Platts will join the business in August as regional managing partner across the three regions.

Platts (pictured) has 35 years’ experience in wealth management and joins from Nationwide Building Society where, as director of financial planning, she led a team of 330. Prior to that she was head of wealth at Santander UK, overseeing the group’s private banking and branch based financial planning business. She has also held senior roles at HSBC Private Bank and Investec.

Reporting to Emma Sterland, chief financial planning director at Evelyn Partners, Platts will work with managing partners in the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to drive continued growth in the group’s Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Knutsford, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle offices.

Emma Sterland, chief financial planning director at Evelyn Partners said: “I’m delighted to welcome Charlotte to Evelyn Partners. Charlotte is a highly experienced wealth management professional who shares our commitment to deliver high quality Financial Planning services to our clients. Charlotte’s extensive experience in growing and leading teams at large firms will be invaluable as we continue with our ambitious plans to expand our presence in the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

Platts added: “I am delighted to be joining Evelyn Partners at this exciting stage and am very much looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead. In particular a return to a focus both on wealth management and the North region where I hope I can bring my knowledge and experience to help develop an already successful business for the benefit of our clients and colleagues.”

It will held on 9 October, to raise awareness about the wide-ranging benefits of financial planning and of working with a financial planner who has committed to rigorous standards of professionalism and to putting clients’ interests first.

World Financial Planning Day will coincide with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) World Investor Week (WIW) from 7 to 13 October.

FPSB CEO Dante De Gori (pictured) said: “We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve financial well-being,

“Through World Financial Planning Day, we aim to help individuals discover the importance of financial planning to help build a brighter and more prosperous future for all.”

Last year, FPSB and its network reached out to more than 559 million people through media coverage, financial education events and social media as 21 territories around the world united to celebrate World Financial Planning Day.

The 2024 campaign will include a variety of educational activities across the globe in observation of this year’s World Financial Planning Day to help increase financial literacy. Events and programs will be featured on the WFPD website in September.

“In today’s complex financial environment, the importance of financial planning and of working with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional to develop a holistic financial plan cannot be overstated,” added De Gori. “Research* has shown that those who work with a financial planning professional are better off — reporting a better quality of life, enjoying more financial confidence and being more satisfied with their financial situation.

“We want individuals to realize the wide-ranging benefits of financial planning and are looking forward to hosting our eighth annual World Financial Planning Day, alongside IOSCO’s World Investor Week, to raise awareness of the transformative power of financial planning to give people financial security and freedom.”

Tajinder Singh, Acting Secretary General at IOSCO, said: “We are pleased FPSB is hosting its eighth annual World Financial Planning Day in conjunction with our own World Investor Week again this year. Collaborating in this way emphasises our respective efforts to improve investor education and help people all around the world make more informed investment decisions.”

Since 2017, FPSB has celebrated World Financial Planning Day on the Wednesday of World Investor Week. Together, with international regulatory organizations, educational programs and resources are provided to help individuals make informed financial decisions and increase investor protection.

“We are honored to continue our partnership with FPSB to support World Financial Planning Day as part of IOSCO’s World Investor Week,” said chair of IOSCO’s Committee on Retail Investors, Pasquale Munafò. “Through our work together over the past eight years, we are helping more people around the world gain the skills and knowledge needed to achieve investor and financial resilience and build brighter futures.”

The newly created DSL AdviserResponse Benchmark found that nearly a quarter of advice firms failed to respond to a new enquiry.

The research, carried out in January and May 2024 with 170 advice firms, revealed the following key findings:

• 23% of firms failed to respond to the enquiry in January, in May 20% didn’t reply
• 19 firms failed to respond to either enquiry
• The average response time, where one was received, was 23 hours in January, falling to 18 in May, and only 15% of firms responded within an hour.

DSL has used the data to create their Benchmark using an algorithm that scored firms out of 100 based on the speed and quality of their response, as well as persistence.

The top firm, Ellis Bates, scored 87/100. The average score, which includes firms that failed to respond to enquiries was 34/100 in January, rising to 37 in May. When the firms who failed to respond to enquiries were excluded the average scores rose to 45/100 and 46 in January and May respectively.

The benchmark shows that firms who responded achieved the highest scores for speed (28/40), but fell away when it came to the quality of their response (15/30) and persistence (3/30).

The Benchmark is the creation of DSL Founder, Daniel Olley, who said: “We wanted to understand how effective advice firms are at following up with new enquiries. So we’ve created the DSL AdviserResponse Benchmark.”

“Firms must respond quickly and effectively to new enquiries and many do. However, others are letting opportunities slip through their fingers because their response is slow, ineffective or they aren’t persistent enough, giving up after only one attempt to contact the potential client.”

Olley further said: “Firms that fail to respond to enquiries lose potential revenue and will see a lower return on investment from their marketing, but the ramifications are wider. Failing to respond to enquiries leaves consumers with a negative impression, which they might share with people they know. The reputational damage could also extend to the online world if the consumer chooses to leave a negative review on Google or elsewhere.”

The methodology involved 170 advice firms from the New Model Adviser and FT Adviser Top 100s selected to be mystery-shopped
with enquiries placed through the advisers’ websites (or emailed if no web form was available).

All enquiries were placed to allow at least 48 hours before the weekend and responses measured over the following five working days.

A score out of 100 was generated using an algorithm rewarding speed, quality and persistence of response.

Founded in 2019, DSL works exclusively with the UK financial services sector, providing a range of outsourced telephony services.

YouGov posted its final poll on 3 July revealing that Labour would take 431 seats, while the Conservatives are expected to win 102, followed by the Lib Dems with 72.

Benjamin Nabarro, Citi’s chief UK economist, said Labour would ultimately tax and spend more than the current baseline and that low growth in the UK economy had become entrenched.

Slashing reliefs on pension contributions, inheritance tax and capital gains were easy targets and could raise £8bn a year.

Nabarro said: “We therefore expect some further tightening in the autumn. Here the most likely revenue candidates could be changes in pension contribution relief after Rachel Reeves ruled out changes in the lifetime allowance, reform to capital gains and changes to inheritance tax. These are in addition to revenue changes in Labour’s manifesto.”

Geoff Cook, chair of Quilter Cheviot International, said on LinkedIn: “It is to be hoped the electorate in making clear their rejection of the current Conservative administration do not give unfettered power to the Labour Party, another coalition of very diverse views and ideologies. Assuming the centrists hold sway for the full term is not a given by any means and we have come to see how quickly fortunes and Prime Ministers can change. Keir Starmer will be well advised to keep an eye on the benches behind him, it is where the real opposition will sit.”

James Quarmby, founding partner, private wealth team at Stephenson Harwood said on LinkedIn: “If we are to believe the Guardian, Labour is cooking up a plan to raise CGT rates as early as October this year should they win the election. The Guardian complains that CGT rates are lower tax than income tax rates on salaries, not recognising that the reason for this is (a) inflation and (b) recognition of risk.

“An immediate hike in CGT would be surprising, given the number of times we have heard from Labour that there are “no plans” to raise CGT. If the first thing they do post election is to raise CGT then this will look dishonest – which would not be a great start for the new government. Accordingly, I’m not convinced this will actually happen (at least not for a while).

“As for IHT, it seems that some in Labour believe that BPR on farmland is used by rich people to avoid IHT and that the sooner BPR is restricted to £500k per person the better.

“We know the BPR suggestion comes from the IFS and I have no doubt that Labour will be “looking at this”, but one hopes that common sense will prevail.

“If we want to be a country of innovation and enterprise then levying a 40% tax on a family business when passing down to the next generation is not the way to do it.

“If Labour is truly pro-business then they will give these ideas short shrift.”

While Forth Capital’s Stephen Kiggins set out in a briefing note how the UK’s election outcome could impact the finances of a British expat on the basis of their election manifesto in terms of tax changes and other financial planning implications.

UK Pensions

Lifetime Allowance (LTA)
The abolition of the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) in the chancellor’s 2023 Spring Budget was a welcome surprise for many, removing the £1,073,100 limit on the amount of cumulative UK pension savings that could be drawn by individuals without incurring an additional tax charge.

And whilst Labour were initially vocal in their opposition to the abolition of the LTA, indicating that they would re-instate it if they won the 2024 election, they have subsequently softened their stance, acknowledging that the practicalities of doing so will be extremely difficult.

However, with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves promising a “pensions review” if Labour are elected, a degree of uncertainty hangs over the possible re-introduction of the LTA, and this has raised the question for some expats as to whether they should consider crystallising their UK pensions earlier than otherwise planned [or consider transferring their UK pension assets to a QROPS to trigger a crystallisation event] to avoid the potential consequences of the LTA being re-introduced at some point in the future. When considering this option however it’s imperative that all relevant factors are taken into consideration and are discussed with a qualified financial advisor and pension transfer specialist.

Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS)
Further to a BBC radio interview [on Friday, 28 June] in which Keir Starmer was asked whether the 25 per cent tax free Pension Commencement Lump Sum [PCLS] withdrawal from a UK Pension would be at risk from a Labour government, a Labour spokesman subsequently went on record to clarify and confirm that “The ability to withdraw 25 per cent of your pension as a tax-free lump sum is a permanent feature of the tax system and Labour are not planning to change this”. Asked whether Labour was making a solid promise not to change the current system, as opposed to simply having “no plans” the spokesman said, “It’s a firm commitment.”

UK State Pension
Triple Lock policy
Both the Conservative and Labour parties have committed to keeping the ‘Triple Lock’ on the UK State Pension. This ensures that it rises each year by whichever is the highest between average annual earnings growth from May to July, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate in the year to September, or 2.5 per cent. New and Basic State Pension payments increased by 8.5 per cent in April. Over the current financial year, the full New State Pension is worth £221.20 each week, some £11,502 in annual payments.

The UK State Pension is paid to expats worldwide who have reached the qualifying age and have paid enough National Insurance contributions.

However, you will only get an the Triple Lock indexed increase every year if you live in:

the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland; or a country that has a social security agreement with the UK that allows for cost of living increases to the State Pension.

‘Frozen’ UK State Pensions

None of the political parties have addressed the issue of ‘frozen’ State Pensions in their manifestos ahead of the General Election. An estimated 450,000 expats living in countries that do not have a reciprocal agreement with the UK (including Australia, Canada, South Africa, Antigua, Malaysia and Thailand) are currently affected, with the level of their UK State Pension payments ‘frozen’ since their point of emigration – even if they had paid the maximum number of UK National Insurance qualifying years during their working life.

Commenting on the Labour manifesto, Ms Melville-Gray [spokesperson for the International Consortium of British Pensioners], said: “While we commend the Labour commitment to review the pensions landscape and improve pensions outcomes, today’s [manifesto] announcement remains a missed opportunity to address the longstanding ‘frozen pensions’ scandal.“ “Labour backed an end to this cruel policy in 2019. It is disappointing that this ‘Government in waiting’ has made no such pledge today. We sincerely hope that Labour will stand up to its commitments, and conducts a full review of the State Pension to include addressing this deeply harmful, purely arbitrary policy.”

UK State Pension Age
State Pension age is due to be independently reviewed after the election. The State Pension age is currently 66 and is due to increase to 67 by 2028, and to 68 by 2046.

Inheritance Tax (IHT)

After occupying a prominent part of the policy debate over the past 12 months, it had been reported that (in the same way as with the Pensions Lifetime Allowance) the Conservative Party was considering scrapping the current IHT framework altogether as a potential vote winner – with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt declaring the tax “unfair” and “profoundly anti-Conservative”. However, any commitment to abolish (or indeed even reduce) IHT has ultimately been omitted from the Conservative’s election manifesto.

And whilst Rachel Reeves has previously said that she has “no plans” to change the current IHT thresholds or rates [and the only reference to IHT in Labour’s manifesto was in relation to ending the use of offshore trusts to avoid IHT], the possibility of reforming this tax in the future remains a distinct possibility.

We will continue to monitor Labour’s position on IHT very carefully as it evolves post-election and update accordingly.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

Labour has confirmed that for non-UK residents it will increase the current rates1 [detailed below] of Stamp Duty Land Tax [as detailed below] on purchases of residential property by 1%.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Rachel Reeves previously indicated that Labour had “no plans” to increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT) receipts by aligning CGT rates with Income Tax rates, as had been widely speculated, but this does not rule out the possibility of CGT rate increases in the future to align the taxes more closely.

For expats with a UK residence, or one or more buy-to-let investment properties that they potentially intend to sell in the future, this will need to be monitored carefully and the potential negative impact it could have on the funds realised from those assets understood as part of your financial planning.

This MPS service, which can build either easy-to-implement, tailored, or fully customisable, white-labelled portfolios, is offered to end investors exclusively through adviser firms where the trend towards custom MPS is growing rapidly.

As part of the collaboration, Paradigm Norton partnered with Collidr on Paradigm’s advisory, risk-range model portfolios, including accumulation, income and responsible options, which Collidr will manage using their proprietary technology and ‘Quantimental’ investment approach.

This approach combines Collidr’s team of experienced institutional fund managers with behavioural research and AI-driven technology to ensure that investments are suitable for each portfolio.

Symon Stickney, CEO of Collidr, said: “We’re delighted to partner with a strong brand and firm such as Paradigm Norton. We each bring unique and complimentary skills to the table – that means Paradigm Norton’s advisers are able to deliver to their clients enhanced risk management and governance, and transparent reporting.”

David Burridge, investment committee chair of Paradigm Norton, added: “We onboarded with Collidr in 2023 and nearly a year in, it has been a great experience. We really liked how Collidr offer only bespoke MPS. They really are helping us to be a better version of ourselves. Collidr were always keen to listen to what was important to us and were flexible in how they can best help, looking for the opportunities to add value. For example, they have helped us secure institutional pricing terms on some of our funds, helped with articulating market news and updates to our investment focused clients and assisted with consumer duty requirements.

In short, overlaying Collidr’s expertise, oversight and DFM permissions, with our in-house capabilities and philosophy has provided a market leading solution for investors who are looking for low-cost, evidence-based portfolios and responsible solutions.”

According to Burridge, Paradigm Norton partnered with Collidr on this service for three key reasons:

1. Collidr’s ability to understand our current investment proposition and build a bespoke discretionary service model to meet these unique requirements and objectives.
2. Its institutional approach to sustainability and long term partnerships that support advisory firms in delivering these solutions.
3. Its market-leading risk management and interactive reporting capability, which allows IFAs to spend more time with clients. This is particularly important in light of the FCA’s Consumer Duty which has sharply increased the compliance burden on adviser firms.

Stickney added, “We will continue to see rising demand for all forms of MPS offerings over the coming years, from easy-to-implement ‘select’ portfolios to fully bespoke MPS solutions, which deliver the investment proposition advisers are looking for.”

“Adviser firms focus on using technology to benefit their businesses has never been greater. Collidr will be launching a new AI-driven, portfolio management and reporting platform to help advisers further automate and address the need for better portfolio oversight, risk management and personalised reporting, which will help them improve productivity and enhance the overall client experience,” said Symon Stickney.

Paradigm Norton is one of the largest independent financial planning companies in England, serving more than 1,000 clients with over £1.39bn of assets under  management and employing over 85 people across four offices: Bristol, London, Exeter and Torquay.

Launched in 2010, Collidr’s operations include an investment management firm, Collidr Asset Management Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and uses Collidr’s proprietary AI technology, and Collidr Technologies Limited, which offers this technology on a stand-alone basis, in addition to research services, empowering investors to make better investment decisions and digitalise the investment process.

Collidr’s technology and services are available to: Financial Advisors, Wealth Managers, Actuarial Consultants, Private Banks, Life Companies, Pension Scheme Advisors / Providers, Asset Managers, Discretionary managers, Family Offices.