As we come to the end of another year, it’s a good time to reflect on what has been an uncertain and sometimes worrying 12 months.
Even going back to this time last year, it was hard to predict that we’d see a land war in Europe, a global energy crisis, and inflation at 1980s levels. You’d also have got very long odds on us being on our third prime minister of the year!
With 2023 fast approaching, here’s a look back at some highlights from the year here at BlueSKY.
A Top Rated firm
Each year, review site VouchedFor publishes their “Top Rated” list, showcasing those individuals and firms who truly “walk the walk” when it comes to transparency and delivering a great client experience.
Based on client feedback, the Top Rated list highlights the best of the best in the UK financial services industry.
This year, VouchedFor named BlueSKY as one of just 55 Top Rated firms nationally. To achieve this status, we had to:
- Demonstrate a commitment to transparency by regularly inviting all our clients to leave a review on VouchedFor
- Agree to a VouchedFor audit to ensure we had invited all non-exempt clients to review us
- Prove our clients are engaged by securing a high response rate on their review invitations
- Achieve a high average rating out of five.
As well as achieving Top Rated firm status, Rob, Jeremy, and Mark all achieved Top Rated adviser status, thanks to the high quality of their service and excellent client feedback.
If you haven’t yet left us a VouchedFor review, we’d really appreciate it. We have 175 reviews now and we’re always looking for more and for you to share your experiences of working with us!
Head here to share your feedback.
4 new members of the BlueSKY team
As part of our commitment to first-class service and advice, we have added four new faces to the BlueSKY team in 2022:
- Neil – the PA to our directors
- Natasha – our trainee paraplanner
- Nicola – our paraplanning team manager
- Gemma – our new administrator.
All have settled in really well and are helping us to provide great service. You may even have spoken to one or more of them over the last few months!
In addition to our new starters, Jack is now advising clients and has passed his first exam on the journey to becoming a Chartered financial planner.
Thanks for your recommendations
We’re always thrilled when a client we work with introduces us to a friend, colleague, or family member.
This year, we have received more recommendations than ever before from our existing clients. We do genuinely appreciate these introductions, and the vote of confidence you have in BlueSKY that you’re happy to encourage people you know to work with us.
If there is anyone you know who would benefit from our services, we’re always very grateful for the introduction.
Some changes to our internal systems are coming in 2023
As part of our commitment to constant improvement, we have changed our back-office administration system in 2022 to Xplan.
This means that all clients will see a new version of our cashflow modelling software in 2023. We’ll reveal more to you in your next annual review meeting!
We’re also in the process of making some changes to the BlueSKY website to make it easier for existing and new clients to find the information they need. Again, we’ll provide a further update in 2023.
A rocky year for investors
2022 has been a tough year for investors. The war in Ukraine, rising inflation, a looming recession, rising interest rates and, in the UK, political uncertainty have all contributed to volatile markets.
Here are the performances of the major stock indices in the year to the end of November 2022.
Source: JP Morgan
It’s interesting to note that, despite all the negative headlines you will have read about the UK economy this year, the FTSE All-Share index ended November in positive territory for the year.
While it has been a rocky few months, all the BlueSKY portfolios are performing in line with their peer groups.
It’s likely to be similarly uncertain in 2023. So, focusing on your long-term goals, and maintaining a well-diversified portfolio aligned with your tolerance for risk will leave you well-placed when the economic situation inevitably improves.
Get in touch
Thank you for your continued trust and custom in 2022 – we do greatly appreciate it.
If you want to have a chat about the outlook for 2023 or beyond, please get in touch. Email info@blueskyifas.co.uk or call us on 01189 876655.