Informed Choice Radio Personal Finance Podcast
597 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsWelcome to Informed Choice Radio, the personal finance podcast all about achieving your financial goals in life. New episodes are published every Friday, featuring expert interviews and practical tips for making the most of your money. Your host for Informed Choice Radio is Martin Bamford; a Chartered Financial Planner, Fellow of the Personal Finance Society and personal finance author. Contact Martin at [email protected] with any comments or questions. You can find show notes and archived episodes at https://icradio.co.uk/episodes/.
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Episodes
Reinventing power, purpose and capitalism, with Joel Solomon
August 19, 2019 05:00 - 25 minutes - 24.2 MBBy the year 2050, $50 trillion will change hands in North America in the largest generational wealth transfer ever. It will remake the world and be the biggest money-making opportunity in history. "Business as usual", founded on exploitation and environmental ruin, is over. Climate catastrophe, reactionary politics, and widening inequity have put the world on edge. Meanwhile innovations are shifting the economic ground, and an entire generation is pounding the table for real change. Ca...
6 signs of true wealth
August 16, 2019 09:46 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBWhat are the signs of true wealth? After spending a few days this week staying in one of the most expensive places in the world, I've drawn up a list of six signs of true wealth, that go beyond the material and conspicuous. This isn't about big houses, fast cars and flashy watches, but real signs of wealth and prosperity.
Better financial services communication, with Joe Craig
August 12, 2019 05:00 - 26 minutes - 25.3 MBThe world of retail financial services is notorious for its poor communication, especially in written form. Communicating complex topics, such as pensions, can be challenging. When wrapped up with regulatory requirements, that communication can be confusing and lead to poor outcomes for consumers. My guest in this episode is Joe Craig, Development Lead at Quietroom. Quietroom works with its clients to be clear, vivid and real – so their story makes sense, so their ideas come to life, s...
THIS is why you need to work with a financial adviser
August 09, 2019 09:20 - 22 minutes - 21.3 MBThere's a great news story doing the rounds this week, about a chap who received a windfall of nearly £133,000 after a chance conversation with his financial adviser which led him to a state pension pot he didn't know existed. In this episode, why working with a financial adviser can lead to unexpected riches - or at least help make sense of your financial paperwork and remove a great deal of stress from your life.
Navigating the gig economy, with Diane Mulcahy
August 05, 2019 05:00 - 23 minutes - 22.3 MBThe world of work is changing. Gone is the idea of a job for life. Instead, traditional employment is more uncertain than ever, leading a growing number of people to seek roles in the gig economy instead. Succeeding in the gig economy means shifting your mindset, acquiring new skills, and leveraging your knowledge and network to create your own career trajectory. Get it right, and your fortunes are no longer tied to the whims of an employer. Five years ago, before the Gig Economy was e...
Turning passion into profit
August 02, 2019 05:00 - 25 minutes - 24.4 MBIn this episode, I answer a listener email, sharing my thoughts on how he can turn his passion into profit.
Spotting financial bubbles before they burst, with Vikram Mansharamani
July 29, 2019 05:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBMy guest on the podcast today is author of a book based on the popular undergraduate course he taught at Yale University. The course was called “Financial Booms & Busts” and it resulted in the book Boombustology, now in its second edition. Since writing his book Vikram Mansharamani has gone on to show business leaders and investors how to look at the world differently in order to manage risk and navigate radical uncertainty. His strategies help them peer into the future on crucial area...
Should you worry about Boris?
July 26, 2019 02:00 - 20 minutes - 19.5 MBThe United Kingdom has a new Prime Minister! Boris Johnson beat his opponent Jeremy Hunt to secure leadership of the Conservative Party this week, before taking the keys to Number 10 Downing Street from his predecessor, Theresa May. With the Brexiteer in power, and Leavers dominating his newly formed government, what can we expect from Prime Minister Johnson in the coming months? Should you worry about Boris when it comes to your money?
Ditch debt, save money, build real wealth - with Bola Sokunbi
July 22, 2019 05:00 - 21 minutes - 20.2 MBMy guest on the podcast today is on a mission to help women become accountable, ditch debt, save money and build real wealth. Bola Sokunbi is a Certified Financial Education Instructor, finance expert, speaker, podcaster, influencer, and the founder and CEO of Clever Girl Finance, a personal finance platform for women. Her new book is Clever Girl Finance: Ditch debt, save money and build real wealth. In the book, Bola draws on her personal money mistakes and financial redemption to edu...
Why the next recession will test your financial plan
July 19, 2019 13:37 - 22 minutes - 21.6 MBWe're overdue a recession. Based on the typical length of an economic cycle, it's reasonable to expect a recession sometime soon. Throw some current affairs into the mix; Brexit, the US/China trade war, and everyone getting stroppy with Iran, and that recession could be triggered fairly soon. When the next recession comes, it looks set to be an 'interesting' experience. Since the global financial crisis, much of the recovery in developed economies has been fueled by artificial money, pum...
What money means in the 21st Century, with Alice Tapper
July 15, 2019 05:00 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBMy guest today on Informed Choice Radio is Alice Tapper, the Founder of Go Fund Yourself, an online platform and community which makes personal finance relatable. She also works with start-ups and financial institutions to help them develop new products and communications. Previously, Alice was a management consultant. She has a degree in Economics and an MSc in Behavioural Economics. Her new book Go Fund Yourself isn't about cutting back on coffee or walking to work and it definitely ...
Opposite-sex couples set to gain civil partnership financial advantage
July 12, 2019 05:00 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBToday on the show, I'm talking about proposals to make civil partnerships available to opposite-sex couples, and the financial advantages this would bring. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and a cautionary tale in the aftershow; don't drink the water from the lake at Hever Castle! Millions of unmarried couples could be better off financially following new government proposals. The proposals are designed to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples, re...
How to manage your finances to get the life you want, with Lisa Conway-Hughes
July 08, 2019 05:00 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBIf you spent one hour a month nurturing your finances for the next twelve months, how would you feel this time next year? What would be different? Mapping out a plan for achieving your big goals and managing everyday spending is the goal of Money Lessons, the new book from financial expert Lisa Conway-Hughes. Lisa is a qualified Financial Advisor with fifteen years' experience and a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society. She blogs as her alter ego Miss Lolly, offering unbiased financi...
Celebrating 25 years of Independent Financial Planning at Informed Choice
July 05, 2019 15:19 - 21 minutes - 20.4 MBMartin and Nick chat in the Sundial House Courtyard ahead of celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Informed Choice, which started in 1994. They talk about the early days of the business, finding the offices, how regulation has changed during this time, Nick's role in applying for Chartered status for the profession, and what Informed Choice looks like today.
Rewiring the way you think about retirement, with Jamie Hopkins
July 01, 2019 05:00 - 24 minutes - 23.2 MBCommon misconceptions, assumptions, and behavioral biases often prevent people from building robust and flexible retirement plans—and this is an enormous problem. If you don’t know your decisions are based on false assumptions, how can you avoid making serious mistakes? My guest on the podcast today describes himself as a 'pracademic' when it comes to the field of retirement planning. That's 'practical academic'. Jamie Hopkins is a leading retirement planning expert in the US. He is a pr...
Illiquid funds are built on a lie
June 28, 2019 06:00 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBI had a conversation yesterday with a lady I know. Not a client, I should add. She's recently discovered that a quarter of her pension pot is invested in Woodford Equity Income, where trading remains suspended. The first she heard about her exposure to the fund was when her pension provider wrote to her to let her know it wasn't possible to buy or sell units. Interestingly, her independent financial adviser didn't tell her and hasn't been responding to her subsequent queries. Now leavi...
How ideas from the great economists can help us today, with Dr Linda Yueh
June 24, 2019 10:30 - 21 minutes - 20.4 MBWhat can the ideas of history's greatest economists tell us about the most important issues of our time? Since the days of Adam Smith, economists have grappled with a series of familiar problems - but often their ideas are hard to digest, before we even try to apply them to today's issues. My guest today is Dr Linda Yueh, an accomplished economist, and leading writer and broadcaster in this field. In her new book, The Great Economists, she explains the key thoughts of history's greates...
What's with all of the sub-standard pension transfer advice?
June 21, 2019 05:00 - 23 minutes - 22.4 MBThe suitability of advice to transfer from a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to a personal pension has faced a great deal of regulatory scrutiny in the past couple of years. Deciding to transfer a promise of guaranteed income to the uncertainty of an invested capital value is far from simple. This choice represents one of the most complex personal finance decisions we will ever have to make. As a result of this complexity involved, it’s right that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA...
Rules for richer, happier days, with James Wallman
June 17, 2019 05:00 - 38 minutes - 35.9 MBIf the most precious thing we have is time, the most highly prized expertise should be knowing how to spend it well. Yet, busier than ever, do we really understand which experiences bring us joy and success, and which don’t? After all, we’ve learned how to spot the difference between junk foods and superfoods. When you discover the equivalent rules for time, it’ll change how you live your life. My guest on the show today is James Wallman, author of one of my favourite books, Stuffocati...
Are you paying too little tax?
June 14, 2019 09:48 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBIn the world of Financial Planning, the goal when it comes to tax is to pay as little as necessary. This approach is legal tax avoidance, rather than illegal tax evasion, and it involves making use of available allowances and reliefs to manage your tax affairs most efficiently. But what happens when you pay too little tax? According to some new research, around a third of taxpayers who use self-assessment could be paying too little. In this episode, Martin talks about the scale of th...
Quit like a millionaire, with Kristy Shen & Bryce Leung
June 10, 2019 05:00 - 23 minutes - 22.2 MBMy guests today are two leaders of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, and they've written a bold, contrarian guide to retiring at any age. Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung are world travelling early retirees. Their story has been featured in media outlets all over the world, including the New York Times, CBC, CNBC, the Independent. They now spend their time helping people with their finances and realizing their travel dreams. In their book, Kristy and Bryce cover ho...
What's happened to Neil Woodford?
June 07, 2019 05:00 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBIt's been a busy week for the financial press, but for all of the wrong reasons. Neil Woodford's £3.7bn fund flagship Equity Income fund suspended trading following high levels of withdrawals and liquidity concerns. In this episode, I'm seeking to make sense of what happened to Neil Woodford, unpicking some of the key lessons from this big investment story.
Calling the top of the Bitcoin boom, with Glen Goodman
June 03, 2019 05:00 - 27 minutes - 26.3 MBMy guest on the podcast today is Glen Goodman. His goal was to retire young and wealthy, escaping the daily grind. He taught himself how to trade everything from shares to Bitcoin and made enough money to realise his dream and quit his day job while still in his 30s. In his new book, The Crypto Trader, Glen shows readers how he made huge profits trading Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and more. Glen publicly called the top of the Bitcoin market in December 2017 and took his profits before th...
Carnage on the High Street
May 31, 2019 05:00 - 28 minutes - 26.6 MBIn this episode, I'm talking about the impact of fairly dire retail conditions on the High Street, and what this could mean for commercial property investors. I also look at the consequences of 'fake news' on our financial decision making, and whether social media networks could do more to address the spread of dangerous misinformation.
Thinking differently from the investor crowd, with Alasdair McKinnon
May 27, 2019 05:00 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBWhen it comes to investing, it pays to think differently from the rest of the crowd. Contrarian thinking is something we've explored on Informed Choice Radio before, and we're back at it today in conversation with Alasdair McKinnon, manager of the Scottish Investment Trust. Alasdair is a self-confessed stock market geek, developing a passion for investing in his teens and working in the sector since his first role in 1998. He graduated with an MA in Economic and Social History from the U...
Why women are better with money than men
May 24, 2019 06:00 - 33 minutes - 31.2 MBIt’s official – women are better with money than men. Researchers who carried out a detailed study found the female of the species to be more financially responsible than their male counterparts. According to the report, women are more likely to know exactly how much money they have in their current and savings accounts. In this episode, why the fairer sex is better at managing money than us blokes. We also hear from our correspondent Kitty, who speaks with Kevin Mountford, CEO of Ra...
Is it ever too late to get started?
May 10, 2019 05:00 - 21 minutes - 20.6 MBStart young, start early. That's the mantra of Financial Planning, But what if you leave it later in life before starting to save for retirement or another financial objective? Is it too late to get started? In this episode, I'm talking about what to do if you're a bit late off the starting blocks. I cover the impact of money into your investments, versus investment growth and the power of compound returns, what one genius referred to as the eighth wonder of the world.
Becoming a financial grownup, with Bobbi Rebell
May 06, 2019 05:00 - 17 minutes - 17.1 MBMy guest today is Bobbi Rebell, an award-winning TV anchor and personal finance columnist at Thomson Reuters In hew new book, How to Be a Financial Grownup, Bobbi taps into her exclusive network of business leaders to share with you stories of the financial lessons they learned early in their lives that helped them become successful. She then uses these stories as jumping off points to offer specific, actionable advice on how you can become a financial grownup just like them. Her book ...
Tackling inter generational unfairness
May 03, 2019 06:00 - 24 minutes - 23.3 MBIt's not fair. The financial gulf between young and old in society has reached epic proportions. While retirees are sitting on vast amounts of property wealth, enjoying their gold-plated final salary pensions, and getting off lightly with low taxation, the younger generations can't afford to buy a home, or smashed avocado on toast. That is of course an over simplification of the situation. But there does appear to be a great deal of inter generational unfairness in UK society today. ...
Rewiring brain science for wealth, with David Krueger MD
April 29, 2019 05:00 - 23 minutes - 22.4 MBNeuroscientists estimate that over 90 percent of our operating systems - our beliefs, behaviors, patterns - are unconscious. Since the surface story determines less than 10 percent of our decisions, how can we illuminate the shadow story responsible for over 90 percent of what we do each day? Once we systematically understand our relationship with money, can we overcome the mind and brain's resistance to change? Especially when so many of the current popular strategies for change are c...
Why we put off important financial decisions
April 26, 2019 05:00 - 23 minutes - 22.4 MBI'm a master procrastinator. Easily distracted, very proficient at finding trivial things to fill my time, right up until a looming deadline, when I become the most productive machine known to humankind. It turns out that, as a nation, we're pretty good at putting off important financial decisions, sweating the small stuff instead. In this episode, I chat about some interesting new research which found that we lack the mental space to tackle money matters, and what we can do about it. ...
Becoming a sceptical investor, with John Stepek
April 22, 2019 05:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBIt seems that all investors want to be contrarian investors. My guest today explains that being a contrarian is hard work. It requires a lot of patience, both in terms of waiting for opportunities and then waiting to be proven right. And it requires us to go against basic human instincts, fighting our natural tendencies to go with the flow and follow the herd. But this is, of course, why being a contrarian works. John Stepek has been writing about business, economics and investment f...
Rewilding Knepp Castle, with Isabella Tree
April 19, 2019 05:00 - 21 minutes - 20.2 MBWhat happens when an intensively farmed estate is handed back to nature? In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, something a little different. I recently had the opportunity to speak to the award-winning nature and travel journalist Isabella Tree about the Knepp Experiment. Isabella, along with her husband, the environmentalist Charlie Burrell, are custodians of the 3,500 acre Knepp Castle Estate in West Sussex. She's author of the acclaimed book Wilding: The return of nature to a ...
Playing with FIRE, with Scott Rieckens
April 15, 2019 05:00 - 34 minutes - 32.5 MBA successful entrepreneur living in Southern California, my guest today had built a “dream life”; a happy marriage, a two-year-old daughter, a membership to a boat club, and a BMW in the driveway. But underneath the surface, he was creatively stifled, depressed, and overworked trying to help pay for his family’s beach-town lifestyle. Then one day, he listened to a podcast interview that changed his life. Five months later, he had quit his job, convinced his family to leave their home, ...
Making the case for active investment management
April 12, 2019 05:00 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBI came across an article on Marketwatch.com last week, and it's a controversial one. We hear a lot about the benefits of index tracker funds. These are the low-cost funds that aim to replicate the performance of a market index. It's a style of investing sometimes called passive investing, although of course there are still active decisions to make about which index to track. The Marketwatch article is a write-up of a new study, which throws into question a big part of the rationale which...
An economist walks into a brothel, with Allison Schrager
April 08, 2019 05:00 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MBAn Economist Walks Into a Brothel. It's not the first line of a bad joke, but the title of a new book all about unexpected places to find risk. Is it worth swimming in shark-infested waters to surf a 50-foot, career-record wave? Is it riskier to make an action movie or a horror movie? Should sex workers forfeit 50 per cent of their income for added security or take a chance and keep the extra money? You might not expect an economist to answer these questions, or other questions peopl...
Why not now
April 05, 2019 01:00 - 31 minutes - 29.4 MBDid you know that 90% of women will have complete control over their finances at some point in their lives due to lifecycle events like divorce or simply by outliving their spouses? This is why it's so important for women to talk about money, yet so few do. In this episode, I chat with Debbie McGrath, author of a new report called Why Not Now, which is all about the cost to financial and emotional wellbeing when women don't talk about money. We also hear about how much money UK employe...
Control over obscene top pay, with Deborah Hargreaves
April 01, 2019 05:00 - 19 minutes - 18.8 MBWages for the majority have been stagnant for decades, but a lucky few have enjoyed a pay bonanza. Top company bosses take home in several days as much as most people earn in a whole year. My guest on the podcast today is Deborah Hargreaves, former business editor of the Guardian and a founder and director of the High Pay Centre, an independent think-tank that monitors executive pay. Deborah's new book is called Are Chief Executives Overpaid? In the book, she explains why pay for the...
Powerful systems to boost your wealth
March 29, 2019 05:00 - 38 minutes - 35.9 MBWhat are the simple systems you should follow to boost your long-term wealth? In this episode, I'm sharing four systems that i believe can have the biggest impact on your long-term financial success. We also hear about the onset of Making Tax Digital, and the importance of efficient business systems to help cope with that change. And the collapse of Wow Air has left thousands of passengers stranded. What does this mean for airline passengers? There's also a roundup of the latest pers...
Essential personal finance at work, with Jason Butler
March 25, 2019 05:00 - 20 minutes - 19.7 MBThere is increasing pressure for all of us to take responsibility for our own financial security and wellbeing. But we often overlook how the benefits that come with a job can help us do just that. My guest on the podcast today is Jason Butler, co-author of a new book called Essential Personal Finance: A Practical Guide for Employees. The book focuses on these valuable work benefits and shows how you can build on this important foundation to achieve financial security and your life goals...
Talking about invisible illnesses
March 22, 2019 05:00 - 22 minutes - 21.2 MBIn this episode, we're talking about invisible illnesses and why it's important to talk about your health, especially with your financial adviser. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and some news of a big new appointment at Informed Choice.
Capitalism matters more than ever, with Dr Rainer Zitelmann
March 18, 2019 06:00 - 25 minutes - 24 MB"The market has failed, we need more government intervention" - that's the mantra politicians, the media and intellectuals have constantly been reiterating ever since the outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis. My guest on the podcast today is Dr Rainer Zitelmann. He's the author of more than 20 books, including the Wealth Elite, which we discussed on Informed Choice Radio back in episode 370 last November. He was previously a senior editor at Die Welt newspaper. In his new book, The Po...
Spring Statement, Brexit Bombshell, & Clued Up for ISA Season
March 15, 2019 06:00 - 34 minutes - 32 MBIn this episode, there's an update on the key economic and personal finance points in this week's Spring Statement; I have a short rant about Brexit and the latest occurrences; and we hear from our correspondent Kitty with a short interview designed to get you clued up for ISA season.
Successful retirement planning, with Justin King
March 11, 2019 01:00 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBWhat does it take to live a successful retirement? My guest today is Justin King; a Chartered Financial Planner, Certified Financial Planner and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. From his Financial Planning practice in Dorset, Justin works with retired couples to ensure they are living their best possible life. He's host of the fantastic Retirement Cafe Podcast, where he speaks to experts and clients about successful retirement planning. In this episode, I ask Justin about the wor...
5 signs your investment portfolio is in great shape
March 08, 2019 01:00 - 32 minutes - 30.7 MBIn this episode, I'm sharing 5 signs that your investment portfolio is in great shape. As we move ever closer to an uncertain Brexit outcome, positioning your portfolio for success is more important than ever. We've also got two special reports from our correspondent Kitty, discussing National Apprenticeship Week and how pensioners of tomorrow are underestimating the cost of their retirement, facing a significant shortfall as a result.
Understanding the City's best-kept secret, with Jonathan Davis
March 04, 2019 06:00 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBMy guest on the podcast today is Jonathan Davis, one of the UK’s leading authors and commentators on stock market investment. He's the author of several books: Money Makers, Investing With Anthony Bolton and Templeton’s Way with Money and editor/co-publisher with Harriman House of several others. A former columnist on the Independent and the Financial Times, he is a regular contributor to The Spectator and Money Week and recently launched his own newsletter The Investment Reader. Jonatha...
How economics explains how we raise our kids, with Matthias Doepke
February 25, 2019 06:00 - 15 minutes - 15.1 MBParents everywhere want their children to be happy and do well. Yet how parents seek to achieve this ambition varies enormously. For instance, American and Chinese parents are increasingly authoritative and authoritarian, whereas Scandinavian parents tend to be more permissive. Why? My guest today is Matthias Doepke, author of Love, Money, and Parenting. In his book, Matthias investigates how economic forces and growing inequality shape how parents raise their children. From medieval...
Finding the next Apple or Google
February 22, 2019 06:00 - 29 minutes - 27.9 MBToday on the podcast, I was going to bring you a big name guest interview...but that fell through. I thought I might ask past guests of the show to record their favourite money making or money saving tips...but I ran out of time to arrange it. I was even thinking about hosting a live show in front of a small audience...but let's save that for episode 500. But then I received a voicemail from listener David Withington. Here it is. So rather than interview a big name guest, collate a load ...
Inside the ransom business, with Anja Shortland
February 18, 2019 06:00 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBKidnap for ransom is a lucrative but tricky business. Millions of people live, travel, and work in areas with significant kidnap risks, yet kidnaps of foreign workers, local VIPs, and tourists are surprisingly rare and the vast majority of abductions are peacefully resolved - often for remarkably low ransoms. In fact, the market for hostages is so well ordered that the crime is insurable. This is a puzzle: ransoming a hostage is the world's most precarious trade. What would be the "rig...
Romance is dead
February 15, 2019 06:00 - 21 minutes - 20.5 MBWe're getting romantic in this episode. After all, it was Valentine's Day this week. I've found three new money and romance related studies to share, along with a few of my thoughts on the subject. In this episode, I talk about how dating frequency is maintained in retirement, the cost of first dates, and the toll of romance scams. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news.