Justin Urquhart Stewart is one of the most recognisable and trusted market commentators on television, radio and in the press. You have probably seen him on GMTV, BBC Breakfast News or Working Lunch (his red braces and singular speaking style make him instantly recognisable). Originally trained as a lawyer, he has acquired a unique understanding of the market's roles and benefits for the private investor. Having trained as a barrister, Justin took up international corporate finance, working in both Africa and Singapore then back in the UK. This led Justin to help found Broker Services in 1986, which went on to become Barclays Stockbrokers where he was Corporate Development Director. In early 2001 he co-founded Seven Investment Management (7IM).

He visited High Wycombe to host a seminar for Seymour Taylor in conjunction with Financial Management Bureau (FMB) outlining his thoughts on the current financial turbulence and his strong belief that, if properly planned and managed, clients should be in an extremely strong position to weather the storm.

"People need to remember that there's a difference between a flutter on the 2.30 at Newmarket and longer term money such as pensions. At times like this people get worried and want to sell out; a private investor always sells at the bottom and buys at the top".
Despite the current economic turbulence Justin remains upbeat seeing a way through the inevitable downturn.

"The most important thing is to remember investments are investments - not short term punts," he said. "Don't just invest in stocks and shares but build a broad portfolio - and don’t put all investments in the same sector or the stock market alone."

Justin's final piece of advice – "If you are planning to invest, don't, invest in planning!"

Seymour Taylor believe in offering their clients the optimum service in all aspects of their finances, hence their close relationship with Financial Planners, FMB.

Managing Partner, Bill Johnston, explained "As a firm of Chartered Accountants we are just as aware that as well as the services we offer our clients are also in need of proper financial planning whether it be for their own personal finances or as a business looking to protect themselves or their employees. FMB will offer the same level of service to our clients as we do ourselves".

Liz Beavis, Managing Director of FMB went on to add, "FMB have always been at the cutting edge of technology and market changes hence our decision to work with Justin's firm 7IM. Traditionally, Financial Advisers and Stockbrokers have been competitors with neither doing the other's job particularly well. Advisers had the wherewithal to properly plan a client’s financial wellbeing but did not have the resources to properly manage the underlying investments. Stockbrokers, on the other hand, were good at managing portfolios but didn't have the knowledge or ability help the client outside that remit. For example, how many Stockbrokers give advice on Inheritance Tax planning schemes?

With the changes to financial services and a demand for quality service the leaders in the industry, are changing the way they operate. Thankfully Justin had the foresight to see this and set up 7IM a few years ago. Very simply, by working together with all of our professional partners, we are able to provide holistic financial planning. This is done by producing an individual plan for the client which is reviewed on a regular basis. The plan may involve various underlying products such as pensions and ISA’s, but all the investment management is done by 7IM.

Now we can spend 100% of our time doing what we should be doing which is having more regular client meetings and reviews and 7IM can spend a 100% of their time doing what they should be doing which is managing our client’s money. For this reason 7IM only work with Financial Planners of the highest quality and in fact only 15 firms throughout the UK".