Finance, fitness and flying potatoes: our 2024 year in review

It’s been another great year for the team at Newark Wealth. With 2024 almost drawing to a close, we can’t help but feel a little nostalgic and dare we say, emotional, too.

We’ve achieved a lot in the last 12 months, from selecting a new portfolio partner, to expanding our team, and catching an impressive number of potatoes in our mouths!

Let’s take a look at our 2024 year in review.

Portfolio partnership

We continue to work to ensure that your investment portfolio is positioned to give you the best chance of receiving a successful investing outcome. As part of this process, in recent months, we have been working with Albion Strategic Consulting – an independent investment consultancy – to review and refine the portfolios that we recommend to you, as part of your long-term financial planning. 

Founded in 2001, Albion now works closely with around 70 financial planning firms around the UK who collectively oversee in excess of £23bn. Albion sit as an independent third party on our investment committee. Through deep intellectual rigour, Albion brings regular challenge to our investment approach and the portfolios we offer. This enables us to maintain a high confidence that the portfolios we recommend to you – where appropriate – continue to be a result of our best thinking, guided by academic evidence.

Market commentary

You may have heard talk of a ‘flash crash’ in August, after Japanese stocks declined 20% in the course of three trading days. The press sprang into action with sensationalist headlines and doom and gloom, as it usually does. The markets settled down within a matter of days, as they usually do. 

With words like ‘tumble’ and ‘plunge’ being used at every turn, it’s hard not to panic. Then, when markets recover, we’re inundated with post-crash breakdowns as if we’re living in a post-apocalyptic world. People forget that the stock market is far more resilient than we give it credit for! 

If you’ve got a diverse portfolio, you’re investing for the long term and you’re able to keep your cool in the face of volatility, there’s little point in reading these articles. Stock market fluctuations are part and parcel of investing. Panic selling your investments in response to market uncertainty is certainly not the right thing to do!

But if the highs and lows of the stock market do have you breaking into a sweat, that’s what we’re here for. Give us a call, let’s talk about it, and together, we’ll figure out whether anything material needs to change, or whether it’s better to stick to the course and ignore the ‘news’.

Homes and mortgages

It’s been a good year for buyers and sellers overall, with competition between lenders resulting in the lowest interest rates in two years. Rates are starting to creep up a little following the Autumn Budget, even though the Bank of England reduced the base rate to 4.75 in early November. 

Around 1.5 million homeowners will reach the end of their fixed-rate mortgage deal in 2024. If you’re one of them, don’t suffer in silence. Speak to our mortgage advisers Cassie or George. They’ll help you weigh up your options and avoid paying over the odds for your new mortgage. 

Things are looking up for first-time buyers too. First-time buyers have made up 36% of house purchases in 2024 and Manos, our trainee paraplanner (and Mike and Heather’s son), is one of them! He’s finally on the property ladder, after years of squirrelling money away and trawling Rightmove on his lunchbreak. 

The family home is much quieter without him, but Team Kiriakakis have no plans to turn his bedroom into a gym just yet. It’ll always be there for him if he needs it!

Growing the team

Not only are our team members moving out, they’re also moving up! John-Paul made the transition from paraplanner to fully-qualified adviser this year, and Manos passed more exams this year so he’s now half way to becoming an adviser.

Our team is growing too. George Carlin joined us as a mortgage adviser in April, closely followed by client services administrator Aaron Robb in August. 

Outdoorsy George can be found trail running and playing outdoor bowls when he’s not hunting down mortgage deals for his clients.

Meanwhile, when Aaron’s not working, he loves nothing more than exploring Glasgow’s best restaurants and enjoying a glass of gin (or two). 

You can find out more about what we all do in our spare time (and work) on our ‘About us’ page.

Team Kiriakakis x London Marathon

Mike and Heather ran a gruelling 26 miles through the heart of London back in April, raising more than £4,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust. It wasn’t Mike’s first rodeo. If you’ve been with us for a while you might remember that he ran the London Marathon last year too. And just 5 weeks after that marathon he ran the Edinburgh one!

The influential pair had barely caught their breath when our financial adviser John-Paul announced that he too would like to join the running club. The trio ran the Glasgow half marathon in October and so it’s surely just a matter of time before they’re booked in for another.

Newark Wealth team day out

Last month we all took a day out of this office to spend time together away from work.

We started with lunch at Sapporo Teppanyaki. If you’ve never been before, expect delicious Japanese food cooked right in front of you by a group of spatula-juggling chefs. Go easy on the hairspray (there’s lots of fire) and when a potato flies your way, open wide! 

After eating our body weight in rice and spring rolls, we headed over to Maggie’s Rock n Rodeo. Nothing says ‘team building’ quite like watching your colleagues get humbled by a mechanical bull!

After that we took a well-earned rest at a near-by bar where we also let our hair down with a spot of dancing. It was so good to have some fun together.

Getting hold of us over Christmas

We also wanted to let you know about our opening hours over the festive period in case you need us.

We’re closed from Christmas Eve and re-opening on Friday 3rd January, but we do have access to our emails and will be checking them periodically over the break, so if there’s anything urgent you need, we will get back to you.

That's enough about us. Tell us about you! We'd love to know whether 2024 lived up to your expectations (good or bad) and what you have in mind for 2025. Remember that we're only ever a phone call away and we're always happy to help. So if you'd like to review your investments, amend your estate plan, or simply have a general catch up, don't think twice about picking up the phone.

And finally... have a very Happy Christmas and wonderful New Year!