Taking Stock January 2012
Happy New Year or “Hung Hei Fat Choi” as we enter the Chinese year of the Dragon! In Chinese astrology it is said that the Dragon is a major symbol of
good fortune and is known to bring in wealth, virtue, harmony and longevity. Here at Equilibrium we’d like to wish the same to all our clients and staff for 2012. We hope you enjoy this edition and as always, would welcome any feedback. We’d also like to feature client stories in future editions so if you’ve been involved in anything of interest, please let Olivia (Olivia@eqasset.co.uk) know. Kind regards
Colin Lawson
Managing Partner
Recent Achievements Equilibrium was crowned ‘Business Adviser of the Year’ at the Macclesfield and Wilmslow Business Awards 2011 in November. The award was given on the basis of a firm that provided first class service, whether corporate, financial, accountancy or legal to enable the business to meet its strategic objects in 2011. Colin said, “We’re exceptionally pleased to have won, its excellent news for our industry to be portrayed in a positive light in these troubled times. We have long lasting relationships with our clients which I feel is the foundation of our success” Just a few weeks later we were awarded by Investor in Customers (IIC) for customer service and were given their highest three star accreditation in recognition of this. The feedback from our clients has been so positive that we have received the IIC’s fifth highest score ever since the programme first began in 2007. We would like to thank all our clients who participated and for sharing their thoughts, “It’s an honour to know that both our clients and staff rate Equilibrium’s level of customer service so highly,” says Debbie Jukes. “We have worked hard to develop an approach to financial planning which puts our customers’ needs first and foremost.” Not only do we have cause for celebration, but it appears our clients do as well. Rosie Stead and the community of St. Georges Church, Stockport has achieved Guinness world record status by creating the largest ever ‘coat of many colours’ for a Summer Festival. The idea behind this was to create a backdrop for a 20 minute production of Joseph’s Technicolour Dreamcoat musical during a Sunday morning service.
The final garment weighed approximately 30 stone and was tailored together using almost 9000 6’’knitted/crocheted woollen squares which in total measured a staggering 42’6’’ long and 18’2’’ wide! The coat was supported by a specially made wooden beam which held up the coat by 40ft throughout the Festival. The coat has now been carefully taken apart and sent to the Feed the Children Charity in Africa as 96 single bed sized blankets. From all of us at Equilibrium we’d like to congratulate Mrs Stead and all those who helped to achieve this gigantic feat!
Equilibrium Asset Management LLP (a limited liability partnership) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Equilibrium Asset Management is entered on the FSA register under reference 452261. The FSA regulates advice which we provide on investment and insurance business; however it does not regulate advice which we provide purely in respect of taxation matters. Copyright Equilibrium Asset Management LLP. Not to be reproduced without permission
Taking Stock | January 2012
60 seconds with….Andrew Hirst! Andrew joined Equilibrium back in November as an Adviser and Chartered Financial Planner. Andrew has 11 years of industry experience behind him and is one of our most qualified employee’s with more than fifteen financial qualifications under his belt! What’s the best thing about working for Equilibrium? Knowing that your opinion is valued and listened to. Tell us a bit about your background/how long have you been acting as a Financial Planner? I have been a Financial Planner since 2000 and achieved Chartered Status in 2008. Prior to Equilibrium I was a Financial Planner at a national IFA and a “top ten” international firm of accountants. How would you define your approach to financial planning? Never forget the big picture or get lost in the detail, always remember the clients’ aims & objectives. And finally, tell us something we don’t know about you! I have played guitar in various rock bands since my school days ……being a Financial Planner was not how it was meant to be!
Equilibrium Foundation Last November saw the male members of the office take part in the annual charity event of ‘Movember’ - an event which requires the participant to grow a moustache for the whole of the month to help raise money for male cancer charities. Every pound and penny raised was matched by our own Foundation, and as a result over £2000 was donated to Cancer Research. It was Equilibrium’s client manager, David Lamb who originally suggested the idea and was extremely pleased with the result; ‘On behalf of everyone at Equilibrium I would like to say a big thank you to all those who have made a donation to Movember, It really means a lot to us all,’ says David. ‘In addition, thank you to our clients who attended appointments and had to be welcomed by some very strange looking men indeed!’
We’ve set ourselves another challenge in the hope of hitting our end of year Equilibrium Foundation target. This time Colin (and anyone else who volunteers!) will be trekking across the high altitudes of Machu Picchu. We would love to have your support and if you do wish to make a donation then please contact Emma on 0161 486 2250 or email emma@eqasset.co.uk
Equilibrium Asset Management LLP (a limited liability partnership) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Equilibrium Asset Management is entered on the FSA register under reference 452261. The FSA regulates advice which we provide on investment and insurance business; however it does not regulate advice which we provide purely in respect of taxation matters. Copyright Equilibrium Asset Management LLP. Not to be reproduced without permission
Taking Stock | January 2012
Where in the World is Equilibrium… Thanks to our generous and hard earned holiday package, in the last quarter our team has travelled to: New York, Agadir, Prague, Dominican Republic, Amsterdam, Lake District, Paris, California, Barcelona and Cornwall.
Team leader Lucy Woolrich spent three weeks travelling around Malaysia during November. During this time she visited Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo and then the Shangri-la Rasa Ria resort where they have a 64 acre nature reserve with an Orang-utan sanctuary. They take in young orang-utans who have been kept illegally as pets or have been orphaned through poaching. They will stay at the sanctuary until they are ready to be moved to a much bigger reserve in Sepilok, Borneo and then they will be released into the wild.
‘Seeing Orang-utans in Borneo has always been a personal dream of mine,’ says Lucy. ‘Visiting a sanctuary such as this was an extremely rewarding experience. I met a baby Orang-utan named Ten-Ten who was brought into the sanctuary after her mother had been killed by poachers. She was so distressed on her arrival that she had lost most of her hair and teeth. However, six months on she is healthy and happy and has even started learning how to swing between the trees!’
Ten-Ten aged 9 months
Equilibrium Events 2012 We’re pleased to announce our upcoming 2012 seminar events and will be taking bookings as of now. These presentations are informative and educational events which are relevant for existing clients as well as prospective new clients wanting to find out more about our approach. We’ll donate £100 to our Equilibrium Foundation for every guest you bring so please feel free to invite friends or acquaintances if you think they would be interested in learning more about investing, tax planning and, of course, Equilibrium. 8th February
‘Live Well & Leave a Legacy’ Hunting Lodge
22nd February ‘Too Busy Making Money to Manage it?’ (Joint with Coopers Accountants) Holiday Inn, Wilmslow 14th March
‘Protecting Your Assets’ (Joint with Weightmans Solicitors) Mere Golf Club
29th March
‘Managing Risk and Meeting Expectations’ Hunting Lodge
19th April
‘Live Well & Leave a Legacy’ Mere Golf Club
25th April
‘Too Busy Making Money to Manage it?’ (Joint with Hurst Accountants) Hunting Lodge
22nd May
‘Successful Lifetime Investing’ Hunting Lodge
30th May
‘Successful Lifetime Investing’ Mere Golf Club
Equilibrium Asset Management LLP Brooke Court Lower Meadow Road Handforth Dean Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 3ND United Kingdom Visit us at www.eqasset.co.uk t : +44 (0)161 486 2250 f : +44 (0)161 488 4598 e : askus@eqasset.co.uk Equilibrium Asset Management LLP (a limited liability partnership) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Equilibrium Asset Management is entered on the FSA register under reference 452261. The FSA regulates advice which we provide on investment and insurance business; however it does not regulate advice which we provide purely in respect of taxation matters. Copyright Equilibrium Asset Management LLP. Not to be reproduced without permission