Apparently, our ability to see patterns is one of the mental ‘shortcuts’ that evolution has imprinted upon our brains. It may be for this reason that during a recent and very overdue return to my exercise regime that I ended up reflecting on the parallels between fitness and money management. In our largely sedentary world, fitness is not a natural state. For most of us it takes ongoing work and determination to stay fit; the same can be said for money management. We live in a world where incessant advertising can easily have our money spent even before we have earned it. Understanding this and developing protective habits to help us be good with our money is essential. Strategies such as ‘pay yourself first’ by having savings deducted directly from your earnings before you can spend them are really helpful. Other habits like establishing separate accounts for short, medium and long-term goals seem simple but can make a big difference to our investment be...

Please note – This article was published in the July issue of Asset Magazine . Unfortunately the table included in the Asset Magazine article comparing pension transfer costs omitted certain additional information regarding the calculation of these costs. The correct table is shown below. We apologise for any confusion caused as a result of the inclusion of the incorrect table in the Asset Magazine article. A market in need of a fresh approach For many years, the United Kingdom pension transfer market has been a murky backwater, with little transparency or regulatory oversight. Transfers to a number of prominent incumbent providers can involve fees of up to 5% of the value of an immigrant’s entire accumulated pension. Digging still deeper, many incumbent providers also include a markup on currency transfer rates (with the difference being kept by the provider), and charge additional fees when clients wish to withdraw their money or transfer to a new scheme. Add to that...