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Investment Quorum is not responsible for the editing, content or accuracy of material on certain external external web links found within this section. 17th November 2008 IQ retains Gold Standard Award for independent financial advice Adding a second Gold Standard Award to our second 3 star Investor in Customers award in 2008 has left us all a little giddy with pride and excitement. These awards are extremely difficult to achieve and we are proud that the rigourous judging process has deemed it appropriate that we retain this award. In difficult times it is always pleasing to know that our attention to clients and customer service, integrity and standard of investment and financial planning is worthy of recognition. 11th November 2008 IQ shortlisted as IFA of the Year by Shares Magazine We were honoured and delighted to attend our first Shares Magazine awards ceremony. We were shocked but very pleased to see that we had been shortlisted as IFA of the year by Shares Magazine amongst five national sized companies. Carrying the flag for the 'boutique wealth manager' we awaited the results with trepidation at the black tie dinner at the Grosvenor on Park Lane. Sadly, it was not to be this year but we are all extremely proud that so many clients had voted for us without our knowledge. 11th and 12th September 2008 Lee Robertson participates in Citywire NMA retreat Lee attended the first Citywire New Model Adviser retreat in Brighton which drew many of the UK's leading wealth managers and financial planners to discuss the issues facing clients and advisers at the moment. Lee also participated as a delegate on stage during an occasionally heated debate about investment management and the role of the wealth manager. 22nd August 2008 IQ retains 3 star Investor in Customers award for second year We are all hugely pleased and humbled to have been awarded a second successive 3 star award from Investor in Customers. This means that not only we were the first ever wealth manager to receive the award at the top level but the first ever to retain it. We would like to say thank you to all thoser clients who chose to respond and keep us leading the way in customer service. 30th June 2008 Out of Pocket Seniors (OOPs) Changing demographics, the decline of the final salary pension and ever increasing longevity are all issues faced by the public and are highlighted by IQ on a regular basis. This attention to the needs of those approaching and reaching retirement by IQ has been commented upon by WhatINVESTMENT. 26th June 2008 Investment Quorum appears on BusinessWeek We are very privileged to learn that the professional contact details of Investment Quorum and its key personnel have now been listed by BusinessWeek. To see more please follow the link. 25th June 2008 OOPs discussion picked up for pre and post retirers by financial website IFAbonus, a financial website, has very kindly picked up on a retirement isses theme paper issued by Investment Quorum dealing with the financial and pension issues facing those approaching or at retirement. To see the comment on the website please follow the link below. 19th June 2008 Jumping into the unknown Our former marketing wizard, Amy Bennett, is doing a parachute jump for charity in August. The MS Society is a very deserving cause and we are very pleased to sponsor her for her jump into the unknown (well Salisbury Plain if we are honest!). She will be jumping from ten thousand feet and free-falling before, all being well, landing safely to collect her sponsor monies. 17th June 2008 SIPPs, Portfolios & Debt Lee Robertson was requested by Citywire, the specialist investment research and information providers, to supply some consumer guides to their new Personal Investor website. These include advice on building the right sort of portfolio, Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) and a brief guide on debt. They can all be found at the following link; 15th June 2008 Congratulations to our pensions specialist, David Young, who completed the London to Brighton bike race yesterday (albeit with a few cuts and bruises due to a spill). He was riding in aid of the British Heart Foundation. He wishes to pass on his thanks to all who were kind enough to sponsor him. 11th June 2008 Petronella West is to speak at the Personal Finance Society conference in London at the Chartered Insurance Institute on 10th July. This conference is primarily aimed at practitioners and how they implement Treating Customers Fairly into their business. At this conference Petronella will be joined by other leading lights from the wealth management and IFA profession and representatives from some of the larger product providers and our regulator, the Financial Services Authority. 14th May 2008 Are you ready to mix investments? Investment Quorum contributes to thisismoney.co.uk on investment matters. 12th May 2008 Are brokers adding to the confusions (IQ news release carried in various financial journals and on websites) Brokers could be confusing the very people they want to help, said a leading adviser this week, and it's all down to what they see as lenders leapfrogging the middle man and offering special deals direct to borrowers. Lenders have always had special rates and schemes that they only offer to direct applicants, and they have always had schemes that only brokers can access, said Jeremy Davies of Investment Quorum, the intelligent wealth managers. 'Claiming that this reduces options for borrowers is a moot point,' he explained. 'Suggesting that brokers are being denied access to certain attractive mortgage schemes is effectively promoting the idea that better deals are more likely to be available by going direct to one lender, and that could mean that people won't stop to consider what might be available across the whole market. From an independent point of view, most good brokers - if they are truly independent and well connected - will still be able to offer a mortgage that's better than just going direct to one lender.' Investment Quorum has long argued that taking middle to longer term view is as important in mortgage planning as it is in other areas of personal wealth creation and protection. 'That doesn't necessarily mean staying with one lender long term, but it does mean projecting further ahead than the current special offer and implementing a strategy to become mortgage free,' said Davies.
May 2008 SIPPs, Citywire, Credit Crunch - all on film Lee Robertson was amongst leading wealth managers requested by Citywire, the specialist research and information provider, to comment on film about issues affecting clients and other wealth managers in the current climate. See his short film clip at the following link; 27th March 2008 Unlocking locked up funds (IQ news release carried in various financial journals and on websites) Substantial numbers of investors may have money languishing in closed funds when it could be working harder elsewhere, and it’s time to get advice, said a City expert this week. ‘These endowment funds might still be making projections of growth that bear absolutely no relation to what they have been achieving historically, and there’s no prospect of their doing anything,’ said Lee Robertson, CEO of intelligent wealth managers Investment Quorum. He explained that there were options available – such as checking the policy to see if you can get out free from penalty on certain dates – and that it was a mistake to write off any lost growth. Taking advice from an independent expert will be an investment in itself, he said. ‘It’s important to get an up to date statement from your product provider to ascertain performance over the last 12-18 months, for example. Then consider whether to transfer, but you have to be mindful of transfer penalties.’ Estimates put the figures currently tied up in closed funds as £85 billion, invested in equities, fixed interest and managed or pooled investments, cash and property. In comparison, firms that were still open to new business had funds under management of £300 billion. ‘There may be better suited investments out there, particularly if you have a long time to go before you want to get at the money,’ said Lee. ‘Advances in technology mean that there is a much wider investment market and more choice. There’s a greater depth of information, which allows better assessments to be made.’ But he warned investors thinking of changing to be careful of tax implications: changing the status of a plan could mean that the tax status may also change. 26th March 2008 Is now the time to pull money out of banks? (IQ news release carried in various financial journals and websites) Amid rumours, counter rumours and reassurances, banks are going through a troubled period and investors are becoming increasingly jittery. But simply stashing savings under the bed is not the answer says Lee Robertson, CEO of Investment Quorum. ‘Now more than ever a balanced approach to investments is essential,’ Robertson advises. ‘There are banks where money will do very well. Some of the smaller banks might not be the right choice, prudence may dictate limiting amount committed to smaller or lesser-known banks. And not having all your money in one bank would be a smart move, if only to keep cash on deposit at banks below the deposit protection scheme upper limit. But there are other better performing investments to consider that can blend accessibility with security and growth.’ Investment Quorum pioneered what it calls Intelligent Wealth Management, where sophisticated cash flow modelling clearly shows the decisions needed to enable people to meet their financial objectives – from the immediate to the long term, and stages in between. ‘Doing this exercise once, reviewing the blend and balance of investments and even doing things like unlocking flat investments in dormant funds can have an almost life changing effect,’ says Robertson. Its own approach to intelligent wealth management has brought Investment Quorum major accolades in recent months. The company became the first ever organisation to attain the highest level of award – the three star - after its Investor in Customers assessment, and it also received a Gold Standard Award for Independent Financial Advice, acknowledging excellence across the board in terms of service and ability. 24th January 2008 Pension changes need intelligent management (IQ news release carried in various financial journals and websites) If you’re expecting a big tax free present from your pension plan for your 50th birthday in the next two years, it’s time to look closely at that plan because the rules are changing, warned a top intelligent wealth manager this week. Taking the right advice now could mean you’re still in line for the payout, even if you’re in a company pension scheme, said Lee Robertson, CEO of City-based Investment Quorum. At the moment, people can take retirement benefits from their pension as a cash free sum when they reach 50. But in just two years’ time that age limit is rising to 55 – which could involve big six figure sums for some people. As an example, Lee said: ‘If someone is 50 on February 21st 2010, he has a six week window in which he will be able to take retirement benefits. He could take income, cash or a combination of both. But what if he is in a company pension scheme? ‘It might be that the tax free cash could be up to £100,000, which could be very useful! A good advisor will be able to get him out of his employers’ plan and into a private pension plan environment where he would be able to take advantage of the ‘window’ - rather than waiting until February 21st 2015. ‘Anyone who is not yet 50 but who will be before April 6th 2010 should be considering similar action,’ he advised. ‘There are death benefit implications too, particularly where big sums are involved, and also not forgetting that such early retirement could impact on retirement income, so people do need to take good advice on what to do.’ 8th January 2008 Caffeine highs can lead to financial lows (IQ news release carried in various financial journals and websites) Coffee is often on our ‘must cut down’ list for the new year – but did you know that simply saving the money you spend on a daily cup of coffee on the way to work could pay for a luxury holiday in a year or two? Or a brand new car in a few years more – and over 35 years you could save the equivalent of around a years’ salary. That’s quite a pension. And all you’ve missed is one cup of coffee a day. The calculations have come from award-winning wealth manager Lee Robertson, CEO of City-based Investment Quorum, who thinks that small intelligent savings like this are a kind of ‘wealth by stealth’ plan. ‘Coffee will make you poor,’ he said. ‘Not having coffee – or at least having one cup of coffee less per day – can certainly make you wealthier if you manage that saving intelligently.’ Investment Quorum is a specialist in intelligent wealth management, and Lee is often called upon to give talks that include his ‘coffee will make you poor’ example of how easy it is to waste thousands of pounds over just a few years. Using as an illustration the purchase of a £2.35 cup of coffee from a London coffee bar five days per week, he says: ‘That’s £47 per month you can save simply by NOT buying that cup of coffee. If you then invest that money at a five per cent interest rate you will have £592 at the end of a year. After two years that will be £1,214, and after five - £3,272. In 30 years you’ll have a substantial sum of £39,345, and hang on another five years and it’ll be £53,487 tucked away ready for your retirement.’ So it might be worth thinking: do you REALLY need that big bucket of coffee in a cardboard cup – or can you wait ‘til you get to the office? Lee added: ‘It’s important to look at the power of compound interest; look at how the return escalates as the years pass. I have used an interest rate which is fairly reasonable and I have not even used an investment rate of return. I have kept the cost of coffee the same during the period – not something a coffee vendor is likely to do! If these premiums were put towards a pension the tax relief would massively increase the returns.’ August 2007 Investment Quorum bags customer award City-based Investment Quorum has captured the first ever three-star Investor in Customers Award reports Citywire.
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