One of the best parts of our job is talking to clients about everything and helping them create a wonderful life.
We use the three Kinder questions to find out what is truly important to them, what matters in their life, what is their purpose and what are their plans for the future. We ask all clients to fill in an expenditure questionnaire so that we can see where their money is going and plan what they need for their future. We make sure that family members are protected financially should anything happen, whether this is in the form of insurance to pay off mortgages or by reducing Inheritance Tax claims.
Children are not taught in UK schools how to manage their money, and this continues into later life with many adults not knowing what best to do with their finances. Something needs to change.
We educate clients about their money â things they have forgotten or never knew. We explain how great pensions are, discuss how investments can contribute to their life plan, and discuss risk and how it relates to money. Some clients are âbig pictureâ people, whereas others are âdetailsâ people. We help them understand as much as they want to.
Fortunately, we are seeing more women in charge of their money, with or without a partner, or having joint responsibility for it.
To further enhance this, we make sure that female partners are always part of the conversation and attend meetings, so they understand their finances and help make decisions. All our clients fill out their initial life planning questions separately so that everyoneâs ideas are considered. We try to make sure that money is held between partners as fairly as possible, taking into account tax considerations.
The UK alone generated 222.2 million tonnes of total waste in 2018. This is a huge concern for us. So, to reduce consumption, weâve cut down on paper by using password-protected emails and Adobe Sign rather than paper forms. We shred all sensitive documents, and the paper is recycled along with all our used paper. We also buy recycled printer paper.
Day to day, Madeleine uses a reMarkable tablet rather than taking notes on paper. We also use our newsletters to suggest ways for our clients to reduce waste, for example, by using washable cotton pads and metal toothpaste tubes rather than plastic.
Itâs no secret that we need to stop global warming and achieve carbon neutrality. To do our part, we use OneDrive for our cloud storage. We switched from Dropbox because Microsoft, which runs OneDrive, is much more climate-focused. We also use storage heaters in our office that run on electricity, rather than gas.
At least 20% of all client investments and pensions are invested in ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) funds in EQ Investors Positive Impact Portfolios.
Individually, Madeleine has an electric car that she charges at night when the grid is at its lowest demand. She also grows her own vegetables and supports Greenpeace by personally donating to them monthly.
To help meet this goal, we have become members of two groups: the Marine Conservation Society and the Surfers Against Sewage Open Network.
As company members of this UK-wide community of ocean lovers, we work together towards a vision of a sea full of life, where nature flourishes and people thrive.
The society fights for our ocean through people-powered action, with science on its side. They defend habitats and species, working with communities, businesses and governments.
This grassroots movement has grown into one of the UKâs most active and successful environmental charities.
Theyâre a community dedicated to protecting oceans, waves, beaches and wildlife. They fight to protect what we love and wonât stop until itâs completely clean, safe and protected for everyone.
Since 1970, wildlife populations have declined by 68% on average. We were astonished by this statistic and decided to become a âBusinessâ subscriber of Ecologi, which offsets the carbon footprint of every employeeâs life as well as any business travel. You can view our Ecologi page here.
By subscribing to Ecologi, we offset CO2 emissions and plant trees.
We help towards the remaining ten United Nations goals, as well as the ones above, by investing our clientsâ money in EQ Investors Positive Impact Funds. How we invest our money can have a big effect on how we help to protect our planet by investing in companies that are not only good for the world but are also treating their employees and supply chains well. An example of this is that EQ Investors avoid many business models driving biodiversity destruction, which are also climate change drivers. These include fossil fuel extractives and unsustainable agriculture.
It is estimated that we need $5-7 trillion of additional investments every year to tackle the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As a result, impact investments offer significant long-term return growth potential.
So your money can do good for the world and be invested in the technology of the future that governments need to act on their targets.
And if you're lucky, a chocolate biscuit too!!
Whether itâs a tea, coffee or hot chocolate (Madeleineâs favourite), we think a drink and a chat in a relaxed environment is the perfect way to get things started.
