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Source: https://weareverve.co.uk/feed/

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<title>Introducing our latest whitepaper…</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/introducing-our-latest-whitepaper/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 14:14:49 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Group News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Latest]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Popular]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13918</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We all saw the FCA’s thematic review into Retirement Income Advice back in January 2023 – it’s more important than ever for firms to understand the outcomes of that review and the impact it may have on their advice. Our whitepaper is perfectly timed to share our expert thoughts, research, and guidance on how firms [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/introducing-our-latest-whitepaper/">Introducing our latest whitepaper…</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>We all saw the FCA’s thematic review into Retirement Income Advice back in January 2023 – it’s more important than ever for firms to understand the outcomes of that review and the impact it may have on their advice. Our whitepaper is perfectly timed to share our expert thoughts, research, and guidance on how firms must take onboard the FCA findings.</h3>
Our mission is to support firms in the ever-changing regulatory landscape, and so, our latest whitepaper (co-authored with Brooks Macdonald) is designed to do exactly that. It’s informative, educational, and packed with action plan suggestions to encourage tangible changes for those navigating the decumulation space.
In the paper, our Head of Adviser Support, Christian Markwick and Senior Investment Director, Andrew Lewis (of Brooks Macdonald) demystify the FCA outcomes and explore the correct processes around retirement decumulation.
Anyone who knows either Christian or Andrew knows that it’s a subject they’re both passionate about. In 2017, Christian spoke of the potential decumulation gap in advice as firms found themselves with a Centralised Investment Proposition (CIP) in place but nothing to follow when it came to decumulation.
“The FCA is expecting advice businesses to be able to document what’s going well, and what’s not going well whilst recording good and poor outcomes and demonstrating that they’re actively meeting the needs of their clients. The biggest challenge that most firms are finding at the moment, is how to document that. We’ve talked about the FCA being a data-led regulator, it’s imperative now that firms are confident in the data that they’re holding.” – Christian Markwick.
A Centralised Retirement Proposition (CRP) is far more than your investment-based offering and covers a whole magnitude of additional areas from the target market, advice process, service proposition, MI, the technology used and how you assess and manage risk.
The goal of collaboration between us and Brooks Macdonald is to bring the experience of both businesses to support the ever-growing advice profession. The ideal scenario is that firms have established CRPs in place, however the reality is very often. We hope this paper facilitates tangible changes at a firm level.
Go ahead and download your FREE copy <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/retirement-income-download-guide/">here</a>.
 
–<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/">The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/introducing-our-latest-whitepaper/">Introducing our latest whitepaper…</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>What’s your mastermind subject?</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/whats-your-mastermind-subject/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 09:04:49 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Eclipse Archives]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Industry Insight]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Popular]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13864</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I’m here to talk branding. Anyone who knows me knows it’s my Mastermind subject. And, if you don’t know me, I’m Natalie Bell, Chief Engagement Officer at Verve which means that I’m responsible for all things, well *ahem*, engagement. Externally, that involves telling the Verve story, our positioning and marketing (or what’s known technically as [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/whats-your-mastermind-subject/">What’s your mastermind subject?</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>I’m here to talk branding. Anyone who knows me knows it’s my Mastermind subject.</h3>
<img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-13865 alignleft" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Natalie-Bell-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="171" height="171" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Natalie-Bell-300x300.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Natalie-Bell-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Natalie-Bell-150x150.jpg 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Natalie-Bell-768x768.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Natalie-Bell-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Natalie-Bell-2048x2048.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 171px) 100vw, 171px" />
And, if you don’t know me, I’m Natalie Bell, Chief Engagement Officer at Verve which means that I’m responsible for all things, well *ahem*, engagement.
Externally, that involves telling the Verve story, our positioning and marketing (or what’s known technically as ‘EB – Employer Branding’) and internally, that means the culture and experience we build for our teams (what’s technically known as EVP – Employee Value Proposition). Broad right? The sweet spot for me that pulls both remits together is the power of a brand.
We have lots of people ask us what agency we use for our design, marketing, or events as they like what they see (the greatest compliment – I love receiving them) and I’m always proud to say that it’s in-house talent – talent that we’ve attracted (through the power of EB) and which we’ve nurtured (through the power of our EVP). See the link now?!
I’ve had a few calls the last couple of weeks with both new and established advisers (a couple of them are currently on the <a href="https://thevervefoundation.co.uk/incubator/?utm_campaign=Eclipse&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--7sb-AbRnmGBuX9FAqTcETPZX2o1z-FHdhJUGMkBUsj-6tvkcMWnvnOZ0OPCaMAho5-p4u" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-hs-link-id="0">Adviser Incubator with The Verve Foundation</a>) as they’re after some support in building a website, either creating from scratch or refining what they already have. All of those conversations have started with me exploring, ‘Do you have a brand’? Of which the answer has been ‘yes, I have a logo’. A logo is important, but it’s just one step (usually comes much later) in the branding process. A brand is your identity:
– it’s your tone of voice (and choice of language)
– it’s the imagery you use (or don’t use)
– the colour palette you choose (and how and where you use it)
– the use of typography and fonts (another of my Mastermind topics/soap boxes)
– the story you tell (and how you tell it)
It’s all those things blended together, that make up your visual identity first. Not a logo, no matter how clever it is. The true test of a strong brand is the ability to remove your logo, and yet still be able to say what company it is. Do the test on your website / marketing collateral and see if stands up. Better still, do it on your competitors too – I’d love to know how you get on.
Of course, there’s so much more than a strong brand that goes into building a great website – SEO, engaging content, impact case studies, marketing campaigns to drive traffic – but in true Mastermind fashion, my two minutes is up.
 
Natalie Bell, Chief Engagement Officer
–<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/">The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/whats-your-mastermind-subject/">What’s your mastermind subject?</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>URGENT: LTA Abolition</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/urgent-lta-abolition/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Apr 2024 12:06:41 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Eclipse Archives]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Industry Insight]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Latest]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Popular]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13737</guid>
<description><![CDATA[HMRC kindly issued a newsletter on 4th April advising clients to delay taking their pension benefits or transferring until it can fix incorrect legislation relating to the LTA abolition. Yep, you read that correctly, yesterday. The newsletter admits that the changes to the legislation have affected the calculations for scheme-specific lump sum protection and it [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/urgent-lta-abolition/">URGENT: LTA Abolition</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3 style="text-align: justify;">HMRC kindly issued a newsletter on 4th April advising clients to delay taking their pension benefits or transferring until it can fix incorrect legislation relating to the LTA abolition. Yep, you read that correctly, yesterday.</h3>
The newsletter admits that the changes to the legislation have affected the calculations for scheme-specific lump sum protection and it states “We are aware that this formula double counts certain benefits and therefore does not operate as intended.” It goes on to say “Until this legislation is effective, schemes should advise affected members to request a delay to the payment of a PCLS under scheme-specific lump sum protection”.
We’re using this blog post as an opportunity to reach out to those near and far about what the implications of this recent announcement truly are. Note, that they’re big and they’re urgent and require quick action!
The impact on the end client is potentially significant so we have prepared some information to show you which clients may be affected and how, but also recommend that you speak to your platform provider to ensure they have the capacity to deal with your ongoing client requirements in this regard.
There are a minority of cases in which the cut-off to let providers know is today, 5th April 2024. This is, therefore, a very tight, time-sensitive piece, which will need immediate attention and action.
The background and implications are set out below. 
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">What is TTFAC?</h4>
The transitional tax-free amount certificate (TTFAC) is the way in which a client can have their entitlement to PCLS ‘corrected’ to reflect the fact that previous pension crystallisations may not have resulted in 25% PCLS actually being paid out.
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">The time limits on a TTFAC</h4>
These certificates are able to be applied for before the first crystallisation of benefits since 6th April 2024. In most circumstances, there is the ability to wait and crystallise only when this exercise is done with the client.
Monthly phased drawdown or UFPLS is however automatic and without manual intervention will cause a client to crystallise benefits before they get the chance to successfully get the certificate.
This is more of an acute issue given the fact these certificates are only available from 6th April 2024 and there is likely to be pressure on providers in the first few weeks/months in terms of requests from clients.
Before you consider stopping a client’s monthly crystallisation, you need to establish if the client needs a TTFAC first as not all clients will.
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">Who would benefit from a TTFAC?</h4>
The main time a client needs one of these is if they have crystallised pensions already and as part of this, taken less than 25% of the value used for LTA purposes.
As an example, if a client used 10% of their LTA before 6th April 2024, the new LSA rules would by default provide them with 10% less of the LSA (£268,275 x 90% = £241,448).
The main scenarios in which this applies are:
– Taking a defined benefit scheme pension and not taking any/the full PCLS
– Purchasing an annuity and choosing not to take any/the full PCLS
In addition to these two scenarios, individuals who do not have lifetime allowance protection but who crystallised DC pensions between 6th April 2016 and 5th April 2020 will have done so when the standard lifetime allowance was less than £1,073,100. While they may have taken standard PCLS entitlement at the time, the amount they took had a greater impact on the LTA (and in turn the remaining LSA available in 2024/25) than it would have in other tax years.
There is of course one more test of whether a client would need this certificate. The whole point of the TTFAC is to give the clients the ability to rightfully take up to £268,275 (or more if protection is in place). If the client’s remaining uncrystallised funds are unlikely to be near this level, it is unlikely to be a negative impact for them to simply ignore the need to obtain one of these prior to the next crystallisation. You would have to judge this for yourself considering the client’s existing pension assets, life stage and other goals such as IHT mitigation.
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">What to do if you find someone who needs a TTFAC?</h4>
If you do have a client or clients in this scenario, they need to try and stop any automatic crystallisations from occurring after 6th April 2024 until the certificates are obtained. 
Depending on your provider and the dates of disinvestment/payment, this may or may not be possible. If it is possible, the client will need to temporarily make alternative income arrangements until the regular payments can be reactivated.
You may, or may not, have already been contacted by product providers with lists of clients who may be impacted with any crystallisation events being due.
Firms need to engage with providers and their clients to decide how to proceed.
Verve clients can speak to their usual contact or email hello@weareverve.co.uk with any queries or concerns that might impact them.
Click below to download our helpful flowchart we’ve pulled together to show who may be affected, and how:
<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TTFAC-FlowChart-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-13759 size-medium" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/download-btn-300x83.png" alt="" width="300" height="83" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/download-btn-300x83.png 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/download-btn-1024x284.png 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/download-btn-768x213.png 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/download-btn-1536x426.png 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/download-btn-2048x568.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
–<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/">The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/urgent-lta-abolition/">URGENT: LTA Abolition</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Say hello to our trainers!</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/say-hello-to-our-trainers/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 12:01:46 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Group News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13674</guid>
<description><![CDATA[As part of our ongoing commitment to excellence, we’ve recently welcomed an awesome duo to our training dream team. We introduced a new starter to the team, Jodie Burns, as our Practical Training Lead – who brings a wealth of experience within finance to the table; as well as welcoming back Erin Bird from maternity [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/say-hello-to-our-trainers/">Say hello to our trainers!</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>As part of our ongoing commitment to excellence, we’ve recently welcomed an awesome duo to our training dream team. We introduced a new starter to the team, Jodie Burns, as our Practical Training Lead – who brings a wealth of experience within finance to the table; as well as welcoming back Erin Bird from maternity leave – to revamp her role as Course Designer.</h3>
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-13678 alignright" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Paul-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="200" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Paul-300x300.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Paul-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Paul-150x150.jpg 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Paul-768x768.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Paul-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Paul-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Paul-600x600.jpg 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Paul-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />However, before we dive in, let’s re-introduce you to some familiar faces – Paul Sylvester-Evans, our Training Manager, and Kate Purcell, our T&C Consultant.
Paul spends his days with advisers and paraplanners helping them progress through their careers and fulfilling their potential in a truly diverse and unique profession. Training and coaching are his key strengths and he believes there is nothing more satisfying than seeing firms and their people flourish.
But that’s not all! Paul comes with lots of industry insight as he has been in plenty of roles such as a Tied Adviser, IFA, Area Manager and Regional Director, the latter in banking where he was responsible for a team of circa 100 financial planners.
We asked him what it’s like working at Verve and he said:
“There is nowhere like it in financial services. Variety is the spice of life which makes every day a joy.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-13677 alignleft" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Kate-Purcell-2-300x300.png" alt="" width="200" height="200" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Kate-Purcell-2-300x300.png 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Kate-Purcell-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Kate-Purcell-2-150x150.png 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Kate-Purcell-2-768x768.png 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Kate-Purcell-2-600x600.png 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Kate-Purcell-2-100x100.png 100w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Kate-Purcell-2.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />Our T&C Consultant. Kate also comes with a load of knowledge as she has a background of 3 years in an estate agency, before moving into financial services in 2015 as a Client Services Manager, then into advising until she joined our compliance team in 2021. You’ll get to know Kate if you are a Training and Competency client with her quarterly one-to-ones.
We also asked Kate what it’s like working at Verve and she said…
“It’s a great team to be a part of. Expect a refreshing, forward-thinking and common-sense approach to everything!”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-13675 alignright" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jodie-Burns-1-300x300.png" alt="" width="200" height="200" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jodie-Burns-1-300x300.png 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jodie-Burns-1-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jodie-Burns-1-150x150.png 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jodie-Burns-1-768x768.png 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jodie-Burns-1-600x600.png 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jodie-Burns-1-100x100.png 100w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jodie-Burns-1.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
Let us introduce you to the newest team member, Jodie…
For the past 8 years, Jodie has been working in an advice firm. She started off doing administrative tasks, then moved up to become a paraplanner, earning her diploma along the way. Jodie is really into keeping things organised and pays close attention to detail in everything she does. Because she knows how both the advice process and client journey work, she’s great at sharing tips to make sure everyone has a good experience.
When we caught up with Jodie about what attracted her to Verve, she shared:
“I have known of Verve for a few years, and I have always admired not only the quality work they do but their mission to change the face of finance. It was clear to me from that day that the company culture and its mission for the wider world of finance was something that I wanted to contribute to.”
Jodie has been put straight to work, refining our internal training programme for <a href="https://www.thegradscheme.co.uk/">The Grad Scheme</a>, to help nurture the new talent at Verve and support them in building the foundations for success in their new roles.
Jodie’s love of training and developing people is apparent as she talked about her aspirations at Verve:
“I believe there is a real gap in not only attracting people to finance initially but also in upskilling and retaining experienced staff once you have them. As Practical Training Lead, I want to be able to help deliver training that is not only informative and engaging but more importantly teaches practical skills that can be transferred to the workplace. I am genuinely excited about my future here at Verve and to see what difference I can make to the world of finance.”
Jodie’s enthusiasm and vision for the future perfectly align with our goals here at Verve. We’re beyond thrilled to have her on board to develop a training service that delivers much-needed practical skills.
Next up, we’re thrilled to have Erin re-join us from her maternity leave, looking after her gorgeous son, Ezra. We caught up with her too, and here’s what she had to say about her return:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-13676 alignleft" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Erin-Bird-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="200" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Erin-Bird-300x300.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Erin-Bird-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Erin-Bird-150x150.jpg 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Erin-Bird-768x768.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Erin-Bird-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Erin-Bird-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Erin-Bird-600x600.jpg 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Erin-Bird-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“After a whole year of family time and baby snuggles, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t apprehensive about my return to working life. Having a baby brings so many changes to your life, body, and mentality, and it’s easy to get stuck in your own bubble and fear change. It’s honestly been great. Juggling a lack of sleep with an illchild (bring on the nursery lurgies) was definitely a learning curve last week, but if anything, it’s proved to me that I can handle more than I think.
I’ve returned to a brand-new Learning Management System (LMS), which I can’t wait to get up and running for everyone to use. This is my first project to get stuck into on my return and it’s a really nice one to start with… fresh system, fresh team, fresh start!”
Erin’s dedication and passion are contagious and we’re so pleased to have her back, bringing her expertise and creativity to the training team to make our training engaging and accessible to everyone.
We’re so thrilled to have been busy developing training and competency programmes for advisers, and with Erin’s return bringing some renewed vigour and creativity to our online T&C courses available through our tech <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/dextera/">Dextera</a>. Our T&C service has expanded as we now work with over 130 advisers, and our offerings are better than ever!
Here’s to growth, innovation, and making waves in the world of finance, one training session at a time!
–<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/say-hello-to-our-trainers/">Say hello to our trainers!</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>Spring Budget 24</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/spring-budget-24/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Mar 2024 09:35:09 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Latest]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Popular]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Press]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13623</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The spring budget comes and goes with no major changes to the world of financial planning. There are however some announcements and changes that will affect what we do, and the main ones here include: An Additional ISA Allowance of £5,000 when investing in UK equities. Higher Income Child Benefit Tax Charge threshold increased to [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/spring-budget-24/">Spring Budget 24</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>The spring budget comes and goes with no major changes to the world of financial planning. There are however some announcements and changes that will affect what we do, and the main ones here include:</h3>
<ol>
<li class="ql-align-justify">An Additional ISA Allowance of £5,000 when investing in UK equities.</li>
<li class="ql-align-justify">Higher Income Child Benefit Tax Charge threshold increased to £60,000 (with upper taper moved to £80,000). Plans to move assessment to household income by April 2026.</li>
<li class="ql-align-justify">Reduction of CGT rates that apply to property. The higher rate (only) will be reduced from 28% to 24%.</li>
<li class="ql-align-justify">Abolishment of the current non-domicile tax system with a replacement regime in place.</li>
<li class="ql-align-justify">Further reduction of NI from the rate of 10% on class 1 to 8%. Class 4 will see a reduction from 8% down to 6%.</li>
</ol>
Additional ISA Allowance
The introduction of the extra ISA allowance, £5,000, is not happening immediately (post 6th April) and requires further announcements to be made. The further announcement will need to establish the exact rules around what qualifies to be used. What has already been confirmed is the amount, the overall intention behind the measure and the fact that the new allowance will sit separately from the other ISA allowances.
It’s not clear just yet (and it will be for providers to tell us in the coming weeks) as to how this extra allowance will be offered, whether new separate ISAs are needed or whether this extra allowance can be accessed through an existing ISA.
Child Benefit
The big announcement here was the plans to move the assessment of the Higher Income Child Benefit Tax Charge from a single-income assessment to a household income assessment by April 2026. This would mark a significant change in the way UK tax is applied with the bulk of the system set up on an individual basis. Presumably with HMRC given the ability to collect and measure information on a household basis, the door could be opened for further forms of tax to be considered on a household, rather than individual, basis.
In the interim, the amount in which it applies increases (from 6th April 2024) to £60,000 from £50,000. The taper will also be halved, so instead of the full benefit being clawed back in tax at £60,000, it will apply at £80,000.
CGT on property
A surprising and small change will be the rate at which higher rate tax is applied on property capital gains. A reduced rate of 24% closes the gap on the basic rate of 18%.
Non-dom rules
A major change to the rules on non-domiciled persons with a specific tax regime was introduced for the first four years of becoming a UK resident, followed by a tax regime largely similar to a UK-domiciled individual after that. The new rules allow for the newly resident non-dom.
National Insurance
As expected, a further reduction in national insurance applies with the rate for class 1 reducing from 10% to 8%, and the rates for class 4 dropping from 8% to 6%. Both will apply from 6th April 2024. There is not too much to add here, we saw a reduction apply from January this year and it was widely expected in recent days for a further reduction to follow.
What we already knew
We already knew some changes, the main one being the abolishment of the Lifetime Allowance and the introduction of replacement allowances.
So, from 6th April 2024, the Lifetime Allowance officially disappears from legislation. It does not, unfortunately, disappear from our day-to-day lives and it will still play a part in planning in tandem with the two new allowances:
<ul>
<li class="ql-align-justify">The Lump Sum Allowance (LSA)</li>
<li class="ql-align-justify">The Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA)</li>
</ul>
These two allowances replace a lot of what is lost by abolishing the lifetime allowance, that is putting a lifetime limit on what PCLS you can take and putting a limit on the tax-free lump sum death benefits available on deaths before age 75.
Tax allowances
No further changes here. The Capital Gains Tax (CGT) exemption will drop to £3,000 (from £6,000) and the Dividend allowance will drop to £500 (from £1,000). The other tax allowances all remain as they are this tax year.
 
Grant Callaghan, Technical Specialist
–<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/">The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/spring-budget-24/">Spring Budget 24</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Common ‘Training’?</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/common-training/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 10:38:27 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Eclipse Archives]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Group News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Latest]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13601</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I can’t get Pulp’s ‘Do You Remember the First Time’ out of my head. I’m pretty sure that Jarvis had other things on his mind when he wrote the lyrics back in 1994 but I hope this will be one of many occasions when I get to give you my thoughts and views on this [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/common-training/">Common ‘Training’?</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3 align="justify">I can’t get Pulp’s ‘Do You Remember the First Time’ out of my head. I’m pretty sure that Jarvis had other things on his mind when he wrote the lyrics back in 1994 but I hope this will be one of many occasions when I get to give you my thoughts and views on this amazing profession we work in.</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-13602 alignleft" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Paul-Sylvester-Evans-2-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="183" height="183" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Paul-Sylvester-Evans-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Paul-Sylvester-Evans-2-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Paul-Sylvester-Evans-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Paul-Sylvester-Evans-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Paul-Sylvester-Evans-2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Paul-Sylvester-Evans-2-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Paul-Sylvester-Evans-2-600x600.jpg 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Paul-Sylvester-Evans-2-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 183px) 100vw, 183px" />By way of introduction, my name is <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-sylvester-evans-0a904557/">Paul Sylvester-Evans</a> and I head up Training here at The Verve Group. I often get asked what I do and I take a great deal of pride in telling people that every day, I get to work with amazing firms that are fully committed to the coaching and development of their people, and who are serious about career progression and who want everyone in every role to have the skills, knowledge and expertise to deliver the service their clients deserve.
It was really interesting to read <a href="https://campaign.weareverve.co.uk/eclipse-week-290-%E2%9C%8D%F0%9F%8F%BB?_ga=2.187978024.1898789414.1708679952-573236893.1683107299&utm_campaign=Eclipse&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8XBJ5GuVmlPdQS2JaioSePCqhHxZoNw_90-tprpMfQ5ab_3bMScUuu7pWYxNyxKrHB3XpZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-hs-link-id="1">Maddie’s Eclipse</a> last week when she referred to the ‘Business Prevention Unit’. When I meet advisers for the first time as part of our Training and Competence service, I often get told ‘So you’re compliance then’. A lot of this stems from their previous experiences of training which was compliance-orientated with no focus on them as an individual or their clients. We do things very differently here at Verve. Yes – I will make sure I keep you and your clients safe, but my role is to understand your business, your client base and your training needs and then work with you on the latter to help you improve and prosper.
Historically, when I have asked advisers what they would like support with, it has been passing more exams, and understanding more complex planning solutions and CPD (more on this to come). However, what I now get asked for, more than anything, is soft skills coaching and development. And my eyes light up. Why? It’s something that I am extremely passionate about and believe can be a real game changer, particularly for those who are relatively inexperienced. Don’t get me wrong, I am delighted that chartered status is the benchmark for the majority of firms that we work with. However, regardless of how qualified you are, it’s pretty worthless if you cannot connect with a client, particularly one who is maybe three times your age with completely different life experiences.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-13603 alignright" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-19-2_LARGE-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="267" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-19-2_LARGE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-19-2_LARGE-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-19-2_LARGE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-19-2_LARGE-391x260.jpg 391w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-19-2_LARGE-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-19-2_LARGE-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-19-2_LARGE-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" />
The first fifteen minutes are key to your initial interaction with a client. Gone are the days when the business card was slid over the desk with the opening gambit ‘Tell me about your pension’. You need to gain the client’s trust by building rapport, telling them your back story to gain credibility and then delving deep to really understand your clients so that you have all the facts to make a recommendation. A brilliant technique for gaining soft facts is using a lifetime planner – a one-pager split into 12 boxes where you ask a client about their past, present and future views/experiences on career, property, family and hobbies/pastimes. This is your fact-find; it will provide you with all the soft facts you need to understand your clients and their objectives and will validate the recommendations you make and the service you provide.
A blanket approach to training does not work. I support advisers with sales (not a dirty word) skills, their ability to articulate the value of what they do (a key attribute with consumer duty), business planning and how to widen their professional network and intergenerational approach. With business owners, it could be managing change and transition, root cause analysis, building confidence and relationships, or recruitment and consolidation. The list is endless and evolving.
I mentioned that we get a lot of requests for support with CPD and top of this list is help with achieving the 15 hours of IDD CPD per annum. Our <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/dextera/?utm_campaign=Eclipse&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8XBJ5GuVmlPdQS2JaioSePCqhHxZoNw_90-tprpMfQ5ab_3bMScUuu7pWYxNyxKrHB3XpZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-hs-link-id="0">Dextera</a> clients will have seen the new and improved Training Library where we continue to add new content to support all your learning and development requirements. We are also having a morning of <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/events/build-protection-4/">IDD CPD</a> on the 6th March where I would be delighted if you could join me and representatives from Royal London, L&G, Scottish Widows and Aviva. 3.5 hours of CPD and a nice precursor for the Budget. What’s not to like?
Paul Sylvester-Evans, Training Manager
–<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/">The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/common-training/">Common ‘Training’?</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Stellar Compliance</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/stellar-compliance/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 14:41:48 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Eclipse Archives]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Industry Insight]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Latest]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13545</guid>
<description><![CDATA[You may have spotted that this week we hosted our monthly TALK event, and this month we were joined by Gillian Hepburn, Benchmark, and Olivia Geldenhuys, Schroders, to talk about the findings of the Schroders UK Financial Adviser Survey. This survey, at the tail end of October 2023, was conducted by 254 advisers and asked [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/stellar-compliance/">Stellar Compliance</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3 align="justify">You may have spotted that this week we hosted our monthly TALK event, and this month we were joined by Gillian Hepburn, Benchmark, and Olivia Geldenhuys, Schroders, to talk about the findings of the Schroders UK Financial Adviser Survey.</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-13548 alignleft" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Maddie-Delboy-2-1.png" alt="" width="170" height="170" />This survey, at the tail end of October 2023, was conducted by 254 advisers and asked questions about sector sentiment, views on sustainability, Consumer Duty and AI. All things we all feel day in and day out.
This was the 9th year of the survey and let’s all guess what the consistent number one answer is to the following question…


“Which factors are advisers most concerned about relating to their business?”
Drum roll… REGULATION!
I was a co-host on Wednesday’s TALK session and tried so very hard to contain my eye roll at the answer. I say that in jest, clearly, we can all see the impact regulation has had, and continues to have, on the financial services industry. It feels like we are getting daily notifications of yet another survey from the FCA, or a new RegData return. I completely get it. But<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-13550 alignright" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/General-13-10in-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/General-13-10in-300x200.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/General-13-10in-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/General-13-10in-768x512.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/General-13-10in-391x260.jpg 391w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/General-13-10in-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/General-13-10in-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/General-13-10in-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> today I wanted to tie back to Jo’s post from a few weeks ago. Jo wrote to us all about some of her hints, tips, and tricks for being a dab-handed Chief Operations Officer. So what about being stellar in compliance?!
A lot of what Jo said about the <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/coo-survival-guide/">survival of a COO</a> also applies to that of individuals working in compliance. Those who thrive will naturally be operationally minded. These tips come from both my personal experience as a compliance manager within a regulated firm, but also in my work here at Verve and seeing how firms truly thrive.
<ol>
<li>Pragmatism. This is more of a skill than a tip. Taking a pragmatic approach to compliance is key. What is the regulator trying to achieve and how does the guidance need to be scaled to work within your firm? Consumer Duty is a great example. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, so truly understand the desired outcomes, and apply it to the firm. No one needs or wants documents for the sake of it. You don’t need an insistent client policy if you don’t work with insistent clients! You don’t need to do testing on non-UK UCITS if you don’t advise on them.</li>
</ol>
<ol start="2">
<li>Rapport with advisers. I have heard some pretty wild names thrown around about compliance, and I’m sure you all have heard (or maybe even said) some of these in your time. If we lean on the good ole Business Prevention Unit one to save this email from getting flagged by your spam filters, it clearly shows the connotations of compliance within firms. Compliance is your risk mitigation function, it shouldn’t be anything more than that. So, how do you get your team to understand you are here to help, avoid harm and not to stop good business? You listen and you understand the pains and the pinch points that advice staff have with compliance and you, where you can, adapt. Are policies and procedures still fit for purpose? We have gone through so many regulatory changes of late, that, does it all still work? To open that dialogue between advice and compliance, create an environment where that rapport is encouraged. Previously we had a monthly meeting, advisers and compliance, and we took it off-site. An environment away from the phone calls, the printer whirring in the background, the questions, where we could all focus on any regulatory updates, any struggles, or anything that simply just needed hashing out.</li>
</ol>
<ol start="3">
<li>Data. A tangent away from the softer side of compliance, data is your best friend but ensuring that data is correct is paramount. Coming to do your PI renewal and dreading it? Be it PI, or a data request from the FCA either direct or within the i<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-13556 alignleft" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1048_LARGE-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1048_LARGE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1048_LARGE-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1048_LARGE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1048_LARGE-391x260.jpg 391w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1048_LARGE-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1048_LARGE-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1048_LARGE-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />ndustry, you need to ensure your current data captures this.</li>
<li>Supporting evidence. Being pragmatic, great! Liaising with advisers, fantastic! Robust data, fabulous!</li>
</ol>
Like a child when they first learn to speak don’t be surprised if you receive a ‘why?’ after every comment you make. That’s fine, armour yourself with it. Your role is to interpret the regulator and apply that to your firm in a tangible way for all to understand. If someone wants a COBs reference, tell them to fill their boots. ‘Fun’ fact time. It costs £479 for a printed version of COBs.
Maddie Delboy, Compliance Manager
–<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/">The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/stellar-compliance/">Stellar Compliance</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>And who do we have here?</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/and-who-do-we-have-here/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Feb 2024 09:30:49 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Group News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Latest]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13310</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We have yet more exciting internal news to share, following a shake-up in a section of our client relations department – with two new additions to the team and a familiar face heading up our adviser support. Our very own Christian is making the move to help manage our sales team and lead all adviser [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/and-who-do-we-have-here/">And who do we have here?</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>We have yet more exciting internal news to share, following a shake-up in a section of our client relations department – with two new additions to the team and a familiar face heading up our adviser support.</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-13500 alignleft" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Christian-Markwick-2-300x300.png" alt="" width="187" height="187" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Christian-Markwick-2-300x300.png 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Christian-Markwick-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Christian-Markwick-2-150x150.png 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Christian-Markwick-2-768x768.png 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Christian-Markwick-2-600x600.png 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Christian-Markwick-2-100x100.png 100w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Christian-Markwick-2.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 187px) 100vw, 187px" />
Our very own Christian is making the move to help manage our sales team and lead all adviser support as he joins forces with our Chief Commercial Officer, Kim, as she focuses on our networks and nationals. This transition comes as we’re taking on more clients and managing lots more enquiries for our new tech platform, <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/dextera/">Dextera</a>.
Christian is perfectly placed to take on his new challenge. Having been an adviser, training and competence manager and CF10/CF11 in the industry for many years, he certainly understands what makes a firm tick, what many are trying to achieve and how to assist them in getting there.
But hey, teamwork makes the dream work, right? So, we’ve got backup! Say hello to our new recruits, Clare and Tara. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-13499 alignright" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Clare-Palfreeman-2-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="186" height="186" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Clare-Palfreeman-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Clare-Palfreeman-2-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Clare-Palfreeman-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Clare-Palfreeman-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Clare-Palfreeman-2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Clare-Palfreeman-2-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Clare-Palfreeman-2-600x600.jpg 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Clare-Palfreeman-2-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 186px) 100vw, 186px" />Clare joins the team as our Client Consultant, with years of expertise in mortgage and financial advice. Armed with CeMAP, CeFAP, and banking qualifications, Clare’s journey spans mainstream lending, brokering, and client advisory services. She understands the ins and outs of the client journey and adviser processes, ensuring the right results every time. Clare is very excited to be back in a client-facing role and can’t wait to get stuck into meeting and supporting our clients.
Alongside Clare, we welcome Tara, our new Consultant Support guru with over six years of client-focused sales experience. Her passion lies in nurturing client relationships and addressing their needs. Since joining Verve, Tara’s hit the ground running and is already getting the hang of our clients and how we do things around here. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-13313 alignleft" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/tara-300x300.png" alt="" width="186" height="186" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/tara-300x300.png 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/tara-150x150.png 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/tara-768x768.png 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/tara-600x600.png 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/tara-100x100.png 100w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/tara.png 866w" sizes="(max-width: 186px) 100vw, 186px" />We asked Tara if there were any quirks about the Verve culture that stood out to which she responded: “Cathi, for a CEO, she is absolutely refreshing and made me feel comfortable straight away. She likes to be amongst her employees and chat with everyone. It’s the first time I have experienced working in the same office space as a company owner. We need more Cathi’s in the business world. Also, beer and wine in the fridge!” We couldn’t agree more, Tara!
Clare and Tara joined just before Christmas and jumped right into the thick of things with our annual Christmas party – and boy, did they love it! Clare mentioned, “I’ve NEVER been to a Christmas party with so much thought, effort and energy go into it. It totally showed how much the team are valued and how happy everybody is.” What a way to end the year and introduce you to our Verve culture! 
We’re very excited to welcome both Clare and Tara to the team, and seeing Christian move into this new role with ease – we can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store!
 
<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/">-The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/and-who-do-we-have-here/">And who do we have here?</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>In the press</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/in-the-press/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jan 2024 15:02:12 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Group News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Latest]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Press]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13326</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It’s been a busy January so far! We’ve had a few of our team speak with some press about some hot topics in our industry. Let’s take a look at what they’ve been saying… Our very own CEO and founder Cathi Harrison has been busy speaking with Money Marketing about a global SMB survey revealing [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/in-the-press/">In the press</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>It’s been a busy January so far! We’ve had a few of our team speak with some press about some hot topics in our industry. Let’s take a look at what they’ve been saying…</h3>
Our very own CEO and founder Cathi Harrison has been busy speaking with Money Marketing about a global SMB survey revealing frustrations and desires for streamlined solutions. Take a read for yourself right <a href="https://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/opinion/cathi-harrison-solutions-outside-our-sector-bubble-may-be-more-suited-for-advice-firms-challenges/">here</a>.
We also had one of our compliance consultants, Julie, speak with FT Adviser answering the question – Could consumer duty open the door for CMC complaints? Kick up your feet and take a read about what Julie and others in our industry had to say <a href="https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2024/01/04/could-consumer-duty-open-the-door-for-cmc-complaints/?page=1&utm_content=174289623&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&hss_channel=lcp-19011166">here</a>.
 
–<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/">The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/in-the-press/">In the press</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>COO Survival Guide</title>
<link>https://weareverve.co.uk/coo-survival-guide/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Abbie King]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Jan 2024 14:23:09 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Eclipse Archives]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Industry Insight]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://weareverve.co.uk/?p=13532</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Recently Cathi has been talking about sector-agnostic technology and how we can look to the efficiencies in other businesses to enhance what we offer in the finance industry. I think it’s not just technology that is sector-agnostic (yes, I’m obsessed with the term) because, in my role as Chief Operations Officer of a very unique, [...]
The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/coo-survival-guide/">COO Survival Guide</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3 align="justify">Recently Cathi has been talking about <a href="https://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/opinion/cathi-harrison-solutions-outside-our-sector-bubble-may-be-more-suited-for-advice-firms-challenges/">sector-agnostic technology</a> and how we can look to the efficiencies in other businesses to enhance what we offer in the finance industry.</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-13534 alignleft" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jo-Campbell-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="173" height="173" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jo-Campbell-300x300.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jo-Campbell-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jo-Campbell-150x150.jpg 150w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jo-Campbell-768x768.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jo-Campbell-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jo-Campbell-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jo-Campbell-600x600.jpg 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jo-Campbell-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 173px) 100vw, 173px" />
I think it’s not just technology that is sector-agnostic (yes, I’m obsessed with the term) because, in my role as Chief Operations Officer of a very unique, multi-disciplined, adviser-service business, a lot of what I do would not seem to have direct comparisons in our profession, so I initially looked outside to get the skills I needed. However the more I speak to operational people in advice firms, other outsourced companies and even in satellite companies such as tech, accountancy and HR, there are a lot of commonalities in our industry and due to the (surprising to everyone) smash hit that was my top tips on suitability, I thought it might be a good chance to do a few tips on surviving a day in the life of a COO.
<ol>
<li> Communication and collaboration. Everyone (should) know that clear communication is key in any business, and asking rather than telling gets much better results. However, I take this one step further with regular collaboration. I often walk into a meeting with our technical people (paraplanners, compliance geeks, developer nerds) and don’t even pretend to be the smartest person in that room. They have skills and knowledge that are absolutely crucial to the advancement of our business and I make sure to listen to them as much as I can. Even when it doesn’t really involve me. You’ll often hear a “tell me about that project because I’m really nosy” from me. A lot. Even if it doesn’t impact me directly, it will impact operations at some point and information is power, as they say. So don’t be afraid to ask, or to listen or to get involved.</li>
</ol>
<ol start="2">
<li>Writing. I write everything down. And I mean everything. Seemingly relevant or not. I’d rather have too much information than not enough. When you have a number of different departments with different needs and different projects running at different speeds (unintentional rhyming) it can start to get really messy, really quickly. I have a team of around 5 managers (who in turn have around 35 staff in the resources dept alone) and if even half of them have a question or an idea, that’s 20 pieces of information a day and if you can remember and organise and deal with that, then you’re a better person than me. I used to be rubbish at that game “I went to the shop and I bought”… who remembers that? Show your age.</li>
</ol>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-13538 alignright" src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-295_LARGE-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="346" height="230" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-295_LARGE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-295_LARGE-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-295_LARGE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-295_LARGE-391x260.jpg 391w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-295_LARGE-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-295_LARGE-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-295_LARGE-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 346px) 100vw, 346px" />
<ol start="3">
<li>Planning. Once I’ve managed to decode my notes I add everything I need to technology to help me plan, prioritise, delegate, arrange and start work on. I usually use a Microsoft Planner board, which I have set at different levels of priorities, dates, project sizes and a number of other filters including personal (never let the life admin slide!). There are other planning boards available. Asana is a good one we used before we had Planner and of course, I would be lost without <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/dextera/?utm_campaign=Eclipse&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_0vNxFg2-dTK42_cpq6i02Uj29wWhcRcwawmpCZLra5FqzJoCTCkQeZiE8C-x0Tq7IKSSp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-hs-link-id="0">Dextera</a> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f609.png" alt="😉" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> . This is our home-grown tech which we use to manage projects, communicate with our clients and has all of our firm framework to keep me on track with the business requirements. Honestly, it’s a great system, that I couldn’t live without now, but I would say that.</li>
</ol>
<ol start="4">
<li>Mindfulness. Calmness under pressure is a must-have for anyone who is thinking of getting into operations. Challenges happen regularly and having the skills to be able to cope with that effectively, while under pressure and supporting all of those involved is a talentyou need to hone up to an Olympian level. As a COO, you feel pressure from all sides, those who are relying on you from your team and those who are relying upon you from above (like when your CEO drops a last-minute Eclipse on you – hey Cathi <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f44b-1f3fc.png" alt="👋🏼" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />). Finding ways to destress is as important. There are a lot of apps out there around mindfulness, coping with pressure, breathing meditation etc. I’m more likely to be found in bed under my <a href="https://curaofsweden.com/en/weighted-duvets-9kg">9kg weighted blanket</a> with my emotional support <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marvel-Spider-Man-Water-Bottle-Plush/dp/B0CKTFDF8F?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A1743JFZ6WT65I&utm_campaign=Eclipse&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_0vNxFg2-dTK42_cpq6i02Uj29wWhcRcwawmpCZLra5FqzJoCTCkQeZiE8C-x0Tq7IKSSp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-hs-link-id="0">Spiderman hot water bottle</a> and the new Stephen King book, but you do you.</li>
</ol>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-13539 " src="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1117_LARGE-scaled-e1708093170313-236x300.jpg" alt="" width="212" height="270" srcset="https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1117_LARGE-scaled-e1708093170313-236x300.jpg 236w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1117_LARGE-scaled-e1708093170313-806x1024.jpg 806w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1117_LARGE-scaled-e1708093170313-768x976.jpg 768w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1117_LARGE-scaled-e1708093170313-1209x1536.jpg 1209w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1117_LARGE-scaled-e1708093170313-1612x2048.jpg 1612w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1117_LARGE-scaled-e1708093170313-600x762.jpg 600w, https://weareverve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OfficeJan2024-1117_LARGE-scaled-e1708093170313.jpg 1706w" sizes="(max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px" />
<ol start="5">
<li>Problem-solving and innovation. If you’re the type of person in a business who says “I’ve discovered this issue, but here’s a couple of things I think we can do to fix or improve” then you’re made for ops. Even better, when you have constant ideas for improvement or innovation, then fulfil your operations destiny, my friend. Over here we don’t use the term “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, we say “let’s see if we can break it so we can put it back together but make it faster, stronger better and while we’re at it, pop a cute hat on”. Remember if you’re not going forward, you’re going backwards. I live by that mantra every day, especially in the ever-increasing outsourced sector.</li>
</ol>
I’ll leave it there. This isn’t anything ground-breaking I know, and I do have a lot more specific examples, but as I said, the comparables aren’t always there, so I kept it generic so as to apply to the masses, a bit like Jesus or Taylor Swift.

Jo Campbell, Chief Operations Officer
–<a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/">The Verve Group</a>The post <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk/coo-survival-guide/">COO Survival Guide</a> first appeared on <a href="https://weareverve.co.uk">The Verve Group</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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