Upcoming Webinars

More webinars coming soon.

Past Webinars

Amundi - Can the 25 best companies in the world beat a gloomy Macro outlook?

On 28 May 2020 Steve Williams of Amundi and Jeff Mueller of Polen Capital presented a webinar on the Amundi Funds Polen Capital Global Growth Fund and asked can the 25 best companies in the world beat a gloomy Macro outlook?

After a strong equity bull market in 2019, and despite investors estimation that we were in a late cycle environment, many were still positioned for continued growth in 2020 … until the world changed in February! The market drawdown was fast and drastic, catching most by surprise. The subsequent rebound has also been surprising. Given the expected negative impact on corporate earnings, with many countries only just beginning to restart their economies, while others are still waiting to take the full brunt of the pandemic, the macro outlook looks bleak. With this backdrop, what is in store of equity investors and what strategies can work, with so many unknowns, variables and uncertainties?

The Amundi Funds Polen Capital Global Growth Fund has delivered 56.87%⁽¹⁾ excess returns vs MSCI ACWI since its launch in 2015. It currently ranks 11^th out of 2362 funds over 5yrs and 12^th over 3 yrs in the Citywire Selector Global Equity Category. It is also 5* Morningstar rated, being top quartile in every time period since inception … so how does it do that, why haven’t you heard of it, and should you take a closer look?

Click on the image below to watch a recording of the webinar.

LGT Vestra Webinar: Stability in sustainability - exploring the impact of COVID-19 on markets and sustainable investments

On 14 May Phoebe Stone, Partner and Head of Sustainable Investing at LGT Vestra provided a macro-economic market update in light of the spread of coronavirus and what may lie ahead for markets as governments execute their exit strategies. Phoebe also discussed the performance of the sustainable investments as markets navigate these uncertain times as well as explaining the sustainable investment landscape, the type and range of opportunities and what the implications of the corona crash may entail for sustainability. To view a recording, click on the image below.

Exploring FCA Assessing Suitability Review II

The FCA’s recent ‘Dear CEO’ letter outlined their intentions for a second Assessing Suitability Review focusing on retirement income advice. The coronavirus pandemic may have caused the review to be pushed back to the autumn, but we believe understanding the FCA’s direction of travel concerning retirement income processes to deliver good outcomes remains an important and timely topic for advisory firms. In this webinar, Martin Lines from Just and Paul Boston of Novia are joined by financial services technical and regulatory expert, Rory Percival. Together they explore the FCA’s motives and objectives, as well as providing insight to help with reviews of internal advice processes. The webinar covers:

• FCA Assessing Suitability Review II
• The FCA’s concerns regarding the retirement income market
• Biases that can influence the give and take between flexibility and security
• How to blend essential and discretionary income needs, via a platform

Download a copy of the webinar presentation*

The facts and information presented in this webinar were correct as of 27 April 2020. We accept no responsibility for the continued accuracy of this information. *Presentations are only to be used in conjunction with their respective webinar recording.

Revisiting Retirement Investing, presented by Henry Cobbe and Paul Boston

On Tuesday, 5 May, following our sell-out Suitability Review II webinar with Rory Percival and Just, this webinar took a deeper dive, looking at:

• Capacity for loss
• How to cover essential/core spend for life and how to calculate it
• How to maximise discretionary spend in retirement whilst minimising money anxieties operating within a compliant framework
• The risks for decumulation investment and why they're different to those for accumulation
• The difference between CIPs and CRPs
• Why the time horizon is so important
• How we know the safe withdrawal rate is sustainable
• How to deploy the strategy
• How the Copia Retirement range has performed over the last three years

Click the image here for a recording of the webinar.

King & Shaxson: Responsible investing with a track record

On April 30 2020 Craig Hart from King and Shaxson shared how they can support adviser firms in the construction of ethical investment portfolios for their clients, providing an insight into the due diligence they conduct on funds in the SRI space, and demystifying the misconception surrounding the performance of ethical portfolios. In March this year King & Shaxson celebrated the 10 year Anniversary of their Ethical Model Portfolio Solution. Click the image here for a recording of the webinar.

Markets & COVID 19 Update Webinar from Copia

On 23 April, 2020 Hoshang Daroga, Portfolio Manager at Novia's DFM arm Copia Capital, discussed the latest COVID-19 developments, market impact and outlook to help navigation through a volatile environment, as well as providing key messages advisers could use with their clients.

Guaranteed Income Webinar from Novia: find out about post pension freedoms innovation and securing clients' income for the future

On April 6, 2020 Novia's Craig Berry gave on online presentation on the innovative new Guaranteed Income option.

Structured Products Webinar

On 26 March 2020, during the COVID-19 clampdown, Novia's Helen Austin and Tony Davies from LMD Marketing looked at potential opportunities in the Structured Product market and how to administer these on the Novia platform. This webinar was held to help Advisers find out how Structured Products could still deliver attractive rates even with further market falls from the strike date.

If your client wishes to make a 'single' investment that is greater than their bank will allow them to transfer in one electronic transaction, there are 2 options available to you.

1. You can make multiple single investments as part of one online application, in which case each electronic payment will be invested as it is received. (please note all investments will go into the same asset allocation.  If investing in ETFs this option may result in paying higher fees depending on the trade size.)
2. If you make one single investment as part of the online application, the investment amount can be split into multiple electronic payments which will be invested upon receipt of the final payment.  Please be aware that client money regulations will only allow us to hold monies for 10 working days before being invested or returned to client bank account.  If the full investment amount is not received within that time we would require a new application for the appropriate amount to be submitted to allow investment of the payments received.

Novia have taken your feedback into account and as a result we have amended our withdrawal process to help clients access their money in these difficult and unpredictable times. 

We will now allow scanned copies of all withdrawal forms (this includes UFPLS and BCE forms for pensions) with immediate effect. As we have heard from Government there is increased fraudulent activity seeking to take advantage of the current situation. The risks are increased where Investor instructions are received non face to face and original documents are not obtained. Novia will of course conduct checks to verify the Investor's bank details and we appreciate your support in completing any additional steps that we may require.

Temporarily, we can also now accept client withdrawal instructions from you as the Adviser, with our form being amended to include an Adviser signature box. 

The security of client assets is paramount to us and all checks will be rigidly carried out. Please note these changes are temporary and we are implementing them to assist in these difficult times in line with our culture of always putting the client first and of maintaining our adaptability to do so.       

In light of the current difficulties around Social Distancing and isolation, Novia will now accept scanned forms (not photos of forms) for any Origo enabled transfers. 

A link has been deployed to the Quick Links section of our home page detailing the list of providers who are currently Origo enabled. We ask that you check this link to determine if the pension transfer you are submitting requires the original (non-Origo) or if you can email us the scanned copy. We will reserve the right to ask for the original, especially if we deem the image isn’t legible. 

IMPORTANT – some of those on the list have legacy books of business or certain policies that can’t move through Origo, or we may find that requests are rejected by the ceding scheme. Ceding schemes also have the right to ask for an original; as such it is important that you retain the original until (at least) the transfer is complete. Where we do need the original, Novia will not be liable for any transfer delays. 

We have now extended the list of processes for which we can accept scanned documentation.  This decision has been made with the aim of making life easier for our users, whilst still considering the risks and appropriate controls.  

As we have heard from Government there is increased fraudulent activity seeking to take advantage of the current situation. The risks are increased where Investor instructions are received non face to face and original documents are not obtained. 

Where appropriate, Novia will of course conduct checks to verify the Investor's bank details and we appreciate your support in completing any additional steps that we may require. 

Please note these changes are temporary and we are implementing them to assist in these difficult times in line with our culture of always putting the client first and of maintaining our adaptability to do so.    

The below table details forms that we will now accept via a scanned copy, and, importantly, those where we continue to need the original. Please ensure that the original document is kept on record.

As previously communicated, we will also accept client withdrawal instructions from you as the Adviser, with our form being amended to include an Adviser signature box. 

Providing scanned documents even without a scanner can be done easily using one of the many apps available for iOS and android. Simply take a photo on your phone using the app.  Novia is not endorsing or recommending any of these apps and how you and your clients may wish to use them.  However, where Novia is willing to accept scanned documents, during these unprecedented circumstances, it may be helpful for you or your client to use one of these apps.

Please review the details published by Novia about the forms and documents we are willing to accept as a scanned document.  This will enable Novia to process instructions without potential disruption to the post. Novia may still require the original document to follow or may require you to send the original document to us on request, therefore either you or your client must keep the original document.

Some of the apps include additional features.  Although these may be of benefit to you please note that Novia requires a pdf of the scanned image to be sent to us. You must ensure you process your clients' personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Below are just some of the scanning options available that might help you and your clients over the coming weeks:

Genius Scan

PDF element 

Scanner Pro

Microsoft Office Lens

With the country locked down in self-isolation, technology for client meetings is invaluable. With people of all ages now used to using facetime and other such apps, it would be relatively normal and easier than ever for Advisers to deliver services to clients virtually. 

Better yet, there are a wide range of video conferencing technologies available that take this a step further and allow you to:

• Make it possible for your clients to book meetings directly in your calendar
• Send a meeting request containing a simple link to your client to join the meeting (and in many cases can sync with various calendar systems such as google and outlook).
• Share screens with your client to walk them through any documentation you would normally present in face to face meetings.
• Record the meetings (in fact some video conferencing software can automatically transcribe the meeting to provide a written record.)

Novia is not endorsing or recommending this software or how you should use it with your clients. However, we would recommend that you declare to your client that you aim to record your meeting and ensure that you are aware of where that data is saved if you chose to save it to the cloud rather than on your local machine.

Scheduling software

• MS Bookings - (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/business/scheduling-and-booking-app)
• Calendly - (https://calendly.com/)

Video conferencing software

Here are some examples of video conferencing software that might be useful to you.  Some offer free trial or free tiers depending on the level of use you require.

• Zoom Meeting (https://zoom.us/pricing)
• Callbridge (https://www.callbridge.com/)
• 8x8 (https://www.8x8.com/uk)
• Skype (https://www.skype.com/en/)
• Cisco Webex (https://www.webex.com/)
• Microsoft Teams (https://products.office.com/en-GB/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software)

Transcribing technology

There are a range of transcription or voice to text technologies available that will enable you to keep a written audit trail of your client meetings even if your meetings are via video conferencing.

They all have varying features including mobile options and different levels of access/complexity. Of course, you would need to make it clear to your client that you aim to use this technology.  Here are some examples both paid and free that you might find of use over coming weeks and beyond. 

• Otter.ai (https://otter.ai/login)
• Trint (https://trint.com/)
• Transcribe (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/transcribe-speech-to-text/id1241342461)