one might be a bit late as the deadline is Thursday, it’s worth a read and it could be something that leads onto discussions about the various other options that Michael has in his bag of tricks.

Speak to him.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8214-2382418,00.html