C A S T L E F I E L D
Castlefield
INSIGHTS December 2020 Issue 1
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE GOOD WITH YOUR MONEY? What does it mean to be good with your money?’ – something that we’ve been exploring in all its interpretations since we took part in ‘Good Money Week’ in October. With a mission like ours of ‘Gathering assets to do good’ it’s certainly a question that sits right at the core of what we do here at Castlefield. More than ever, we realise that, although nothing is more valuable than one’s health, the power and influence of the world’s money markets on every one of us is inescapable. 2020 has seen dramatic global events like no other year in our collective social memory, and we’ve witnessed the toll on our economies in ways we could not have imagined. But the future’s looking a lot brighter - the manager of our CFP Castlefield BEST Sustainable European fund, Rory Hammerson, explores this in our November Market Update (p.5): What can
COVID-19 SURVEY
we expect from a post Covid-19 vaccine and post Trump 2021? With money an increasingly rare resource to many, those of us who are able are reminded to protect our money and make it not only do good, but also work efficiently for us. We've produced a handy breakdown of the most common tax bands for 2020-21 here, to help you understand how tax may affect you. Looking beyond what our money can do for us, more and more people are asking how their money can do good for wider society. There are ways to invest that can benefit the world, with minimal ongoing input required by the investor. If we choose carefully, we can make our pensions and savings work just as hard as we do. So, if you choose to invest in this way what can you expect? Is there a decision to be made between investing your money to do good, in a sustainable way, and your money
WINNERS & SPINNERS REPORT
We provide thematic re regularly on our website, and we’ve selected one that considers climate change in a Covid-19 world. -p.3
gaining value and generating a return? – or can you achieve both? Our co-owner Anthony Kiantos examines the longstanding discussion around ethics and investment returns, and how they interact (p.4). The world of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) scrutiny is no longer solely the domain of leaders in the field, like Castlefield, as it becomes an increasing focus of the investment industry as a whole. Leadership and responsibility go hand in hand– in our Winners and Spinners report we shine a light on the ESG industry and mark out those of our peers who are upholding the ESG torch admirably, as well as those whose flame doesn’t burn quite as brightly as it might seem at first glance.
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MARKET UPDATE In these times of change, our November Market Update reaffirms our dedication to the companies who share our goal of a more sustainable future. -p.5
Our Winners and Spinners Report 2020 highlights evidence of ‘greenwashing’ in this year’s review of the thoughtful investment market -p.6
Castlefield Client Newsletter
December, 2020
(continued from previous page) What can we do to make our money work to protect our future and that of our children? We engage with the companies in which we invest to find out how they operate and assess how they meet our B.E.S.T. standards. Our latest Stewardship Report (p.3) tells you more about what our engagement team has been up to and you can read here what happened when we asked our investee companies how they’re operating in these difficult times. For Castlefield, being good with our clients' money isn’t just something for today – our vision looks far into the future. We counter our aging industry by growing fresh and vibrant new advisers and you can hear from two of
them, Sakshi Bhatia and Michael Owens, right here. You can also read here (p.5) about the good we’re doing to counter one of the other much maligned areas of our industry, by challenging ourselves to be a model company representing Women in Finance (p.5). But really, when all’s said and done, one of the most valuable resources that we’ll ever have available to us is time. If used wisely, our time can be more valuable than any monetary investment we might make. Our charity series has launched this month and we’re celebrating the time and dedication that our co-owners gift to charity (p.4). This month we hear about Amanda Blan and the time she invests in leading her local Girl Guides group,
A WORD FROM OUR MANAGING PARTNER ...
Although Castlefield itself was founded just after the turn of the millennium, with the subsequent integration of two leading ethical financial advice firms, we can now genuinely trace our roots and our very ‘DNA’ back to the early days of ethical investment in the UK. One of the motivations for founding Castlefield was to provide the very best environment for colleagues, as co-owners of the business of which they’re a vital part, to focus on the needs of clients whose aims went beyond the simplistic ideal of maximising their own financial return. Others told them that generating strong returns couldn’t be done when taken hand-in-hand with minimising harm to others or, perish the thought, perhaps even doing some ‘good’ along the way. We feel sure that you’ll agree that the debate has moved on somewhat over the past twenty years!
John Eckersley
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without doubt an investment for good into the future of the next generation. We hope that you enjoy reading our inaugural newsletter! We’ll be sending these to you seasonally, but in the meantime we’re always busy developing our website to keep our clients up to date with all things Castlefield, celebrating the good we strive to do for our clients and our industry.
By Sarah Taylor, Senior Executive
WOMEN COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR STATE PENSION PAY OUT We read the financial press regularly to keep abreast of developments in our industry that will be of use to our clients. One that caught our eye recently affects divorced women who reached State Pension age before 6th April 2016. Find out more here: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/blog/women-could-be-eligible-forstate-pension-pay-out/
Castlefield Client Newsletter
December, 2020
CASTLEFIELD IN THE PRESS COVID-19 SURVEY Back in March this year, at the start of the Covid Crisis and lockdown, we sent out a survey to the companies we invest in to see how they are dealing with the challenge: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/blog/thematic-report-covid-19-impact-survey/
ANNUAL STEWARDSHIP REPORT You can learn more about our engagement with companies in our annual Stewardship Report. We are delighted to share with you the work we put in on our clients’ behalf to ensure responsible share ownership is front and centre of what we do – pushing for better and better standards from the companies that we invest in to address the challenges facing the world. This report demonstrates the deep knowledge we acquire of our investee companies, which helps to protect clients’ money against investing in businesses with poor management or those that are likely to suffer reputational risk: https://www.castlefield.com/media/3031/castlefield-annual-stewardship-report-2019-2020.pdf
We were delighted to be asked to contribute to a recent Which? article on ethical investment. The article gives useful pointers for those new to responsible investing, with data demonstrating the ability for ethically-screened funds to outperform unconstrained indices: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ blog/castlefield-contributes-to-whicharticle-on-ethical-investment/
STOCK FOCUS – NOVEMBER We provide regular “stock stories” on our website, which shine a light on the companies that we invest in on behalf of our clients. In this month’s stock story we move to Denmark to look at a company whose mission is ‘making life easier for people with intimate healthcare needs’. Coloplast (www.coloplast.com) is a medical healthcare company and as well as the social benefits that derive from its product base, from an environmental, social and governance point of view we are also impressed with the way that Coloplast has dealt with the challenges it has faced in the past. Read it here: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ blog/european-stock-story-of-the-monthcoloplast/ 3
Castlefield Client Newsletter
December, 2020
IS THERE A COST TO SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT? We consider the evidence debunking the myth that investors need to accept a performance trade-off when investing in companies with strong sustainability practices. Read it here: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/blog/is-there-a-cost-to-sustainable-investment/
AWARDS
TAX
We are delighted to have been acknowledged in various ways for our expertise, over the last few months:
If you are interested in looking up tax information, our tax tables for the current tax year can be found here:
▪ Best Financial Advisors to work for
https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ blog/tax-tables-for-20202021-tax-year/
https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ awards/best-financial-advisers-to-workfor-award-2020/ ▪ PFS Investment Specialist
https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ awards/castlefield-shortlisted-forprestigious-financial-adviser-award/ ▪ Better Society
https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ awards/shortlisted-for-better-societyawards-2020/
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Capital gains tax (CGT) may change next tax year. Currently, CGT rates are quite low on the sale of investments - but there is a general feeling within the finance industry that these are likely to increase in due course, as a way of helping the Government to pay for the fiscal policy measures introduced due to Covid-19: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ blog/chancellor-requests-review-of-capitalgains-tax/ The taxation information in the link provided is based on our current understanding of taxation legislation and regulations. Any levels and bases of, and reliefs from, taxation are subject to change.
INSIDE CASTLEFIELD We’re delighted to introduce wider members of the team who are working hard, often behind the scenes, to look after our clients and provide a service we can be proud of. We start with our Castlefield Charity Champion series, introducing a co-owner who deserves to be shouted about! She has dedicated a huge amount of her spare time over the years volunteering for Girl Guides, making her a true asset to her community and society at large. Follow the link to read about Amanda's experiences: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ charity-work/castlefield-charity-championamanda-blan/
Castlefield Client Newsletter
December, 2020
MARKET UPDATE NOVEMBER 2020 Markets are moving. And they are moving fast. This article is essential reading for anyone worried about investment markets, and the wider world, in 2021 and beyond… In these times of change, our November Market Update reaffirms our dedication to the companies who share our goal of a more sustainable future. Read more here: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ blog/market-update-november-2020/
HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE AN AGEING ADVICE INDUSTRY? Now more than ever, the financial advice industry is facing a potential supply crisis. According to a report by Octopus Investments, a recent study found that almost a third of UK advisers have said they expect to retire in the next five years.There is added pressure born out of the fact that a lack of young talent is entering the sector with more than two fifths of advisers saying they were concerned about attracting new advisers to their firm . However, when asked if their firm had a training scheme in place to help develop new advisers, only 18% said they did. At Castlefield we are tackling this problem head on. The Castlefield Academy began around 4 years ago with the intention of supporting and training co-owners along their chosen career pathway. Follow the link to read on: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/ our-core/how-do-you-solve-a-problemlike-an-ageing-advice-industry/
WOMEN IN FINANCE CHARTER (WIFC) 2020 PROGRESS UPDATE In October 2017, Castlefield became a signatory to the Women in Finance Charter (WIFC), a Charter launched with the objective of achieving “gender balance” within the financial industry, where women at senior management levels are often scarce. Find out how we've been doing. Read more here: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/company-news/women-in-finance-charter-wifc2020-progress-update/
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Castlefield Client Newsletter
December, 2020
WINNERS & SPINNERS REPORT 2020 Castlefield, the UK’s leading specialists in thoughtful investment, launched its Winners and Spinners report 2020 - an analysis of UK-based ethical and sustainable funds designed to help investors who want to reflect their values in the way they invest their money. The Winners and Spinners report aims to expose some of the fund managers whose so-called responsible investment offerings fail to deliver the values expected by investors, and reveals evidence of so-called ‘greenwash’ practices that give the Socially and Responsible Investment (SRI) part of the industry a bad name, as well as showcasing best practice. You can read the full report here: https://www.castlefield.com/news-media/blog/winners-spinners-report-2020/
OUR VIEWS ON THOUGHTFUL INVESTMENT DON’T STOP HERE! Now that you’ve read our newsletter, keep up to date by reading our blog on our website which is updated regularly Contact us to discuss your finances and make plans for 2021: Call us on:
0161 233 4550 Visit our contact page here:
www.castlefield.com/contact-us/ Email us:
webmail@castlefield.com
This document is intended for information purposes only and it does not constitute a personal recommendation, investment advice or an inducement to invest. It is based on information obtained from sources which we believe to be accurate but the accuracy of which we cannot warrant and may be subject to change at short notice, therefore we cannot be held responsible for the implications of relying on this information. The contents of this document are not intended to be construed as legal, accounting, or tax advice. With any investment your capital is at risk. You should seek independent financial advice if you are unsure whether an investment product is suitable for your personal financial circumstances and appetite for risk. This information is based on our understanding of current taxation, legislation and HM Revenue & Customs practice as at the time of publishing, all of which may be subject to change. Unless otherwise stated the information in this document is accurate as at 15.12.2020. No part of this document may be reproduced in any manner without prior permission. Castlefield is a trading name, registered trade mark and the property of Castlefield Partners Limited. Registered in England and Wales No. 06942320. Registered Office, 111 Piccadilly, Manchester, M1 2HY. Part of the Castlefield employee-owned group. Member of the Employee Ownership Association.