As we approach 2019 and beyond, I wanted to reflect on the year past. Having just enjoyed another Christmas with the family, it offers insight as to what is important. We often forget, whilst we go about our daily routine, that time passes at a phenomenal rate. I often think we need to embrace time like its our best friend, making the most out of it. As the old adage goes:
“time flies when your having fun”.
I wanted to take some time to comment on 2018 and what it has brought, as well as look towards 2019.
Firstly, I wanted to share some personal news. I am going to be taking on a new Associate Partner role at Zen Wealth, this will see me make the formal transition from Paraplanner to Financial Planner and taking on a more direct role in moving the business forward.
Many of you will know, I have already started the transition this year and I am focused on developing the role. I have been qualified to provide advice for several years however, we have always felt that slow natural progress would provide the best transition.
Patrick and I have been working together for over a decade, first at Bluefin and then later at Zen Wealth. We both share the same passion and outlook on how financial plans should be structured and managed, this extends from our Investment Philosophy all the way down to the tailored solutions delivered to our clients.
To this end, it has always been our wish that the business we have built can maintain a long and established relationship with our clients and we hope that this step will help us to set strong foundations for the future.
As my role changes, Ben will be taking a more active role in supporting Patrick and I to continue to deliver exceptional advice and service. We are looking to recruit a new administrator to help support Ben, but we hope you will agree that these are positive steps for the future.
Secondly, I wanted to reflect on 2018, most of you will be aware that 2018 has provided us with some challenging times in investment markets, however, we hope that the awards we have been blessed to Win and be nominated for, will give some comfort that your money is in safe hands, that the solutions and services we provide have been independently peer reviewed and recognised as exceptional.
Awards Won.
Incisive Media’s Retirement Planner Magazine: Best Income Drawdown Service Award
International Adviser Best Practice Awards 2018: Excellence in Investment Planning award
Finalist,
Money Age: Financial Adviser of the Year (small to medium-sized firm)
2018 Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards: Tax and Estate Planner of the Year
2018 Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards: Investment Adviser of the Year
Personal Financial Society: Investment & Later Advice Specialist of the Year Award 2018
Investment Week Tax Efficiency Awards: Best Use of a Tax Product in Financial Planning
To win these awards is a credit to the hard work that goes into building Zen Wealth. It really is a team effort.
I want to leave you all with a message, I took these extracts from an article in The Economist which was written in December 2014.
“Alas time, ultimately, is a strange and slippery resource, easily traded, visible only when it passes and often most highly valued when it is gone. No one has ever complained of having too much of it. Instead, most people worry over how it flies, and wonder where it goes. Cruelly, it runs away faster as people get older, as each accumulating year grows less significant, proportionally, but also less vivid. Experiences become less novel and more habitual. The years soon bleed together and end up rushing past, with the most vibrant memories tucked somewhere near the beginning. And of course, the more one tries to hold on to something, the swifter it seems to go”
Sebastian de Grazia offered some advice. He saw that everyone everywhere was running, running, running, but to where? For what? People were trading their time for all sorts of things, but was the exchange worth it? He closed his 1962 tome, “Of Time, Work and Leisure”, with a prescription:
“Lean back under a tree, put your arms behind your head, wonder at the pass we’ve come to, smile and remember that the beginnings and ends of man’s every great enterprise are untidy.”
As we begin 2019, think about how you use your time, and if you use it as well as you could.