The Ruminations of Ruby the Cat
Near the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, Carole and her husband Andrew rescued a newly born kitten from their garage.
Ruby is now a large Maine Coon, and very nosey!
As Carole works a great deal from her home, it is generally understood that Ruby knows more about what is going on in Carole’s mind and Nicholls Stevens than anyone else. So, please keep an eye out for the musings of Ruby the Cat…
“It seems to me (the cat) that this is going to be the year for discussing how we can find better ways of saving throughout our lives – not just for retirement. Carole is keen to get involved in the debate.”
Thinking about age
This week, my owner’s thoughts have strayed to the topic of age: in particular, retirement age. I suspect this is because she is nearing her birthday. It is a topic upon which she has very definite views. In her opinion, if you have skills, you should use them, and it does not matter if you are young or old. We all have much to offer.
This is reflected in the recruiting ethos of Nicholls Stevens. When recruiting, age – whether young or old – is never a barrier in the selection process. Anyone with suitable skills will always be welcome in the team.
I suspect the topic was thrust to the forefront of her mind when she discovered that the new Archbishop of Canterbury, as a Lord Spiritual, will be forced to retire at age 70. That gives her only five years in her new role. By contrast, there is currently no retirement date set for Life Peers. The retirement age for Life Peers is under review, but even if it is changed it will be set at age 80. Maybe the retirement age for the Lords Spiritual also needs to be reviewed.
Ruminations of Ruby the Cat
May I introduce myself? I am Ruby, the Nicholls family cat. I am, in fact, a very handsome male (please do not be confused by my name) Maine Coon, rescued by the family at birth. In return for their generosity in feeding and loving me, I spend a great deal of time listening in on Carole Nicholls’ thoughts about her business and the political and economic state of the world; from time to time, she says I am free to share them with readers.
Thoughts this week: I have found her in good spirits. It appears that each year the business runs a winter seminar in London and Bristol; these happened last week and were a great success. Carole so loves meeting up and talking to her clients.
Her good humour seems to have continued. I got some of my extra-nice food last night when she returned from a conference in Cardiff held by the Financial Services Regulator. I found this good humour strange—are people not supposed to find a regulator someone who depresses rather than cheers you up? Apparently not in the case of finance. I heard her telling a colleague that she was impressed by how much they were now willing to listen to the needs of the adviser community.
She was also “over the moon” because she had met two of her students she had not seen for many years: one now ran his own business, and the other had a management role in one of the large insurance providers. Carole has always been a leader in the need for financial education and, for many years, ran a training company and taught advisers on their journey to qualification. In fact, the business currently has such a trainee adviser.
Let’s hope the good humour continues. I’m not sure it will, with the news coming out of Davos.