Taking Stock - April 2014

Taking Stock Newsletter April 2014

Debbie JukesPartner

Equilibrium Asset Management LLP (a limited liability partnership) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Equilibrium Asset Management is entered on the Financial Services Register under reference 452261. The FCA regulates advice which we provide on investment and insurance business; however it does not regulate advice which we provide purely in respect of taxation matters. Copyright Equilibrium Asset Management LLP. Not to be reproduced without permission

Well, has Spring finally sprung? Looking out of the window as I write, it seems not and the apparently endless supply of wet weather seems to have returned after a relatively nice week or so. Still, the daffodils are in full bloom and the blossom’s decorating our trees so I’m taking the optimistic view and looking forward to a sunny Easter!

Much has happened over the last quarter. Southern England has yet to recover from floods, an aeroplane has vanished and Russia has got a little bit bigger! Not to mention a Budget with a few surprises thrown in.

Closer to home, life at the Equilibrium HQ hasn’t been much quieter either. You may recall that I mentioned last quarter about our lack of space and, since then, I’m pleased to say that we’ve solved the problem (for the time being at least) by taking the first floor of Evolution House, one of our neighbouring properties on Brooke Court, where we will be holding all client meetings from 1 April onwards. Full details will of course be issued to anyone who’s due to come for an appointment.

Our busy seminar programme commenced in February with almost one presentation a week throughout the spring season. To all those clients that have attended to date, I hope you enjoyed the various topics and a big thank you to all of you who spoke very highly of us to prospective new clients at these events.

We’ve also featured heavily in the press, commenting on various investment topics in national papers such as The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times and The Sunday Express – great news that we’re seen as an authority and that the ‘big boys’ seek our opinion.

On top of that, I’d like to welcome Ross Davies on board who joins the support team as a Client Manager – further details enclosed!

All that remains is for me to say that I hope you enjoy this issue of Taking Stock. As always, please don’t be shy about letting me have any comments, feedback or ideas for inclusion – [email protected].



Welcome to our new meeting suite office

For a third year, Equilibrium has teamed up with the Knutsford Guardian in the search for the 2014 Knutsford Community Hero. We are looking from someone who deserves to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Val Bryant.

Knutsford’s hero could be any age; all we want to know is what they do to make Knutsford a better place to live. They might be a charity fundraiser or help out with children’s activities. They could be a long-standing volunteer or help out their elderly neighbours or family members. In fact, they could do anything at all that you think benefits the community.

The winner of the Community Hero 2014 will receive £500 and a further £500 to donate to a charity of their choice. So if you know anyone that deserves recognition for continued efforts to the community, please don’t hesitate to apply by emailing [email protected].

A year on from our inaugural Fantasy Investment League, the economics students have endured a much different experience from their counterparts of 12 months ago. In 2013, the students of Alderley Edge School for Girls experienced the greatest rise in equity markets since the 2008 crash, much to the delight of the girls, Equilibrium and our clients alike. This year however, the students have endured large amounts of volatility, which has made for an exciting league, with participants flying up and down the table. In the past weeks, many of the student’s portfolios saw a drastic decline on the back of political tensions due to the Ukrainian Crisis – after which, assuming a non-disruptive resolution of the crisis, we expect the prospects for equities, in particular emerging markets, to improve. We look forward to crowning our 2014 Fantasy Investment League champion after the Easter Holidays.

Knutsford Community Hero Fantasy Investment League



The sight-seeing trips continue thanks to our generous and hard earned holiday package. The last few months have seen various members of Equilibrium travelling to:

Matt – Barbados

Debbie – Zauchensee, Austria

Gaynor – Paris

Colin – Kitzbuhel, Austria

Jason – Copenhagen

Due to the great generosity of our clients, contacts and staff members, Equilibrium was singled out by Key 103 to have the chance to thank our donors on the radio. Partner Debbie Jukes and Marketing Executive Peter Chiodo took a trip to the Key 103 studios, where they were interviewed by radio presenter Chelsea Norris (seizing a great photo opportunity along the way).

On 25 January, when most of us had already failed in our New Year’s resolutions, Client Manager Adrian Edwards was completing the Marrakech International Marathon. The longest distance Adrian had previously ran was the 10K Great Manchester run in 2013. In order to raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK, Adrian not only decided to run a marathon, but to run the 26.2 miles in the arid conditions of the north African city of Marrakech. We would like to congratulate Adrian on an impressive 3:36 time while raising a fantastic £1,600 for Cancer Research UK via The Equilibrium Foundation which was pleased to double the amount of sponsorship he received.

Where in the world is Equilibruim?

Cash for Kids Mission Thank You

Adrian – Marrakech Marathon



On 13 April, Mary Jones (wife of Client Manager Lucas Jones) will be tackling the world famous London Marathon. Having stormed to a time of 3.46 at the Greater Manchester Marathon in 2013, Mary was invited to run in the London Marathon under the “Good for Age” scheme.

Mary will be running over 26 miles on behalf of MacMillan; a charity directly linked her new role as a Walking for Health Officer, with the support of the Equilibrium Foundation. Good Luck Mary!

Richard - In a star studded trip to the England vs Wales rugby at Twittenham, Richard rubbed shoulders with Man United players Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and commentator John Inverdale.

Jason saw Man United Midfielder Marouane Fellani hiding under his hoodie (understandable with his recent form) on a flight to Copenhagen.

Andrew saw David Dickinson in the queue of Marks & Spencer’s in Handforth Dean.

Sarah spotted Ian Brown from the Stone Roses buying a clothes airer in Sainsbury’s in Altrincham.

Mary Jones London Marathon

Celebrity Spot

Claire’s Sahara Desert Trek

You may remember from our January edition of Taking Stock that Client Manager Claire Hayward will be trekking across the Sahara desert in October to raise funds for St Luke’s Hospice with the help of the Equilibrium Foundation. With just over 6 months left until the trek, Claire has begun the drive to raise an ambitious £2,000 for St Luke’s.

The fundraising campaign will be kicking off in style as Claire teams up with Wilmslow pizza restaurant, That

Pizza Place. That Pizza Place will be launching a new pizza “The Moroccan” – topped with Moroccan spiced chicken, red onion, red peppers, cherry tomatoes and pine nuts. All profits from the pizza will be donated to Claire’s cause, which in turn will be doubled by Equilibrium. The pizza will be on the menu from 14 April, so if you feel the craving for pizza, the charity donation should take away a little of that junk food guilt.

After a great series of seminars so far, we are pleased to announce the remaining dates in our spring seminar schedule.

60 Seconds with...


Ross DaviesExperience to date at Equilibrium… Very positive! When being interviewed I was told it would be an energetic and dynamic environment to work in and this has proved to be entirely true. The result is a common sense, efficient and client centric approach throughout the business.

What have you most enjoyed about Equilibrium so far? There are lots of positives to choose from, but I think the stand out one is the relationship between the company and the clients and the way that everything which happens in the company is geared toward making sure clients get the best service and outcome possible. In six years I have never worked for a company which hits these two nails so firmly on the head and it certainly makes for a more rewarding and satisfying work life!

Tell us a bit about your background: I studied Accountancy and Finance as an undergraduate in Lancaster and not being ready to join the real world I did a Masters in Finance after that at Liverpool. Following this I joined the Financial Services Authority (now FCA) graduate scheme where I worked in a number of different areas as part of my training. At the end of this period I was seconded to a company called The Hartford and decided that I preferred life on the other side of the fence. I therefore decided to relocate back to the northwest and after much deliberation on what line of work to do I settled on financial services/wealth management.

What would you be if you weren’t a Client Manager? I’d like to say a chef of some sort, perhaps a pastry chef as I have been known to bake the odd cake in my time.

And finally, tell us something we don’t know about you! (This is the question I’ve been dreading since joining btw) I am an expert pumpkin carver (see right – yes I did that) and I am getting married later this year. Hope that’s sufficient!

Events

Protecting Your Estate

Wednesday 23rd April The Hunting Lodge, Adlington Hall, Adlington in conjunction with JMW solicitors

Wednesday 30th April Doubletree Hilton, Hoole, Chester in conjunction with Weightmans solicitors

Wednesday 7th May The Mere, Mere, Knutsford in conjunction with Weightmans solicitors


Demand is expected to be high so RSVP as soon as possible to avoid disappointment by simply emailing [email protected] or calling Emma on 0161 486 2250

Taking Stock - April 2014

Documents

Transcript of Taking Stock - April 2014