Amanda Newman Smith

1 week ago | moneymarketing.co.uk | Amanda Newman Smith

Picture this scenario. You’re an adviser and, suddenly every time you see a particular client, she asks for more money from her investments. This client can easily afford her increased expenditure but her spending has almost doubled in the past couple of years. As far as you are aware, her circumstances have not changed. There are no new hobbies or interests that can account for the increased spending.

3 weeks ago | moneymarketing.co.uk | Amanda Newman Smith

Imagine if people had access only to careers with which they had a personal connection. It sounds absurd but the way in which young people come across careers in financial advice is perhaps not so different. Unless a parent or someone else they know is an adviser, financial advice rarely features on a young person’s radar as a potential career. You don’t see teachers talking about financial advice as a career.

1 month ago | moneymarketing.co.uk | Amanda Newman Smith

Having awareness of clients in vulnerable circumstances and giving them the support they need are part and parcel of being an adviser, due to regulatory requirements. The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent review found that, although there were many positives — such as firms offering flexible and tailored support to clients in vulnerable circumstances — improvements still needed to be made.

1 month ago | moneymarketing.co.uk | Amanda Newman Smith

One of the talking points within the financial advice profession is the ‘great wealth transfer’, whereby a huge amount of wealth is starting to pass from older to younger generations. It means advisers increasingly have to cater for clients of different generations, whose expectations may vary greatly. This is perhaps why different strands of the financial services industry are moving — or needing a slight nudge — in seemingly opposite directions.

1 month ago | moneymarketing.co.uk | Amanda Newman Smith

Most of us would describe people who earn an annual six-figure sum as ‘wealthy’, given that the average salary in the UK is just under £35,000 a year. But HSBC’s recent report, ‘Your Money’s Worth: Defining Wealth in 2025’, shows that just one in 10 people earning £100,000 or more would see themselves as wealthy.