The Bank of England today increased its base rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%, the highest level seen in 15 years.

HMRC collected a record £16.7bn in capital gains tax in the 2021/22 tax year.

Just 17% of pension ‘dippers’ - savers who 'dipped' into their Defined Contribution (DC) scheme to release cash - used the government’s Pension Wise personal finance guidance service.

The Treasury has appointed ex-Mercer CEO Fiona Dunshire as the new Government Actuary on a 5-year fixed term appointment.

Nearly 9 in 10 financial advisers offer independent rather than restricted financial advice, according to data published this week in the FCA’s Retail Mediation Activities Return (RMAR) report for 2022.

I must confess I have a problem with restricted financial advice.

Chartered Financial Planner Progeny has acquired Nottingham-based wealth manager and Financial Planner Fiscal Engineers for an undisclosed sum.

June saw a net outflow of £986m for retail funds, according to latest figures from the Investment Association.

In this guest column, Paraplanners’ Assembly Big Day Out co-host Sarah Lees looks forward to this year’s conference for Paraplanners. This article first appeared in Financial Planning Today magazine (July-Aug issue).

There’s something about the Paraplanners’ Assembly’s Big Day Out (and, before that, the national Powwow) that I’ve always found irresistible.

It might help explain why, when Sam Tonks and I welcome the 2023 Assembly to our national gathering at 10am on 14 September, it will be the seventh time I’ve taken part in the national event in a 10-year Paraplanning career.

Looking back, it would be easy to think that the unconventional staging of a financial services event in teepees on a farm was the big draw.

Yes, the teepees were great, but the Big Day Out’s post-lockdown home, FarmED, is simply stunning. Set on a hillside in the heart of the Cotswolds, the RIBA award-winning venue has given the event a new vibe: an annual retreat where you can reset, revive and thrive.

I think what makes the Big Day Out - and the Assembly more generally - so distinctive is that it’s only for Paraplanners. To quote the blurb from the website: “You’ll feel you belong at an Assembly because the Assembly belongs to you.”

Paraplanners host the day. There are Paraplanners leading each group. We make sure the breaks are long enough for people to catch up or meet for the first time. It’s never been about numbers but quality of experience (participant numbers are set at 100.)

The food matters. So do the sweets. And the ticket price is affordable for all Paraplanners.

At the heart of it all is the Assembly’s original idea - informal gatherings where Paraplanners can exchange views, learn things, fix things and share things. That’s as true today as it was 10 years ago. 

To find out more about the Big Day visit: https://paraplannersassembly.co.uk/event/the-big-day-out-2023/

Sarah Lees FPFS, STEP Affiliate, works as a senior Paraplanner at Mazars. She is the CISI Paraplanner of the Year 2021 and co-host of the Big Day Out.

Paraplanner Assembly:

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https://paraplannersassembly.co.uk

In this exclusive column, Matthew Connell, director of policy and public affairs for the Personal Finance Society, looks at why the Consumer Duty is not the 'be-all and end-all' for Financial Planners this year. This edited article first appeared in Financial Planning Today magazine (July-Aug issue).