Pretty much all of our conversations these days open with a quick chat about the current situation with Covid. While it’s all a bit bleak at the moment with the latest surge in cases, hospital admissions and most unfortunately deaths, there is light at the end of the tunnel in the shape of the rollout of the vaccine starting to gather pace. This of course is the gamechanger for 2021.

We are fortunate to work with quite a number of clients who have reached or are well on the road to financial independence. This is a great place to be, where any money worries fade into the background and your desired future lifestyle is achievable, except of course where the assumptions underpinning the plan are ignored.

Ethical investing refers to the practice of using one's ethical principles as the primary filter for the selection of investment assets. Today it is seen as one element of the broader investing approach of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). With the increased attention given to climate change, achieving a just society and the desire for good health, particularly in the current Covid era, there has been a surge in interest in SRI. Investors want to understand the impact of their money, and they want it to enhance the world we live in as opposed to simply achieving monetary growth at any cost.

2020 has been a year of great uncertainty. Of course Covid-19 has dominated the landscape, bringing with it insecurity for some people around both their health and also their economic circumstances. As countries are moving in and out of various states of lockdown, for many people this is creating a lot of worry about their jobs. For some this is temporary and they can see a relatively swift return to normality. For others their prospects are more bleak, as they are forced to close their business or they see their employers reducing headcount or shutting down altogether.