One of my own most important values is ‘do well and do good’. 

As an individual and as a business owner I believe it’s entirely possible to build a sustainable commercially successful business and be a positive force in the world. In fact some of my proudest professional moments include work we’ve done which have had a positive impact in the world, including supporting Darren Cooke with his battle against pension scammers which eventually resulted in a change in law which helps protect consumers and supporting financial education programs in local schools 

It’s why it’s so frustrating when I see what appears to be potential scams for get rich quick shysters spreading like wildfire over social media. Scams aren’t new. They’re often a consequence of people looking for the quickest and simplest route to a desired goal. That goal might be health or weight related, it might be lifestyle related but often it’s linked to the achievement of financial independence.

The reality is that most of my clients who have achieved financial independence have done so through a combination of hard work and good habits…not quick wins and instant wealth. It’s why it’s so frustrating to see such a prevalence of scammers use the latest communication tools to sell false dreams to the hopeful (The most recent one being TikTok being used for financial tips – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55948550).

Now TikTok might be useful for some things…I’m guilty of using TikTok with Sophie and Charlotte for some particularly bad dad dancing…but TikTok isn’t a place to get professional high quality financial advice.

If you’re reading this it’s unlikely that you’ll ever fall for one of these scams…However I’m conscious that as professionals there’s a lot more we can do. Firstly we can point people to the FCA’s Scamsmart site (https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart) – It’s a useful read highlighting what people need to be conscious of when consuming financial content online.

However I’m also interested in getting good quality information out in the public domain. So, if you think we can work together to make sure they get accurate messages from trusted professionals I’d love to hear from you. After all, if you like me believe in ‘doing well and doing good’ there’s always something we can do to help.

I look forward to hearing from you…