Celebrating our 25^th anniversary

This November will see us celebrate a special milestone as it is exactly 25 years since Phillip Bates & Co Financial Services opened for business.

Many of our clients have been with us for much or all that time while, for others, we have started acting for you in more recent years.

Because we are talking about a generation, we now have many cases where we continue to advise mum and dad but are also now responsible for the financial planning of their children too.

We are hugely appreciative of the support our clients have given us over the years and the loyalty you continue to show us.

We are also indebted to the contribution of our team which has also grown over the years to meet the requirements of our clients.

It is hard to believe that it is 25 years since the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal, while 1998 was also the year France won the men’s football World Cup and Titanic became the first movie to gross a billion US dollars at the box office.

As for Phillip Bates & Co Financial Services, we, like our sector in general, have changed during those 25 years from being primarily a product distributor to a service-led business in which building long-term, trusted relationships is of key importance.

Many of you who have been with us since the start will know all about the peaks and troughs of the global economy and will be used to us advising you that your financial planning is about the long-term and not being overly influenced by short-term bumps in the road.

We will be in touch shortly with further news regarding our plans to mark our 25^th anniversary.

A more positive economic outlook

The need to stick to the long-term plan has never been more apparent than during the last couple of years of economic upheaval at home and abroad.

It is therefore heartening to see some small green shoots of recovery with the most recent economic data revealing that the inflation rate has eased back to 6.8% from last October’s 11.1%.

While Chancellor Jeremy Hunt suggested there may be an inflationary ‘blip’ in September’s data, he told the BBC that “The plan is working, inflation is coming down.” 

To meet the Government’s pledge to halve inflation, the rate will need to reduce to around 5.3% by the end of the year. The Bank of England has indicated that 5% is possible.

There is also a growing consensus that interest rates are nearing their peak with the Bank of England expected to announce a 15^th consecutive and perhaps final increase to 5.5% at its September meeting.

While it is encouraging that the UK economy is showing greater stability, we must remember that what happens here is only one piece of the jigsaw. We also need to track closely what is happening elsewhere in the world, including the US which is also showing signs of recovery and China which is in the midst of an economic slowdown.

Just as 25 years ago, the importance of having a long-term, diversified financial plan cannot be overstated.