Birmingham PFS Conference hits the mark

Birmingham Q2 Conference hits the mark

On June 3 the Ramada, Sutton Coldfield provided the venue for the latest Personal Finance Society Birmingham Conference. Upwards of 140 members attended the event and provided on-the-day feedback praising the quality and relevance of the sessions.

The scene was set with a session describing the key changes impacting financial services following the Budget. John Woolley, Director at Technical Connections and a regular speaker at financial services and tax conferences, highlighted the recent pensions freedoms and how this will impact on the level of flexibility and choice for clients - for which they will require advice in order to effectively navigate the available options.

Inheritance tax planning, together with the changes to the ISA landscape, were also explored, providing a number of discussion points for the engaged audience.

The following sessions set out to identify and address some of the tools, planning opportunities and challenges facing the client and adviser community with an emphasis on pensions. Members found the subsequent session on Lifetime cash flow modeling thought provoking, especially those advisers who were considering this tool to complement their existing offering.

The sponsors' sessions focused on the opportunity presented to clients as a result of the changes announced in the budget, with an insight into how product providers are responding to ensure advisers are best equipped with the right solutions.

Following lunch members were provided with the opportunity to dissect a case study and test their own knowledge in providing personalized advice solutions and furthermore discussing the multiple routes available on the retirement planning journey as described by Tim Mason, a Pension Specialist at Old Mutual.

The final session of the day enabled members to understand more about peer-to-peer lending and differentiate some often-confused areas. Inevitably as interest has flourished in this growth area, Kevin Caley of ThinCats received the most questions from the audience.

PFS Birmingham is continuing its efforts to work with closely the region's local institutes and plans to arrange more events to benefit members in the second half of 2015, including welcoming both the FCA and the Pensions Regulator as part of a packed Q3 Conference agenda in September.

Dominic Brentnall

More details on Birmingham events can be found at: www.cii.co.uk/birmingham