IFA Talk

In this month’s special Tax-Efficient Investment (TEI) edition of IFA Talk, we’re discussing the role of Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) in an everchanging tax landscape.

Joining us to do this is Will Fraser-Allen, Managing Partner at AlbionVC. Together, we’re focusing on how the role of VCTs is evolving in response to changes in the UK tax landscape, along with the opportunities emerging across the UK's innovation economy.

Will answers why focused capital is so important as we look to scale the next generation of successful businesses, along with the areas where he sees the biggest opportunities. He also breaks down the recent Budget changes to VCT tax relief and dividend taxation, answering what impact he expects the move to 20% relief to have on advisers and their clients, and why he believes the underlying VCT investment case still holds despite these changes.

Meanwhile, with growing interest in deeptech startups, Will shares how AlbionVC is aligning with these trends, and the opportunities which they are seeing across the sector. Lastly, Will reveals where he sees VCTs fitting within a balanced portfolio in 2026, before outlining what advisers need to be looking for in a VCT manager.

In this week’s episode of IFA Talk, the weekly podcast from IFA Magazine, we explore the continued rise of DIY investing, what investors should look for beyond platform costs, and how advisers can help clients build resilient portfolios in an increasingly complex investment landscape.

To discuss this further, Meg and Jenny are joined by Rohit Vaswani, Director of Investment & Client Solutions at Omnis. Drawing on nearly two decades of industry experience, Rohit shares his views on why professional financial advice remains invaluable despite the growth of low-cost investment platforms.

Rohit also discusses the importance of understanding risk tolerance, constructing portfolios that can weather changing market conditions, and how technology is shaping the future of investing.

For advisers, this episode offers valuable insight into investor behaviour, the role of platform selection beyond price alone, and practical approaches to helping clients stay focused on their long-term financial goals through periods of market uncertainty.

In this month's special New Insurance and Protection episode of IFA Talk, we explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the insurance and protection landscape and ask whether it can help close the protection gap while improving access for underserved clients.

To discuss this, Meg and Sue are joined by Jake Attfield, Head of Strategy at Fair4All Finance. Jake shares his insights on the opportunities and challenges AI presents for insurers. Together, they discuss whether AI risks reinforcing existing barriers through underwriting and product design, or whether it has the potential to deliver fairer, more inclusive protection solutions.

Jake also explores the importance of governance and tackling algorithmic bias as insurers continue to invest in AI-driven technologies.

The episode also looks at the role of alternative protection models, including pay-as-you-go cover, micro-insurance and parametric insurance, and considers how regulatory initiatives and the Government's Financial Inclusion Strategy could help drive greater innovation and inclusion across the market.

In this week’s episode of IFA Talk, the weekly podcast from IFA Magazine, Matt Williams and Sue Whitbread explore the growing investment confidence gap across generations and what advisers can do to help bridge it.

New research from NatWest reveals that the average Brit doesn’t make their first investment until the age of 34, despite younger generations showing increasing curiosity about investing. While Gen Z appears the most eager to engage, many still lack the confidence to take that crucial first step.

Joining us on the podcast this week is Aroma Khan, Financial Planner at NatWest, who shares insights from the research and discusses what she believes the findings mean for advisers working across different client demographics.

For advisers, this episode offers valuable insight into how attitudes towards investing differ by generation and where the profession has an opportunity to educate, guide and empower clients earlier in their financial journey.

In this week’s episode of IFA Talk, we unpack the topic of succession planning, with many financial planners now approaching retirement. Joining us to do this is Chris Ball, CEO of Hoxton Wealth. 

Chris outlines the practical steps which firms can take now to protect clients, and what those financial planners should be considering. He also reveals how Hoxton Wealth approaches succession planning.

After that, we ask Chris to take a look back a few decades, to detail how succession planning has changed since the turn of the century.

Lastly, Chris shares how he expects technology to impact succession planning over the next 10-20 years, as AI continues to transform how businesses operate.

In this week’s episode of IFA Talk, the weekly podcast from IFA Magazine, we discuss the behavioural science side of complaints, and how such complaints affect financial advisers.

Joining us to do this is BareRock’s COO John Netting and Head of Behavioural Science & CXO, Babs Crane. Together, we unpack how and why advisers react to complaints, which can often feel like personal attacks to them.

We also discuss BareRock’s recent report, which aims to flip the script on traditional guides, looking instead at the psychology of the finanacial adviser.

The report suggests that many disputes are caused more from a lack of client understanding, with clients nodding along to avoid appearing confused or asking questions they feel might be obvious. John and Babs explain the social psychology behind this and suggest how advisers can break throough that barrier.

We also dive into how the human memory can naturally rewrite history when things go wrong, and how mistakes can change a client’s psychology in different ways depending on how those mistakes are discovered.

Be sure to check out this episode and all other episodes of IFA Talk on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon!

Also, listen to the Brooks Macdonald episode, mentioned in this podcast, by clicking here!

John Netting (COO of BareRock): John has spent over two decades managing complaints at the coalface for financial advisers. He understands exactly where firms break down, the emotional toll a single dispute takes on support staff, and how transactional client relationships breed claims.

Babs Crane (Head of Behavioural Science & CXO at BareRock): Babs holds an MSc in Consumer Psychology and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology. She is the scientific engine that explains why clients act the way they do. She can talk brilliantly on concepts like the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve (why clients legitimately forget risks explained to them), Hindsight Bias, and how power dynamics cause clients to nod along when they are actually drowning in cognitive overload.

In the latest special Mortgage & Property edition of IFA Talk, we explore the evolving later life lending landscape, with a particular focus on adviser support, Consumer Duty, advice quality and the growing need for specialist expertise within the sector.

To discuss these important issues, hosts Meg and Sue are joined by Mark Gregory, Founder and CEO of Equity Release Group. Having spent more than a decade developing technology, advice processes and consumer platforms in the later life lending market, Mark shares the thinking behind The Equity Release Network (TERN), a new specialist network designed to support advisers operating in this increasingly complex area of financial services.

Highlights include:

• The challenges currently facing advisers working within the later life lending market, and how support structures need to evolve

• The role of training, technology and compliance in helping firms deliver strong customer outcomes under Consumer Duty

• Why specialist network models may become increasingly important as adviser and consumer needs continue to change

• The potential impact of greater adviser support on market growth, confidence and access to later life lending advice

This episode provides valuable insight for advisers, brokers and industry professionals looking to better understand the future of later life lending, the importance of advice quality and the changing support requirements of advisers operating in this specialist market.

In this week’s episode of IFA Talk, the weekly podcast from IFA Magazine, we discuss what needs to change to bring more consumers into investing. Joining us to do this is PIMFA’s Director of Government Relations and Policy, David Ostojitsch.

Despite the government’s clear focus on pushing retail investing and closing the advice gap, there are clearly still some barriers in the way. David reveals what he thinks needs to change to bring more consumers into investing.

He then moves on to discuss PIMFA’s latest research, which found that 63% of firms don’t currently plan to offer Targeted Support, even though they think it will support people to make better financial decisions. David answers why he believes the adoption rate is so low, before outlining what clarity firms need before moving forward with simplified advice.

Lastly, we ask David whether there is a genuine shift in regulatory pressures, which appear to have eased slightly. He shares advice for advisers, outlining what they should focus on over the next 12 months.

In this month’s special Tax-Efficient Investment edition of IFA Talk, the podcast from IFA Magazine, we are joined by PXN Group’s Caroline Flagg to discuss the big opportunities in tax-efficient investing, in particular surrounding Business Relief.

Caroline, who is Deputy Managing Director of the PXN Investments retail business, joins us to discuss the everchanging role of Business Relief in tax-efficient investing, with new changes set to take effect from April 2027. She also recounts the recent merger of Par Equity and Praetura Ventures, which formed PXN Group, revealing what has changed for the company.

We then chat about the areas in the market where PXN sees real opportunities for advisers. And finally, Caroline outlines the key planning discussions which advisers should be having today, to prepare them for upcoming reforms.

In this week’s episode of IFA Talk, the weekly podcast from IFA Magazine, we unpack intergenerational wealth transfers and the factors which might affect clients.

Joining us is Tara Gillespie, the Co-Head of Investment at Gallagher. Together, we discuss the contrasting priorities between the younger generation and their parents, along with digging down into the lessons which wealth managers can take on board.

Tara also reveals the biggest gaps in how the industry approaches the great wealth transfer.