Sharing optimism in an age defined by uncertainty

Thoughts on the year as 2021 draws to a close

Things to be thankful for

Putting aside the unpleasantness we continue to live through, I wanted to take a moment to consider what we should be thankful for.

As the world has darkened over the last two years, everyone involved in running a business has had to strive to adapt to an unwanted, new reality.

And although this context cannot be ignored, there are some bright spots I want to share.

Even in a year defined by the continuing pandemic, we’ve hired 16 new colleagues across Punter Southall Aspire’s UK network of financial planners as we expand to meet the needs of our clients.

Helping individuals visualise their future, and make it happen

Our employee benefits consulting division is also seeing traction from our clients for new initiatives.

One of our newest offerings, Aspire to Retire, is making headway to fill a gap where guidance is conventionally lacking. At the stage people near retirement, this online and in-person toolkit supports HR teams by putting colleagues in the picture about the critical decisions they have to make before claiming their pension with an imaginative, fresh approach.

National Pension Tracing Day

Building on the company ethos of taking a more creative path in what remains an industry characterised by convention, my colleagues also brought to life National Pension Tracing Day.

Conceived, created, launched and landed on October 31^st – the idea being to use the extra hour when the clocks go back to make a start on tracking down forgotten or neglected pensions – it took just four months to bring to life.

In that time, we enrolled some of the biggest names in pensions, the pensions minister  and the wider public, with two million people viewing press articles, eight million name checks on Google and countless social media hits, along with large employers sharing it with their workforce by using our free toolkit.

That it’s now a date in the pension calendar is testament to our organising principle. Namely, If we can see a way to do things differently, we have the will, speed of thought and latitude to put it into practice.

So along with our continuing focus on serving our corporate and private clients, 2021 also saw us making an evolving contribution to the nation’s wider financial wellbeing. We’re proud of that.

Putting principle into practice

Another example of this thinking has been put into practice by our colleagues at CAMRADATA, our investment research arm. They have not only brought on board new asset manager clients, but have also developed a diversity and inclusion question-set, in partnership with The Diversity Project, which we’re making available to clients by way of contributing to the wider industry effort to make progress in this vital area.

Aside from my four books which pick up on the subject, we are committed to supporting this cause because any steps the financial services industry can take to mirror more closely the communities it serves has to be positive.

Thank you to all our clients, colleagues, contacts and friends who combine to shape a successful future for Punter Southall Aspire even in these most challenging of times. That you make us what we are should be cause for optimism ahead for all of us.