Three New Year’s resolutions for the wealth management industry January 8, 2020 The year ahead has the potential to be a defining one for the wealth management industry, following a difficult 12 months that have seen client confidence rocked by a number of high-profile issues. Whether it’s the suitability of investment products, exorbitant and opaque fees, or the need to build a better and more inclusive dialogue [...]
How to ask your boss for a pay rise in 2020 January 8, 2020 January is one of the busiest hiring months of the year, as many people re-evaluate their career options over the holiday period. Perhaps you enjoy your current job and don’t want to leave it, but would quite like a pay rise. If you believe that you’re working above your pay grade and are consistently producing [...]
Retail landscape will continue to evolve January 7, 2020 At first glance, the £50m deal to convert a north London retail park into a warehouse and logistics hub is a perfect representation of the forces upending an embattled sector. The relentless rise of online shopping and home delivery means plots like the Ravenside site in Edmonton, snapped up by warehousing giant Prologis, is worth [...]
Want to improve the civil service? Get rid of poor performers and hire some fresh talent January 7, 2020 Dominic Cummings has, once again, taken aim at the establishment — this time the civil service. In an unorthodox job advert last week, he declared his intentions to hire “an unusual set of people” to revolutionise government. Predictably, retired grandees of the profession are up in arms. Whenever anyone calls for Whitehall reform — and [...]
Five political risk predictions for a new era January 7, 2020 As Jules Verne’s unmatchable adventure Around the World in Eighty Days so eloquently put it: “Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.” Fresh off my firm’s victorious analysis of both Brexit and the outcome of December’s British General Election, we sincerely hope that the new year continues to affirm for us Verne’s [...]
Why meditation is the secret to being more productive in 2020 January 7, 2020 Everyone wants to be more productive. In fact, so eager have we become to get the most juice out of our work that we’ve spawned an entire productivity industry, filled by people promising to maximise our efficiency and get us more bang for our buck. But what we often find is that after only a [...]
DEBATE: Are calculations like ‘High Pay Day’ useful to the conversation around executive salaries? January 7, 2020 Are calculations like ‘High Pay Day’ useful to the conversation around executive salaries? Charles Cotton, senior pay and reward adviser for the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, says YES. Most people expect Britain’s top executives to be on higher salaries than the rest of society. However, “High Pay Day” shines a [...]
Kick off the decade with a plan for ending the misery of the daily commute January 7, 2020 It’s the start of the year, and you may have already had to suffer through a cancelled train, a packed carriage, or a traffic jam that’s cost you a meeting. Not the best way to kick off a new decade. Among those returning to their offices today are the newly appointed members of the government, [...]
Will the office become redundant in the 2020s? January 6, 2020 According to a survey by the Trade Union Congress, the number of people who regularly work from home in the UK has increased by 27 per cent over the past 10 years. As more and more companies acknowledge the benefits of flexible working, the technology enabling it continues to advance, offering remote workers improved connectivity. [...]
The social media giants are becoming digital graveyards January 6, 2020 In the final weeks of 2019, Twitter announced an imminent cull of inactive accounts. Desultory users risked losing their Twitter handles and having to start building their social media presence all over again. But there was another implication: inactivity might also mean that the person behind the profile is no longer alive. Bereaved people reacted [...]