What is wrong with the way some banks work nowadays? It seems to me you can run a poor show, and when things go badly wrong the central banks will bail you out, and then off you and your highly paid colleagues can go again to mismanage your way to the next catastrophe.
Viewing posts from: November 2000
The banking industry
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Spain
This article is published on: 28th March 2023
28.03.23
The one thing I explain to people time and time again is that when you deposit any of your hard- earned cash in a bank, the bank has it is on ‘their’ balance sheets. They can then use that to go off and lend money or invest in assets where they can make more money. So effectively, they are using your money to make themselves money. The problem is that a lot of what they do may need a long timeline to work, so if people start demanding their money in large numbers (known as a run on the bank), they may not actually be able to meet those requirements, hence they close the doors to withdrawals.
Years ago a run on a bank would take time, with people literally queuing around the block looking to withdraw their money from the person behind the counter. The trouble nowadays is that a run on the bank is so much easier to implement, with all of us having apps on our phones and laptops that mean we can ask for our money in an instant. That was one of the biggest issues contributing to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank in America a couple of weeks ago, and the start of this whole process of fear beginning again. Due to the frenzy of concerns about that bank being whipped up on social media, thousands of clients started to try and withdraw their deposits all at the same time. To say the run on the bank happened quickly would be an understatement.
It is interesting to see what happened by looking more closely at what went wrong there. The bank had a huge amount of funds on deposit, and although they were large lenders, they had a lot of excess cash doing nothing for them. They needed that to be making money for them so, in their view wisely, they bought a large amount of 10 year government bonds. They did this because government bonds are traditionally seen as safe and would earn a small return.
Then the Fed started raising interest rates in a bid to stem inflation. Of course, this then meant the value of the government bonds became more and more stressed the higher the rates went. Effectively the clients’ money was now in the wrong place and couldn’t easily be unwound. In simple terms, a pretty basic error which you would hope someone looking after your money should have been aware of.
As I write, the contagion this whole issue has caused in the banks is causing share prices to tumble again. It’s so frustrating when this sort of thing happens, as very often it’s the baby being thrown out with the bathwater, but unfortunately this is how the stock markets tend to be. Anyway, it never seems to change and the fact that the Fed raising interest rates has led to the banks ´´crumbling´´ is somewhat bizarre in my humble opinion, when they seem to think they know what they are doing!
I speak a great deal with clients about using ‘insurance’ based products to house their investments. The reasons and advantages are many but the most relevant point I like to make, and relevant to what I’ve been talking about, is when you invest your money in these companies it is physically off their balance sheet and held for your benefit only. That’s the polar opposite to leaving your money in the bank. Of course, the risk is then what you do with your money, but it’s a massive point that is regularly overlooked and gives people a high level of comfort.
If you are worried about your money and where it is at the moment please feel free to get in touch and we can see what alternative solutions may be available for you.
What a year this has been. Let’s hope next Year is better..
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Spain
This article is published on: 22nd December 2022
22.12.22
At the beginning of this year the World started to ‘wobble’, set off by the Invasion of Ukraine, and rising murmurs about the likelihood of increased inflation, and with that the threat of rising interest rates.
Share prices in companies around the world quickly started to fall, shortly followed by the never-ending spiral of doom and gloom in the news, creating a continuously depressing stream of information showing the Worlds financial markets were taking a downturn. This all came as a bit more of a shock because of the unprecedented period of cheap money, and constantly increasing share prices everyone had become used to over the last ten years.
After the lockdowns I always maintained you couldn’t just stop the world turning without it eventually to have some sort of effect. It just took a while for it to come out in the wash – and now it has. A lot of the delay between stopping economies working, (and a noticeable effect), was the false security provided by what amounted to the printing and the subsequent handing out of money in many countries, to name but one of many factors that occurred during those crazy times.
Eventually, after the factories were closed and businesses shut, supply chain issues came to light. The backlog of empty production lines had to be dealt with. That, coupled with an imbalance between limited supply and a sudden surge in demand, rising transport costs, plus the knock-on effect of the War in Ukraine, have all resulted in inflation going through the roof.
Traditionally the central banks around the globe try and control inflation with interest rates, and at the moment they are raising them at one of the fastest rates ever seen in a bid to try and stem the current surge in inflation. The worry for next year will be whether they may slow things too much, as these things tend to have a time lag. We can only wait and see. Higher interest rates are not all bad news, as savers normally benefit from interest on their bank deposits, but this isn’t happening significantly to date. When they are being offered, my experience is that the bank will only allow relatively small amounts to be deposited in these savings accounts offering higher rates.
On top of everything already mentioned, other factors also came to a head this year – the UK started to feel a Brexit effect which has weakened overseas investor confidence and taken its toll on trade. Liz Truss’s infamous UK mini-budget caused UK Government Bonds to fall in value like crazy, and what is usually considered a safe haven for many clients and pension funds, took a drastic downturn.
Recessions normally have an effect on employment, but at the moment this looks ok. Interestingly however, if you look at the US, there are an estimated 4m people off work at the moment due to long covid, so figures there are certainly distorted.
So as you will already have gathered, 2022 really hasn’t been a great year!
Living in Spain is such a privilege for many of us. The doom and gloom out there at the moment seems so much more acceptable when you wake up to beautiful weather almost all of the time. The cost of living has risen, but in general terms Spain is still a lot cheaper to live in than the UK.
They say it’s important to count your blessings, and if the fact we live here is one of them, then I for one am looking forward to 2023.
If you fancy an overview of your finances, even if it’s just to reconfirm your plans are all well founded in light of the ever-changing world, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Keeping occupied when you’re retired is not always easy
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Retire in Spain, Spain
This article is published on: 21st November 2022
21.11.22
Over the years I’ve been living and working in Spain with retired expats, one of the issues that very often comes to light is finding things to do, and making new friends. For the avid golfers among you, that may not be a problem, but for many others it can be.
We have recently started supporting the Benahavis Arts Society, who not only organise Talks in Benahavis once a month, but interestingly, they are also organising regular trips to places of interest in and around Andalucia, as well as other planned social events.
If you are looking to make new friends, and explore Andalucia, then this may be for you. There are planned trips to The Malaga Christmas Lights on the 9th of December, a Christmas Lunch of the 15th of December, and a pub quiz on the 19th of January next year. Non-members are welcome, and more details can be found on their website at; www.theartssocietybenahavis.com
As can be seen from the write up below, the most recent trip to Antequera was a huge success:
“With the guidance of Miranda, our excellent tour operator, we started our day driving through stunning scenery including the extensive rich farmlands in the valleys around the city and the imposing Pena de Los Enamorados (Lovers Leap); a distinctive face-shaped mountain from a romantic legend that overlooks the town and dominates the landscape.
On arrival at the top of the city, we started our historical walking tour with a local guide. This included the majestic Alcazaba; the centuries old Moorish fortress and the beautiful Colegiata with its superb façade. We visited the municipal museum with its many artefacts tracing Antequera’s extensive archaeological history and the splendid renaissance style church of Parroquia San Sebastian.
We then had free time to explore the city further and take in a delicious lunch at one of the delightful tapas restaurants around the central square.
The spectacular cultural heritage site of the Dolmens was the destination for our afternoon visit. These bronze age burial grounds built with huge megaliths are nothing short of impressive. Inside, the chambers are magnificent and clearly show the scale of the architectural and engineering feat required to build them.
The whole day was truly delightful with something for everyone. It was very well planned and organised, with highly knowledgeable and personable guides, various pick-up locations and brief stops on the way there and back for refreshments. I would particularly like to thank Miranda, Betty and Tracey for looking after us so well but also the whole group who were so incredibly welcoming.”
Working with clients in the Costa Del Sol and helping with their financial planning and tax matters has meant I get involved in so many other areas of people’s lives, this being just one great example.
If you would like to find out more about how we can help you not only make sure your financial world is in order here, but also integrate into life here in Spain, please feel free to get in touch for a chat.
At Last, Wealth Tax is abolished in Andalucia
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Marbella, Spain, Wealth Tax
This article is published on: 21st September 2022
21.09.22
Monday the 19th of September 2022 will be in the history books forever. Having watched the coverage of the Queens funeral on TV, it made me think there is no other country on earth who could have put on such an impressive show for the world to see. It made me feel very proud to be British.
Moving overseas is an exciting and daunting thing to do but if you, like me, have lived overseas for many years, that homesick feeling does hit home sometimes, and the Queens funeral was certainly one such example.
It has been a tough year in many ways. Everything it seems is changing. The reopening from the pandemic has changed the way many people work. Russia’s Invasion of the Ukraine changed the idea of a peaceful Europe. The cost of living has increased due to rising inflation, and now rising interest rates are back with us. All of this has happened after years of peace, cheap energy, low interest rates and non-existent inflation. It seems the longer we live with something, the more powerful it’s passing, something that no doubt made the Queens funeral very emotional for many people.
We now have a King, and the world in which we live is without doubt going to continue to change. Any of you filling up your car will have noticed the cost has come down from the previous highs in the summer, and the general consensus is that inflation will start to slowly come down between now and the end of the year. It isn’t however expected to hit the floor, but rather fall to a much more acceptable level.
When you are retired and keeping a close eye on your savings, investments and pensions, inflation and interest rates are two critical factors to take into account when trying to work out the future. If you have a fixed pension income, it is commonplace to then substitute this with ‘income’ from investments, the spending power of which is affected by inflation. If the investment returns are all over the place, and inflation is doing the same, it’s really important to monitor things closely and on a regular basis. As an example, if things carry on as they are, we may see a return of interest on bank deposits, which has been a factor not taken into account for a long time when making plans for your money.
Tax is something I’ve not really mentioned before, but this of course has an effect on your disposable income. Pension and Investment income can be very tax efficient here if the right planning is taken, but something that has always been a difficult one to deal with is the annual Wealth Tax.
In the past many Wealthy individuals have decided against moving to Andalucia because of the punitive Wealth tax, which in real terms doesn’t actually generate that much revenue each year (estimated at €95m per annum for the Region). It is felt that by attracting more Wealthy Individuals, the increased expenditure and resultant revenues will far exceed that amount, so it does seem to make perfect sense.
Financial planning in retirement isn’t rocket science, but with so many variables effecting how things may look financially going forward, it’s never been more important to make sure your previous plans aren’t sitting gathering dust. Maybe they are not being best suited for the new environment we find ourselves in.
The news has been very negative so far this year, and although the passing of the Queen was a very sad event, it marks a line in history and just goes to show nothing lasts forever. It will be interesting to see how the new King makes his mark in history.
If you would like to find out more about how we help our clients here in Spain, please feel free to get in touch.
Are you paying too much on your investments?
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Investment objectives, Investment portfolios, Investment Risk, Investments, Spain
This article is published on: 19th July 2022
19.07.22
Paying too much for something is never a good idea!
Unless you have been spending all your time either on the beach or playing golf, it would be almost impossible not to have seen what´s been happening in the financial world at the moment.
Stock markets have had their worst start to a year in 50 years. Almost every day all you see and hear is doom and gloom about rising inflation, rising food prices, rising fuel prices, rising interest rates, supply chain issues, falling consumer confidence. And on and on it goes.
As usual with such issues, it can affect retirees who live here the most, as their Pensions and Investments are normally exposed to the stock markets and various other investment instruments, pretty much all of which are falling at the moment. How much worse can it get? Who knows.. When will it recover? Who Knows.. How long will it take to make up for all of my losses this year? Who knows…!
Nobody does, and looking at history can give a good indication as to the likely answers, but as I keep saying, this could well be history in the making, as opposed to history repeating itself.
Looking at history can help calm the nerves and add perspective. Over the last 150 years there have been 13 major stock market crashes. In 1877 markets fell by 33%, in 1970 they fell by 25% and again in 1974 by 39%. The latest memorable events were the financial crisis of 2008 which resulted in losses of 49% and the Covid lockdown period, which again resulted in heavy losses.
Taking the median of all of these 15 events, an average fall of 33% has taken on average of around 2 years to recover. So, although I have said this may well be history in the making, what we can all be sure of is that things will eventually get better. It’s just a question of how quickly, and that again is an unknown. The speed of recoveries is always quite impressive. Many people miss the fact that if you lose 50% on something, that something has to double in value to return to where you were.
One thing I do know though, is that if you have Pensions and Investments which are expensive, trying to reduce the costs incurred is one thing that will have an immediate positive effect on your returns, and can have an incredibly positive effect on the long-term returns.
Something else that is also relevant to costs, is the type of investments retirees are in. One of the first things to assess when I meet a client is what risk they are prepared to take with their investments. Typically, (as most are retired), I think being driven by caution (or fear) rather than greed is paramount, meaning a client should typically be very concerned about protecting their capital, and therefore their investments should be at the lower end of the risk scale.
Therefore, it makes perfect sense if you are looking to achieve a certain annual return that reducing the annual costs as best you can will mean you can take less risk to achieve your objectives, and therefore see better capital protection.
Many people are coming to me asking if we can take a look at their existing arrangements, and very often we are able to offer a solution to reduce the costs and achieve a more suitable strategy in view of where we find ourselves.
In these times of rising costs, every penny helps, and very often just talking through situations like this and having someone to listen to your worries can be a great help, so if you would like a quick chat in confidence about your financial situation, please get in touch.
Are you thinking of moving to Spain
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Moving to Spain, Retire in Spain, Spain
This article is published on: 23rd June 2022
23.06.22
“Its so nice holidaying here, I’d love to live here all year round…’’
If you are a UK resident and here on holiday, it is very often these times that get people thinking about retiring to Spain. The attractions of the slower pace of life, a completely different climate, all those extra hours of daylight and sunshine, a lower cost of living, ( depending on lifestyle!), eating out often – on and on the list normally goes.
When the UK was part of the European Union, taking the plunge and moving to Spain was relatively straightforward, aside from the obvious challenges of the actual move. You could sell up, jump on a plane and then when you were here, apply for residency, register at the town hall etc, and that was pretty much it.
Now however, that simply isn’t the case. There is the fact that as a UK citizen, you no longer have the freedom of movement within the EU, something many people still haven’t come to terms with. You can of course still come here to live, but you will need to make an application for a Visa. If you are looking to retire, then this needs to be a non lucrative Visa.
I work closely with experts who can assist with these applications, who know the process inside out and make this part all very straightforward for you.
The financial planning side of the whole process is also essential, and that of course is where I get involved. It is important you dispose of or organize your assets in the most tax efficient way you can before you leave the UK. For example, making sure your pensions are correctly dealt with and selling your main residence at the right time to name just a couple, and of course understanding the tax system and rates applicable once you are here.
One of the most important aspects of making your Visa application, (which has to be done at one of three Spanish embassies in the UK – London, Manchester or Edinburgh), is understanding what your finances need to look like to satisfy the Spanish requirements. These are mostly focused on the fact that they want to ensure you have enough money or income to live here self sufficiently.
So you need to satisfy what is known as IPREM, literally translated this means “The Public Multiple Effects Income Indicator”. As a non EU member applicant ( Third country National ), you need to demonstrate you have 4 times the IPREM requirement, plus 100% extra per beneficiary. So in simple terms, if a married couple are retiring here you will need to prove income of €2,895.10 per month, or a lump sum of €34,741.20 for each year. It is also worth noting, your Non Lucrative Visa needs renewing after a year (for the next two years) and again after three years, again for the next two years. After the end of year five you will then obtain permanent residency. This all has an effect on what money they will want to see you have, be it in the form of Pension income, savings, cash in the bank etc. This not only applies when you make your initial application, but also for the following four years.
So if you are thinking about moving to Spain? You will need to make an application for a Visa. If you are looking to retire, then this needs to be a non lucrative Visa, it is really important to have a good handle on the financial requirements, not just for the initial application but also for the subsequent few years. Most of my work has changed significantly now when working with people who are planning their move here, as it is so much more complicated than it used to be.
As we are dealing with similar situations on a regular basis, it enables us to make the process as easy as it can possibly be for individuals.
If you would like to find out more about what planning would be needed to make living in Spain a reality, then please feel free to get in touch.
Inflation in Spain
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Inflation, Interest rates, Spain
This article is published on: 26th April 2022
26.04.22
Life just seems to be getting so much more expensive nowadays.
Over the last few years we have seen a quite incredible chain of events unfold. Covid reared its ugly head, and caused a massive change in the way in which we live and travel. During this period of lockdowns and people working from home, spending habits took a massive turn. No one had the chance to go out and spend money in bars and restaurants, go to the cinema, or take weekend city breaks to name but a few.
When things started to go back to normal, we saw big supply chain issues coming to light. Microchips for cars meant new car deliveries became more and more delayed, pushing up the price of second hand cars. Demand for consumer goods for the home, having gone through the roof, also meant the cost of these items started to rise.
Many companies wound down production during the covid period, and then all of a sudden were caught short by the sudden surge in demand. You can argue this happened in the fuel industry, as we saw panic buying and massive queues in the UK at petrol stations.
Then, just as we started to look for a hint of normality, with people slipping back into their old spending habits, the war in Ukraine started, immediately hitting the price of fuel, and the one that surprised me, sunflower oil!
All of these factors have meant that the cost of living for all households is increasing at an alarming rate, inflation is with us again, having been dormant for quiet a while. The one that has really hit most people here in Spain is the increasing cost of Electricity. In December the cost rose from its lowest point by almost 500%, something I have no living memory of happening before. For many people, that is creating a huge dent in their disposable income each month.
Most people I deal with are retired or semi-retired, with their income generated by drawing down from their pensions, and then normally substituting it with drawdowns from Investment Portfolios and cash savings. At this stage of their lives, I believe in most circumstances fear tends to be the driving factor behind their Investment decisions, as protecting the money far outweighs trying to get too high a return each year. That makes perfect sense as income streams during retirement have typically ceased, so the ‘pot’ needs to be looked after carefully. Making plans for how long your funds will last is easy to a degree, when the cost of living simply increases a little each year, but now, with the way things are, the plans that previously seemed sensible will certainly need a bit of a shake up.
If interest rates rise as predicted, then maybe people will be able to look for their cash in the bank to increase in value by earning some interest, but that is something none of us can predict at the moment. If inflation continues at today’s current levels, many people will either have to change their lifestyle, or look to try and increase the annual return on their savings, but by doing that, it typically involves taking more risk, which is completely against where people normally want to be at this stage of their lives.
With the changes we are seeing with outgoings, Investment returns, interest rates and inflation, it has never been more important to spend time regularly looking at financial plans, and adjusting assumptions to make sure you have a realistic handle of how things will look going forward. It’s not rocket science, and I am here to help if you find it all a little daunting, so please free to get in touch via the form below or please email: jeremy.ferguson@spectrum-ifa.com
Back at the races in Monza
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Spain
This article is published on: 19th July 2021
19.07.21
Proudly sponsored by The Spectrum IFA Group
I was proud to finally make my Racing debut this year, carrying the Spectrum colours on the Ligier LMP4 I was racing at Monza in Italy in the European Ligier series.
We received a drive through penalty in the first half of the race when running up front, and I managed to battle back from 9th to an eventual podium place in 3rd.
Attached are a few pictures from the event, and for anyone who wants to watch the TV coverage, click here for the full race on video:
Can we learn from the past?
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Financial Planning, Financial Review, investment diversification, Investment Risk, Investments, Spain
This article is published on: 24th April 2020
24.04.20
Long periods of growth in the world, followed by a creeping in of greed, have normally caused previous stock market ‘tumbles’. This time, however, something completely unprecedented has caused it, wiping large fortunes from people’s pensions and savings, for the short term at least.
This latest situation is another great example of the fact that no one really knows what lurks around the corner. Investment managers may be clever people, but it’s simply impossible to accurately predict the timings of markets taking a tumble when events such as this take place.
‘Investing is for the medium to long term’ is something you will always hear about from people like myself. If you have a time horizon that’s very short, it’s normally fraught with danger; investments need time for you to reap their rewards. So my question is, how has the world faired on this front over the last century, and what we can learn from the past?
The first ‘event’ was the Great Depression in the US, which started in the late 1920’s. What caused it?
The early part of the decade was full of exuberance, people borrowing money to buy cars, new houses, and even borrowing to make investments in the new world of the stock market.
Everyone was doing so well, then the whole thing fell apart and nearly 13% was wiped off stock market values. For those people who had borrowed heavily to invest, it was enough to wipe them out. They lost everything, as they couldn’t repay their debts, and then followed the Great Depression. This lasted roughly 12 years until the massive manufacturing effort of WWII kick started the recovery.
Next up, after many years of growth following the end of World War II, was the famous 1987 crash. This was the largest fall in stock market values at that point in history, with a 23% fall. So what caused this? It was similar to the 1929 crash, with the addition of the speed at which people could trade shares in the modern world.
People were borrowing money, leveraging investments with the money, and then things started to go wrong. This time fear took over, with panic selling ensuing, and people lost fortunes very quickly. At that point it was the single biggest one day fall in history.
This was then followed by a 12 year recovery period, with everything being a little more controlled, until the Dot-Com bubble started to inflate. It was a frenzy of over valued companies,
people buying shares they would never have normally bought. It was all so easy to make money. Everyone was involved. Greed fevered a frenzy of madness! Then it all fell apart. The bursting of the Dot-Com bubble in 1999/2000 pushed stock markets down 23% again, but many shares fell almost 100% in value.
And off we went again… over the next 8 years, behind the scenes there was the growing greed that always seems to be lurking. Easy borrowings, people buying houses they couldn’t really afford, remortgaging the ones they had to buy more ‘things’. Banks were selling on loans to other banks.
Easy money was everywhere, seemingly fuelled by greed again. And then, you guessed it, bang! The start of the 2008 Financial crisis as it became known. The American banking system almost collapsed entirely. Never before had greed almost toppled a country. 12 years of recovery followed (sound familiar?) and 2020 is the next focal point! What more is there to say? Another large ‘tumble’ in values again.
So where am I going with this? Every time this has happened in the markets before, afterwards there ensues a protracted period of recovery and growth. The important thing is the ‘line’ keeps going up, albeit in a rather rugged manner.
The below graph is an example of 50 years growth of the 500 largest companies in the US up to the 2008 crisis. It is all over the place, but if you were invested for the medium to long term, the ‘line’ goes up and up, which is why people invest their hard earned pensions and savings. To profit!
This recovery is going to be tough, and in a new and changed world. It will come from companies that are agile, well financed with flexible long term objectives, and who are able to adapt quickly to the ever changing world.
Never has this been so obvious as it is now. If you have money invested, make sure as best you can it is exposed to investments that are most likely to be part of the recovery. A recovery that history has taught us always happened in the past.
Lockdown is a great opportunity to dig out your files to see what you are invested in, and if you need any assistance or a second opinion, I am happy to help. I can be contacted at :
Jeremy Ferguson
The Spectrum IFA Group
Sotogrande, 11310, Spain
Office: + 0034 956 794409
Mobile: + 34 670 216 229
Health before wealth
By Jeremy Ferguson - Topics: Investments, Spain, Stock Markets
This article is published on: 27th March 2020
27.03.20
Never has this expression been more relevant
After we received the news the Lockdown here in Spain is due to be extended until the 12th of April, and my best guess is that could be extended even further if we are on a similar path to Italy. Let’s hope we are not, but I for one am building myself up to accept that’s a real possibility.
My previous articles have spoken a lot about the benefits of living here in Spain: the glorious sunshine, beaches, the associated outdoor lifestyle we all came here to enjoy and the longer life expectancy that comes with all that.
Wow, how that has all changed in such a short period of time. I have to say how impressed I have been with how the authorities here reacted, in a very timely fashion, and as is typical with the Guardia here in Spain, no messing around! People respect them, and apart from some idiotic panic shopping at the beginning, they are showing a lot of decency towards the authorities and their neighbours.
The UK has reacted in a slightly different way, and I will be intrigued as to the level of intervention the police will take and how that will be received.
My wife and I have both been bed bound for a number of days with many of the virus symptoms, so we are pretty sure we caught the dreaded thing. Considering our age and state of health, together with the difficulty of getting tested, we could see no point in seeking the help of the already stretched hospital services, so we rode it through. The temperatures and headaches, together with muscle aches and sweats were awful, but over in a matter of days. It’s not like we can do anything other than stay at home anyway, so in a strange way, every cloud has a silver lining.
Whilst we are all very worried about the potential health threat, many of us will also be worried about the potential wealth threat as well; I know we certainly are. Our pensions and savings are both taking a big hit at the moment, and I am sure there are a great many of you out there who are feeling the same pain.
A bit like the virus though, just as the human body fights back, the economies and companies of the world have an incredible ability to do the same thing. There will be casualties of course, just like with the pandemic, but the ability of the human race to fight back in the face of adversity is quiet incredible.
So rather than worrying too much about the current downturns in investment markets, maybe just trust in mankind’s ability to come back from these things and get back to ‘normal’ as quickly as possible. I cannot even imagine what things must have been like after the end of the second World War, but the human race simply rolled up its sleeves, licked its wounds and eventually got back relatively quickly to economic good health, showing an incredible doggedness and determination in its quest to achieve that.
I am sure this event is going to have a profound effect on people in the future, and how they may act when we come out of this terrible situation. Maybe a lot less will be taken for granted, maybe things will be appreciated more, maybe people will have realised the importance of helping others with selfless acts, maybe the handshake will be a thing of the past.
I do know one thing though, that this will have a profound effect on me going forward.
So my message for both your health and your wealth: stay strong, be careful, look after others around you, and please don’t panic!
Jeremy Ferguson
The Spectrum IFA Group
Sotogrande, 11310, Spain
Office: + 0034 956 794409
Mobile: + 34 670 216 229
jeremy.ferguson@spectrum-ifa.com
www.spectrum-ifa.com
