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Track your spending to improve your finances

If you want to get your finances under control, the first step is to be aware of how much money you're spending. MoneyTrack is a great app that can help with this, by letting you track all of your expenses in one place.

Once you know where your money is going, you can start to make changes to save. One easy way to do this is to cut back on unnecessary expenses, like that latte daily or those new shoes you don't need.

Create a realistic monthly budget

Creating a budget that works with your lifestyle and spending habits is essential to effective personal finance management. You'll need to track your income and expenses regularly to ensure you're sticking to your budget, and make adjustments as needed. Here are a few tips to get started:

Build up your savings—even if it takes time

Making regular contributions to a savings account is one of the smartest things you can do for your financial security. It may not provide an immediate payoff, but if you ever lose your job or experience another financial hardship, you'll be glad you have that money saved up. And if you don't need it, you can always use it to get ahead financially.

Pay your bills on time every month

There are a few other things you can do to make sure your bills get paid on time. Automatic payments can be set up through your bank, so your payments are automatically deducted from your account each month. You can also sign up for email or text reminders to ensure you don't forget to pay your bills.

Cut back on recurring charges

One of the best ways to get your personal finances in order is to cut back on recurring charges. This could include things like cable TV, Netflix, Spotify, or even gym memberships.

If you're not using a service anymore, or if you can get by without it, cancel it. You'll be surprised at how much money you can save by getting rid of things you don't need.

Another way to get your finances in order is to make a budget and stick to it. Figure out how much money you need to live each month, and then make sure you don't spend more than that.

Save up cash to afford big purchases

Certain kinds of loans and debt can be helpful when making major purchases, such as a house or even a car that you need right now. For instance, getting a home equity loan can let you borrow against the equity in your home, which can be a great way to get cash for a down payment on a new house.

Similarly, if you get a car loan, you may be able to get a lower interest rate than if you were to finance the car with a credit card.

Start an investment strategy

Investing may seem like a complex and intimidating process, but it doesn't have to be. If you're just starting out, it's important to keep things simple and begin with a basic investment strategy. You can always add more complexity as you become more comfortable with investing.

There are many different types of investment accounts, but the most common are individual retirement accounts (IRAs)s. An IRA is a personal savings account that allows you to invest in a variety of different stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.

Bottom line

If you're looking to get a quick loan to help manage your personal finances, check out our website. We offer a variety of loans to suit your needs, and we're here to help you get the money you need. Apply today and get started on improving your financial situation.

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This type of fraud can lead to financial problems for your child later in life, so it's important to be on the lookout for signs that your child's credit may have been compromised. If they do fall victim to fraud, their name and information can be used to take out the best personal loan or credit cards. 

If you notice unusual activity on your child's credit report, such as inquiries from companies you don't recognise or accounts that you didn't open, fraud may have occurred. You should also monitor your child's mail for bills or collection notices from creditors. If you suspect that your child's credit has been fraudulently used, you should contact the credit reporting agencies and place a fraud alert on your child's file. By taking these steps, you can help protect your child's credit and financial future.

It's important to keep an eye on your child's credit report to make sure that there is no fraud taking place. Here are a few things to look for:

1. Unusual activity. If you see something on your child's credit report that you don't recognise, it could be fraud. This can include new accounts that have been opened, charges made to existing accounts, or even inquiries from creditors.

2. Incorrect information. If any of the information on your child's credit report is incorrect, it could be a sign that someone has fraudulently obtained their personal information. This can include things like a wrong address or date of birth.

3. Poor credit history. If your child doesn't have a long credit history, you might not expect to see much on their credit report. However, if you see that they have a lot of late payments or other negative marks, it could be a sign that someone has been using their information without their knowledge.

Here are the top 10 ways to protect your child’s credit from fraud:

1. Keep your child's Social Security number and other personal information safe.

2. Check your child's credit report regularly.

3. Put fraud alerts and security freezes on your child's credit file.

4. Sign up for a credit monitoring service.

5. Teach your child about good credit habits.

6. Report any suspicious activity immediately.

7. File a police report if you suspect fraud.

8. Protect your own credit to avoid identity theft.

9. Keep tabs on your child's spending habits.

10. Talk to your child about money and credit regularly.

If you suspect that your child's credit is the victim of fraud, you should contact the credit reporting agency and the creditor immediately to dispute the inaccuracies and begin the process of restoring your child's good name.

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In an attempt to be helpful, many traders point newbies towards forums, such as r/cryptocurrency on Reddit, hoping that they will find answers there. But this can actually make the process even more complicated - there is so much conflicting advice that it can feel impossible to know which advice to trust, and which to ignore. More than anything, it is impossible to know which users are telling the truth, and which users are making up fake wins in order to try and build a following. 

NAGA founder Benjamin Bilski talks about exactly this in his recent interview with Hackernoon, Any Financial Advice You Can Get Online Should be Taken with Caution.

What are the key pitfalls for beginners trying to get involved in crypto?

The key pitfalls for beginner crypto investors are very similar to the pitfalls involved in investing in virtually anything. And one of the main problems with investing is that we often let our emotions control us. There’s even a term for it: emotional investing

One challenge for beginners that applies to any asset class might be not understanding how to control emotions, namely fear and greed, and when it might be wise to take profit/cut losses,” says Bilski. 

For new investors, this can be easier said than done - especially for those who only have a limited amount of money to invest in, and who first got into crypto because they’d read about the huge gains made by other investors. Realising that investing can be difficult and often involves lots of trial and error can be a difficult pill to swallow.

Another big pitfall - as we touched on earlier - is that new investors will often believe anything they hear because they want it to work. The problem with this is that anyone can use platforms like TikTok and YouTube and say they made millions by investing in a certain coin - but there’s no proof, and there’s no accountability. It can be difficult to tell whether influencers are being incentivised by companies to push a particular coin, and by the time large influencers are exposed, it is often already too late. In fact, this has become such a problem that TikTok has cracked down on crypto, share trading, and finance influencer promotions after it was revealed that scammers were using influencers to dupe investors. 

What if you could get investment advice from experts with a proven track record, and even copy their trades?

Crypto moves extremely fast, and there’s a steep learning curve. Ultimately, this means that unfortunately, it is not a very beginner-friendly industry. This is exactly the problem that Bilski is trying to solve - and the reason he built NAGA, the social trading platform that has racked up a global community of over a million users. 

NAGA is a super app for investing, crypto, and payments. It was founded back in 2015 and has since developed a lot of unique technology that is designed to bring more people into crypto trading while rewarding professional traders. 

The key feature of NAGA that has made it so popular is its auto-copy feature - a tool that allows new traders to essentially spy on other professional traders, and to copy from experts. The app is powered by the NAGA Coin, which allows skilled traders to monetise their trading strategies and get payments deposited instantly into their wallets as more copiers follow them. 

NAGA’s protocol can be compared to the industry trading version of Facebook. This means that users can essentially leverage the platform for all of their trading needs, instead of having to continuously hop between different platforms. Creating a single account allows traders to get involved with the vast, growing community, hold stocks, participate in events and educational seminars, win prizes, and pay for anything using their NAGA card. 

By far, the main benefit for new crypto traders is that the NAGA platform is completely transparent. Instead of guessing who to follow based on who is the loudest on forums, or who has paid the most to advertise themselves, users have access to a fully transparent leaderboard that shows the platform’s top traders, along with the amount of profit they have made, the number of auto-copiers they have, and their win ratio. 

How do experienced traders benefit from this?

The benefit for new traders is clear - they get to copy the trades of experienced traders and then carry on their lives as usual. But at this point, you might be wondering: ‘what’s in it for investors? Why should they share their trading strategies with me?’ 

Experienced traders, on the other hand, get to benefit from the NAGA Popular Investor Programme. In exchange for sharing their trading strategies with other users on the platform, traders can get paid up to $100,000 per month from the Popular Investors’ fund. 

In addition, copiers will pay €1 for each copied trade. Approximately 35% of this will be shared with the trader that they are copying from. This will incentivise traders who usually monetise their audience through email lists, Facebook, or YouTube to bring their audience over to NAGA and get paid directly instead.

Social trading platforms like NAGA are helping to reduce the risks associated with investing

Unlike an anonymous platform such as Reddit, an investing super app where everything is combined into a single platform increases accountability between users. Given that the entire premise of NAGA is based around transparency, we can be hopeful that it is a step in the right direction when it comes to reducing the number of crypto scams, which increased significantly throughout 2021. 

I think increasing the general understanding of cryptocurrencies among the public could be the way to minimise risks - in other words, not let risky scams get attention and let good projects prosper and bring value to people around the world,” Bilski told Hackernoon. 

The world of business has changed dramatically over the past couple of decades. Businesses now have access to a huge range of tools and products that are designed to improve efficiency, ensure the smooth running of the business, and make life easier. This is all thanks to the variety of inventors who have come up with great invention ideas for businesses.

If you have come up with a business invention idea, you just never know how big an impact it might have on businesses in years to come. Many people come up with some great ideas designed for businesses, but all too many decide not to pursue their ideas. This is often because they have no idea what they need to do once their come up with the idea.

Of course, this is bad news for the person that comes up with the idea, as it means they do not get to pursue their invention dream. However, it is also bad news for businesses, as they may end up missing out on an invention that could have proven invaluable.

The good news is that if you do have a business invention idea, you don’t have to give up on it because there is help at hand. Business professionals have the expertise and experience to help make your dream into a reality and to help you achieve success with your business invention idea.

What Sort of Help You Can Get

When it comes to the type of help you can get from these professionals, the assistance can be varied and invaluable. Some of they ways in which they can help you with your business invention idea include:

Ensuring You Have Protection in Place

If you have a new business invention idea, it is vital that you protect it so that someone doesn’t come along and claim it as theirs. You also need to protect against someone else coming up with exactly the same idea and achieving success with it. In order to do this, you need to ensure you have patent protection in place. This is a type of legal protection that provides security and peace of mind.

If you have a new business invention idea, it is vital that you protect it so that someone doesn’t come along and claim it as theirs.

While you may not know what steps you need to take to get legal protection in place, you can speak to business experts who will know. They can use their expertise and experience to ensure you have proper protection in place, and they will assist you with this so you can get it sorted out as quickly as possible.

Making Sure You Have the Right Prototype

Having a prototype of your creation is important for many reasons, but most people who are new to inventing don’t know where to start. There are various options you can consider when it comes to finding a suitable prototype for your needs, and the experts can help you to choose the one that is best suited to your needs.

With the right prototype, you can show other people what your invention does, how it works, and how it will benefit businesses. This can help you to gain the support of the business community, get interest from potential investors, and get the interest of the media to help you with publicity and spread the word.

Providing You With Access to Resources and Tools

As a new inventor, it is always helpful to ensure you access relevant tools and resources. This can help you to learn more about the world of inventing, and it can benefit you both now and in the future. However, many new inventors find it difficult to determine which tools and resources to turn to and how beneficial they are. If you are not careful, you could end up being exposed to information that is inaccurate or out of date, which can then have an impact on the steps you take with your invention.

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When you turn to professionals, you can gain access to valuable tools and resources that provide you with information and assistance. The ability to access these tools and resources with speed and ease means you will also save yourself a lot of time and stress. So, you can benefit from more time to focus on your invention.

Offering a High Level of Support and Guidance

As mentioned earlier, one of the reasons many people give up on their business invention idea is because they have no idea where to go for support and guidance. It can be a scary experience entering the world of inventions for the first time. If you have nobody experienced to turn to, it is often tempting to just forget all about it and get on with your normal life.

With around the clock access to support and guidance from experienced professionals, you can look forward to pursuing your business invention dream. You will always have help and advice at hand, so you never have to feel stuck or feel alone. This can make a huge difference to how much you enjoy your invention journey and how likely to are to achieve success.

Making Your Invention Journey More Pleasurable

Getting help from the experts can help to boost your chances of success when it comes to your business invention idea. However, it can also help to make the whole journey far more pleasurable and far less stressful. This is why it is well worth finding out more about how these professionals can help you.

By utilising high-quality and targeted data, you can be able to connect with more of the right individuals, getting more leads and reducing costs during the process. On the contrary, utilising the wrong data can result in dire consequences for your entire organisation other than your marketing campaign failing to gain traction.

As such, picking the right B2B data provider is imperative. You need to be sure that the partner you will be working with has the credentials and ability to provide the results you are after. Whether you want phone numbers, postal addresses, email addresses or a combination of all, you will only have peace of mind if you trust that your data provider really cares about your company.

That being said, here are important things to look at when picking a business data provider in the UK.

Verifiable Sources of Data

Can the provider tell you just how they garnered the data that they're selling? Also, have their sources been thoroughly inspected? If the answer is no, that should be a red flag. If you have proof that the business data is from a credible source, you'll want to check how often it's updated. Business data is constantly evolving and decays pretty fast. As such, the data needs to be cleaned and refreshed on a regular basis or you won't get the results you're after.

Proper Accreditations

Your business data provider needs to be registered with the Data Protection Act and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Ideally, it is worth looking for a data provider that's registered with the Direct Marketing Association. This is a network of over 1000 firms that provides the best practice guidelines and legal updates. Each member is expected to collect data in an ethical manner.

While undertaking this process, it is a good idea to review the business data provider's own site in a more general manner. Do they have contact information like postal address and phone number? An unscrupulous provider may hide being their site, selling you data and then going missing thereafter.

Thorough and Targeted Data Records

What you deem as targeted and thorough will certainly depend on your specific needs. Regardless, it's best to have detailed information than the opposite. For instance, are you just given employees names, or are you told more about their roles? Also, can that data be paired up? For example, a postal address linked to an email address?

The best business data providers in UK will work closely with your to source data that best match your marketing and business goals. They will conduct penetration analysis or profiling which involves analysing your clients and looking for what they have in common as well as what drives them. This information is then used to get similar prospects from their database and thus help boost your sales.

Guarantees in Deliverability

It is also important that your business to business data provider can verify that your marketing message will reach the individuals you are targeting most of the time. Of course, a 100% deliverability guarantee is impossible as there are numerous variables that can impact the outcome. However, your business data provider should be able to show that your emails and direct mails will reach the intended prospects and that your phone calls will be answered by the right individuals majority of the time.

Business data is imperative in reaching prospects and boosting sales in this day and age. You want to ensure you are on the right side if you're going to use a business data provider. Use the tips above to ascertain such.

For a newbie, the wealth management industry is a lot to take in; but that should not stop you from dabbling in investments and asset management. All you need is a wealth management firm that you can count on to put together a sound financial plan for you!

Take note of these important factors when looking for a wealth management firm:

Expertise and Experience

It’s no secret that the world of investment and financial management is a complicated one. That said, you’ll need a firm with the expertise to handle complexities and deliver the sophistication that unique situations require.

Don't fall too quickly for advisors who claim they've handled plenty of clients like yourself. Keep in mind that people's financial circumstances are rarely alike, and this is probably just a tactic to lure you in. Instead, why don’t you ask the financial advisors about specific clients with financial situations quite similar to yours? How were they able to help them grow and manage their money?

A good and reliable wealth management firm should have advisors who can make you understand their insights and ideas even if you're new to the whole thing.

Continuit

Here, consistency is key. In 10 or 20 years, you'll want to retire and enjoy the fruit of your hard work and investments. However, you definitely do not want your wealth management firm to do the same!

One important thing to consider when selecting asset and investment management firms is longevity. But the number of years in business alone won't suffice -- it is crucial to go for those with a dependable succession plan in place. Think of it as an assurance that they can continue taking care of your wealth management needs well into the foreseeable future.

Access to Resources

For your investment to grow, choose a firm that has access to a wide variety of products, services, and financial management options. While it’s true that most firms offer flexibility in terms of investment opportunities, some may have limited access to certain investment vehicles due to the size of the assets that they manage.

Thus, large scale investment firms may be more capable of leveraging their assets to address certain issues, negotiate fees, and formulate more sophisticated solutions to your investment needs.

Performance and Reputation

In the end, it all boils down to one thing – results. This is, perhaps, the most crucial box you'll have to tick. Before making your final decision, find out as much as you can and assess if the firm you’re about to choose has consistently delivered commendable results over time.

Spare some time and energy for research and get to know the firm a little beyond the surface level. You can ask your friends and colleagues for opinion or consult the internet for reviews and recommendations. Remember: your money and the future of your finances are at stake here.

Lastly, look for wealth managers you can work closely and comfortably with – someone you won’t hesitate to approach for inquiries or when you want things to be handled differently.

More often than not, people choose a wealth management firm on the basis of price. But you know what? Cheaper isn’t always better. What you need to look for is value.

However, it can also refer to how many cycles of change and innovation a business has been through. For example, technology businesses will have to evolve and innovate at a faster pace than a toy manufacturing company, and thereby do more to succeed.

That said, businesses are still regularly failing, so anything the survivors can do to boost their efficiency is of interest to them. A big part of this is ensuring longevity throughout the company, ensuring processes run smoothly while protecting jobs for the long term.

Consequently, here’re the common habits of successful businesses aiming to ensure longevity.

1. Planning Ahead

A company can’t last long if it doesn’t plan ahead. Everything needs to be mapped out constantly; from staff intake numbers required through the years to market changes and trends. Put simply, longevity can only be possible for businesses that are more than willing to adapt. It’s crucial to survival; as the markets change, the businesses evolve with it all.

Additionally, financial affairs need to always be set in order too. Budgeting and auditing are two essential processes that a company needs to upkeep and maintain; without them, they cannot act within their means. It’s all about firm’s grounding themselves in a realistic vision, thereby not wasting resources on dreams and unachievable goals. Once they have some realistic goals in place, they can then workably move from strength to strength, and thereby ensure business longevity.

2. Implementing Technology

Few things are more important to a business than its data. Whether it’s employee information, customer statistics or performance data, it’s all incredibly sensitive material that’s vital to a business’s functionality. If any of it is misplaced or stolen, a firm can find itself crippled to varying degrees of severity depending on what’s lost.

However, businesses these days are implementing technology for all their data protection needs. They’ll use things like cloud services to ensure that all their information is easily accessible and safely stored. All the vital data can be viewed from one digital place that’s secure, boosting the efficiency, and of course longevity, of the firm.

3. Third-Party Advice

Few successful businesses achieved their goals alone. Especially during the early years, much wisdom and guidance would always be needed in order to safely navigate through the markets, whatever they may be. There’re many pitfalls and traps on a company’s journey, and its ultimately third-party advice that helps steer said companies in the right direction.

For example, consultancy companies like Hymans Robertson are always on hand to help, certifying businesses get all the mileage they can out of their operations. They’re a key aspect of ensuring a firm’s sustainability, using their innovative analytical and modelling tools to determine longevity risks within the business. In the end, the businesses that last longest are the ones who aren’t afraid to ask for help and subsequently learn.

There is a common misunderstanding about how tax brackets work in the US, and it’s causing us to have uninformed debates about taxes. In this video, Vox explains this misconception, where we’re going wrong, and how it actually works.

An anticipated rise in UK and European corporate insolvencies over the next two years should be prompting both borrowers and lenders to take early advice where they have concerns about businesses' solvency outlook, says Ogier offshore restructuring specialist Simon Felton.

Simon, a partner in Ogier's Banking & Finance team, was involved in several post-financial crisis restructurings, including the receivables trustee of a £13.5bn portfolio of UK RMBS as well as portfolios of loans in the Irish banking industry and regulatory capital in the Austrian banking sector.

Recent reports have forecast that British insolvencies are set to rise by 8% in 2018 – the second highest rise worldwide, after China – and that the increasing likelihood of rate rises and the end of quantitative easing by the European Central Bank in 2019 threaten a similar increase in Europe.

Already this year, UK firms including Carillion, Toys R Us and Maplin have been declared insolvent.

Simon said that the tightening interest rate and liquidity climate should be prompting both borrowers and lenders to take advice and consider what action may be necessary now, rather than delay when options may be reduced.

He said: "Whether you're a borrower or a lender, you should be analysing each company's solvency position, particularly where those entities are reliant on group support to meet their obligations, and if you think that there are issues, taking advice early as to what your obligations or rights are, and what course of action you should take.

"Early analysis, advice and action is crucial. For directors of debtors, the nature of their obligations changes as the solvency position of the company deteriorates, as does the ability of lenders to protect themselves.

"The regulatory picture may have changed significantly over the last ten years, particularly for financial institutions, but the combination of quantitative easing by the ECB and low interest rates coming to an end may pose a test for some businesses."

(Source: Ogier)

2018 is the year you make more money. It’s one of your New Year’s resolutions – but you’ve got no idea where to start. You’ve done the research, read as much as you can, and are suffering from a serious case of paralysis by analysis. With so many options to choose from, it’s understandable that doing nothing at all seems like the easiest option. It’s also the worst. Below Jitan Solanki, Senior Trader at Learn to Trade, sheds light on your options for the year ahead.

So, where exactly should you invest your money this year? Read on to find out more about the pros and cons of different investments and make 2018 the year your money works harder.

ISAs

The beauty of cash ISAs is that you do not pay tax on the interest you earn. However, today, basic rate taxpayers can earn £1,000 in savings interest a year, and higher taxpayers can earn £500 – so ISAs are no longer quite as attractive.

Indeed, a standard ISA only offers one – two% interest per year. Even a stocks and shares ISA that can offer 13-14% per year typically incurs a 6p to every £1 charge. This eats away at margins and, when you factor in inflation – at its highest level for half a decade – not only is money not growing, it’s actually decreasing in value.

Cryptocurrency

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have seen the hype surrounding cryptocurrency, the decentralised virtual form of money that can be used to make purchases or be exchanged for other traditional and digital currencies. VeChain (VEN) is one of the hottest new cryptocurrencies around, having struck major deals with Renault, PwC and Fanghuwang, one of the fastest growing online lending platforms in China. Another that you may have heard of, Ripple, is also one to watch as it announced partnerships with American Express and Santander. When considering an investment in cryptocurrencies, the focus now has to be on identifying which coins offer the best technology and are most likely to be used by everyday people in the future – that will be where the value is.

Now that the hype around bitcoin has somewhat subsided, there are good opportunities for those with longer-term ambitions. However, cryptocurrencies are a highly speculative investment without government regulation so investors are warned to tread carefully. It remains to be seen how the crypto craze will play out, but whatever happens, ensure you research thoroughly before making any investments.

Stocks and Bonds

If you’re happy to tie up your money for a number of years, some of your investment options include: bonds, investing money into managed funds, and directly trading stocks, shares and commodities. A fixed rate bond with NS&I might be worth considering, if you’re willing to put away savings for three years, as it guarantees a 2.2% a year growth bond with no risk but is unfortunately taxable. Premium bonds, while not guaranteed, do offer savers the chance to win tax-free prizes between £25 and £1m.

In terms of stock, investment returns and risks for both types – common and preferred – vary depending on factors such as the economy, political scene and the company’s performance. In the short-term, this form of investment is volatile and choosing stocks requires substantial research. There are also a lot of hidden fees and a lack of transparency involved when buying and selling stocks. This said, we’d call out the Hang Seng 50 index as one market that remains a strong core focus for us. This has been on a radar for over a year now when new Shanghai Stock Exchange to Hong Kong Stock Exchange link launched. We continue to see outflows from mainland China into Hong Kong and continue to trade the trend.

Forex Trading

As it stands, by far the most lucrative choice – and one that manages the risk – is forex trading (the trading of currencies), turning over $5.3 trillion annually. Return on investment is typically four% per month on average, which equates to roughly a 60% increase on starting balance after one year.

The British Pound, which has benefitted greatly from open talks between UK and European ministers surrounding Brexit, and the Japanese Yen – weak due to changes in the Bank of Japan’s personnel and upcoming elections – are, currently, a highly effective pairing.

Though it’s hard to argue with the returns above, there is always risk involved. However, while trading does demand a disciplined mindset, as long as you stick to some simple rules you can largely mitigate risk and start to see consistent returns.

The best thing you can do this year is spend some time getting familiar with each of your investment options, understand the pros and cons of forex trading, ISAs, stocks and bonds, and new kid on the block, cryptocurrency, and make 2018 the year you see a return on your investment.

Robo-advisers are a great example of how automation is spreading like wildfire. But how safe and reliable are robo-advisers? Below Simon Bottle, COO of non-advised white label, FinchTech, talks to Finance Monthly about when and when not to trust a robo-adviser, giving some great context for investors.

The rise of robo-advisers should come as no surprise – the FSA created an environment for them to flourish post Retail Distribution Review (RDR) – but is robo-advice the right route to take? While these platforms are not brand new (with the introduction of bank robo and niche robo we’re in fact already in the ‘Robo 2.0’ phase) there are still concerns regarding their reliability and robustness. Investors need to assess the pros and cons carefully.

Reasons not to trust a robo-adviser

A potentially major issue with robo-advisers is their lack of uniformity. There is no standardised design or programming rulebook, which means that three different platforms might categorise the same investor with varying suitability levels: one platform’s cautious could be another’s adventurous. This could cause serious problems. If someone risk-averse is incorrectly categorised as an aggressive investor, they could lose a lot more than they can afford.

It all boils down to algorithmic definitions of risk. The FCA is paying attention, but regulation is still evolving.

Also, technology is impressive, but it is by no means fool-proof – take Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) as an example. Just two decades ago, this high-profile fund, built by economics Nobel prize winning founders and reliant on systematic and algorithmic analysis, failed amid much hype.

Financial algorithms have become more sophisticated over time but many are yet to demonstrate how well they can weather extreme and unexpected market events.

When you can trust a robo-adviser

The RDR left a gap in the financial advice market that robo-advice platforms could potentially fill. Consumers with smaller amounts, unable to afford IFA fees, now have a way to access advice and if the company that owns the robo defaults, the FSCS covers the first £50,000.

The most important question a retail investor needs to ask however, is not whether they can trust the robo, but whether they can trust themselves. If users are tempted by higher rates of return associated with a more adventurous portfolio selection, then they may be shocked when the market dips and their investment plummets with it. It’s imperative users don’t engineer responses. Their lack of experience means that often they don’t understand that the greater the risk, the more volatile the portfolio.

A ‘non-advised’ digital portfolio service that is managed by battle hardened humans, rather than a machine, presents potential investors with an alternative approach which goes some way to mitigate derailment by black swan events – however, risks are still involved. How far an investor chooses to stick their neck out is their prerogative.

Or, wait…

Robo-advisers are advancing rapidly. A June 2017 report by FAMR states, “…there are approximately 100 ‘robo-models’ either already launched or in development across a broad spectrum of services”. As this new wave of robo-advisers gains ground, we’ll see niche platforms enter the market, that may be better suited to a retail investor’s demographic, beliefs and interests, or investment amount.

High street banks want their share of the pie too – ahead of plans to launch its very own robo-advice platform, NatWest unveiled a service earlier this year that allows its customers to access investment funds online through the bank. HSBC followed suit and now offers online investment advice for its customers with small savings pots.

However, the question remains, how do you get consumers to trust algorithms with their life savings? Even bigger ‘trusted’ players like UBS are struggling to find investors who are price sensitive enough to entrust investments to a cheaper robo (Juerg Zeltner, the head of UBS’s wealth management division exclaiming recently: “This is a big learning ... the real question is how do you scale it to more?”).

The answer to this trust question has been marketing – advertise heavily and spend millions on promotion. This is fine for well-funded start-ups like Moneyfarm (who recently posted an operational loss of £6.4milliom, £2million of which went on marketing) as long as the capital investment tap isn’t turned off, but as more players, both big and small, enter the market, investment could flow away from established robo-advisers, towards new entrants instead.

Either way, increased competition will push margins down and likely make it cheaper for investors. Potentially a watershed moment worth waiting for if you’re looking for the best possible wealth management deal.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published new proposals on advice relating to pension transfers where consumers have safeguarded benefits, primarily for transfers from Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution pension schemes.

The FCA proposals aim to reflect the current environment and the increased demand for pension transfer advice. Since the introduction of the pension freedoms in April 2015, consumers have more options available to access their pension savings. This has combined with more recent changes to the financial environment leading to historically high levels of transfer values.

The new rules outline the FCA’s expectations of advisers and pension transfer specialists to ensure that consumers receive advice which considers all relevant factors. They build on an FCA alert on advising on pension transfers published in January.

The proposed changes include requiring transfer advice to be provided as a personal recommendation, and replacing the current transfer value analysis with a comparison to show the value of the benefits being given up. Taken together as a package, the proposals will ensure that advice fully takes account of an individual’s circumstances so that consumers make the right decision for them.

Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA said: “Defined Benefit pensions, and other safeguarded benefits such as guarantees, are valuable so most consumers will be best advised to keep them. However, we recognise that the environment has changed significantly, so we want to ensure that financial advice considers the customer’s circumstances in full and recognises the various options now available to them.

“Our new approach should better equip advisers to give the right advice so that consumers make well informed decisions.”

The proposals include:

(Source: FCA)

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