Meghan-Harry’s Oprah Interview is changing the way we think about vulnerability

March 14, 2021

A little over 17 million Americans watched Meghan Markle and Prince Harry bare their souls on national television with talk show goddess Oprah Winfrey, oblivious of the paramount effect of setting off a call for worldwide empathy in doing so.

The two-hour CBS special has the couple adamant to take control of the dwindling narrative the UK press have painted them in since the start of the relationship, as Meghan intimately details the many troubles she faced over British media’s heavily controlled royal reporting.

To a UK audience, the Oprah Winfrey interview came across a little tongue in cheek: the lush sofas, soft lighting, LA colloquialism buzzwords, it read too much like a melodramatic Hollywood special than it was a grave tell-all commenting on a dynasty’s historic oppression. The entire set-up from the get-go is already miles away from how the Royals are known to be perceived, through their sporadic annual Christmas speeches and the occasional TV weddings.

Where tight-lipped senior royals pride themself in being discreet, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry took accessibility to a whole new level. They were more than open with their thoughts, but were also generous with their sincerity.

While blue bloods might have trouble getting past the dramatisation and sensation surrounding the couple, much of the actual conversation in the interview was anything but glamorous. The couple, at their heart, appeared desperately sad.

This was palpable throughout the entire interview, especially for Meghan. Perhaps one of the most arguably spellbinding and somber highlights of the sit-down interview was when she opened up about her suicidal ideations during her time as a senior royal.

“I was really ashamed to say it and ashamed to admit it to Harry,” Markle told a visibly stunned Winfrey. “But I knew if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. I didn’t want to be alive anymore. That was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought.”

Meghan opened up to Winfrey about not only struggling with suicidal thoughts, but also struggling to be able to get mental health help for it altogether. “I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that, ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere,’ and I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution,” said Meghan. “I went to one of the most senior people (in the institution) just to get help.”

“I share this because there’s so many people who are afraid to voice that they need help,” she added. “And I know personally how hard it is to not just voice it, but when you voice it to be told, ‘No.'”

Her mental health struggles she described to Winfrey took place a year prior to the COVID19 pandemic, when Meghan was pregnant with Archie and they were still living in the United Kingdom, taking on full-time roles as working members of the royal family.

Her anger and disappointment when detailing her struggles were visibly seen, but it was her vulnerability that was perhaps most compelling.

The way she spoke of the darkest times in her life with a languid grace that could only befit her braveness, and to be able to speak about such deeply intimate thoughts with full control of her person was nothing short of admirable.

Meghan’s heartwrenching story of attempting to survive the clutches of the British royal family is more than one of a shunned woman, it tells of a deeper understanding of how an institution whose power is built upon a concoction of wealth, whiteness, colonialism, imperialism, and a vaguely persistent ode to the divine right of kings was, not for the first time, challenged. Not only by a woman, but as an outsider who did not share the same privileges as one would a white noble.

It is very much a journey of her fight towards systemic oppression as a woman of colour amidst an outdated, relatively consertative Britain that holds white supremacy like a badge of honour. She goes on to describe the kind of life she led in the centre of such an institution: isolated, controlled, and under intense scrutiny.

Meghan revealed she once had to give up her passport, keys, and drivers license so as to limit her mobility. The “firm” even went as far as denying her permission to meet her friends for lunch, claiming she was already oversatured in the media and shouldn’t be seen out in public for a while. She looks to this intense micromanagement of her life as one of the primary reasons for her mental state to spiral downward.

Meghan said she found support from Prince Harry, but even he admitted he “went to a very dark place as well” and struggled to get help for his wife.

“I had no idea what to do. I wasn’t prepared for that,” Prince Harry admitted, adding that he did not reach out to his family members for help with Meghan’s mental health struggle.

“I guess I was ashamed of admitting it to them,” he said. “I didn’t have anyone to turn to. We’ve got some very close friends that have been with us through this whole process, but for the family, they very much have this mentality of, ‘This is just how it is. This is how it’s meant to be. You can’t change it. We’ve all been through it.'”

Meghan recalls a particular night in January 2019, when she was roughly six months pregnant with Archie, of an event in Royal Albert Hall in London they had to make an appearance for. “I remember Harry saying, ‘I don’t think you can go,’ and I said, ‘I can’t be left alone,'” she admitted.

The openness Meghan and Prince Harry told of their various struggles is not something often publicly revealed by the average person dealing with their own share of woes, much less high-profile figures of a literal empire.

It’s hard to connect the idea of struggle with royalty; people have to take on a suspension of belief to associate their worries as legitimate and not chalk it off to privileged champagne problems. But with the way these two spoke of their own internal wounds, separately and then as a couple, spoke volumes of their emotional intelligence and willingness to heal from their respective trauma.

In Prince Harry’s case, his decision to let the world know of his pain and be vulnerable in a manner most modern men are not, can be a potentially moving step towards the path of genuine mental healing. Here is a literal prince, brought up in a palace and is for all intents and purposes genuine royalty, but he is also human. The underlying message he sends for in the interview, in that there is power in vulnerability and honesty, is one that can benefit young boys and grown men alike.

The couple’s deep revelations of their struggles about mental health, uncertainties about the future, and such other concerns in front of one of the biggest names in TV can have a profound effect in shaping the way viewers think of their own demons to bear.

If the late Princess Diana planted the seeds of the compassion and vulnerability movement that propelled her to icon status, Meghan and Prince Harry are here to see the fruits of her ideals grow and prosper by wearing their openness and honesty as their own badge of honour.

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About the Author

Pamela Rhyan is a writer for The World Financial Review. She crafts timely blog pieces about trending business acumen, changing leadership dynamics, emerging finance and technology trends, and how these spaces intersect from a millennial’s perspective. She also works as an editor and content strategist to the sister publications of The World Financial Review.

8 Essential Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors

March 13, 2021

Marketing is one of the most important, and most complicated parts of running a successful business. You need to be able to connect your product with the right buyers and potential customers among a sea of other competitors. Marketing is one of the most crucial parts of succeeding as a Financial Advisor because it is a populous space with many competitors.

If you have been trying to figure out how to stand out from your competition, you are not alone. This is a major step that you need to take to make sure you can market your financial advisory business to the right people and do so consistently. This handy guide of tips and tricks will get you connected with the right audience and the right market to bring your skills to the attention of future clients.

Essential Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors

1. Call to Action

It’s a proven fact that people respond better when they are called to do something. When you craft your call to action you want to seem like you are asking this prospective client to share something with you that will help them fulfill a need.

Examples of inviting calls to action are, “Need to talk? Call us!” or “Apply today for tips and tricks to help you invest wisely!” These calls to action make people feel as though they are speaking with you directly in a personal manner.

2. Specialize

Know who you are and what you do and then tell others about it! You can’t please everyone, so you need to focus on your target market so you can make them happy! Specialists will always connect with more leads and people automatically trust people that they view as experts in their subject matter. Define who you are and what services you offer quickly and thoroughly on your website and in your advertisements and you will connect quickly with the right customers.

3. Avoid Jargon

Nothing turns people off faster than being confused by your language in your ads or on your website. You will want to avoid using words that people outside the industry will not understand.

Keep things simple and clear so that your client base is not alienated by talk that they feel is over their heads. You can share some of the jargon and the higher-level information that might be required with your clients once you are talking about their finances, but not before.

4. Create Videos

Everything is done through the video medium these days. Videos are immediate, informative, and feel natural. Clients often feel more personal about contact made through video and it is a great way to show infographics, information, and statistics to them. Videos also have been proven to stick with clients longer because visual teaching aids are usually more effective.

Best of all, video information can be shared readily through social media, on your Twitter, or on your website. Consistent messaging can be delivered on many fronts with ease if you choose to use videos to send out your message. Clients who can see your face, and feel as though you are speaking to them directly will be more likely to come back to you over and over again.

5. Leverage Social Media

Social media is everywhere these days. It is a great way to connect with people who are not in your direct local area and to meet customers where they are at in life as well as online. Be sure to be inviting and to seem like a real person to these prospective clients. They will respond to your outreach favorably if they feel that you are not seeking to gain anything from them with your content. Make friends with your clients and they will be loyal to you.

6. Leverage SEO

If you are going to make content for your website, make sure it can be found via searches on Google or other search engines. There is no point in making a website that no one can find. SEO optimization is a big topic, and you may want to outsource this task to an expert. Having a website that shows up at the top of web searches is a major factor for the success of your marketing strategy.

SEO work can be expensive to contract, but it is well worth the investment if it makes you searchable online.

7. Use Infographics

Many people are visual learners. Just ask most people who their favorite teacher of all time was and they will mention someone who did fun activities in class or who had really excellent video presentations they used to teach lessons.

No one really likes to be bored by boring talk without any visuals. Infographics are a great tool to stand out to your clients and to offer them information they might not otherwise have the patience to locate on your site.

8. Invest in Good Software and Useful Tools

Whether you are trying to optimize your daily work life or to optimize your website, invest in the right software and plug-ins that will work hard for you. Buying cheap or going with tools that are not really that helpful to you will just waste time and create more work for you.

Plus, it’s hard to build trust with your customers if they can tell that you are using budget software to work on their needs. Good software will make your job much easier and will increase client retention exponentially.

Go Forth and Meet Clients!

Now that you know some of the best tips and tricks to make your marketing plan work hard for you, you can modify your existing model and go forth and conquer! Define who you are as a business and make sure that your clients can tell right away what you stand for.

The rest is just being meticulous and consistent. Success is made up of many moving parts and unique decisions, but these tips and tricks will get your marketing plan on track in a few easy steps!

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Where can I get a 2000 loan with bad credit?

March 12, 2021

Suppose you encounter an emergency that requires urgent financial intervention or want to meet other expenses like funding a wedding, going on vacation or home renovation repairs. In that case, you need to consider applying for a personal loan.

With a personal loan, you do not require collateral such as your car, house or other investments to qualify. The only guarantee the lender has to grant your request is your reputation.

However, it is critical to note that you will get higher interest rates when applying for a loan with bad credit. Suppose you utilize your loan appropriately; you may find it better than applying for payday loans, approaching pawnshops or using overdrafts.

Though it has its pitfalls, with proper information and knowledge you can take this loan and utilize it to your advantage.

How to get a $2,000 bad credit loan?

First, you must fill out the forms available online and patiently wait for feedback that may take a few minutes to several hours. Financial lending institutions for bad credit loans like Lendforall.ca may need additional information about your credit or other requirements in line with their policy.

Some of the requirements needed may include any of the following.

You must be above 18 years.
Verification certificate of your present employment address.
Checking account in your name
Citizenship or proof of permanent residency
Generate a net income of $1,000 after tax deductions
Valid email address
Home telephone number

If your loan application is successful, you can withdraw the money directly from your bank account.

Tips on getting your loan approved

Check your credit score.

Desist from applying for loans that you do not qualify for because, every time you apply, it is documented on your credit history and may greatly affect your credit score. If your application is declined, the negative impact hits hard since the overall report will indicate a rejected application.

If you apply for credit, it may send red flags to the loan worker tasked with examining your application. Develop a habit of scrutinizing your credit report regularly to check for inaccuracies or false statements on it. If possible, make a formal request to receive your credit report at least every year to avoid surprises.

It is one thing to doubt about your bad credit and another to precisely know how bad it is. There are credit companies that not only offer free approximate scores but also do it repeatedly at no additional cost.

It is not mandatory to have an excellent credit score to qualify for a loan, but as your score degenerates, you will notice a drastic change in the rates and offers lenders are willing to give you – if they are willing to give you at all.

After updating your credit history, find out from your lender about their current guidelines when evaluating loan applications. Alternatively, you may consider visiting their website as this information is likely to be available there.

Take steps to improve your credit score.

Contrary to popular belief, a credit score is not stationary; hence, it is possible to improve it by making prompt payments, minimizing your debt to credit ratio, and avoiding late payments.

Your credit score is dependent on factors such as payment history, current debt balance, length of credit history, and new credit. While some of these factors, such as length of credit, are difficult to change, you should strive to boost your credit score.

Generally, credit score plays a key role in determining the interest rate your lender is willing to impose on you. Even though many lenders offer personal loans with minimal credit, you are likely pay higher interest rates.

Irrespective of your credit score, it is critical to compare multiple lenders’ charges and settle on one with the most competitive rates. With a low credit score, your loan request may be denied. However, you may need to reapply to a different lender to see if you can get one that will approve your loan application request.

How to calculate your debt to income ratio

Your debt to credit ratio can impact the rates lenders are willing to offer you, and therefore you may need to know yours before making an application.

Many lenders will calculate your debt to income ratio to determine how much your income is used up in servicing debt.

If you want to determine your debt to income ratio, divide monthly debt payments by gross monthly income. The lower the percentage, the better you’re chances because it is an indication that your debts consume a minimal portion of your income.

To effectively calculate your debt to income ratio, first list all your monthly debt payments that include automobile loans, child support, alimony, student loans, mortgages, personal loans, or credit cards. Household utility bills, car insurance charges and health insurance are not part of your debts.

Secondly, find your gross monthly income, which is the amount of money you receive before taxes.

Finally, by dividing monthly debt payments by monthly gross income, you will notice a decimal in the answer. Take the decimal two steps to the right to get a percentage and the debt to income ratio.

For instance, assume you want to purchase a house, and your gross monthly income is $5,000, and your monthly debt payments include a $200 personal loan, $200 student loan, and $400 automobile loan.

= debt to income ratio

= 0.16

Therefore, your debt to income ratio is low hence making you a preferred mortgage lender customer. Even though there is no connection between debt to income ratio and credit score, the two seem to have an interdependent relationship.

Credit scoring agencies use two vital factors to define a credit score: current debt balance and payment history, which determine the credit score percentage.

Although credit scoring agencies have no access to your income, they can deliberate on past payment history to evaluate your ability to make prompt payments.

Notably, mortgage lenders have a very austere debt to income ratio guidelines and requirements, the highest being 43%. While few mortgage lenders can approve a debt to income ratio above 43%, you will have to go overboard to prove the repayment capability.

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What Is Predictive Analytics?

March 12, 2021

Predictive analytics refers to statistics, numerical algorithms, modelling, artificial intelligence and machine learning procedures to identify prospects of forthcoming outcomes based on historical records. The aim is to go beyond knowing what has occurred to provide an appropriate valuation of what will happen in future.

Predictive analytics uses historical data mining statistics, predictive modelling, and analytical techniques to manage technological information and model business processes to predict the future.

Typically, the historical data and patterns identified in historical and transactional data are useful in identifying future risks and opportunities. This data helps build a scientific model that captures significant trends, such as envisaging what is likely to happen next or suggesting actions to take for optimal outcomes.

Predictive analytics has caught a lot of attention in recent years due to supporting technology and effectively interpreting big data and machine learning.

Impact of predictive analytics

An upsurge of big data

Predictive analytics is mainly learned in big data, such as engineering data that includes sensors, instruments, and connected systems. Business system data in organizations also entail transaction data, sales results, customer concerns, and marketing information.

The big data revolution has led to a demand for data scientists and a need for data science information that include data science courses, computer science and business degrees. A majority of organizations reserve huge amounts of money for storage and infrastructure, and that amount is bound to double in a couple of years.

Companies are spending heavily on systems that help store detailed customer data, customer engagements and internal processes because they believe it presents a lucrative return on investment. However, it remains unclear how big data can drive a positive investment return from surveys and reports.

Predicting demand

Predictive analytics is vital in predicting demand for consumer products. Organizations value precise demand predictions because it is very costly to keep stock on shelves, and the stock shortage is detrimental to short-term cash flow and long-term customer engagement. Relying on total sales is a weak substitution because organizations need to distribute products to meet demand. Unfortunately, this method only works well for common brands.

A big data solution for this challenge is to incorporate cumulative web search linked to each store location. For instance, data scientists at Microsoft have adopted this method that helps an organization predict sales.

Creating models that include web search data help minimize forecast error and offers a standard measure of prediction accuracy compared to traditional models. In this instance, a big data solution leverages the formerly unused data point to carry out a social inquiry and online research. This improvement in prediction accuracy, in turn, leads to an increase in operational efficiency since the right inventory is in its proper place.

Web search data is vital and helpful as it is a key influencer for purchasing habits, actions and purchase of consumer products. Though additional data is inadequate, processing search data and linking it with traditional resources is key in generating effective and fruitful predictions.

Intelligence is vital in identifying which signals to draw from big data and requires insight since the most appropriate practices can be case-specific. For instance, in search data, multiple user questions are more beneficial than a single query.

Improved pricing

Since it isn’t possible to have a single price that could negatively impact the demand curve, firms are keen in offering regular discounts, product promotions, brand campaigns and segment-based pricing to target specific markets. E-commerce businesses have a distinct advantage in incorporating this methodology because they have detailed information on customer surfing habits that they implement and use to their benefit.

With this information, they recognize consumer purchasing habits and aggressively adjust prices over time. In association with big data, these price adjustments are a type of testing that allows organizations to get supplementary information about customer’s price responsiveness.

Entrepreneurs can also incorporate offline strategies such as tracking consumers using smartphone connectivity and logging that customers use to enter stores, the type of merchandises they look for and purchase frequency.

Machine learning identified from this data can automatically generate customer subdivisions based on price responsiveness and inclinations, significantly improving offline demographic-based targeting.

Using big data for pricing advertising on search engines can produce considerable benefits by better matching marketing teams to consumers. The success of algorithmic targeting is a key player in generating revenue for firms in online marketing. Advancement in technology progressively enables offline businesses to benefit from this know-how through more resourceful pricing.

Predictive maintenance

Having an efficient supply chain is crucial for consistent and stable profit margins. Working with faulty or outdated machinery results in minimal productivity, breakdown in the supply chain and short supply of goods and services.

Administrative directors in manufacturing industries agree that their enterprises’ primary operation risk is their machinery’s unexpected failure. The proper use of data and assimilation of machine-learning models permit industries to foretell when different machinery is likely to stall.

For instance, commercial airline companies are attentive to envisaging mechanical letdowns in advance to mitigate flight interruptions and cancellations. For airlines to solve flight delays and cancellations, knowledgeable data scientists can predict the likelihood of aeroplane deferments and terminations based on appropriate data sources like maintenance history and flight itinerary information.

Predictive maintenance solutions also help to track real-time data to forecast useful life-span of an aircraft engine, use sensor data to foretell failure of an Automated Teller Machine, cash extraction operation, incorporating telementary data to predict failure of electric pumps used for extracting crude oil and gas in industries, predicting machine failure in the manufacturing process, foretelling credit defaults, and forecasting energy demand to predict overload challenges in energy grids. Machine learning is beneficial and helps reduce the negative impact on production of goods and services.

Innovative applications

Although big data is valuable in improving existing processes such as more accurate forecast demands, better price-sensitive estimates, and more precise machine failure predictions, it also has the probability of being incorporated for disruptive processes.

For instance, machine learning models contain patient history and can transform how certain ailments are detected and cured.

The capabilities, such as accurately predicting demand, better pricing strategies, and predictive maintenance, are benefits that justify huge organizations to invest in data science and big data infrastructure.

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Develop a Winning Digital Marketing Strategy in 3 Easy Steps

March 11, 2021

The online marketing world has grown along with digital advancements meant to supplement it, providing businesses with more than one way to market their services on the internet.

In a nutshell, digital marketing is online marketing for websites. It’s a concept that’s easy enough to understand, but you’ll find it can get especially tricky when it comes to the implementation of such strategies.

It is fairly easy to feel overwhelmed at the many options at your disposal. You can go the route of search engine optimization or SEO(check out Bill Lentis), digital advertising, social media marketing, and so on. Each of these established approaches represents their own speciality, along with an independent set of rules and guidelines to follow in practice.

This is mainly the reason why there are different social media specialists, as the kind of planning that takes place in SEO is miles different from that of digital advertising.

Simply put, your own company’s digital marketing strategy shouldn’t look like everyone else’s. It should be uniquely customized to your own circumstances for it to yield maximum results.

You don’t always have to stick to the one used by most big brands, sometimes taking a little time to find out which one works best for you can guarantee more than the one popularly utilized. To have a winning digital marketing strategy, remember these 3 essential steps.

1. Know your audience

Digital or not, any marketing strategy will always stress on the notion you have to know who you are marketing to. The best digital marketing strategies take this into consideration and build their entire approach on their buyer personas.

In order to do so, you have to create a very specific image of your target audience. It’s not enough to say “millennial female” anymore, you have to delve into their psyche, what motivates them, and even go as far as creating a backstory. You need “Millennial Mary, aged 21-25, living alone in a one-bedroom apartment downtown of her chosen city of work, who tries to eat clean and shop sustainably as much as she can”. This creates a more deep, meaningful bond you have with your customer when you envision them as people more than numbers.

You cannot rely on off the cuff stereotypes for this, you have to deep dive into your company’s analytics and do supplementary research if need be. Google Analytics and Facebook’s in-house insight tools are a great way to start building a customer profile based on your website’s performance, demographics, and psychographics.

This first step is crucial, as it essentially decides whether your entire digital marketing strategy plan will succeed or fail. If you find your customer, you will be able to tailor certain products or services befitting their persona, therefore streamlining the buying and selling process a lot easier. If you understand what they want and know which strings to pull to get them to want it even more, you would have perfected the buyer persona step.

Any self-respecting elite marketer would know their audience well enough to know how to persuade them just right, so it is especially important to conduct deep audience research at least once or twice a month. Getting into the head of your target consumer will lend you the tools to know how to turn them into loyal customers of your brand.

2. Set definitive goals

Now that you have a clear image of Millennial Mary, your marketing goals should be aligned with her and her lifestyle. If she lives alone in a one-bedroom loft, try sending some cheap furniture ads her way and see if she takes the bait. If she is worried about the planet and shops sustainably, try dropping an article on local produce markets near her place.

These types of custom goals specifically tailored to your audience can be fundamental in transforming your brand to be one that knows the kind of content and services your business offers, and what they will gain from it. Utilize a high-level marketing plan template to outline your marketing strategy, identify top priorities, and other aspects you find needs improvement.

You have to ask yourself beforehand what you want out of your digital marketing campaigns. Do you want to build name brand recognition or raise awareness? Do you want to generate more leads? Do you want a higher sales number, or perhaps email subscribers? Whatever your overarching digital marketing goal is, you must be able to measure its success with the right digital marketing tools.

This way, you are creating a space for accountability and responsibility for yourself along the way. You won’t get sidetracked with side quests or stray from the path because you have a definitive goal in mind to work towards. Checking in your progress from time to time can always be a good way to refine some undervalued areas of your digital marketing strategy, and improving them as you go along.

3. Create and implement a strategy accordingly

Now that you have spent enough time getting to know Millennial Mary and her interests, as well as set what kind of goals you want for her, it’s time to seal the deal. At the heart of any digital marketing is content, be it owned or paid, this will first and foremost be the driving force behind your company’s success.

Now that you have decided your target audience and initiatives, you have to be even more specific about the manner in which you’re going to keep them engaged. Specificity is the key here, so make sure to map out very specific steps you’re going to take that are backed by enough data to support your plans.

As you get your campaigns up and running, you’ll want to find ways to continue to make your campaigns as impactful and effective as possible. You can go about this in two ways: more personalization and automation.

In most cases, these two tend to overlap. The most seemingly-personalized and relevant marketing messages can be delivered as a result of your audience’s actions: including targeted ads that retarget users with similar products they’ve viewed before, or personalized email autoresponders to show them similar products they’ve seen through browsing.

Conclusion

Digital marketing campaigns are the building blocks and actions within your digital marketing strategy that move you toward a specific end goal.

It can get tedious coming up with the most appropriate one that guarantees the highest engagements, but in the process of getting to know your customer and coming up with just the right strategy to gauge their interests, it can also be immensely rewarding.

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How to Choose the Right Financial Planning Company

March 11, 2021

The process of choosing a financial planning company requires time and research—especially if you’ve never worked with a financial advisor before. Whether you’re seeking general financial planning advice, or you need specific guidance with a particular topic, such as divorce, widowhood, or retirement, you should know how to make sure that your prospective advisor is right for you.

If you don’t know where to start, financial advisors usually suggest assessing your current financial situation. By reviewing your budget, for example, complete with your income, savings, expenses, debt, and assets, you will be able to identify a few particular challenges that you need help mitigating. Then, you can begin your search by looking for qualified and experienced financial planning companies in your area that specialize in either your particular need or the aspect of your finances that you’re struggling with the most. Your search will end only after you have interviewed prospective candidates and you have chosen the company that perfectly matches your needs. To understand this process better, review the following 4 steps to choosing a financial planning company, ultimately allowing you to improve your financial security in the long run.

Even if a business successor is actively involved in the family business, a family member should hire family wealth management services in the UK to take on an even more active role in financial management. so that, if circumstances change, they have the financial literacy to protect the family’s wealth.

4 steps to finding the best financial planning company

1. Identify Your Needs

Before beginning your search, start by sitting down and taking stock of your current financial situation. Be sure to review your budget, paying careful attention to your income and expenses, as well as any debts, savings and assets. Review your finances for previous years, and look ahead to the future by setting some tangible short-term and long-term goals, like purchasing property, sending children to college, or paying off student loans. Ask yourself the question, “Why exactly do I need a financial planning company?” By completing this self-assessment, you should be able to identify a few specific reasons why you would benefit from working with a financial advisor; you can then use this information as brainstorming material for your first consultation with a company.

2. Research Prospective Advisors

Now that you know exactly what you need in regards to your finances, you can start searching for a financial planning company that specializes in your particular area. Since advisors have different expertise, ranging from wealth management and financial wellness to divorce and loss of spouse services, you should choose someone that works with your needs. As you search, pay specific attention to their location, reputation, and principles—since you’ll be working closely with an advisor, it’s important to find someone that you can trust.

3. Ask for Recommendations

While conducting research for qualified financial planning companies, speak with your human resources (HR) department at your employer to see if they have any recommendations—especially if you’re seeking advice on retirement plans. Then, reach out to any friends, family members, or colleagues that you know who have worked with a financial planning company before, as they might have some suggestions as well. If you don’t know who to ask, consider people who have struggled with financial issues at some point in their life because it’s possible that they had to rely on a financial advisor themselves.

4. Interview Qualified Candidates

After you’ve assessed your own needs, researched potential advisors, and asked for recommendations, it’s time to schedule appointments with representatives from financial planning companies near you. If possible, try to suggest meeting in person or at least by video call, so that you can connect with them and get a better understanding of their services and principles. Worst case scenario, call them on the phone or send along all of your questions in an email. Don’t be shy, either—make your circumstances, needs, and goals clear, so that they can provide you with an idea of how they can serve you.

Schedule Your First Consultation with a Financial Planning Company

Now that you understand the process of finding the right financial planning company for your needs, get in touch with an experienced financial advisor today.

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5 Tips for Online Gambling in Casinos

March 10, 2021

For many people, the success of their online casino endeavour is hugely dependent on their gambling abilities. Whether you gain more than you bargained for or lose more than what you intended is up to a myriad of factors: chance, luck, and skill. While it is true most gambling matches are half-based on chance or luck, true skill trumps all.

Every time you take on a gamble, it gives you the power to steer the direction of your course whichever way you want. It is a constant push and pull of teetering between financial gain and financial loss. With how unpredictable the game is, you’d best take on certain contingency plans to ensure the blows are cushioned should you take on more than you’re prepared for. To be a decent gambler, you need to be vigilant of any match and stay alert while thinking ahead. By doing so, you can have fun while responsibly keeping yourself in check.

When it comes to online casinos, a big majority of players are prone to make rushed choices given the unconventional nature of the set-up. They seldom take the time to pause and reflect on their choices and more often than not perform poorly out of ignorance, and a general lack of finesse when handling their money.

There is no guarantee that by following all these tricks you will turn out to be the next Bill Benter, also known as one of the richest gamblers in the world, but it doesn’t help to turn to a helping hand once in a while. Through experience and active pursuit of knowledge, it is possible to reach a point of near fluency, even with such a risque endeavour such as online gambling.

There is no one size fits all model than ensures you a 100% success rate, but these tips are followed to the T by most online casino gamblers for a good reason. With these tricks of the trade, we hope we can make your online gambling experience fun, safe, and hopefully profitable.

1. Spend less, pay more

Do you know how people who belong in the higher tier of the IQ spectrum always have one thing to say in regards to their effective study habits? Study smart, not hard. This means you could spend 500 hours in a single slot machine, waiting for it to hit jackpot, but always coming up short by the end of the day. What you probably don’t realise is there is already a system in place for most of these machines, you just have to wait for that window of time it nears its jackpot round and that’s when you swoop in to claim all of the prizes. The same goes for online gambling, don’t spend all your $50 in one place when you can divide them 5 ways to have better chances of scoring a win in at least one of them. You can even divide them even further by betting on low-risk $1 spins, this way you now have 50 chances of winning, tripling your luck fivefold.

2. Set a budget and stick to it

A large part of gambling debt that cripples most beginners can easily be avoided if they chose to not go overboard and stuck to their budgets. Money management is key to being a good player, sometimes even more so than actually having the means to gamble to death. Even if you could spare $500 solely for online gambling, none of that means anything if the nerd who knew how numbers worked was able to turn their $50 into $5000 just as easily. By setting a limit beforehand and orienting yourself with how much you can comfortably spend, you’ll find yourself conservatively playing during the actual match and weighing down your options with a clearer outlook because you have more riding on it than you would have hoped. It forces you to think more critically and make strategic decisions, the foundations of any great player.

3. Change up your environment

You know what they always say, change is constant. This mindset applies in gambling too. Once you feel you have maxed out all you can in a particular game, why not change it up a little and experiment on other varieties? Maybe this can trigger the burnout you were facing as you dealt with consecutive losses and it waned your spirit down while doing so. There are many options on the Internet you can turn to, like YggdrasilCasino.com, that will hopefully be a better fit for your skills and finally give you the reward you deserve. Refrain from staying too long in a place that stunts your growth and explore the vast world of online gambling to your heart’s content.

4. Read the fine print

Before going into anything that deals with large amounts of money, always take the time to check the terms and conditions beforehand. Most gambling sites will have it readily accessible to its players on the websites, so you should have no trouble looking for it. You don’t have to memorise it down to the letter, but it would serve you well knowing the logistics behind each game you bet on so you won’t be tricked into giving anything up that you didn’t consent to or being robbed without knowing. On these prints, you’ll also find certain game limits such as withdrawals and payouts. It would be helpful to know these before any game, that way you can prepare the exact amount of gamble money you need.

5. Learn when to cut your losses

As with anything, pride is a hindrance to success. By quitting while you’re ahead, it shows a great deal of sportsmanship and morale to your fellow gamblers. Online gambling is all about having fun, after all. If you can remove yourself from the situation at any time without feeling remorseful or guilty, it shows you can still separate leisure from pleasure. Just like how in chess, once a player is nearing checkmate, it’s common courtesy for the opponent to bow out while they’re still playing as a gesture of goodwill to the other side. It is a show of respect and will guarantee you future games solely for your goodnatured sport and overall demeanour.

Conclusion

While all that is said and done, there is no single guarantee in life, and gambling is no exception. It is all very much a high-stakes situation where you take a leap of faith in a risk-reward model. Whether or not you have the guts and willpower to go through with it is a testament to your character, but hopefully, the few things you read on online gambling in this article have nudged you in the right direction.

Gamble responsibly!

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What Monopoly teaches us about personal finances

March 10, 2021

Monopoly is still one of the most popular games today, even if it was published back in the 1930s.

The game fascinates millions of players in the world, and is one of the most loved in history. That is not only for the fun of it, but also for the lessons it brings. Its history began in the United States, being invented as an educational tool by Lizzie Magie, to explain the single tax theory.

Fast forward today, people not only learn important money lessons and personal finances lessons from playing it, but it also became an experience on many levels.

There were also Monopoly tournaments, starting almost 50 years ago, in big cities like New York City, Monte Carlo, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Las Vegas, or Washington.

Monopoly had its own video games, hundreds of versions of the game, and even a television game show. It is sold in over 100 countries, and it is translated in almost 50 languages. Moreover, there is also a unique version of the popular board game, Monopoly Live, released by Evolution Gaming, which make part of the Unibet Live Casino Canada experience along with many other popular games such as Baccarat, BlackJack, Mega Wheel and Lightning Roulette.

But which are these important personal finances lessons we learned from the game? Here are some of them:

Saving is a good advice anytime

One of the most important personal finances lessons in life is to save anytime you can. And here is how Monopoly teaches us to do it: Begin by saving money from the rent. Instead of paying rent to those who own properties, try your best to buy and own a property.

This way, you will be saving money, and you may also cash in with a second property.

Don’t hold on to too much cash

On the other hand, you could also think of not holding on to too much cash. Because money that just stays won’t help you. Invest the money you actually have, not just for the returns, but also to avoid losing value of the cash over the years.

The same goes for the game and for real life: When you start with an amount of money and keep on growing, you simply have to invest it at some point.

Be careful about when you spend your money – not as soon as you win it

You should always have in sight the financial balance. Is very good to invest in something reliable, but so is not getting into debt.

In real life and during the game you may get some unwanted dice or cards – and that is the point you may want to have an extra reserve of money. Just keep a hold on a small part of the first money you make, for any situation which may arise. In the end, you may want to keep an emergency fund at all times.

Keep, save, invest, put the money in different places

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – everyone knows that, right? In Monopoly, you don’t invest in just one property or properties of the same kind (color).

The same in life: Try to go for diversification, be it rent, shares, other kinds of investments, or limited amounts of money.

Always negotiate

Monopoly is a game made of many actions, and one of them is represented by the negotiations between players. It is fun to do it and to get as much as you can out of this process.

In real life you should do the same – try your best to get the best financial deal you can. And in most cases, this comes out of negotiations.

Some other financial lessons you can learn from Monopoly are as follows:

Be patient, calm, and disciplined – yes, that applies a lot when it comes to personal finances.
Keep the track of the cash flow.
The most expensive asset isn’t always the best one.
Don’t take shortcuts.
Time outs may turn out to be very helpful.
Small steps can make a big difference.
Build and work on your business relationships, but do not rely on them.
Manage your assets the best you can.
If you take risks, make them well-calculated.

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Two Sessions: Amid Uncertainty, China’s Quest for Bold Development

March 10, 2021

By Dr. Dan Steinbock

At a historical moment of hope and uncertainty, China pledges bold economic development, despite global tensions.

China’s annual “Two Sessions” meeting has approved national priorities for 2021. Delivered by Premier Li Keqiang, the Government Work Report set a growth target of over 6 percent for Chinese economy for 2021, releasing a numeric goal after it was skipped in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

China plans to create more than 11 million new jobs in 2021, while keeping inflation rate (CPI) at 3 percent and cutting the deficit-to-GDP ratio to 3.2 percent. The goal is to increase annual R&D spending by more than 7 percent in the next five years, including foreign-funded R&D centers in China.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the severe global contraction, China’s 2020 real GDP growth climbed to 2.3 percent, making it the only major economy to grow. In 2021, international observers project China’s growth to rise up to 8 percent, due to a low base in 2020 and the ongoing recovery momentum.

In addition to fiscal and monetary policies, government’s focus is increasingly on job creation and consumer prices that have a direct impact on per capita incomes. This is vital in light of the modernization goals of China’s 14^th Five-Year Plan (2021-35).

Doubling GDP, per capita incomes by 2035

Some two decades ago, Goldman Sachs’s Jim O’Neil coined the idea of BRIC economies, predicting China’s gross domestic product (GDP) would catch up with that of the United States by the early 2040s.

During our conversation in 2009, I projected the inflection point to result a decade earlier, around late 2020s, while O’Neill said Goldman Sachs was also revising its catch-up prediction. Despite the failed global recovery in the 2010s and US tariff wars, these projections remain in schedule and may be accelerating.

As the difference between the US and Chinese growth rates increased from less than 4 to almost 6 percent in 2019-20, rapid recovery brought Chinese economy closer to the US economic output, which it could surpass by the end of the 2020s.

Last November, President Xi Jinping said that “it is entirely possible for China to meet the current high-income countries’ standards by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and to double the economic aggregate or per capita income by 2035.” That would require a growth rate of 4.7 to 5 percent in the next 15 years.

It is a bold objective, but – assuming continued reforms – within China’s economic potential.

Progress in trade, investment, finance, and technology

China’s recent trade progress supports the realization of that potential. Despite US tariff wars, China ended 2020 with a record trade surplus with strong exports. Last November, China signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact with 10 ASEAN members, plus Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

A month later, the RCEP was followed by the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). Recently, President Xi and French President Macron called for its prompt ratification.

Offsetting external uncertainties, trade pacts support domestic demand, technology self-sufficiency, upgraded supply chains and further opening up in domestic markets.

Moreover, China’s potential is supported by investment and finance. Inbound foreign direct investment in China hit a record high of $144 billion in 2020, thanks in part to the new foreign investment law. Meanwhile, financial integration between China and global economy has intensified significantly.

The big question mark involves external efforts to undermine China’s potential, particularly the rise of Chinese multinational concerns in advanced technology.

US China vision needs a reset, not more deterioration

Recently, Anne O. Krueger, World Bank’s former chief economist, noted that “President Trump’s modus operandi was to bully China on trade, foreign investment, cyberspace, e-commerce, intellectual property, the South China Sea, Taiwan, and other issues.”

Characterizing Trump’s trade war as “a failure that harmed both China and the US,” Krueger called for “resetting US-China trade relations.” That’s been the ardent hope of many progressive Democrats and global-minded Republicans.

Yet, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s foreign policy speech, parts of which left Democratic progressives furious, suggests that his China vision builds on former secretary Mike Pompeo’s blunders. It claims to be competitive when it seeks supremacy, collaborative which it precludes, and adversarial when that’s not warranted. A potential technology war is a case in point.

Reportedly, the Biden administration may go ahead with a Trump administration-proposed rule to secure the technology supply chain, by allowing the Commerce Department to prohibit transactions involving “foreign adversaries,” including China.

Former Google top executive Eric Schmidt, who has headed Pentagon technology commissions, has urged Biden and Congress to exploit targeted export controls on high-end semiconductors, “to protect existing technical advantages and slow the advancement of China’s semiconductor industry.”

And since AI requires fifth-generation (5G) platforms that Chinese technology giants have pioneered in commercial markets, the objective is to undermine those giants, including China’s nascent semiconductor industry.

National security serves as a ruse to offset the competitive erosion of US technology giants relative to new European, Korean, Chinese and other rivals.

Peaceful development or geopolitical tensions

By promoting new rearmament drives, geopolitical friction and forever wars, such priorities would further deepen America’s severe income polarization. As the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office has just warned, US debt as a percentage of its GDP will soar in a matter of years.

Most importantly, such misguided agendas would derail the dreams of industrialization and modernization in many emerging and developing economies that cooperate with China and greatly benefit from its peaceful development.

Instead of more harm to global economic prospects, what is needed is multilateral cooperation between and among both advanced and developing major economies, across all political differences.

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About the Author

Dr. Dan Steinbock is an internationally recognized strategist of the multipolar world and the founder of Difference Group. He has served at the India, China and America Institute (USA), Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore). For more, see https://www.differencegroup.net.

The original commentary was published by China Daily on March 5, 2021

3 Markets With Incredible Potential For Future Growth

March 9, 2021

Emerging markets are proving incredible potential for future growth, particularly those that remain unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. An emerging market is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market – but not yet meeting full standards due to its infancy. They are therefore typically considered as high risk despite predictions of exponential growth.

#1 CryptoCurrency

Despite launching on the scene in 2009, Cryptocurrency and more specifically Bitcoin has been a popular topic among investors. The broad bitcoin and cryptocurrency market, made up of thousands of digital tokens, is now worth a staggering $1.6 trillion. [1] (February 2021)

In 2011, 12-year-old Erik Finman invested a birthday gift of $1,000 into bitcoin and is now a multimillionaire. Proving its lucrative beginning as a potential market to invest in.

Alike any market, it has experienced turbulence and it’s important to remember that the future for Cryptocurrency isn’t always golden… The decline in Bitcoin, in fact, knocked Elon Musk off the top spot as the richest person in the world as it fell from an all-time high of $55,000 per Bitcoin to just under $46,000 at the time of writing. [2] This resulted in Musk losing a total of $4.6B.

#2 Pre-IPO Cannabis

The legal cannabis market is not valued as high as Bitcoin (yet!) but is destined for big things.

The global cannabis market size was valued at USD 17.5 billion in 2019 and predicted to reach market value around USD 65.1 billion by 2027 expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 17.8% during the period 2020 to 2027. [3]

London has recently been labelled the “Cannabis Capital” after 2 company’s debut as the first cannabis listing on the LSE. Israeli company Kanobo Group listed in February and its share price rocketed over 170% on the day and continued to rise over 120% the next day. [4] This is just the beginning of some very profitable cannabis listings.

This is a prime example of the potential that pre-IPO cannabis opportunities can bring to investors, grasping an early bird opportunity before listing on the stock exchange is where you will maximise returns and multiply your initial investment.

#3 Real Estate Property

Considered a “safe” form of investment and very popular among investors old, young and particularly those less educated about surrounding markets. Since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, UK house prices jump at the fastest rate in four years [5] The cost of a typical detached home had soared by 6%, or £27,371 on average. [5]

Although generating positive returns toward the latter end of 2020, since the introduction of a stamp duty holiday house prices fell for the first time at the start of 2021. This was by 0.3 per cent in January compared with the previous month, the first fall since June and down from a 0.9 per cent expansion in the previous month. [6]

Is the housing market as stable as other markets have proven to be in a global crisis? Which begs the question… where should you be investing your money in a time of such uncertainty? Industry experts declare the cannabis industry as ‘recession proof’ [7] and as demand increases, returns are intending to follow suit…

JPD Capital is a fund-vehicle focused on investing in medicinal cannabis companies across the supply chain. Its varied portfolio offers investors exposure to a diverse opportunity in this sector.

To learn more visit: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.jpdcapital.com/the-huge-potential-of-medicinal-cannabis-pre-ipo-opportunities/&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1615207651038000&usg=AFQjCNEV_cT2Q90ed80P3QtpZXsYil9irA

References:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2021/02/18/as-bitcoin-total-value-nears-1-trillion-these-crypto-prices-are-leaving-it-in-the-dust/?sh=261de52b4689 https://www.cityam.com/elons-bitcoin-bet-hands-jeff-bezos-back-title-of-worlds-richest-person/
https://www.cityam.com/elons-bitcoin-bet-hands-jeff-bezos-back-title-of-worlds-richest-person/
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/12/01/2137727/0/en/Legal-Marijuana-Market-Growth-is-Expanding-over-17-8-by-2027.html#:~:text=01%2C%202020%20(GLOBE%20NEWSWIRE),during%20period%202020%20to%202027.
https://www.valuethemarkets.com/2021/02/18/cannabis-capital-london-is-poised-for-cannabis-stock-explosion/
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/06/uk-house-prices-jump-as-average-home-tops-250000-for-first-time-covid
https://www.ft.com/content/01d7dad0-c8f2-45e6-9ca0-7304df622314
https://mjbizdaily.com/is-marijuana-recession-proof-industry-experts-say-yes-to-a-point-and-alcohol-may-be-guide/

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