On 19th of September a half-day event in Chester covered several interesting topics.

The event was well attended with over 40 members from both the CISI and the CII attending as part of the new Chartered Body Alliance.

The Chartered Body Alliance combines the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, the Chartered Insurance Institute and the Chartered Banker Institute.

By working together the alliance will continue to raise professionalism and trust across financial services by promoting high standards of knowledge, skill, integrity and ethical behaviour.

The event was opened by Harry Walker from Dimensional introducing the six principles of effective and persuasive communication.

Phil Robotham from Schroders discussed value investing  and how certain innate behavioural traits will influence both clients and their financial advisers decision-making.

Stephen English from Blankstone Sington presented on the key benefits of investing via an AIM Portfolio, and its uses in mitigating Inheritance Tax.

And finally, Duane Hasnip from GAM Star provided an overview of junior/hybrid debt, including why companies may choose to issue this type of debt and its characteristics.

Our first event was a great success and it gives us a real platform to build upon, particularly as we look to increase our presence in Chester and North Wales.

Nick Gibson and Jackie Lockie gave hugely interesting talks under this theme, on Conduct Risk, the CFP (TM) licensee Practice Standards in the light of recent Ombudsman cases, and raised a number of sparkling ideas about how to manage the interface between asset manager and planner for less compliance overhead. 

Nick Gibson's slides;
Jackie Lockie's slides

The result in the Mr. H case where she complained that the mortgage broker she was using to raise money should have advised her on alternatives to her investment strategy is here.

CISI School Registration Event: 14th September 2016

The Education Committee held an open evening in Rathbone Hall for Year 12 students in the Liverpool Area to find out more information about the CISI Introduction to Investment programme. 

Rob Shutt, our Education Secretary opened the event outlining our vision for the programme,followed by Anne Chisholm (Regional Education Development Liaison Executive) who discussed careers in Investment Management and the qualification in more detail.      

Paul Loughlin and Joel Carter, both from Rathbones, brought the qualification to life, with Paul talking about the industry’s passion for supporting young people and Joel talking about his experience as an apprentice.

We were delighted to welcome back Haris Ellahi, who completed the CISI: Introduction to Investments qualification in June this year, and goes on to start a Level 4 (foundation degree equivalent) Investment Analyst Apprenticeship at Mercers in October. We wish Haris all the best in the future.

Afterwards, there was a Q&A and networking session where parents and students could talk first hand to a range of people in the industry, with most of the North West investment firms represented.  We are pleased to report that student numbers have been strong and we have managed to recruit some very intelligent and driven young people into the programme.

1st September: Football

Our annual football tournament at Powerleague saw 10 teams battle it out for the highly coveted shield.  This year we introduced a charitable element to the event and the tournament helped to raise funds for Street League who use sports as a medium to engage with young people and support them in developing key skills so they can find employment.

Investec won the trophy for a record 3^rd time with captain Jon Walker finally getting his hands on the shield after creating the tournament 9 years ago.  

A fantastic £640 was raised through ticket sales.




8th September: Netball

Our third annual charity Netball event in aid of SMART (Steven McEvoy Always Remembered and Treasured) which benefits the Walton Neurological Centre was held at IM Marsh.  Eight teams competed for the coveted trophy and the bragging rights go to Blankstone Sington who were crowned the tournament champions.

Person of the Match went to Will Skrebels of Rathbones .

Former British ambassador to the United States Sir Christopher Meyer was guest speaker at the CISI Scotland annual dinner, held on 7 September 2017 at the Principal Edinburgh Hotel, Edinburgh

Read the full article in the online Review.

Years back when I did my many industry exams, some of the text books covers referred to ‘Personal Financial Planning’ and then the individual specialist topic, such as pensions, investment, protection and the like. I think that the key word that was overlooked in much of the text was the 'Personal' starting point, as the books tended to delve into the minutiae of product type and the 'tech spec' of all that might be required to pass the exam. 

The clear aim in these examples was to help our understanding of products to allow us to advise clients on what they should buy. And there's the rub! Selling a product and giving good financial advice may not naturally be the best of bed fellows. People do not usually want to be sold to, they want advice and help based on personal trust.

There was for many years a propensity for the financial profession to sell products, to the extent that some of the public thought that’s all we did. Sure, products are involved, even if it is reviewing existing plans to ensure they continue to meet clients’ needs, but the positive evolution of financial services has been dramatic over the last decade and many clients are reaping the benefits of change. 

The use of technologies for the delivery of information and access to fund values, even online financial advice, has seen many of the public being more engaged in most aspects of their money planning and long may this continue and grow. The understanding and good communication of attitude to and tolerance of investment risk has grown and the client relationship outcomes are far better than they were even five years ago. Great news for all as the delivery of informed financial outcomes advances apace. 

There are many other varied aspects to financial planning, such as business planning, and many financial planners have studied these at length. However, where directors and business managers are making decisions, these are still usually based on personal preferences, risk appetite, ethics of the business and their experience...all personal to them. 

Because we are all individuals with individual and unique requirements, no individual advice is provided during the course of this blog, but see your financial services professional soon to see what can be added to your arrangements, both now and into the future. 

Keith Churchouse CFP Chartered FSCI

Vice-President CISI Southern Committee

During the week of 10-14 July, Liverpool firms opened their doors to the future stars of Liverpool’s financial services sector, for the third annual work-experience and Investment Management insight week.

Firms welcomed the 16-18-year-old students from schools across the city for a three day work placement followed by a two day conference at the prestigious Rathbone Hall in the Port of Liverpool Building. Over 40 students spent two interactive days giving the students the opportunity to develop their practical skill set through interactive sessions such as; Presentation Skills, Speed Networking, Employability Skills & Ethics and Integrity. 

The aim of the week-long programme is to provide an insight into working in financial services and to encourage the next generation of finance professionals.

One of the first icebreaker challenges was ‘Who can build the biggest tower?’ using bamboo canes and elastic bands. Lots of the students hadn’t met before and this challenge was sure to get the students talking. The winner’s tower was over 9ft tall!

‘Top Trader’ run by BNY Mellon was a favourite amongst the students. It is a monopoly style stock exchange game which sees the students running around the room, buying and selling their funds.

One student said commented that "Top Trader was Top Notch".

The week will conclude with in the ‘Liver Bird’s Den’ - based on TV’s Dragons’ Den, students will have the opportunity to pitch their investment ideas to a panel of experts!

Thank you to all the practitioners and students who took part in the Insight Conference. We look forward to hosting it again next year!

CII: Inter-Institute Cup

On 5^th July, the Investec team won the CII organised ‘Inter-Institute Cup’!

As winners of the 2016 CISI football tournament, we sent Darren O'Reilly and his team over to Chester to represent the Institute (sort of like international duty) and they returned victorious.

Darren said it was good practice for the Investec team and an opportunity to shake off the dust ahead of the major CISI tournament in September.

CPD Event: Brexit 12 months on

A year on from the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, and we are still looking for greater clarity around what Brexit will look like. Professor Michael Dougan reviewed the events of the last 12 months and looked ahead to the challenges facing the UK economy. This is the second time Professor Dougan has spoken at a CPD event for the CISI, and is fast becoming a firm favourite.

New committee branch members and leavers

This month we sadly say goodbye to Victoria Walker, who has been a dedicated committee member since 2012. Her contribution has been nothing short of immense. Having taken on the role of Social Secretary, Victoria has organised many amazing social events and special annual dinners. She will be sorely missed and we wish Tory the very best in all her future endeavours.

The committee welcomes Caroline Eagles; Vice-President Compliance from Pershing and look forward to working with her in the future.

As we move into the deep summer, it is not uncommon for there to be a period of calm as many turn to thoughts of holidays and well deserved relaxation. Parliament goes into recess and it’s a great time to catch up, review and plan for the future. Indeed, planning for the future is exactly what the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wants us to consider in the raft of papers issued at the end of June. Wow - they have been busy!

I am sure that many of the stand-out papers, such as the Consultation on implementing asset management market study remedies and changes to Handbook paper, was well anticipated by DFMs, IFAs and the like, and was downloaded avidly on the morning of its release, so much so that the site became unavailable for a short time. The link to this paper can be found here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/consultation/cp17-18.pdf

But what of the other consultation papers and calls for input in June, such as Advising on Pension Transfers: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/consultation-papers/cp17-16-advising-pension-transfers and the Financial Advice Market Review Baseline Report: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/famr-baseline-report.pdf

All worthwhile and topical reads, if you have the time (I can think if other things to read by the pool on holiday!), these papers make for good CPD and will focus your plans on the potential future direction of our professions. But the key word here is potential, because many of these publications are consultations seeking guidance and comment from all of us.

Having responded to two FCA papers thus far, I can confirm that, as many of us have great passion for the work we achieve, having the knowledge and conviction to answer the questions posed is not difficult. And you only have to respond to the questions / points that you want to answer. You can email your answers back, or pop them in a letter...so, please do!

Your valuable voice, views, experience and opinions are being requested. And if you have a central office that you think should be responding, check that they do. Shape the future, because it is your future!

Keith Churchouse
CFP Chartered FCSI
Chapters Financial Limited

Magician Zamaan Ismail kept an audience of over 60 captivated at the event, held on 15 June 2017 at Hotel La Tour, Birmingham

View the photos from the ceremony here.

Original singing act The Three Waiters kept guests entertained at the event, held on 11 May 2017 at Devonshire Place, Leicester.

View the photos from the ceremony here.

Guests at the CISI Liverpool, Chester & North Wales branch annual dinner contributed around £3,305 (excluding gift aid) to KIND Children's charity, thanks to two forms of fundraising: an auction and a raffle.

View the photos.

It's great to report that April 2017 was a busy month as ever. Indeed, April turned out to be something of a vintage 'end of tax year/ beginning of tax year' month, despite the way Easter (and the school holidays) fell. 

But April and May of this year both have much 'noise' within them to distract and this can naturally (and from my past experience) make clients and companies defer decisions for their financial planning that they may otherwise sanction. Apart from Trump’s interesting first 100 days in the White House, we have a UK snap General Election to endure and, of course, the French General Election that will focus many minds, both on the continent and further afield. All fascinating in their own right for some, but consuming for others.

Delays in new UK legislation are an issue, but in this case, much that has been deferred is likely to reappear post-election if the current incumbents remain in power, although this is not guaranteed.

This brings into focus the long term nature of the services that all investment managers and financial planners normally offer their clients. Although individual moves, switches and trades might be transactional, our individual and corporate views are invariably for a long term, agreed strategy that evolves over time and is aimed at meeting client needs, such as income production, capital growth or both. I always argue that ‘customers’ generally buy only once, but ‘clients’ are for the long term. 

So, is the noise of the recent and coming weeks important in making investment decisions? Yes. But is it enough to stop a long term investment strategy? I think not.

Keith Churchouse FPFS

Chapters Financial Limited

CISI Ireland held its second awards ceremony on 23 March 2017, in recognition of the high achievements of its members

View the photos from the ceremony here.

CISI Networking Event – Women's Initiative Network with BNY Mellon

13^th March 2017

CISI Liverpool, Chester and North Wales co-hosted a Women’s Initiative Networking (WIN) event with BNY Mellon in the iconic Liver building. The aim of WIN is to support and promote professional development of women in business and finance. Guests had the opportunity to network with other professionals from across the city, raise money for Brook Health and Wellbeing Charity, and even had the chance to update their professional head shots.

Food and mocktails were provided by The Brink Liverpool. The Brink is a recovery social enterprise, meaning all their profits go directly back into the community to fund support for those who have suffered through alcoholism and addiction.

The event was a great success and we look forward to the possibility of co-hosting a similar event in the future.

CISI Education – CISI Educational Trust awards

The CISI Educational Trust Awards annually celebrate achievement amongst students studying CISI accredited courses around the UK, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Students were nominated by their university based on excellence in an item of work or examination.  

CISI awarded 13 students its 2017 Educational Trust Award with a combined winning of £17,500. Each student receive a financial award to support ambitions for a financial services career. Postgraduate winners receive £1,000 each and undergraduates £500 each.

In addition to their nomination, each winner was invited to submit an essay of 400 words for the opportunity to attend an interview with the Educational Trust and chance to achieve a further financial award based on interview performance, general knowledge test, and knowledge of the CISI. The essay title for 2017 was: "From the customer’s perspective what are the advantages and disadvantages between using a Robo-advisor and a human-advisor?"

Following an intensive interview process, we are delighted to congratulate Adedeji Ajadi of University of Exeter, and Nihit Joshi of Queen Mary University London, the top performing postgraduates who received an additional £2,000 and Daniel Morgans of Aston University, top performing undergraduate, who received an additional award of £1,500. Alexander Johnston of Coventry University received £1,000 in recognition of his high interview standard.

From our own region we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Olivia Stanton of Liverpool John Moores University on winning one of the 13 awards. A wonderful achievement.

CISI CPD Event - Quantitative Equity Management - Cycle Risk Management

2^nd March 2017

On the 2^nd of March we saw a full house at Investec Liverpool for our CPD event centred around cycle risk management.  Abe Ejikeme , Quantitative Equity Analyst from Carmignac Risk Management, provided a detailed account of how he identifies macro market trends, short and long term cycles and identify the types of stocks, that should out-perform if we understand these cycles. We would like to thank Abe and his team for coming to visit us and hope to see them again in the near future.

CISI Event – Reminder – Liverpool Chester and North Wales Branch Annual Dinner 2017  

Thursday 4^th May 2017

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up to our 2016 Annual Branch dinner. We look forward to celebrating all the hard work of the last 12 months with food, drinks and guest speaker at the Titanic Hotel Liverpool. Our charity partner this year is the wonderful KIND.

KIND is a children’s charity that believes in the importance of investing in the futures of children and works with deprived children in the region to inspire, empower and support them to create a better, more positive future. More details can be found on their website: http://kind.org.uk

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE. 

Sri Lankan students’ potential careers have been given a boost by the new partnership.

View the photos

Guest speaker Professor Neil Gibson, director at the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre, generated plenty of discussion with an irreverent take on economics and politics.

View the photos

The CISI annual London dinner was extra special this year as we celebrated 25 years since the formation of the Institute.

View the photos

Significant contributions to two charities and a merry audience made the perfect recipe for a successful evening.

View the photos

The Rt. Hon Lord (John) Prescott entertained around 110 guests at the CISI event, held at the Hilton Hotel Bournemouth on Friday 18 November 2016, with the back stories behind his ‘Two Jags’ and the infamous ‘Punch’.

The event raised a total of £1,792.50 for Julia’s House children’s hospice. Julia’s House depends mostly on fundraising and donations to keep its services running, as only 5% of the funding comes in from the government.

Photos from the dinner are available here.