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2 weeks ago | 
ftadviser.com | Chris Budd
There are a lot of claims being made for AI. Many people are getting very excited about being able to things much quicker than they used to do. There is one aspect, however, which has been troubling me. Let me be clear — I am not against AI. It enabled the latest Beatles song to be produced, as it was used to separate John’s vocal from the piano on an old cassette. I have taken the dog out for a walk to think this issue through and dictated my thoughts into my phone — this in itself is a form of AI.
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1 month ago | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Tom Browne |Darius McQuaid |Chris Budd
Warren Buffett will step down as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025, ending more than 60 years at the helm of the US conglomerate. The 94-year-old investor will remain chairman of the board, maintaining an active role in the company. Buffett has named Greg Abel, 62, vice-chair and head of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, as his successor. The board has approved Abel’s appointment, with the transition set for year-end.
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Mar 18, 2025 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Tom Browne |Chris Budd |Michelle Hoskin
Bowmore Wealth Group has appointed former M&G chief investment officer Jack Daniels as its new chairman. Daniels, who was a member of M&G plc’s Executive Committee, brings extensive industry experience to the role, having spent 18 years in various positions at Prudential plc before M&G’s demerger from the group. Joining him at Bowmore is Roger Ganpatsingh, who has been appointed as a non-executive director.
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Mar 14, 2025 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Dan Cooper |Chris Budd
Last weekend marked the 115th anniversary of International Women’s Day (IWD) – a day on which the achievements of women across the globe are highlighted and recognised. The world has come a long way over the past century and a bit, and much has changed for the better. However, there’s still a hell of a long way to go. International Women’s Day is an important milestone, but change will only happen if we carry that momentum into the rest of the year and beyond.
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Mar 7, 2025 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Chris Budd |Dan Cooper |Kimberley Dondo
What is financial planning for? One answer is to help clients to achieve their objectives. But what objectives? If you create a financial plan which aims to enable a client to buy a bigger house that they don’t need, and which requires the client to work longer hours and not see their children during the week, is this a ‘good’ financial plan? Financial wellbeing means helping clients to identify objectives which will make them happier, not just wealthier.
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Mar 4, 2025 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Tom Browne |Matthew Connell |Chris Budd
Any anniversary is about looking back (not always in anger). So, if I may be permitted some personal reminiscences, the period from 1995 to 1997 was a pretty special time for me. As I’ve written before, that post-Cold War/pre-9.11 world feels, in retrospect, like a time of hope and change – particularly if you came of age during that period. I turned 17 in 1995 and voted in my first election in 1997 (I won’t say who for, but it wasn’t out of step with the national mood).
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Feb 27, 2025 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Andy Curran |Kimberley Dondo |Matthew Connell |Chris Budd
There is no doubt that we are more aware of pensions and long-term savings than we were a decade or so ago. Unfortunately, I am not sure that we are making them easier to understand. Successive governments have increased participation in pension savings with auto-enrolment (AE). They have demanded greater decision-making with Pensions Freedoms. The press has continued to shine a light on pensions, and social media has created its own commentators and pensions-related content.
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Feb 24, 2025 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Chris Budd |Dan Cooper |Darius McQuaid
I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks in New Zealand at the end of last year, visiting relatives and travelling around that beautiful country. Although New Zealand is culturally similar to the UK, it is also very different in ways that are not always obvious; for example, in people’s attitude to money. On our first day in Christchurch, we spent some time at the beach. As we drove away, I noticed that the visit had left a crust of salt on my arms.
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Dec 2, 2024 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Dan Cooper |Chris Budd
Brooks Macdonald has snapped up Norwich-based firm Lucas Fettes Financial Planning. Lucas Fettes has £890m assets under advice, spread across 1,600 personal clients, plus £300m assets under influence from 300 corporate and employee benefits clients. The business has seen significant growth in AUA in the last five years. Lucas Fettes will be integrated into Brooks Macdonald’s Direct Wealth business and will enhance the Group’s financial-planning capability.
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Nov 27, 2024 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Tom Redmayne |Momodou Musa Touray |Nick Eatock |Chris Budd
Space X’s Starship is the most powerful launch system ever created. As the name suggests, it is something worthy of a sci-fi film. Starship is the largest ever flying object, weighing 5,000 tonnes. It towers above the Texan landscape at 121 metres high (25 metres higher than Big Ben’s tower), with 33 massive engines. Space X has built a launch tower which not only launches Starship but also catches the 71-metre rocket as it plummets back to Earth from space.
