Tuesday 13 June 2017

Holidays

We love our holidays, always have, and 2017 is turning into a good year...

March - we flew out to Geneva, picked up a hire car and drove to Pubier which was to be our base for a week of touring Switzerland and France. Blessed with fine weather we had a great time.

May - this time a long haul 12.5 hour flight with our friends Sue & Norman care of Malaysia Airlines to Kuala Lumpur followed by a short 2.5 hour flight on Vietnam Airways to Hanoi, the start point for our adventure. Ha Long Bay cruise with a night on board was an antidote to the madness that is Hanoi and worth the 3 hour (each way) minibus drive. Next up, a flight to Da Nang and a minibus to Hoi An for some rest on the beach and round the pool with evenings exploring the Old Town and it's eateries, tailors and lantern sellers as well as the street markets. Another flight and we are is Saigon (don't try and be PC and call it Ho Chi Minh City, it won't endear you to anybody) to conclude our time in Vietnam as the next flight takes us to Siam Reap before our final internal flight to Phnom Penh. I'll post more details at a later date....

September - Already sorted, a break in Madeira to just chill and relax with our friends Carloe & Giuseppe. Bring it on.

SIPP Update

Its is nearly a year since my last SIPP update, so what has happened?

Well overall the situation has not changed much, but the news is not good. The IFA that advised me to move all my 'little' pensions into one SIPP and then on the subsequent investments has been barred by the FSA (Financial Services Authority) / FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) from operating as an IFA so at least he won't be bankrupting any more in my situation.

So, I have had to engage another IFA who is trying to help me out but it is a complicated situation and is going to take a long time to unravel. In the meantime more of my investments has gone bust, ceased trading or have had to undertake considerable restructuring, which means that my original 'investment pot' of £176,000 is now worth in the region of £55,000. My question therefore to the FSA / FCA is this... "Who the hell are you protecting?" Certainly not the small investor like me. From where I sit it looks like the organisation is protecting those that run off with and/or misappropriate funds to line their own pockets at the expense of the small investor.

I'll stop there for now, I'm too angry to finish this post for now....