As the UK lockdown continues, albeit, in a diluted form, we continue to deliver business as usual here at Globe IFA.
That means that we’re available via telephone, email, or video call and can answer any questions you might have, just as we would do if our offices were open.
For now, we continue doing our best to remain positive in difficult times, and that means providing you with more tales from our lives under lockdown.
Coronavirus means time to reflect
This month, John Pickles, Director and IFA here at Globe, writes:
“It’s funny how sometimes in life an event that seems a complete disaster can turn out later to have been an opportunity.
“In 1976 I was involved in a road traffic accident that broke both my arms and a leg and I spent 30 days in the hospital. 30 days! I was self-employed at the time. Day-to-day, my thinking brain was occupied with my recovery and deciding what book to read next.
“But my subconscious mind, churning in the background, was working on greater things.
“An indirect benefit of that accident was that when I left the hospital, I made a life-changing turn in direction – a change that resulted in a very significant improvement in my life.
“Now, stuck in another unexpected lockdown, my subconscious mind has burst into life again.
“I’ve missed all the face-to-face meetings with clients but discovered that Zoom video meetings are almost as good.
“I have set up my private office and have everything I need to operate just as effectively as I can from Globe’s main office – more effectively even, I believe.
“Whilst I’ll continue to have most of my client meetings in Globe’s boardroom, I intend to work mainly from my private office in the future. This will enable me to be more focused on work for clients, and more effective for them. That will be an improvement that Covid-19 – indirectly – has brought with it.
“Life is strange, isn’t it!”
Remote working and homeschooling: Spinning plates in lockdown
Mandy Palmer Wilson, Mortgage Advisor, writes:
“I am a mum to two small girls, Edith, aged 1, and Florence, 5. My husband, Leon, works as a physiotherapist in the NHS.
“As a family, and like the rest of the country, we have had to make huge adjustments to life under lockdown.
“Our days are filled to the brim: playing, homeschooling, cooking, eating, daily exercise. Fun in the sun, splashing in muddy puddles, hard-times, fun-times, Zoom calls, FaceTime. We’re all missing family and friends.
“Working late into the evenings, it’s easy to become sidetracked, thoughts wandering to the environment, the huge numbers of people suffering, all combined with hope for the future once lockdown is lifted and beyond.
“What will the new ‘normal’ be?”
A paperless home office inspires thoughts on ethical investing
Tom Fawcett, Director and Independent Financial Advisor writes:
“Last month I was a little bit of a joker with my comments. This month, the lockdown has provided a new inspiration, and I have found a more serious objective.
“Time in lockdown has allowed me the time to think about better ways to achieve my goals, in turn, helping me to help my clients. I turn to the subject of the environment.
“Our profession has more paperwork and documents than most others, so the question I’ve been asking myself is: How do I go paperless?
“I know my clients hate the barrage of mail and paperwork arriving through their letterboxes, as I do. I set myself three quests.
“Quest 1 – to fully acquaint myself with my iPad Pro.
“Using an iPad Pro, I can write notes with an electronic pen and save them directly into client files. No more Post-its or piles of notepads and scrap paper. My office is now fully cloud-based so I can see everything from any of my devices.
“Quest 2 – use my iPad to help my clients complete their paperwork.
“My second quest has been to use my iPad to help clients complete their paperwork, using an app called Notability to write directly onto my iPad screen, and emailing documents so that a client only has to sign.
“More and more clients now can sign on a screen and email paperwork back, for me to forward to investment providers. Payments to investments can, of course, also be paid online.
“Result: No paper! Plus, a redundant printer and a fortune saved on one of the most expensive commodities on earth: cartridge ink!
“Quest 3 – Ensuring clients can see their investments online.
“My third quest has been to become actively involved in ensuring that clients can view their investments online, removing any reliance on the post. It’s often possible to go ‘paperless’, receiving statements online.
“Environmental awareness is more important than ever as we’ve seen from the reports of cleaner air across the globe (pardon the pun!).
“Doing our bit to save the earth’s precious resources is more important than ever.
“This has led to new discussions with clients about their views on ESG (investing based on environmental, social, and governance factors). One client recently invested a very large sum with ESG at the heart of their portfolio, to be managed in a way that aligns with their ESG beliefs.
“Lockdown has made me realise that we can all do our bit if we want to. It’s not that difficult to make a difference. It’s already made a difference in my life and I hope in the lives of others too.”
War of the Words
Andrew Connolly, Chartered Financial Planner, writes:
“Lockdown has inevitably led to moments of boredom, but they have in turn led to moments of creativity, during which, I created a Facebook Group called ’The Best Word Ever’.
“At £1 per nomination, we have raised nearly £500 for the ultimate winner to direct towards the charity of their choice. We have several rounds of voting, counting down our words in groups from 64, 32, to the last 16 and semi-finals, with the final to be held at 3 pm on bank holiday Monday.
“See the event here.”
And finally, a chicken update
Office Manager, Jane Hilsum, providing a much-anticipated update, writes:
“Chicken update…. my neighbour left 12 eggs on my doorstep. Free-range and all different colours!”
