Informed Choice Radio Personal Finance Podcast
597 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year 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
Blockchain solutions for small countries, with Robert Koenig
August 20, 2018 01:00 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MBUnless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, you're probably familiar with bitcoin and it's rollercoaster ride for cryptocurrency speculators. I've resisted covering crypto on this podcast for a number of reasons. Most of the so-called expert guests put forward to speak on the subject are anything but. The last thing I want is to give a platform on this podcast to someone who might convince a listener to part with their hard-earned cash and speculate on something as worth...
An industry insider's look at the fintech explosion, with Susanne Chishti
August 13, 2018 01:00 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBThe financial technology, or fintech, sector is booming. Entrepreneurs, bankers, consultants, investors and asset managers are scrambling for more information: Who are the key players? What's driving the explosive growth? What are the risks? My guest on the podcast today is Susanne Chishti, CEO of FINTECH Circle, Europe’s first Angel Network focused on FinTech opportunities. Susanne is also co-editor of “The FINTECH Book” — a crowd-sourced book on FinTech globally. Recognised in the...
A millennial's view of financial planning
August 10, 2018 01:00 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBToday on the show, I'm joined by my colleague Andy Bodman, paraplanner at Informed Choice and soon to be financial planner, to get a millennial's view of financial planning. Everything you wanted to know about younger people's attitudes towards money, investing and retirement, but were afraid to ask. You've come to the right place!
How to give financial advice that people will follow, with Dr Moira Somers
August 06, 2018 01:00 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBWhat good is excellent advice if you don't follow it? As a financial planner, I know that when my advice goes unimplemented, the well-being of my clients is compromised, opportunities are lost, and the professional relationship grows strained. My guest on the podcast today has written an excellent new book, taking aim at the problem of financial non-adherence. Dr Moira Somers is a leading practitioner in the field of financial psychology and financial change. A neuropsychologist, pro...
Interest rates are going up!
August 03, 2018 13:16 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MBInterest rates went up this week, for only the second time in nearly a decade. In this episode, we're looking at the factors behind the rate rise decision and what it means for your personal finances. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and some updates from the world of Informed Choice this week.
How to shape a life of money and meaning, with Dr Brian Portnoy
July 30, 2018 01:00 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBHow does money figure into a happy life? In his new book The Geometry of Wealth, behavioral finance expert Dr Brian Portnoy delivers an inspired answer to this important question. He builds on the critical distinction between being rich and being wealthy. While being rich can be described as an unsatisfying treadmill, being wealthy is the ability to underwrite a meaningful life, however one chooses to define that. Truly viewed, wealth is funded contentment. At the heart of this groundb...
ICR341: Another failed financial policy from the government
July 27, 2018 01:00 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBIn this episode, I’m looking at the a new Treasury Committee report about household finances. We’ve got high levels of debt and low levels of savings; and the government think they can do more to help us. And if you believe that, you’ll believe anything! There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow segment, where I share what I’ve been up to and what we’re doing at Informed Choice right now.
ICR340: Russ Koesterich, Portfolio Construction for Today's Markets
July 23, 2018 01:00 - 15 minutes - 14.7 MBFor almost 50 years the simplest investment solution was often the best. A balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds provided most investors with a comfortable retirement. Unfortunately, this approach is now unlikely to work. Retirement is longer, private company pensions are a thing of the past and interest rates are at historic lows. Investors need a new plan and a new approach to organising their investments. My guest on the podcast today is Russ Koesterich, Managing Director and portf...
ICR339: How to order a hit on your financial adviser
July 20, 2018 12:27 - 22 minutes - 20.3 MBIn this episode I'm talking about resolving problems with your financial adviser or financial planner. My inspiration for this episode came from two places. Firstly, a Sky News article with the title Ex-GP hired hitman on dark web to kill financial adviser after losing £300k, court hears. Secondly, our annual regulatory fee invoice arrived this week. So I'm thinking a lot about not only the cost of financial services regulation, but also the different mechanisms for resolving problems ...
ICR338: Barbara Vrancik, She Will Get The Money
July 16, 2018 01:00 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBEarlier this year, Melinda Gates wrote in an op-ed published in Quartz that she and her husband, Bill Gates, would be donating $170 million to empower women all around the world economically. Gates later wrote that the research indicated that economic power was “the most promising entry point for gender equality.” She and many others believe that when women have economic power, they can write their own rules and reshape how things operate. This goes from the household to the business world...
ICR337: What went wrong in Port Talbot?
July 13, 2018 01:00 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MBThis week I've been in Port Talbot in South Wales, for the Great Pension Debate II. In this episode, I'm sharing the story of why this conference was held in this seaside town in South Wales and some of the key points coming out of the two days.
ICR336: Sarah Davidson, Saving & Borrowing with a Credit Union
July 09, 2018 01:00 - 18 minutes - 16.7 MBIn this episode, I chat to Sarah Davidson from Boom! about how credit unions work and the type of work they do, across both saving and borrowing, as well as their support for the local community. Boom! is a credit union for people who live or work in West Sussex, Surrey or Kingston. They give local people access to fair and affordable loans, savings accounts and prepaid cards. They exist to help make life better for people in West Sussex, Kingston and Surrey. A credit union is an indep...
ICR335: Coping with the crippling cost of living
July 06, 2018 01:00 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBIn this episode, how can families cope with the crippling cost of living? I share some new research into rising living costs and then suggest some steps we can take to deal with them. My five tips for coping with cost of living increases: 1 - Learn to budget effectively 2 - Trim the fat from your household budget 3 - Bring in some extra income 4 - Shop around for cheaper deals - mortgage, insurances, utilities. 5 - Make some lifestyle changes - i.e. drive less, walk or cycle mo...
ICR334: Amanda Abella, Make Money Your Honey
July 02, 2018 09:50 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBHow can millennials, especially entrepreneurs in this generation, forge a better relationship with work and money? My guest on the podcast today is Amanda Abella. Featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Inc, and Business Insider, Amanda has created an online community where millennials can learn how to make money online and actually enjoy their financial journeys. Her ever growing community is currently made up of over 30,000 individuals across social media and email subscriber channe...
ICR333: Wake up when it comes to your retirement income
June 29, 2018 09:38 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBIn this episode I'm talking about retirement income; the good, the bad and the ugly. I'll be talking about a new report from the Financial Conduct Authority, looking at how the retirement income sector is serving consumer more than three years after the introduction of pension freedoms. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the after show, where (after an extended break from these Friday episodes) I talk about what's been going on recently in my world and in the ...
ICR332: Joanna Nylund, The Finnish Art of Courage
June 25, 2018 01:00 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBWe all want to lead a life of greater purpose and happiness. Cultivating the Finnish quality of sisu might be the answer. My guest on the podcast today is Joanna Nylund. She was born and raised in Finland, where she started her writing career doing music reviews for a local magazine at age 15. After studying English literature at university and living in the UK for a few years, she has been working as a translator, journalist, copywriter and photographer. She now lives in Helsinki with h...
ICR331: Andy Bird, The Inspired Leader
June 18, 2018 01:00 - 22 minutes - 20.2 MBMy guest today is Andy Bird, an independent leadership consultant, coach and author. Andy began his career over 30 years ago working for Unilever in the UK, South East Asia and India. He set up and led their pioneering Marketing Academy before moving on to become a Co-Founder of Brand Learning. Widely recognised for its distinctive client work and company culture, Brand Learning has since grown into a global capability consultancy and recently became part of Accenture. Today on the pod...
ICR330: Jude Thorne, Loyalty Rewards for Good
June 11, 2018 01:00 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBMy guest today is Jude Thorne, founder and CEO of a loyalty rewards programme with a difference. Jude has 24 years’ experience in customer relationship management, customer loyalty, marketing and branding. She joined AirMiles in 1994 after senior roles within the advertising industry. In her roles as Marketing Director and then as Managing Director, Jude focused on deepening customer relationships, creating centralised accounts and focusing on customer and client communications and serv...
ICR329: Warren Shute, The Money Plan
June 04, 2018 01:00 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBWhat if money was easy? If you’ve ever wondered why some people make money easily, enjoy great holidays, have nice things and retire rich, while others always seem to struggle, it’s not because they are more intelligent or just lucky. It’s simply because they have better beliefs about money and a system that works. And that's the subject of the book my guest today has written. Warren Shute is passionate about financial planning and you will understand this if you ever meet him, watch his...
ICR328: Vishal Argarwal, Give to Get
May 28, 2018 13:36 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBMy guest on the podcast today is Vishal Agarwal and he has lived the corporate life cycle from start to finish. He started as an intern and worked up to Senior Deals Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Until very recently, Vishal was a Global Top 500 Senior Leader for General Electric before becoming Chairman and CEO of his own private investment management firm, Full Circle Africa. During his twenty-four-year career, he navigated all facets of corporate life from building teams and deliver...
ICR327: Herman Brodie, The Trust Mandate
May 21, 2018 01:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBMy guest on the podcast today is co-author of a new book called The Trust Mandate. Herman Brodie spent over a decade in investment banking roles in London, Paris and in Frankfurt. In 2000 he co-founded his first company, Cognitrend, a consultancy to advise financial institutions on the utilisation of behavioural finance research. He has pursued this goal since 2013 as Managing Director of Prospecta Limited. Herman is a co-author and lecturer of 'A Practical History of Financial Markets',...
ICR326: Marc Lichtenfeld, You Don’t Have to Drive an Uber in Retirement
May 14, 2018 01:00 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MBMy guest today has written an excellent new book called You Don't Have to Drive an Uber in Retirement: How to Maintain Your Lifestyle without Getting a Job or Cutting Corners. Marc Lichtenfeld is the Chief Income Strategist of The Oxford Club. He is the Senior Editor of The Oxford Income Letter, which is based on his proprietary 10-11-12 System. He is also the Editor of Tactical Trader Alert, Lightning Trend Trader and Chairman's Circle Breakout Alert. In his new book. Marc shares little...
ICR325: Olivia Bowen, Thoughtful Investing
May 07, 2018 14:26 - 21 minutes - 19.3 MBThe way in which we choose to invest our money can have a much bigger impact than we might realise. Money can be a force for good, encouraging positive change in the world, as well as being a force for evil; funding distasteful or outright damaging activities. My guest on the podcast today is Olivia Bowen, a Partner in Financial Advice at Castlefield. Olivia is a graduate of Manchester University, joining Castlefield in 1999. As a Partner in their financial advice arm, she's helped clien...
ICR324: Niels Jensen, The End of Indexing
April 30, 2018 01:00 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBWhat's worked before won't always work in the future. In the world of investing, we often hear the risk warning that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future returns. My guest on the show today has written an excellent new book which takes a look into the future for investors, predicting six structural mega-trends that threaten passive investing. Niels Jensen has over 30 years of investment banking and investment management experience. He started his career in Copenhagen i...
ICR323: Danielle Town, How Warren Buffett Taught Me to Master My Money
April 23, 2018 01:00 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBGrowing up, the words finance, savings, and portfolio made my guest's eyes glaze over, and the thought of stocks and financial statements shut down her brain. The daughter of a successful investor and bestselling financial author, she spent most of her adult life avoiding investing - until she realized that her time-consuming career as lawyer was making her feel anything but in control of her life or her money. Determined to regain her freedom, vote for her values with her money, and d...
ICR322: Cait Flanders, Year of Less
April 16, 2018 01:00 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBIn her late twenties, my guest today found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realised that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy, she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year. My guest today is Cait Flanders, author of a new book called The Year of Le...
ICR321: Damion Lupo, Freedom from Money Bondage
April 09, 2018 01:00 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBOne million people financially free. That's the mission of my guest on the podcast today, who joins me to share his tips on freedom from money bondage. Damion Lupo is a best selling personal finance author and host of the Transformation Nation podcast. He's owned more than 30 companies and even founded his own martial art. Damion outrightly rejects regret and speaks to it as the ultimate life failure. He's got a unique approach to living a fulfilled life by breaking rule and making more...
ICR320: Hayley Tink, Behavioural Money Patterns
April 02, 2018 01:00 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBMy guest today is Hayley Tink. Hayley is the first Chartered Financial Planner in the UK to also be a Certified Money Coach. She's able to bring this new dimension to her financial advice work, as well as providing stand-alone money coaching sessions for those who wish to understand the psychological dimension of their own relationship to money. The concept of Money Coaching is still relatively new in Financial Planning circles and it was great to speak to Hayley for this episode to l...
ICR319: Bill Francavilla, Madoffs Among Us
March 26, 2018 01:00 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBEach year investors lose billions to fraudulent activity. Today on the podcast we talk about why and how people fall prey and what steps you can take to stay safe. My guest today is William M. Francavilla. Bill is a Certified Financial Planner with more than 30 years of experience in the financial services profession. He has worked as an investment advisor and professional trainer for several Fortune 500 companies, and retired from Legg Mason as senior vice president and director of cor...
ICR318: Sarah Stanley Fallaw, Millionaire Next Door
March 19, 2018 01:00 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBMy guest in this episode is Dr Sarah Stanley Fallaw. Sarah is the founder and President of DataPoints LLC, a company that provides scientifically validated, automated behavioral finance tools to the financial services industry. DataPoints created the industry's first biodata-based, predictive assessment of individual propensity to build wealth. Sarah also serves as the Director of Research for the Affluent Market Institute, founded by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley. She is co-author of an upco...
ICR317: What you need to know about the Spring Statement
March 17, 2018 15:21 - 33 minutes - 31 MBIn this episode, I share everything you need to know about the Spring Statement. There's an interview with Tim Roache General Secretary of GMB Union and Jon Craven from UIA Mutual Insurance about new research which has found 65% of UK workers are not part of any trade union. And I chat with Martin Dropkin, director of research for fixed income at Fidelity International, about Fidelity's new analyst survey which has found corporate confidence among the world’s largest companies for the year a...
ICR316: Victor Seidler, Making Sense of Brexit
March 12, 2018 01:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBAfter the shock decision to leave the EU in 2016, what can we learn about our divided and increasingly unequal society and the need to listen to each other? This episode isn't strictly about personal finance, but the points we discuss have significant implications for the economy and politics, and therefore personal finance. My guest on the show today is Victor Seidler. Vic is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology, at Goldsmiths University of London. The topic of our conve...
ICR315: Beyond the 4% rule, with Abraham Okusanya
March 09, 2018 01:00 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBIn this episode, I'm joined by Abraham Okusanya, author of a new book called Beyond The 4% Rule: The science of retirement portfolios that last a lifetime. Regular (and loyal) listeners to this podcast will remember Abraham from episode 11, back in February 2015, and more recently in episode 114, in September 2016, when we spoke about 'brainless portfolios'. Abraham is hosting a conference in London next week called The Science of Retirement, and he's just published a new book called Bey...
ICR314: Warren Hogarth, Replacing Your Banking App
March 05, 2018 01:00 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBMy guest on the show today is Warren Hogarth. Warren spent eight years as a Partner at the number one venture capital firm in the world, Sequoia Capital. Sequoia have invested in companies like Square, Uber, WhatsApp, and AirBnB, and Warren stood shoulder-to-shoulder with founders to build large, enduring businesses; three of them went from zero to over $1 billion. While at Sequoia, Warren saw first-hand how fintech startups were changing the way people approached managing money, paym...
ICR313: You need to do these things when you get divorced
March 02, 2018 01:00 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBIn this episode of the podcast, I'm talking about getting divorced. Not an uplifting topic for conversation, I know, but an important one, especially from a financial planning perspective. I'll be sharing a few of the most important financial things you need to do when you get divorced. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news; I answer a listener question about whether to invest in one go or drip-feed money into investments; and there's the aftershow where I talk about...
ICR312: Meredith Jones, Why Female Money Managers Generate Higher Returns
February 26, 2018 01:00 - 30 minutes - 28.4 MBMy guest on the show today is Meredith Jones. Meredith is an internationally-recognized researcher, writer, speaker and expert in the alternative investment industry with more than 20 years of experience. She's is an alternative investment consultant and author of Women of The Street: Why Female Money Managers Generate Higher Returns (And How You Can Too), which won an Axiom Award Gold Medal in 2016. Meredith was also named as an Inc. magazine’s “17 Inspiring Women To Watch in 2017” an...
ICR311: A Mixed Bag
February 23, 2018 01:00 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBI've called this episode a mixed bag, because that's what it is! All will become clear, so please listen on as I share the story of how I spent Saturday and then some big news. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news.
ICR310: Jim Mellon, Investing in the Age of Longevity
February 19, 2018 01:00 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBMy guest on the show today is Jim Mellon, co-author of a new book called Juvenescence. Jim is a visionary entrepreneur with a flair for identifying emerging global trends. Most notably and very publicly, he predicted the credit crunch of 2007-08 in a book entitled “Wake Up! Survive and Prosper in the Coming Economic Turmoil”. The book cited catalysts for the impending crisis including unsustainable levels of consumer debt in the western world, a U.S. housing crash, derivative financial ins...
ICR309: The Gilt bear market has begun
February 16, 2018 01:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBIn this episode, I'm joined by Jeff Keen from Waverton Investment Management to talk about gilts - the bear market has begun. With rising interest rates and inflationary pressures, what can cautious investors expect from gilts and bonds in the years ahead, and what alternatives offer similar levels of diversification within a portfolio. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow, where I talk about some of the things we've been up to at Informed Choice thi...
ICR308: Jason Butler, Simple steps to financial well-being
February 12, 2018 01:00 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBWhether it’s affording the basics in life, feeling more in control of your money, or balancing today’s spending needs with those in later life, many of us struggle to manage our finances as well as we would wish. My guest on the show today is Jason Butler, author of a new book called Money Moments: Simple steps to financial well-being. Jason is a Fellow of both the Personal Finance Society and Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. Before becoming a full-time author, speaker an...
ICR307: Give yourself a pay rise (with co-host Lynn James)
February 09, 2018 01:00 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBToday on the show, we're talking about some easy ways to give yourself a pay rise. It's been a tough few years financially; low interest rates, low wage inflation, but rising prices. So today on the podcast, we're talking some ways to deliver an inflation busting pay-rise of up to £1,263. I'm pleased to welcome back as my co-host today, Lynn James, who blogs as Mrs Mummypenny.
ICR306: Neil Bage, Behaviours that drive our financial decisions
February 05, 2018 01:00 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBWhat are the sub-conscious behaviours that drive our financial decisions? My guest on the show today is Neil Bage. Neil is the Founder of multi-award winning Be-IQ. Working with leading Academics, Be-IQ is an entirely new model and approach to understanding a client’s risk personality, their financial capability, and their financial decision making. Neil works closely with some of the most influential financial brands in the world, and regularly features as a keynote speaker, focussing...
ICR305: What should I do with my defined benefit pension?
February 02, 2018 01:00 - 31 minutes - 29 MBIn this episode of the show, I’m joined by Nick Bamford to talk about defined benefit pensions. These are a hot topic in the world of financial planning at the moment and Nick has written a comprehensive white paper explaining the key issues at stake. There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and, of course, the aftershow, where I talk about what we’ve been up to at Informed Choice this week.
ICR304: Dr Joseph Coughlin, Longevity Economy
January 29, 2018 01:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBOldness is a social construct at odds with reality that constrains how we live after middle age and stifles business thinking on how to best serve a group of consumers, workers, and innovators that is growing larger and wealthier with every passing day. My guest today is Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD. Joe is founder and Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab. He teaches in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning and the Sloan School’s Advanced Management Progra...
ICR303: Saving money on your energy bills (with Katy Kicker)
January 26, 2018 01:00 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBToday on the show we’re talking energy bills; it’s Big Energy Saving Week 2018 with a number of organisations helping people cut their fuel bills and get all the financial support they are entitled to. There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, and an update on what we’re doing here at Informed Choice at the moment.
ICR302: Professor David Hand, The Improbability Principle
January 22, 2018 01:00 - 18 minutes - 16.7 MBWhy is it that incredibly unlikely things actually happen quite regularly and why should we, in fact, expect such things to happen? My guest on the podcast today is Professor David Hand and we're talking about his book, The Improbability Principle. If you're interested in coincidences, probability or gambling, this conversation with eminent statistician David Hand is especially for you. David has a long and impressive bio. He's Senior Research Investigator and Emeritus Professor of M...
ICR301: Playing catch-up with retirement savings
January 19, 2018 01:00 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBIn this episode, I answer a listener question about playing catch-up on retirement savings. If you’ve left it late to save for your future, you’re going to want to hear my answer. I also speak to Curtis Evans, Investment Director and Head of Fixed Income Product Management at Fidelity International, to get his outlook on interest rates and fixed income investments.
ICR300: Glen Arnold, The Deals of Warren Buffett
January 15, 2018 01:00 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBDid you know it took the world's greatest investor, Warren Buffett, nearly four decades to make his first $100m? My guest on the podcast today is Glen Arnold, author of The Deals of Warren Buffett. Despite holding positions of Professor of Investment and Professor of Corporate Finance, Glen concluded that academic life was not nearly as much fun as making money in the markets. As a wealthy investor in his fifties, he now spends most of his time running his equity portfolio from an office...
ICR299: Stop worrying about money
January 12, 2018 01:00 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MB40% of UK adults anticipate that 2018 will be a very difficult year for them financially. In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we tackle those money worries and give you the tools you need to stop worrying about your personal finances.
ICR298: Sam Royston, Broken Benefits
January 08, 2018 01:00 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBMy guest on the podcast today is Dr Sam Royston, author of a new book called Broken Benefits. Britain is going through the most radical upheaval of the benefits system since its foundations were laid at the end of the 1940s. In Broken Benefits, Sam Royston argues that social security isn’t working, and without a change in direction, it will be even less fair in the future. Drawing on original research and high-profile debates, this much-needed book provides an introductory guide to socia...