Opinion

I've just emailed my presentations to the organisers of PIMS International which takes place later this week. And in a couple of weeks' time, just after the Institute of Financial Planning's Conference in the Midlands, I'm off to the Asia-Pacific Financial...

Karen Wagg's blog yesterday highlighted a book by Aaron Brown, executive director at Morgan Stanley, which claims finance and poker are very similar and investment professionals can learn a lot from good poker players.

Added together, the total legislative change affecting financial planning brought in under the current government forms a remarkable conglomeration. The challenge to advisers to keep up with rapid changes is certainly significant.

So now the government wants to talk to the mortgage industry about green mortgages - that should be an interesting conversation.

A long time ago I was a student studying economics at Leeds University. I learned about such useful subjects as "Perfect Competition" and the "Paradox of Thrift".

I've just finished reading a book called "the poker face of wall street". Writer Aaron Brown, an executive director at Morgan Stanley and a well known Wall Street quant man, believes that modern finance and the modern game of poker have a great deal of...

What a time we've had recently. The edeus launch party on Wednesday 13th was an enormous bash. Some people might say that hiring out the Odeon at Leicester Square was extravagant, but I think the splash we made was entirely justified! Although I admit...

There have been a lot of questions raised in the industry of late about the voices contributing to industry reform consultations, and where the intermediary voice fits into that.

I have now spent seven and a half years at the Institute of Financial Planning and 2006 gives me the most confidence yet that genuine progress is being made to improve the standards of financial advice being provided to the consumer.

A noteworthy aspect of recent pensions reforms has been the willingness of senior civil servants to engage actively with stakeholders. The image of faceless bureaucrats is no longer appropriate and, in person, the top people in Whitehall are generally...