Rhodes Wealth Management Bulletin April 2020

ForewordAdam RhodesManaging Director, Rhodes Wealth Management

Firstly, the team and I hope that you and your friends and family are all safe and well at what is a very difficult time. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with those of you whose families are suffering at the moment, as we know some will be.  Please be assured that whilst we are in very uncertain times, the financial advice that we have given you over the years has always been tailored to you and your personal objectives. Whilst we are in the eye of the storm it is easy to think that the current pandemic is the biggest threat to your finances but in the long-term this is not the case.

 Our financial advice, our funds, our investment portfolios and the St. James’s Place Investment Committee assume that these sorts of events will occur from time to time and use scenario planning to ensure that you do not suffer to the extent that other investors may find themselves suffering. In the long term, the biggest threat to you is more likely inflation and ever-increasing life expectancy.

 This crisis may seem different to those we have seen previously, such as the Wall Street crash of 1929, Black Monday 1987, the Dotcom bubble and the more recent financial crisis of 2008. One thing did remain the same though: over time markets recovered, and we entered a prolonged period of recovery with very rewarding stock market returns.  

 Our banks and economies have never been so connected, and as a result are far more responsive and capable of joining forces to operate together to find solutions. Large corporations understand the importance of their roles and are collaborating in unprecedented ways - who would have thought Google and Apple would be working together?

 In all of this, what is important is our ability to join together and support each other. I know I’ve seen it in our team as they adjust to remote working over the past few weeks, and the good news stories we’ve seen in the media about neighbours and communities coming together are testimony to our strength as a nation.

 If you need any support during this difficult time, the Rhodes Wealth Management team and I are here for you and will continue to be as we see this through together.

Adam Rhodes BA Hons ACSI Dip PFS Cert CII (FS)Director of Rhodes Wealth Management Ltd

Coronavirus: Finding opportunity in uncertain times

‘Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful’ – Warren Buffett

As Coronavirus spreads across the globe, such has been the panic amongst people that fights have been reported in the toilet roll aisles of supermarkets.

It would be understandable if investors were similarly nervous, but it is crucial to think of the long-term outlook, bearing in mind that most portfolios are based around a minimum five-year strategy.

Significant market movements generate a range of emotions for investors, detailed in the cycle below, and it is essential that these are carefully managed to avoid kneejerk reactions or spur of the moment decisions that could have a detrimental impact on future financial outcomes. Investment decisions should be directed by logic and information, rather than the heart.

In times of market volatility, moments of opportunity can arise. It is when wealth managers and advisers earn their keep, providing reassurance and seeking out room for proactive movement or investment. With the markets dropping, there are those who will benefit when they recover over time when advised appropriately.

It is important to take stocks of your reasons for investment during periods of volatility and review your long-term plans. Did you invest for the short-term, or was it to support retirement, or plan for your children’s future?

Although social media and the availability of 24-hour news can leave investors feeling vulnerable and like they must ‘take’ action, it is worth remembering that the current climate is a short-term fluctuation in a long-term plan.

If you’d like to discuss your options today, please contact a member of the team on 01332 497670.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

Meet the Team Lucy Coates, Paraplanner

This month’s team member is Paraplanner Lucy Coates, who shares her love for travelling and ‘unicorn spreadsheets’!

What do you most enjoy about working at Rhodes Wealth Management?It’s great to be a part of such a progressive company with the desire and scope to allow the team to develop. There is a friendly culture at Rhodes, and this has only continued as the business has grown. I’m studying towards my Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and looking to move into advising so I’m excited to see what the future holds here.

Where did you work before joining Rhodes Wealth Management?I graduated with a First-Class Honors Degree in Finance and Banking from Sheffield Hallam University in 2017. Following this, I spent some time working for another Practice before joining Rhodes. I was lucky to know from early on that I wasinterested in a career in finance and my studies linked in seamlessly with my current role. I’m a spreadsheet lover – they get called ‘unicorn spreadsheets’ with all the colour!

What are your hobbies outside of work?I like to keep active with a few gym classes a week and travel where I can. I visited San Diego, Dublin, Bordeaux, Ibiza and Santiago in Chile last year so I’m hoping to add more to the list this year – preferably somewhere warm! 

On Friday 6th March Nina and Rosie from the Rhodes Wealth Management Marketing team braved temperatures as low as 2 degrees at Derbyshire County Cricket Ground car park to spend the night under the stars in aid of YMCA Derbyshire’s annual ‘Sleep Easy’.

The purpose of the yearly event is for people to experience what it’s like to get very little sleep in vulnerable surroundings, whilst raising money. The night involves activities that best replicate what is a daily reality for many people sleeping on the streets.

Every year, the YMCA Derbyshire provides shelter and safety to over 300 individuals. They offer a range of support from training and employment to budgeting and advice on independent living.

As a result of funds raised from Sleep Easy events, they have been able to expand their accommodation capacity and employ addi-tional Health & Wellbeing workers.

Joined by individuals and businesses from across Derbyshire, the evening was a fantastic opportunity to understand how the YMCA works to help people in the area and raise money for a very important cause.

Nina & Rosie raised a fabulous £423.76 in their fundraising efforts and would like to thank all donors for their support.

If you’d like to find out more about the YMCA, please visit their website.

YMCA Derbyshire Sleep Easy Friday 6th March 2020

Market Update Webinar30th April 2020, 2pm

Join us for a market update webinar with St. James’s Place Wealth Management speaker Tim Knight. To receive joining instructions,

register your interest on our website:

https://rhodeswealthmanagement.co.uk/events/

We’re faced with it in the news every day; images of children on the streets demanding change, school climate strikes, melting ice caps crashing into the sea. As a result, many people are taking a proactive look at what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint, and businesses and governments are running to keep up, with strategy and policy change.

Some of the more common approaches to personally reducing our impact on the environment include eating less red meat, travelling on foot or by public transport, or switching to a renewable energy provider. These are all relatively simple and affordable changes that can be made to our daily lives in our efforts to reduce the speed and consequences of climate change for future generations. However, it is less common to take stock of your pension holdings in this context. Few people know that in the fight against climate change, your pension and savings holdings can have a significant impact on your carbon footprint.

According to Nordea (2017), investing your savings in sustainable funds can have up to 27 times the impact of adaptations such as reducing meat intake, changing travel habits or conserving energy in the home.

St. James’s Place are proud to take a strong stance on sustainability and responsible investing, through visibility of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in the investment process, and an A+ rating with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). One of the funds also offered by St. James’s Place is theSustainable and Responsible Equity Fund, managed by Impax. The fund does not invest in tobacco, oil or gas companies and benefits from over 40% less exposure to carbon intensive companies than a typical equity fund. Sustainable investing does not necessarily result in reduced returns, with a research paper by Nordea markets showing that leaders in sustainability significantly outperformed organisations with a poor ESG rating. Rhodes Wealth Management encourage sustainability in the workplace, with a 2020 new client initiative in association with The National Forest. For every new client joining us, we plant a tree.

If you’d like to take stock of your options or explore the St. James’s Place fund range available. Please contact the team today on 01332 497670.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

Nordea, Sustainable Finance at Nordea, 2017 St. James’s Place Wealth Management, 2020

How ‘clean’ is your pension? Why your savings could be influencing your carbon footprint.

Unfortunately, our market update event in June has been postponed until October, in line with

government guidelines.

Quarterly market update 10.09.2020Wollaton Hall, from 1pm

Quarterly market update 14.10.2020Stapleford Park, from 1pm

Quarterly market update 02.11.2020Derbyshire County Cricket Club, from 6pm

If you’d like to attend one of our complimentary events, please contact us on 01332 497670

or register your interest on our website www.rhodeswealthmanagement.co.uk

Upcoming Events

The Bull and the Bear: a tale of two marketsForecasting short term market behaviour is currently as difficult as predicting the progression and outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the only certainty seems to be the uncertainty of what the markets will do next.Fund managers are paying careful attention to medical expert’s predictions and looking at countries who are now beginning to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 virus, such as China.

However, it is possible to look back through history at previous market movement and use this to identify opportunity. In reviewing the previous interchanges from ‘Bull’ to ‘Bear’ markets, it is possible to see that those who invested at the right time then reaped strong returns when the market returned to a Bull phase.

A Bull Market is defined as ‘a time when the prices of most shares are rising’ (Cambridge English Dictionary, 2020), whereas a Bear Market is defined as ‘a time when the price of share is falling and a lot of people are selling them’ (Cambridge English Dictionary, 2020).  Traders and fund managers define a Bull or Bear market as when the market changes direction by 20% or more.

By looking over the past 100 years of market behaviour, it is clear that volatile markets recover over time, and those investors that see them through or actively invest at the right moment, benefit in the long-term. Investing in markets is not for short-term gain, and plans should be made over 5-year, 10-year or even longer time periods.

Reviewing market behaviour (S&P500) since 1926 (First Trust LP), the average Bull Market period lasted 9.1 years with an average Bear Market period lasting just 1.4 years. Over a 20-year investment lifespan the average investor would be likely to experience both Bull and Bear Markets.Rhodes Wealth Management and St. James’s Place Wealth Management encourage clients to look at their investments from a ‘time in’, not ‘timing’ perspective. Investments are made to achieve long-term goals, and through proactive management of funds by your fund managers, these market movements can be navigated, and potentially benefited from.

Although the context of this Bear market is different to historic events, the ending will likely be the same, with the end of the Bear market moving into another rewarding Bull market for investors.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

https://www.sjpinsights.co.uk/article/coronavirus-markets-latest-fund-manag-er-viewshttps://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bull-markethttps://dictionary.cambridge.org/example/english/bear-marketHistory of U.S. Bear and Bull Markets since 1926, First Trust LP, 2020Copyright S&P Dow Jones LLC 2020. All rights reserved. 

Rhodes Wealth Management Ltd is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management

products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website at www.sjp.co.uk/products. The `St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles `Partner’ and `Partner

Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.

www.rhodeswealthmanagement.co.ukrwm@sjpp.co.uk

01332 497670