We Are 5!

November 28, 2023

We are 5! This month we are celebrating Iron Wealth turning 5 years old. We are so ever thankful for everything we have achieved.


I (this is Helen, by the way) have therefore decided to write my first blog post, to share a little of our journey so far!


Tony is not big on celebrations, so we almost let it slip by, but I insisted we would do a little something, so that we can stop for a moment and reflect on how far we have come and celebrate the things, big and small, that happened along the way that have shaped who we are.


The team marked this fantastic milestone over a glass of bubbly and a lovely Chinese lunch, but I thought it would be good to share 5 highlights and 5 lessons we learnt along the way! So here goes:


5 Highlights

1.      Completing our garden office build

2.      Retraining into the Financial Industry - working towards and qualifying as a Mortgage & Protection adviser

3.      Completing my Regulated Financial Diploma and officially qualifying as a Financial Adviser

4.      Growing the team and seeing how everyone grow into their roles

5.      Adapting to COVID: Installation of our pergola so that we can have garden meetings & lovely Korean BBQs too


Stepping into the role of an entrepreneur 

With God’s faith and a bit of patience, we managed to get authorised after 7 months. I always thought it would take a decade or so for me to get up to speed, especially when Tony could hit the ground running with his finance degree, living and breathing in the financial industry for 10 years plus at that point, I did feel a little unprepared. We both left our employed roles and chucked ourselves in the deep end. Over the years, from building our brand to making a website, running the business alongside each other has taught me that I have an equal part to Tony, it’s not just “his business”, we have an equal role in leading it where we want it to be. Although I know I have still got so much more to learn, we are confident that together we can steer IWM to where we want it to be; which is helping more families get financially organised, work towards a comfortable retirement and have a good relationship with money. 


5 Lessons learnt

1.      Learning can be fun


I always thought I am not a fan of challenges, but every time I am challenged, I realised that I actually quite enjoy all the research and learning (not at the time obviously!), and how to overcome something. If anything, I now know how to source timber, how to apply a house wrap for insulation purposes, and how to fit a rubber roof lol!


2.      Importance of taking a break


We get so busy with our work and personal lives that we often feel very overwhelmed and not having much breathing room. Tony and I have both learnt that it is paramount to take a break. It allows us to clear our head space and feel recharged. Having had some time out, we would come back with a different perspective, allowing us to make the necessary improvements. As the quote goes “It is important to make sure we fill our own cups first so that we have enough to pour into others!”.


3.      Embrace Failure & learn from it


Yes, we make mistakes, it would be abnormal to not make any as entrepreneurs, but mistakes are what help us learn, and learning means growing. I have learnt the importance to reflect, in doing so, we create better ideas and processes, so that we can improve our services and delivery of our advice. Knowing what to do next time when we come to these challenges puts us in a better place, and we get more efficient with what we do!


4.      Luck is what happens when preparation and persistence meet opportunity


We are always looking for ways to improve, as a bit of a perfectionist (both me and Tony), we hardly ever settle on the first answer we get. But this tenacity also means that we are digging deeper, looking further and planning for most eventualities. We have both embraced that there is always something new to learn and discover. And hopefully with this attitude, we can stay resilient, find innovative ways of financial planning and adapt to the ever-changing environment.


5.      Believing in our financial planning superpower


I genuinely feel that being passionate about what we believe in, and what we do, is our superpower. We are grateful for all our client referrals, which continues to be the greatest channel of growth for our business. And we hope to keep providing the best service possible to our amazing families. 


Last of all, we just want to say a big thank you to all our clients who have entrusted us with their financial plans. We hope that Iron Wealth can continue to have a positive impact on others, and we look forward to what the next half a decade will bring! 


All the best, from Helen & the IWM team


The Iron Wealth Blog

Invest for your future: The Crucial Benefits of Early and Consistent Investing

June 11, 2024
We've been taught to save for a rainy day, which is wise to some extent. However, keeping all your money in cash over the medium to long term carries risks, too. In fact, doing nothing with your money is the biggest risk of all, as inflation will erode its value over time.

Cash isn’t all it is hyped up to be, even at 5%

By Tony Yip • November 15, 2023
Is it worth switching your investment portfolio to cash? In this blog, we discuss why cash isn't all it's hyped up to be, even at 5%.

Autumn Statement: The Impact on Unsheltered Portfolios

November 24, 2022
There is no better time to size your unsheltered portfolio correctly.

Market Corrections – Are They Temporary?

February 24, 2022
Fact: They are rare, inevitable and are a feature of the markets.

Unlocking Property Wealth

November 17, 2021
An Alternative Source of Income/Capital:  Equity Release & Retirement Mortgage

The Perils of Chasing Yield

May 26, 2021
A common question that you may have heard or asked is “What is the income/yield?” But have you truly thought about the meaning of this question? Firstly, what do they mean by “yield”? Yield is what you get back from your investment, the interest or dividend you receive. Many people like the thought of a stable, sustainable income and therefore, they focus on obtaining a high income. This is especially true for those approaching and/or in retirement. After Years of earning a regular income through our wages, we are bias towards continuing this approach with our pensions and investments. This is another reason why most people would opt for an income stream in the form of a final salary pension over a lump sum. We saw an example of this when Camelot launched ‘set for life’ in 2019, where instead of winning the jackpot as a lump sum, the winner would receive £10,000 a month for life. A lump sum has its benefits too, it gives us flexibility, control, inflation proofing and the ability to manage counterparty risk (the probability of default). Of course, this all depends on individual circumstances and objectives. If you structure an investment portfolio for maximum income/yield only, or as your main objective, you distort the portfolio, leading to far higher risks and can potentially lead to higher taxation in the future.

Redundancy - A Blessing In Disguise?

October 23, 2020
As the impact of COVID continues to adversely affect business, it looks like further redundancies are inevitable. This may sound grim, but you can lessen the blow by getting financially prepared. For those who are still in employment and are facing potential redundancy, sometimes it helps to take a step back to see the bigger picture. Here are some questions that you can ask yourself? 1. Are you ready to take early retirement? 2. If not, how quickly can you get another job and at what pay? 3. How big is the carrot? 4. Do you want to retire now or do you want to tie this in with your partner? 5. Are you in good health? 6. What do you have planned for retirement? i.e. if it is travelling the world, then probably not the right time 7. What’s the job security like for your partner?

Moving the goal post again – pension age increasing to 57!

September 3, 2020
The government has confirmed that the minimum pension age is increasing from 55 to 57 in 2028 and we suspect there will be further increases. This can be seen as both good and bad news, but for us, we mainly see this as bad news for those without a financial plan. Those currently 48 or over are safe from this change. Pensions can be an extremely powerful shelter for your wealth but only if the circumstances are right. To be fair, the government doesn’t always amend pension legislation negatively, for example, a change in April this year has improved the annual allowance limit for high earners. This change has little effect for those under 30, as it is unlikely that they would have accumulated a big pension pot. But for those in their early 40’s, who have based their retirement plan on a target retirement age of 55 would be particularly impacted. There will be no transitional rules that protects existing pension assets already saved. Flexibility is the key when building your financial plan as it allows you to take advantage of the various planning opportunities available. Just like the benefits of liquidity in an investment portfolio (see our earlier blog post https://www.ironwealth.co.uk/liquidity-an-important-consideration-of-portfolio-management ) Nothing is static, so your financial plan should be flexible enough to cope with the changes that are still unknown. It should evolve with legislative changes, as well as changes in your circumstance. Diversification is not just an important strategy for investments, it also makes sense when it comes to tax planning. Using too few solutions for both income/capital and estate planning can cost you greatly. This is a very timely reminder that retirement/investment planning should not always consist of just one pot, just because it is the widely adopted way. Having multiple pots to draw on, each with its own tax treatment, gives you far greater scope to optimise tax efficiency and accessibility. If you would like to understand more about how we adopt a multiple pot approach, or how your current financial plan measures up in terms of flexibility, we would be more than happy to help.

COVID-19 Lockdown – Protect Yourself & Your Portfolio

March 24, 2020
The Prime Minister has ordered everyone to stay indoors as of last night, I thought as we embrace this new way of living, it would be good to share our thoughts and experience to help you navigate through this crisis, that's the best we can do. With our experience and knowledge, we will tell you exactly how it is. When you are in a crisis, you tend to behave irrationally. You panic and will most likely make wrong choices. This irrationality is exacerbated further when your ability to earn is in danger.

Liquidity – An important consideration of portfolio management

February 27, 2020
In a world where there are a multitude of investment options, one of the most important consideration is often overlooked. When an investment portfolio is being constructed, it is important to consider different aspects. One well understood consideration is diversification. The idea that you shouldn’t hold all your eggs in one basket is an easy concept to grasp. Liquidity is another important consideration and it sounds kind of complicated, so we’re here to simplify it.
More Posts