2024 Unwrapped

By Finura Co-Founder and Managing Director, James Herman.

As we approach the end of another extraordinary year, we would firstly like wish all of our Clients and their loved ones a very Happy Christmas and New Year. 2024 was a milestone year for Finura, having had our 10-year anniversary in January. A sincere thank you to all of our Clients who have been with us along the journey.

As ever, we’re committed to constantly improving our service to you. Thank you to all those who have provided feedback through 2024; it is invaluable to us. We are looking forward to enhancing our service proposition in 2025. We will be communicating some positive changes to our services in the New Year, with dedicated account managers giving more support to our Clients.

2024 was a year of the ‘Election Super Cycle’, with more people than ever before in history heading to the polls. Overall, this meant that about half of the world’s population had a say on who would shape the political landscape over the next few years. The overwhelming theme that emerged was that the incumbents got punished. Voter sentiment pointed to the need for change, regardless of which side of the political spectrum had been in power previously.

In the UK, we now have a Labour government for the first time in 14 years. It was an emphatic victory, given the majority gained. However, the number of seats won masks other themes. Firstly, the vote share gained by Labour was relatively modest. They were the beneficiary of a more fragmented vote on the right of the spectrum. Nigel Farage has re-entered frontline politics, becoming an MP, and securing a significant number of seats for his fledgling Reform party. Whether the Conservatives can regroup and unite both the party and their voters remains to be seen.

Labour’s first task was to go through the books – the conclusion was clear. To adapt a famous phrase, ‘There’s really no money left’. After Rachael Reeves discovered a black hole in the finances, a budget was announced for late October. On reflection, I think it was a mistake to have such a long period of time between announcement and holding the budget. The well-trodden excuse of ‘inherited issues’ doesn’t hold so much weight in the mind of the electorate after being in power for some time. The other impact is speculation. Doubt thrives in a vacuum and people understandably want to plan and protect their financial position. The modern approach to shaping policy through a series of leaks to the press is also unhelpful. It is a cautionary note for all Clients not to translate pre-budget headlines into concrete plans. We will have to wait to see the impact of the hike in Employer’s National Insurance.

Across the pond, we’re about to welcome Donald Trump back into the White House. This time there was no ambiguity in result. The Republicans achieved a significant victory. This has led to exuberance in markets. The anticipation of lower regulation and taxes has boosted the S&P 500 to record highs. However, the threat of tariffs has caused issues in bond markets in the States, with the consensus view that tariffs, by nature, are inflationary.

Time will tell whether Trump’s foreign policy will either escalate or resolve ever-increasing global conflict. The situation in the Middle East remains unstable, with Assad recently fleeing after a decades-long conflict. Closer to home, in Ukraine, there is a sense of impending conclusion; the challenge for western leaders is how to bring an end to a horrific conflict in a way that doesn’t embolden Putin in the future.

In Sport, we enjoyed the 2024 Olympics. The team GB delegation included 327 athletes (172 women and 155 men), among whom were 73 previous medallists.

During the Games, Team GB achieved historic victories, including its first Olympic medals in sport climbing and artistic swimming, and track cyclist Emma Finucane became the first British woman to claim three medals at a single Olympics since 1964. Rowing with 3 golds and cycling with 11 overall medals were the top-performing disciplines. In total, Great Britain secured 65 medals, marking the third most overall after the United States and China, and exceeding their target of 50 medals.

Finura had an incredible year of recognition and achievements in 2024. We were thrilled to win the New Model Adviser Top 100 for the sixth consecutive year. As a business, we were proud to be finalists for Advice Firm of the Year at both the Money Marketing and Money Age Awards.

Our team also shone individually, with Rio Stedford, our Head of Financial Planning, winning Woman of the Year at the Professional Adviser Women in Financial Advice Awards and being named in the Top 40 Under 40 by the Black Women in Asset Management Awards. Isabelle Featherstone, our Senior Marketing Manager, earned Highly Commended in the Rising Star category at the Women in Investment Awards, while Financial Planner Nicky Barclay was a finalist at both events.

We are so proud to see such outstanding achievements across the team this year!

All of us at Finura are looking forward to seeing our Clients in 2025 and wish you all a wonderful break over the coming couple of weeks.