Monthly Virtual Workshops

We believe that MS Excel is the most flexible, powerful cashflow modelling tool in a Financial Planner's arsenal.

One retail financial planning client recently commented: "This is very different from the cashflow I've had from other Advisers who use a cashflow program. They input all the numbers and it produces a nice looking report, but it's a black box and they don't know how the figures have been produced. With your advice, I can see exactly how all the numbers have been arrived at."

In this six-hour masterclass, spreadsheet sorcerous Michaela Pashley will explain and demonstrate how to use Excel to produce stunning cashflow models, and then coach you on how to produce your own.

The course has a practical element, and you'll be expected to complete your own models and explain them in a suitability report with help throughout the day, and by yourself by the end.

Learning Outcomes

1. Produce visually impactful deterministic cashflow models on Microsoft Excel including: preservation, growth, income, and total return objectives, single and regular premium investments, fixed term annuities, real and nominal returns, stress tests, capacity for loss, multiple income sources, including guaranteed income such as DB and state pension, and the use of relevant mathematical formulae and Excel tools and functions.
2. Evaluate which assumptions to use for inflation, investment returns, and stress tests.
3. Present cashflow models effectively and compliantly within suitability reports.

Capacity for Loss (CFL) is a core part of a client's risk profile. Rory Percival described it as a "hard-nosed number", and the FCA has suggested the way some Advisers are calculating and evaluating CFL falls short of their expectations. We will delve deep into the FCA's guidance and provide a reliable, repeatable method of calculating CFL in any given financial planning situation.

• What the specific guidance is on CFL - word for word - from the FCA and professional bodies such as the CII, and provide full documents and references. This includes what to do when the CFL is less than 0%, and when the client's future retirement expenditure is unknown.
• How to calculate CFL reliably, effectively, and repeatably, for any given financial planning scenario.
• Once calculated, how to document and evaluate CFL as compatible with the client's attitude to risk (ATR), forming a comprehensive overall risk profile.
• How to communicate this overall risk profile evaluation compliantly within a Suitability Report.

The course has a practical element, and you'll be expected to complete the calculations and evaluations with help throughout the day, and by yourself by the end.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

1. Explain the guidance from the FCA and CII on CFL, including what to do when the CFL is less than 0%, and when the client's future retirement expenditure is unknown.
2. Calculate CFL reliably, effectively, and repeatably, for any given financial planning scenario.
3. Evaluate CFL as compatible (or not) with the client's attitude to risk (ATR), forming a comprehensive overall risk profile.
4. Communicate this overall risk profile evaluation compliantly within a Suitability Report.  

Pension switching (DC to DC) is a core component of many financial planning businesses, and if you're one of them, it's vital to keep up-to-date with the latest regulatory guidance and best practice. We'll be covering:

• The regulatory rules and guidance in the FCA Handbook and FCA guidance documents, including the latest on cashflow modelling and Consumer Duty fair value assessments.
• Stakeholder and workplace pension consideration.
• Analysing, evaluating, and documenting the suitability of the existing pensions.
• Recommending and justifying the switch, especially where the new pension is at a higher cost.
• Evaluating protected tax-free cash and guaranteed annuity rates (GARs).

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

1. Explain the compliance and technical principles and rules behind pension switch advice, including for financial objectives and capacity for loss.
2. Analyse complex existing pension arrangements (including the underlying investments, provider suitability, GARs, cash balance pensions, protected TFC, and protected early retirement ages) explain them simply to the client and use your analysis as the basis for regulated advice. As part of this, test your advice using robust cashflow modelling with justified, compliant methodology and assumptions.
3. Evidence and present your advice with personalised "reasons why" and "disadvantages" so that it convincing, professional, and compliant.

Investment planning is a core area of financial advice, and in this session, we'll be covering:

• The macro-economic environment and its impact on asset classes.
• Evaluating portfolio performance and risk, and incorporating this into your suitability report.
• Values-based and sustainable investment preferences.
• Risk profiling and capacity for loss.
• Justifying investment recommendations in a suitability report.
• Evaluating the performance of B2L property investments.

The Masterclass covers both new and replacement business, and focuses on practical investment planning, working with clients, and communicating the suitability of your investment recommendations.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

1. Explain how the macro-economic environment, including inflation and interest rates, impact asset class returns.
2. Calculate and explain nominal and risk-adjusted returns, including the money-weighted return, time-weighted return, alpha, Sharpe ratio, and information ratio.
3. Explain and present the features, advantages, and disadvantages of values-based and sustainable investment preferences within a fact-find meeting.
4. Explain the end-to-end risk profiling process, including attitude to risk, capacity for loss, and risk need.
5. Explain the principles behind convincing, comprehensive "reasons why" to justify investment recommendations in a suitability report.
6. Evaluate the performance of buy-to-let property investments held by a client, and compare this to a more diversified investment portfolio.

Protection is a hugely important and profitable area of financial planning, and this Masterclass focuses not only on recapping the technical knowledge you need, but on planning opportunities, suitability report writing, stress-testing protection plans, and the calculation and justification of protection amounts.

If you're in this space already, it's sure to give you a fantastic recap of everything you need to know, as well as a few new ideas for improvement.

If you're not yet in this space, this will teach you to spot opportunities and capitalise on them - then deliver a compliant, professional service.

** IDD QUALIFYING **

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

1. Identify, analyse, calculate, and explain the protection gap in a client's financial plan.
2. Explain the taxation of business protection, including key person cover, debt protection, shareholder/partner protection, and relevant life policies.
3. Stress-test protection plans to identify any gaps in your recommendation and explain these simply to the client.
4. Write cogent, convincing reasons for your protection recommendation in a suitability report.

There are some huge changes in the works regarding IHT, including pensions coming more into its scope, Business Relief rates, and for non-domiciled clients.

This Masterclass aims to bring you bang up-to-date with the legislative changes, as well as providing a refresher on life assurance (including how to calculate the amount of cover needed, and no, it's not simply the current IHT with an RPI-linked policy), life office trusts, and calculations.

• IHT calculations, incorporating pensions, NRB, RNRB, and Business Relief.
• Residence and domicile.
• Lifetime gifting.
• Life assurance.
• Absolute and discretionary trusts.
• Gift trusts, loan trusts, DGTs, and flexible reversionary trusts.

This is essential for anyone working in the IHT space.

** IDD QUALIFYING **

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

1. Complete basic-to-moderately-complex IHT calculations, incorporating pensions, the NRB, RNRB, and Business Relief.
2. Explain the residence and domicile regime as applicable to IHT.
3. Explain the process and IHT implications of lifetime gifting.
4. Explain how to calculate the appropriate sum assured to cover a future IHT liability.
5. Explain the features, advantages, and disadvantages of absolute and discretionary trusts.
6. Explain the features, advantages, and disadvantages of gift trusts, loan trusts, DGTs, and flexible reversionary trusts.