He Shed,She shed.....

Hello!

Reading an article in 'Investment Week' Magazine, has prompted me to pen a blog... Well... that's not strictly true....Watching the Dow bust through 20,000 points at Lunchtime, seeing all markets in 'green' on my phone app combined with The Tube strike tonight and ongoing Southern Rail issues, made me want to type this blog. On the one hand, we have markets bucking trends at the moment, on the other, concerns over pay, pensions and who will close the train doors.

Why am I highlighting the markets in green (up) and Dow Jones going through the 20,000 point mark? why are we still having strikes? why is there an almost 'Project Fear' now that we are on the cusp on leaving the EU and Single Market?- Change would be my answer.

We don't like it. Moving house, changing banks, changing partners, changing jobs, setting up own business, changing our style, fashion etc there are so many reasons we create in our head to remain as we are, that to change seems almost insurmountable. We tend to start embracing that change, but then doubt creeps in...we may even ask a close friend or relative for their view and the chances are, they'll fear change just as much as you do, and also promote the status quo, meaning more people think you shouldn't change.

If a big corporate (like TFL or Southern Rail) set out to make huge swathes of changes to working practices, it will bring out fear-it is a natural reaction of change-especially when it is perceived to affect pay or benefits. In My straw poll of a few ex-big company employee's, the majority took the changes to areas and working practices and the early mornings, late nights and occasional weekend work (the 'benefits' of a laptop and Blackberry apparently, was to give you a 'work/life balance' or in other words, do more work, from home) for that Final Salary pension and told their partners to bear with it as well. So when that said corporate ditched its Final Salary scheme for one with less generous benefits, those ex-employee's got it in the ear big time from their partner, who suffered aforementioned late nights and weekends, for a pension that now, is not so generous., those ex-staff felt outraged, betrayed and downright upset-especially given the earbashing they got from home and some protested...with hindsight, those employee's were also annoyed with themselves for accepting the workload, but fear of job loss and a journey into the unknown took a hold.  But fear, is only one way things can be looked at. To paraphrase  Richard Jeffrey, the chief economist at Cazenove Capital "...naturally we fear the impact of disrupting the status quo and tend to assume that due to this disturbance, we will suffer a negative impact..."

All to often, we only see one side of a two sided event, after all we could adopt the title of Susan Jeffers book "feel the fear and do it anyway"?

With this, comes the obvious comparison to Donald J.Trump and our own 'Brexit'- Now I have no crystal ball as I have said many times in my blog, but I am prepared to see what happens ( I voted Remain), rather than guess or make assumptions and as Richard Jeffrey continues in the same article "....While we may not like the political and/or social implications of these events (Trump,Brexit) we need to be careful not to allow our concerns at one level, to have an overly prominent influence on our interpretation of the consequences of another. Many people have concerns about some of the more contentious statements that have been made by the new US president, but this does not mean his policies will necessarily harm the US or even World economy...." He goes on to say, that yes, we should be concerned about a change of political direction, as it could undermine free trade, however, we need to recognise that we are NOT in a world of free trade, so disturbing the 'Status Quo' could actually be a good thing.

In another example, I cite clients who up until meeting me, have accepted that bank and cash deposit accounts and a few individual stocks and shares-either held as free shares, or bought on a whim- was the way to invest funds as they were 'uncertain' of using a Financial Adviser. 6 years on, and yes, mixed results experienced along the way, uncertainty is now not an issue.

Ultimately, the changes that will take place (Brexit etc) will test our hard wired, normal thinking pattern and rather than listening to the "he said, she said" chatter, listen to your own mind, have self belief and take that first step......

The Sheds? Mine and Tina's!!!

Victor

Victor Sacks is the owner and director of VS Associates Ltd, an appointed representative of The Sense Network Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This blog is based on the article(s) mentioned and the authors own views and not to taken as financial advice.

For a free, initial consultation, or just to meet up and have a coffee, have a look at www.vsassociates.co.uk  contact victor by email: victor@vsassociates.co.uk or tel: 01480 384711 or Mobile:07866 504896 or follow on twitter (@SmartSacks), LinkedIn or Google+

Welcome to 2016..er sorry..2017!

Happy New Year!!!....we all said 10 days ago..yup 10 days have flown by already..Kids back at school, diets have started and ended, fitbits make for a nice bracelet addition...The grey sky punched with holes of blue....

January, statistics tell us, is not our favourite month. For some, its the longest month without income, as traditionally, some employers pay wages before Christmas, then revert to their normal pay period (last Friday in the month for example) in January. Solicitors tell us it's the busiest time for Divorces, though I can't see how the festive period alone can be responsible for this..or is it the in-laws?!! and we all feel pretty gloomy having had a good few days rest at home before beginning the commute to work, not helped by London Underground and Southern Rail train strikes.

Financially, as I've already mentioned, January is tough. Christmas presents, the food, wine etc all put  on the credit card, will be saying 'hello' again in the form of a credit card statement. Perhaps you bought a nice sofa, or large TV that too, will be saying hello..over and over again as it will take 4 years to pay it off and to cap it all, we will now see those holiday adverts, that remind us how hot it is somewhere else, especially when we're wrapped up and the heating is on full blast!

January therefore, is also a good time to take stock of expenses, from checking your utility bill costs on comparison websites, to looking at the food and brands you buy and where you buy it from? Is it cheaper to 'Batch cook' rather than buying ready made meals? Can you make your own bread for less than it costs to buy a loaf? my dear old mum used to say "take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves" and Tesco's tell us "every little helps." With regards to car insurance, don't just renew with the same provider, ask if they can do it cheaper, or better still, google a new quote, then you can go back to your existing provider with evidence. If they can't match or beat it, then you know what to do.

Life assurance policies can also be re-priced, but before doing so, just check you're not losing valuable benefits by changing. Comparison sites may look good, but its worthwhile seeking advice (not only will you be dealing with a professional, but also someone who is responsible for the advice given) and you know someone who can help you with this?!!!

You might also have a pension, or an Investment that hasn't been looked at in a while-what does 2017 have in store?

Well if I knew the answer, I would be writing this blog from a hot and sunny beach somewhere as that's where I'd be living! what I can say, is pretty much the same as I said in January 2016-its going to be bumpy.

President elect Trump takes office soon, and as I blog, I'm reading about the infiltration of Russian Spies on Donald Trump and they say, they have 'information' which he waves away as fake, which may unsettle the USA, however, its financial markets are doing well and so far, 'the glass is half full' as far as US markets are concerned.....

Here in the UK, we have stood firm since the Brexit Vote. We still don't know what life after Article 50 will look like, but I think we all accept there will be 'ups and downs.' This has been highlighted by the latest industrial output data, which states the UK turned a 1.1% deficit in October, into a 2.1% positive in November (ONS Jan '17) Exports were up £27bn (record increase), however, our imports rose to £39bn (all time high)

Against that set of figures, we can see that costs of imported goods will start to rise.

Elsewhere in Europe, elections loom and in France in particular, there has been a swingshift from Marine le Pen, who if elected, would have encouraged France to leave Europe and indeed, congratulated the UK on it's vote, has now said she believes France is better off in Europe and my own view, is that Europe will play out it's elections (Italy, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands), how David Cameron wanted the UK to play its own-a big enough vote to leave to cause the EU some discomfort, but the majority to vote to Remain.

Further afield, Emerging Markets/ Far East will replicate the USA, in so far as, if the US does well, then so does the far east, however, interest rate rises in the US will hurt the far east and it remains to be seen as to whether Trump decides to trade more with Russia and less with China and the far east and the effect that may or may not have on that part of the world.

Once again, I leave you with familiar words "Fasten your seatbelts, know where the exits are and enjoy your flight"

Victor is an Independent Financial Adviser and Company Director of VS Associates Ltd, an Appointed Representative of The Sense Network Ltd, who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

This blog represents the authors own views and is not be considered as Financial Advice.

If Victor has piqued your interest on this, or any financial matter, feel free to contact him via the website: www.vsassociates.co.uk or email: victor@vsassociates.co.uk or do it old school by calling 01480 384711 or 07866 504896

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