As we all look forward to the festive period we have put this note together to review the year and share with you various updates that we think will be useful to you. It has been an interesting year of positive investment returns combined with much greater uncertainty in the world. There have also been lots of developments within Colmore Partners that we are proud of and which will enhance our service to you.

It feels like some of our team members have been full of Christmas cheer since returning from their summer holidays and now that we are in December I have lifted the moratorium on mentioning it! Can I take this opportunity to wish you a joyful festive period and a happy new year!

The world

Investment returns over the last 12 months have been very strong (mainly driven by strong US markets), which is very pleasing to see after the period of volatility initiated by the Covid Crisis, yet I suspect many of you will be feeling more uncertain than in a long time about the financial outlook given a new tax regime in the UK and more uncertainty on the world outlook with Trump 2.0. We will be working hard to help you through this new financial landscape.

Looking forward, you can see more barriers to global trade and the tax measures in the UK all likely to keep inflation in the system for longer than many would hope. This should also mean interest rates remain higher for longer. This is good for the returns on lower risk assets (bonds & cash) but not so good for our family members with mortgages and borrowing to repay.

Equity markets could be quite volatile but with a general positive outlook as long as trade protectionist measures aren’t taken to the extreme. The global, multi-asset investment strategies we recommend to our clients are best placed to deal with all of the possible outcomes, as the managers can react and adjust the asset allocation to reflect the investment environment you face.

We all read with interest about how Generative AI will change and improve our lives, and it will, without necessarily knowing how or feeling we are in control of how these improvements are applied to us! I think it will also increase the pace of change in the world (if it wasn’t fast enough already) which in itself could create more volatility.

All of which brings me back to what I constantly witter on about: sound financial planning, managing your exposure to risks, and using all your tax privileged savings options are as important as ever. Furthermore, the concept of “family wealth” and passing assets down the generations sooner, which is something that we all need to start getting comfortable with.

Developments at Colmore Partners

It has been a busy year at Colmore Partners with some new faces joining and sadly some leaving. We bid farewell to Shelley Pautz and Tom Forrester wishing them both well in their careers at their new places of work.

We also have had great pleasure in welcoming Harriet Walker, Kelly Knowles and Charlie Garner to our team joining us in roles across administration, paraplanning and advice. Additionally, watch this space for two others that will be joining us in January and announced officially at that time. All hires that we make are to help deliver the excellent service to clients that we take pride in and all will play their part in our future growth…which brings me to my next point.

As well as a growing team, we have a growing client base with many new clients joining Colmore Partners over the past 12 months; we welcome you all and look forward to helping you all plan for your financial futures through an ever-changing world.

Awards, nominations and recognition

We are proud of what we have achieved to date in the three years since we started the business. We are always looking at ways to further establish ourselves, commit to delivering a quality service and advice and are very pleased that this is now being recognised throughout the industry; here are some of the areas where we have received some recognition:

Recent accreditation as a Corporate Chartered Status firm (this is the gold standard mark from the Chartered Insurance Institute). This shows our commitment to professional standards in how we deliver advice, support the industry, look after our clients and develop our staff.
Nominated as a Citywire New Model Adviser Top 100 firm for the 3rd year running. In 2022 we won best adviser in the Midlands, in 2023 we made the final shortlist of 5 but did not win and we are now waiting to hear if we will be shortlisted again for 2024!

Our Financial Planner Katrania Lowers was shortlisted for the Rising Star award in the Professional Adviser awards 2024. Well done Kat!
Our staff survey via Great Places To Work showed an increased rating over last year of 91% average score across all statements and places us as one of the best places to work in the small business category for financial services company’s; this is something that we are extremely proud of.

Additionally, as many of you will have seen, we have introduced a client feedback survey via Elevation by VouchedFor. In tracking the feedback and the general scores given, we are close to achieving “Top Rated” Adviser status, which we hope to achieve in 2025. Thank you for taking the time to provide the feedback. It is an essential input into how we adapt our service for your needs.

Charitable support

We are proud to support 3 important charities which are Mind, Social Mobility Foundation and B Music which focus on key areas of mental heath and dementia care, social mobility and music for all. Over the course of the year, we have donated thousands in cash and equipment (our boardroom table was donated to Mind) and committed to putting aside £27.50 for each new client that we take on.

Additionally, we all gave up an afternoon to help the Bournville Trust, painting some rooms and clearing their yard.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this note, we thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you all for a positive 2025.

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