In this episode of MM Talks, Money Marketing’s Kimberley Dondo and Tom Browne sit down with Jenny Davidson, intermediary wealth director at Scottish Widows.

Drawing on more than 30 years in the sector, Jenny discusses the evolution of adviser platforms, Scottish Widows’ intermediary strategy, and why heritage brands must balance scale with tech agility.

The conversation also explores the critical links between ill health and retirement security, the case for integrating protection into accumulation plans, and how the advice profession must adapt to support women ahead of the multi-trillion-pound intergenerational wealth transfer.

MM Talks

The State Pension is often treated as a simple guaranteed income, but client questions frequently hide intricate technical planning issues. In this episode of Money Talks, host Kimberley Dondo is joined by Royal London’s Craig Muir and Justin Corliss to explore the reality behind five of the most common client queries.

They break down why annual forecast figures vary between government departments, the hidden impact of pre-2016 contracting out, and how to navigate changing State Pension ages. The conversation also covers the arithmetic behind voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions versus free credits, the nuances of pension deferral, tax friction in year one of retirement, and how to safeguard survivor income against the loss of individual entitlement on first death.

Tune in to hear how to move beyond basic forecasts and turn everyday State Pension enquiries into robust, value-adding retirement strategies.

Retirement risks do not exist in isolation; market volatility, legislative changes, and behavioural blockers compound one another over a 30-year retirement, with longevity acting as the ultimate wildcard multiplier. In this final episode of the series, Kimberley Dondo talks to Andy Fear from M&G to discuss the dangerous cost of adviser inaction and out-of-date planning assumptions. Discover how to build an evolving, joined-up retirement structure that values flexibility over rigid forecasting to secure optimal client outcomes.

Listeners will learn why inaction has a hidden cost, how longevity amplifies other risks, and how advisors can act as coaches to keep plans adaptable and aligned to real client needs.

In this episode of MM Talks, Kimberley Dondo, Tom Browne, and Dan Cooper are joined by Rory McLaren, Chief Technology Officer at Dynamic Planner, to explore the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence in financial services.

They discuss practical uses like hyper-personalised reviews, the importance of prompts and clean data, governance and evaluation standards, regulatory concerns, and the need to keep humans in the loop to maintain expertise and avoid unintended risks.

After decades of focusing entirely on accumulation, moving into the decumulation phase triggers major psychological friction for retirees. Kimberley Dondo talks to Ed Green, Investment Specialist at M&G, to explore why clients default to extreme caution and rigid mental accounting. Learn how market volatility distorts rational spending plans and discover how the adviser’s role must evolve from running mathematical cash-flow models to coaching clients to enjoy their wealth intentionally.

Retirement Evolution Series

This episode explains how recent legislative changes have brought pensions into the inheritance tax (IHT) spotlight and why estate planning must be treated as active financial decisions made during life rather than a morbid conversation about death.

Les Cameron and Kimberley Dondo cover immediate red flags for advisers, core IHT planning options (spend, insure, reliefs, gifting and trusts), practical steps for pension-driven liabilities, and the risks of delaying planning—emphasising early action, control, and tailored solutions.

Relying on a single standalone multi-asset fund during decumulation exposes clients to a dangerous trio of headwinds: sequencing risk, longevity risk, and behavioural panic.

In this episode, Kimberley Dondo talks to Andy Fear, Investment Business Development Manager at M&G, to explain why structural portfolio design must evolve.

Learn how partitioning client wealth by purpose and combining drawdown, guaranteed income, and smoothed structures like PruFund can mitigate real-world risks and manage client anxiety during market dips.

M&G PruFund now live on Scottish Widows Platform

In this series opener, Amy Kibblewhite of M&G and Kimberley Dondo discuss how markets have shifted from a low-rate, low-volatility era to one defined by sticky inflation, higher interest rates, geopolitical risks and AI-driven concentration in equities. They explain why traditional 60/40 portfolios are under stress as equities and bonds increasingly move together.

The conversation covers practical steps for advisors and investors: looking beyond public markets to private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private credit, understanding the true drivers of returns, avoiding hidden concentration risks, and building portfolios designed to navigate multiple future scenarios.

Kimberley Dondo explores the core findings of CIExpert’s Critical Thinking 2026 report, sponsored by Royal London. Joined by Gregor Sked (Royal London) and Paul Roberts (CIExpert), this episode tackles the realities of the advice gap, whether traditional income protection fits non-linear modern careers, and how to successfully navigate cover for self-employed clients with variable incomes.

Access the full findings here: https://ciexpert.uk/ct26-registration-royal-london

Money Talks Podcast

Kimberly Dondo speaks with Emma Boardwell, founder of Emotional Finance, and Tom Brown about Emma’s move from psychotherapy into financial advice and her mission to bring emotional literacy into the industry.

They discuss the emotional labour advisers carry, the need for clearer boundaries, how vulnerability should be handled, and why relational skills should be embedded in advisor training as technology automates technical tasks.