Good deeds happening in the adviser community amid the coronavirus crisis

Many articles that have been centred around the coronavirus - or Covid-19 - outbreak this week have been negative. It is a scary time for many, and, as PA news editor Hannah Godfrey so wisely said in last week's Friday night takeaway: the only thing certain is uncertainty.

But amid all of the worrying news pieces, Professional Adviser published some good news related to the coronavirus crisis this week in the hope of spreading some positivity. 

'Small act of kindness'

Personal Finance Society (PFS) president Adam Owen has called upon PFS members to each commit a small act of kindness every day for the next year.

He said: "We need that more than ever… I see so much of the good that the adviser community do in supporting each other and their local communities and would love to hear more, especially now."

I recently spoke at the @pfsconf officer's conference about small acts of kindness. We have 40,000 members and if each of us committed to one small act of kindness every day for the next year that would be more than 14 million positive actions. We need that more than ever....

— PFS President (@pfspresident) March 18, 2020

Zoom

To help those who are working from home because of the Covid-19 outbreak, Hunter Aitkenhead and Walker director Alasdair Walker and Yardstick Agency head of branding & design Dan Campbell have created a guide on how to use video meeting app Zoom.

Zoom is an online tool that allows people to conduct video conference calls and webinars. The guide is free and provides information on how to download it, set it up and then use it for meetings.

The Yardstick Agency also produced a Covid-19 client communication guide in response to the growing anxiety of investors in recent weeks. Founding director Phil Bray said: "We know many investors will be anxious right now. Even those who have a long-term relationship with their financial adviser or planner might be concerned."

Coping with anxiety

Meanwhile Jennifer Wallis offered some tips on how to cope with anxiety during the pandemic, drawing upon her own experience with the mental health illness. She wrote about struggling with anxiety for as long as she could remember, which came to a head only a few years ago when she started her freelance journey. Wallis suggested sufferers meditate to help relax and write down any worries.

Grant money

On Wednesday (18 March), PA reported advisers in receipt of small business rate relief will receive a £10,000 grant from the government, regardless of whether their inflows are affected by the pandemic. 

Chancellor Rishi Sunak stressed the government's action was designed to be kept simple, hence the decision not to target particular sectors hit especially hard by the pandemic, nor individual's revenue decline, nor a more "tranched" system. 

Paraplanners pulling together

Earlier today, PA wrote about several paraplanners who were ramping up their efforts to support one another through the coronavirus crisis through an online support group. Outsourced paraplanning group The Paraplanners managing director Richard Allum established a group for outsourced or freelance paraplanners who may be worried about their business.

Set up through the community and online forum, The Paraplanners Powwow, the group is supporting those running outsourced and freelance paraplanning businesses during Covid-19.

Meanwhile Informed Financial Planning will be hosting a webinar tomorrow (20 March) to help put investors' minds at ease. The webinar will start at 12:30pm and is free for anyone to use who wishes to understand a little bit more about the effect Covid-19 might have on their investments. 

Elsewhere, Money Saving Expert's Martin Lewis has put £1m into a fund to provide grants of £5,000-£20,000 to small UK charities who are providing immediate coronavirus poverty relief.

Lewis said the UK faces an "unprecedented challenge to our health, economy, businesses, personal finance and way of life", adding: "And many of those who normally help society - our charities - are going to face similar pressure right now too." Lewis hoped the money would be distributed within the next couple of weeks.

Rowing the Atlantic

In completely non-coronavirus-related news, self-invested personal pension provider Curtis Banks will be sponsoring sports lawyer Victoria Evans in her pursuit of a world-record solo row across the Atlantic. Evans, who will start her venture in the first quarter of next year, is rowing in the Sea Change Sport challenge to draw attention to gender inequality within sport.

She will attempt to row the ocean faster than the current world record of 49 days, seven hours and 15 minutes, starting from Gran Canaria and ending in Barbados.

Curtis Banks CEO Will Self said: "We are really excited to be partnering with Victoria, and her initiative will be a way of motivating and exciting our staff to be more active and show them what is possible."

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