Financial Matters

With Akwasi Duodu | akwasi@sterlingandlaw.com | www.sterlingandlaw.com

Five Ways A Financial Adviser Could Help Make You Wealthier

According to a recent report by the International Longevity Centre, financial advice can leave savers around £50,000 richer over 10 years. There is also new evidence that financial advice offers especially good value for the less well off. In case you are wondering how this works, here are five main areas where a financial adviser could add value:

1) Planning & Achieving Financial Goals

When Alice asks the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland “Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?” the Cat replies, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” It is the same for all of us – the first stage in achieving your long-term financial goals is to have clarity of what they are. This is where a good financial advice comes in, helping you determine where you are now, where you’d like to be and putting together a simple plan to help you get there.

2) Spotting & Eliminating Bad Habits

Humans have evolved to survive over many thousands of years. Unfortunately, we have also learned many bad habits and biases along the way, many of which we are not even aware of. We buy high and sell low, we value the near term more than the long-term, we hold onto investments that have fallen and believe information that reinforces our own views. Part of your adviser’s role is to act as someone looking in from the outside; a coach – helping you avoid these mistakes. Research shows that investors may be losing up to 2% of monetary growth per year by falling into common traps. Your adviser should help you avoid these – especially through tough times like divorce, death, redundancy and hard economic times.

3) Using Risk To Your Advantage

There is a malicious risk that few investors are aware of called sequence of return risk. It can have a massive impact on how long your pension fund lasts – in the worst case it could reduce your income by nine years or more. Your adviser should be able to help you plan and take simple but effective steps to mitigate that risk – and give you a “longer lasting retirement income”. Risk is a complex subject with many dimensions – a financial adviser will help you navigate and understand risk to ensure the solutions recommended meet your needs.

4) Paying Less Tax

Paying tax on your lifelong investments and savings can cancel out decent returns. Your adviser would ensure that you use all available tax reliefs helping you keep more of your heard-earned returns. Poor planning could see up to 40% of your savings and profits paid to the tax man. Your adviser should give you confidence that your savings and investments remain as tax efficient as possible.

5) Creating An Investor Mentality

Financial advisers spot opportunities. They are generally the first to know about new products, new tax freedoms and better strategies. They are your eyes and ears in the ever-changing tax, legal and product markets. In addition, ever tighter regulation ensures that your adviser acts in your best interests. Financial advisers are regulated by the FCA, have to have a statement of professional standing and have to maintain minimum standards through continuous professional development and keeping up to date with all financial matters. This ensures that you get the best possible advice. They can ensure that you diversify your portfolio and reduce cost and potential tax, placing yourself in the best possible environment to maximise returns. Many savers worry about whether they could afford a financial adviser. The question should be whether you could afford not to have one in your corner.

Link Age raises over £31,000 in their Christmas Challenge

Local charity Link Age Southwark took part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge in a bid to reach their target of £24,000, to help them combat loneliness experienced by older people. Instead, they raised an incredible £31,025, beating their target altogether! The Big Give Christmas Challenge is the

UK’s biggest online match funding campaign, taking place for just one week. This year, it ran from midday on Tuesday 1st December to midday on Tuesday 8th December, and a record-breaking £20million was raised for the 764 charities taking part. Link Age Southwark was delighted to be one of the charities involved, securing generous match funding from individual sponsors and their Big Give

Champion, The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust. The charity was blown away by the tremendous support they received, especially when they reached their target with two days of the campaign to go. Link Age Southwark provides friendly volunteer support to people aged over 60 and people living with dementia in Southwark. Their work aims to reduce loneliness and improve quality of life for those they support, by providing befriending, group activities, transport, and light

DIY and gardening services. The funds raised will enable Link Age

Southwark to diversify the way they offer their social and activity groups, to include face-toface, online platforms and conference calling. Ultimately, this will help them to reach those who About Link Age Southwark are housebound and ensure nobody is excluded, Following a competitive application process, Link something that is more crucial than ever before. Age Southwark has been selected to take part You can support Link Age Southwark by in the Christmas Challenge 2020. We want to joining their upcoming trivia event, ‘From Angels combat loneliness and isolation experienced by to Lost Rivers’, where host Stephen will be talking older people and those living with dementia in about weird and wonderful facts – all to do with Southwark, by diversifying the way we offer our our South East London neighbourhood! The activity groups to include face-to-face, online online fundraising event takes place at 7.30pm platforms and conference calling. This will help us on Thursday 21st January. Keep an eye on their to reach those who are housebound and ensure website for further details: nobody is excluded. https://www.linkagesouthwark.org/Pages/Events/ While the groups we provide have changed in the way they are run physically, this has not changed the impact they have on our service users. A weekly stretch, singalong and chance to socialise helps to ensure that the older people of Southwark and those living with dementia can age healthily and happily, meet new people and remain part of the local community.

Environment Matters

Emma Reade writes about her journey to veganism

Ibecame a vegetarian in 2018 after reading an article about how reducing our meat consumption would be necessary to avoid a climate breakdown. It was difficult: as a working mum, I relied on easy recipes and on convenience foods. I found that these often contained meat and I was more reliant on animalbased products than I was aware. I found some quick vegetarian recipes and cooked in batches over the weekend. Thankfully, more takeaway shops were offering vegetarian options, so I could turn to these for a quick lunch at the office. The idea of going vegan was on my mind, but I worried about limiting my options, as I still relied heavily on animal products like cheese, butter and eggs. I was also worried about nutritional deficiencies, as I didn’t know how to find appropriate sources of iron, protein, calcium on social media. For the ingredients, most were and B vitamins from non-animal products. available in any supermarket, but I am lucky that Shortly after my son was born in August this my two closest food shops have a good selection year, I watched “David Attenborough: A Life on our of vegan products to choose from, including vegan

Planet”. This made me think about the world that cheese, vegan sausages, tofu and plant-based my children will grow up in and I decided to be milks and yogurts. For days when I didn’t feel like more serious about changing my lifestyle. I also cooking, local restaurants did take away. researched dairy farms and realised that ethically, Two months in and I feel ready to continue they are as bad, if not worse, than meat farms. I my vegan journey. Although meal planning is decided to give veganism a go. sometimes more challenging, and although I do I looked for information on healthy and miss certain animal-based products (especially nutritional vegan diets - this was easy, as there cheese!), I have enjoyed experimenting, and my is lots of free and reliable information available family has been impressed by how tasty vegan online. My main sources were the NHS and the cuisine is. It’s far from the bland and boring

Vegan Society’s websites, the latter has helpful experience that some imagine, especially with new tools for meal planning. First Steps Nutrition also has a fabulous guide on vegan eating for infants and under 5s. I found inspiration for recipes in cookbooks and products on the market and inspiring social media sources. I may not be making a difference on my own, but it is clear that more of us are following the trend. This month, the Guardian reported that the value of global plant-based foods is soaring, fuelled by a change in consumer behaviour. Food industry giants such as Tesco and Unilever are investing massively in favour of plant-based products. I hope that this is a taste of things to come. If you are interested in trying a vegan diet, Climate Action Lewisham will be hosting a 7-Day Vegan Challenge in January, to follow cooking tutorials, share recipes, tips and local suggestions, and to make the experience feel less lonely and daunting.

climateactionlewisham.org/veganuary

Emma Reade is a resident of Crofton Park and member of Climate Action Lewisham

Useful Contacts The University Hospital Lewisham

Tel 020 8333 3000

Lewisham Borough Council

Tel 020 8314 6000 (24 hrs) www.lewisham.gov.uk

Lewisham Early Years Service

Tel 0800 085 0606

Forest Hill Safer Neighbourhood Team

Tel: 020 8721 2723 Email: ForestHill.SNT@met.police.uk

Community Groups Forest Hill Society

www.foresthillsociety.com

Friends of One Tree Hill

http://friendsofonetreehill.wordpress.com www.facebook.com/friendsofOTH / @Friends_of_OTH

Tewkesbury Lodge Estate Residents’ Association

www.tewkesburylodge.org.uk

Sydenham Garden

Tel 020 829 11650 www.sydenhamgarden.org.uk

Our Lady and St Philip Neri Friends Association

www.olspnfriendsassociation.com

Independent community websites

www.se23.com www.se23.life

Local MPs Ellie Reeves (Lab, Lewisham West)

Tel 020 7219 2668 ellie.reeves.mp@parliament.uk

Janet Daby (Lab, Lewisham East)

Tel 020 8461 4733 Janet.daby.mp@parliament.uk

Vicky Foxcroft - (Lab, Lewisham, Deptford)

Tel 020 8469 4638 vicky.foxcroft.mp@parliament.uk

Local Councillors Forest Hill Ward

Peter Bernards (Labour) Tel 020 8314 9927 cllr_peter.bernards@lewisham.gov.uk Sophie Davis (Labour) Tel 020 8314 3493 Cllr_Sophie.Davis@lewisham.gov.uk Leo Gibbons (Labour) Tel 020 8314 6916 Cllr_Leo.Gibbons@lewisham.gov.uk

Surgeries

All councillors: 2nd & 4th Saturday of the month, 11am-12.30pm. Forest Hill Library, Dartmouth Road, SE23. 11am–12.30pm.

Perry Vale Ward

John Paschoud (Labour) Tel 020 8314 3437 John.Paschoud@Lewisham.gov.uk Susan Wise (Labour) Tel 020 3489 2790 cllr_susan.wise@lewisham.gov.uk Sakina Sheikh (Labour) 020 8314 7963 Cllr_Sakina.Sheikh@lewisham.gov.uk

Surgeries

Open advice surgery (no appointment needed) 2nd Saturday of the month (except August), 10:30am to 12noon, at Moon Lane Books, 300 Stanstead Road, SE23 1DE. Other times available by appointment, please phone or email one of us.

Crofton Park Ward

Chris Barnham (Labour) Tel 020 8314 9896 cllr_chris.barnham@lewisham.gov.uk Tauseef Anwar (Labour) 020 8314 9930 Cllr_Tauseef.Anwar@lewisham.gov.uk Pauline Morrison (Labour) Tel 020 8244 5315 cllr_pauline.morrison@lewisham.gov.uk

Surgeries

2nd Saturday of every month, 11-12 am, Hattush Restaurant, Honor Oak Park, SE23 1DY. 3rd Saturday of the month, 10am - 11am Crofton Park Library, 375 Brockley Road, Brockley SE4. 4th Tuesday of the month, 3pm-4pm Crofton Park Library, 375 Brockley Rd, Brockley, SE4 2AG.