There is plenty of evidence to show that mindfulness has a range of health benefits. But can it also help us to become better investors?

Someone who thinks so is the financial writer George Kinder, who has practised mindfulness for more than 50 years. In this video, he explains to Robin Powell how focussing on the present moment and being in touch with our feelings can help investors make more rational decisions.

You will find plenty of helpful videos like this one in our Video Gallery. Why not have a browse?

Video transcript:

The last few years have seen a big increase in the popularity of mindfulness.

Mindfulness is a state of mind created by focusing on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting our feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

George Kinder is a financial writer, and trains financial advisers. He has practised mindfulness for more than 50 years.

He says: “So it’s a training in paying attention. And you’re paying attention in here. You’re paying attention, in a way, to who you are. You’re paying attention to these moments where you feel wonderful, these moments where you feel frustrated, these moments where you feel fearful or anxious or guilty or shameful, which we all have as human beings.

“The primary practice that is taught in mindfulness is to really focus on the present moment, which as you know is impossible to do because it keeps disappearing on you. But what that does is that it makes you much quicker in the moment, much clearer in the moment, much more capable at a moment’s notice to focus and be present, so you’re really much more alert.”

One of the mistakes investors commonly make is they allow their emotions to get the better of them.

By making you more aware of your emotions, mindfulness can help you control them.

George Kinder says: “The most common pattern in investing is not to buy low and sell high, which is the smartest thing to do. The most common pattern in investing is that we all buy high, when everybody’s enthusiastic about something, and then we sell low when everybody’s pessimistic about something. So what happens, that’s driven by greed and fear. What mindfulness does is it creates more patience, more equanimity, more quietness, less reactivity. So you’re more able to be here, be present.

“My main recommendation would be to, if you aren’t doing mindfulness, get a practice going. And if you are, I would double your practice time. And I think the third thing is find an advisor who’s trustworthy, because they will help settle you down. They have listening skills inside of them and they’ll help settle you down so you don’t make foolish mistakes.”

Mindfulness isn’t for everyone. And although it looks easy, it actually isn’t. It requires plenty of practice.

But if you invest the time required to learn it, George Kinder says you won’t regret it.

Picture: Dingzeyu Li (via Unsplash)

Sustainable & responsible jewellery

March newsletter 2020

Ifamax's view on Sustainability

Could you give us a little introduction to yourself?

“I am a self-employed designer/maker of Fiona Lewis Jewellery. I live in Chipping Sodbury, a pretty Cotswold market town that has independent shops, cafes, pubs and bars. It is well worth a visit for an afternoon out. I love the countryside in all winds and weathers, the peace and space provide my inspiration… my mind is constantly forming shapes and movement into designs, and probably a source for a lifetime of jewellery and some more!

When I am not working, I am walking, travelling abroad, sewing, gardening, socialising, and spending time with my fabulous partner David, who encourages me in everything I do. My son and daughter are both creative so family conversation is often about our next projects. I keep chickens, and Prudence the cat who has decided the feral lifestyle is not for her, she prefers my sofa and a warm lap. ”

Tell me about how you came to be a jeweller?

“I attended a senior school where the pupils were all taught metalwork. I found my niche and was in my element during those lessons; forging, using the lathe, soldering and cutting, and unusually for me was top of the class. However, to my great disappointment, when the time came to select my options, I was informed Engineering and Metalwork was the ‘boys only’ option. I was disappointed to say the least but I stored in my mind some idea that one day I would revisit metalworking. In 2010 after quite a few decades of waiting for the right time, I booked an evening class in silversmithing. I learned to design and make jewellery and my passion for metalwork was reignited. Within 18 months, and due to popular demand from friends wanting to buy from me, I was selling my creations. I have continued to refine my skills, design, make and sell my jewellery in my online Etsy shop and through my Facebook page.”

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How do you define yourself?

“I am a magpie for shiny metal, and beautiful stones but also have a passion for a sustainable, responsible approach to my business. The gold and silver I use is either recycled by my suppliers, or I reuse my customers’ gold to create bespoke pieces for them. I source diamonds and precious stones from ethical suppliers and use recycled materials in packaging.”

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Tell me about the evolution and range of your styles of jewellery.

“I began by making jewellery that was inspired by nature and my love of the outdoors. Over time, I have concentrated on pure form, and more contemporary abstract shapes. Learning to set my own stones is a challenge, but also a delight, those are my hands that have touched each piece from start to finish. I make everything using traditional methods of silversmithing, using hand tools. I love the forged shaped look, and adding droplets of gold, the technical term for ‘droplets’ is an unromantic ‘granulation’. Adding the sparkle of my favourite diamonds and sapphires creates a unique, contemporary look in a piece.”

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What is the greatest recognition of your work so far?

“I talk to my customers and like to have a feel for who I am making for… so my recognition is from them, their reviews and feedback. I think this review is one of my favourites so far:”

“From the very moment I saw her work, I knew Fiona was the person I wanted to make a very special gift for my daughter. The communication between Fiona and myself was brilliant as she responded positively and instantly knew what I envisaged. Her patience and eagerness to supply me with a pendant that would match my idea was amazing; nothing was too much trouble. Once Fiona had confirmed all the details, she gave me a time frame and the pendant was made and dispatched within the time. It arrived securely packaged and beautifully presented in a gift box. The pendant is exquisite and has surpassed my hopes and wishes. It is a piece of art and will be treasured for years to come. If the reader needs someone with skill and vision, Fiona is this person”.

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What can we expect next from you?

“I will soon be learning to carve wax to create shapes to be cast. In my imagination I have a variety of beautiful, tiny birds that will become gold and silver jewellery, I am sourcing tiny black diamonds for little beady eyes, and peacock sapphires to flush set on wings.

My dream is to create a collection of kinetic jewellery and boxes with meaning; to celebrate life, a lost love, a friendship, special moment or emotion etc. I would incorporate a series of cogs or perhaps a chain to provide movement. Doors would open, hearts would spin and birds fly around the sun. Yes, there I go again…. Another lifetime and more of ideas!”

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Best of luck with your endeavours Fiona and thank you for being this months client in the spotlight.

If any other clients would like to feature in a future newsletter with a story, profile, charitable fundraising or discussion on a topic you would like to share please do get in touch.

It’s very important that you have absolute trust in your financial adviser. But how do you go about choosing one?

In this video, Herman Brodie, an expert on the adviser-client relationship, says the first priority is to establish that an adviser is thoroughly competent.

But, he says, whether you can trust someone or not is a very personal decision, and ultimately only you can decide whether a particular adviser is right for you.

You will find plenty of helpful videos like this one in our Video Gallery. Why not have a browse?

Video transcript:

Just as you need to trust your doctor, you also need to trust your financial adviser. Financial author and consultant Herman Brodie is an expert in adviser-client relationships. Trusting your adviser, he says, will give you much more peace of mind.

"So, if I trust my adviser or I trust my asset manager, the riskiness of the whole enterprise we’re doing together is actually diminished. So my level of anxiety is reduced. Now, a lot of bad things can result when we are overanxious about the engagements we are involved in. And financial markets are fraught with all of the kinds of things that we as human beings find the most disagreeable. And this often leads us to do precisely the wrong thing at the wrong time. Now if we perceive the whole riskiness of the engagement to be reduced because we trust the person who we’ve confided with our assets, then, of course, this brings an enormous amount of reduced stress for clients."

Sadly, some advisers in the past have proved themselves to be far less worthy of trust than others. If trust in your existing adviser has broken down, it’s very different to rebuild.

Brodie says: "So when you get advisers, for example, pushing products that are very expensive when there are cheaper alternatives, or because they are tied to a particular product issuer. Or even in medical professions, where doctors have been seen to be prescribing particular medicines because they are taking kickbacks from the pharmaceutical company. It’s evidence therefore that they are actually not acting in my interests at all, they are acting in their own selfish interests. And this damages the perception of benevolence. And those perceptions are very very difficult to recover."

Herman Brodie says there are two components to trusting an adviser. The first is a conscious decision: Is the adviser competent? The second is more sub-conscious: Does the adviser have my very best interests at heart? Ultimately, he says, you have to trust your gut instinct.

"So at least with the conscious part of that evaluation, in terms of, you know, the skills and training, and let’s say the fiduciary responsibilities that that adviser takes on board. On paper, that adviser must stack up, so the competence measure must at least be satisfied. But, whether you are going to perceive that person as benevolent or not, it’s largely non-conscious, I cannot tell you how you are going to feel about somebody.

"Who I’m going to be able to be open with is probably going to be somebody different to you. And as a consequence, you just have to go with your gut. There is no secret formula for identifying benevolence. Everybody sees benevolence in a slightly different place."

So, you should choose an adviser who is clearly competent, but also one who will put your interests ahead of their own. Only you can decide if someone ticks both boxes.

Picture: Zdeněk Macháček via Unsplash

Andy, his wife Sally and their son Jack, have been Ifamax clients since early 2018. After qualifying as an accountant following university, Andy then worked his way through the financial services industry as a sales and commercial director.

After becoming disillusioned and bored with corporate life Andy, Sally and a couple of friends set up their own financial claims business from their bedroom in 2004.

By 2008 they had 45 staff, a turnover of £7m and an average customer satisfaction score of 9.5 out of 10. It was this great feedback from customers that Andy notes as one of the most enjoyable parts of being in business.

When the time came to exit the business, they did consider selling but;

“thought the purchaser were unlikely to have the same customer focus that we did. We decided it better to bring in a couple of directors to allow us to take a step back and eventually wind the company down.”

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So how has all this led to Andy running around in a 10kg Rhino suit?

“One thing that defined me was that I was hugely overweight as a child and reached 18 stone at 17. I then lost 6 stone over a few months when I was 18. This was my biggest achievement in life (bigger than the business and running achievements).

Not only did it change my life completely and gave me confidence but also taught me that I had the determination to do the things I wanted to.”

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For this reason Andy sees running as massively important for both keeping off the weight he lost when he was young and as a continuing challenge for himself. After clocking up over 60 marathons and ultras all over the world for the last 30 years, he has now decided that it makes sense to challenge himself even further!

“I am getting slower but still like to look for a new challenge. I’ve never run a marathon in costume and the rhino costume is iconic so it seemed an obvious step. I contacted the charity in August last year to apply to run for them. Since then I have learned a lot more about the plight of the rhino. It staggers me that in this day and age we are still cruel to and slaughtering animals for totally unnecessary reasons and monetary gain.

Rhino horns are used in traditional medicine and as a sign of wealth. We have eliminated 95% of rhinos and 3 of the rhino species are on the endangered list. By running in the marathon and doing talks in schools I hope I can do a little bit to raise awareness of the rhino and what’s being done to stop rhinos, and other animals facing a similar plight, becoming extinct”

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When Andy first sent over pictures of him wearing the suit itself we were all surprised at how big, heavy and uncomfortable it looked and it appears that after taking it out for a practice trot last week he has confirmed it is all three.

“It moves around a lot, has limited visibility and is big and hot. It changes your running style and you have to hold the head when you to keep it still which quickly makes your arms ache!! I really hope that it’s not too warm on marathon day. Little wonder the charity said not to run too much in it before London because it might put me off doing the marathon itself.”

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Andy hopes to raise an impressive £5,000 for Save the Rhino International and all at Ifamax wish him well in trying to reach that target, the many training runs to come and indeed the big day itself on Sunday 26th April.

If you would like to read more information on Andy’s fund raising and ongoing training efforts please feel free to visit his Just Giving page by clicking the button below:

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Good luck Andy and thank you for being our first client in the spotlight.

If any other clients would like to feature in a future newsletter with a story, profile, event or indeed some charitable fundraising of your own please get in touch.

It’s very important, when choosing a financial adviser, that you find someone you can trust.

However, working out whether they’re trustworthy or not isn’t always easy. The size of the firm, for example, tells you very little.

Herman Brodie is a financial author and consultant who has specialist expertise in building trust-based relationships. 

In this video, presented by Robin Powell, Herman explains what you can do to help you find the right person to manage your finances.

You will find dozens of helpful videos like this one in our Video Gallery. Why not have a browse?

Video transcript: 

Just as you need to trust your doctor, you also need to trust your financial adviser.

Financial author and consultant Herman Brodie is an expert in adviser-client relationships.

Trusting your adviser, he says, will give you much more peace of mind.

Herman Brodie says: “So, if I trust my adviser or I trust my asset manager, the riskiness of the whole enterprise we’re doing together is actually diminished. So my level of anxiety is reduced. 

“Now, a lot of bad things can result when we are overanxious about the engagements we are involved in. And financial markets are fraught with all of the kinds of things that we as human beings find the most disagreeable. And this often leads us to do precisely the wrong thing at the wrong time. 

“Now if we perceive the whole riskiness of the engagement to be reduced because we trust the person who we’ve confided with our assets, then, of course, this brings an enormous amount of reduced stress for clients.”

Sadly, some advisers in the past have proved themselves to be far less worthy of trust than others.

If trust in your existing adviser has broken down, it’s very different to rebuild.

Herman says: “When you get advisers, for example, pushing products that are very expensive when there are cheaper alternatives, or because they are tied to a particular product issuer. Or even in medical professions, where doctors have been seen to be prescribing particular medicines because they are taking kickbacks from the pharmaceutical company. 

“It’s evidence therefore that they are actually not acting in my interests at all, they are acting in their own selfish interests. And this damages the perception of benevolence. And those perceptions are very very difficult to recover.”

Herman Brodie says there are two components to trusting an adviser. The first is a conscious decision: Is the adviser competent? The second is more sub-conscious: Does the adviser have my very best interests at heart? Ultimately, though, you have to trust your gut instinct.

Herman says: “At least with the conscious part of that evaluation, in terms of, you know, the skills and training, and let’s say the fiduciary responsibilities that that adviser takes on board. On paper, that adviser must stack up, so the competence measure must at least be satisfied. But, whether you are going to perceive that person as benevolent or not, it’s largely non-conscious, I cannot tell you how you are going to feel about somebody.

“Who I’m going to be able to be open with is probably going to be somebody different to you. And as a consequence, you just have to go with your gut. There is no secret formula for identifying benevolence. Everybody sees benevolence in a slightly different place."

So, you should choose an adviser who is clearly competent, but also one who will put your interests ahead of their own. Only you can decide if someone ticks both boxes.

Check out more of the latest news from IFAMAX:

Pay less attention to weather forecasts

How women view money and investing differently

A little encouragement goes a long way