The Money
Awareness Course

Session one covers how to get a better return from your ordinary bank or building society savings and deposits. You’ll learn how to maximise the return on your cash and to build a strategy to do so. It also shows you how you can invest your money by lending it to obtain an income at the same time as having the potential for your capital to grow. You will learn how to make every penny you invest produce an income and grow in value as well.

You’ll learn about lending money to the UK Government, other Governments and large and small companies across the world and how to have that process managed for you. You will learn how to link your savings and investment to grow with the rising rate of inflation.

You’ll learn how today’s world of money is very uncertain. You'll understand simple strategies that will help protect your money, ISA's, Pensions to grow even when the Stockmarket falls. You’ll learn to consider whether the normal textbook principles of investing money still applies or whether alternative thinking is needed to safeguard your money and make it grow.

Session Two covers how you can save and invest your pension funds, ISAs and general savings into property. Through the stock market, you can invest in shops, offices and factories. This means your investments will attract a rental income into your investment funds with the potential for your savings to grow at the same time.

You’ll learn you do not need to buy a house or a property to get returns from this kind of investment. The stock market can do it for you. During this session you will also learn that you can spread your investments across different types of plans each of which has its own tax benefits or advantage.

You will learn how to use the tax allowances that you might not even be aware of now. This part of the course also helps you to understand what you need to know to be able to choose a good Financial Adviser if you need one. Choosing the right Financial Adviser is critical to your financial wellbeing and future. So how do you choose one? Session Three.

Session Three will show you how you can reduce the risk of investing in companies’ shares by using Unit Trust Funds and other strategies. You learn what it means to become a part owner of businesses by owning shares in companies that provide products and services across the world.

History has shown that over the longer term this can really make your money grow and also provide a rising income payable to you. Session Three covers the costs of investing as a DIY investor or investing through Financial Advisers. The course will show you how to minimise the cost of investing.

You will also learn how to open your own personal investment account and begin to actually make investments that you decide upon yourself.

Session four is 1-2-1 with you and Rob. The session focuses on the current economic and political conditions that will affect how different types of investment (assets) should be expected to perform over time. We consider risk in terms of the belief that certain assets can be referred to as ‘low’ risk and others ‘high’ risk. Is it the case that risk and potential reward change during the whole period of holding a particular class of asset?

We shall be discussing in outline different assets against the background of political and economic circumstances for the student to begin to put an initial portfolio of assets together as a learning process.

We shall look at various Investment Platforms where investments are bought and sold and go on to research different funds which could make up a portfolio holding. The student can ask for that portfolio to be logged and monitored to see how it performs in real life.

The guidance and information shared should prove adequate for the student to decide to proceed to actual investment should they so choose. We will guide and inform as this proceeds.

The Course makes clear that investments fall as well as rise in value and that investors can make meaningful profits whilst taking the risk that financial loss can also occur.

As the Course ends you will be able to make up your mind whether you want to be a DIY Investor or whether it will be better for you to have properly qualified, Independent Financial Advice. Knowledge about the financial advice market is critical and is needed first – your financial future may depend on it. We work with you to choose the best and right adviser if you need one.

Whether you become a DIY Investor or work with a Financial Adviser the course continues to support you into the future by providing investment monitoring, alerts, commentary and the Hotline to Harris phone/zoom appointment service. Your Financial Friend can stay with you as little or as much as you need him.

As the Course ends you will have the knowledge to become an active investor or to work actively with your chosen Financial Adviser. It means you really do stay in control and do not give away the power of your security to another person. After all, no one is as interested in your money as you are.