CFI.co Blogger, Author at CFI.co Blog

High net worth millennials need professional advice. Here’s what those in finance need to know — Alpa Bhakta, CEO of Butterfield Mortgages Limited

Deloitte currently estimates that by 2020, millennials’ total net worth worldwide will be more than double what it was in 2015. There are several reasons that account for this trend, some of which include rising wages and the improving quality of life in developing countries.

However, there is another driving force: one of the largest intergenerational transfers of wealth in history.

Baby boomers, the children of the late 40s, 50s and early 60s, were able to buy property at a low-cost relative to income. Their homes, over the ensuing decades, have hugely increased in value; in the UK the average price of a house has doubled since 1996––even after accounting for inflation.

For millennials, this has had two implications. Firstly, many are reliant on their parents if they want to purchase a house. Secondly, they could be set to collectively inherit a huge amount of wealth. Research from EY suggests that those born between 1981 and 1996 in the US will receive $30 trillion from their parents in the next 20 years[1].

Consider the fact that the global economy is valued at $80 trillion, and the scale of this wealth transfer begins to become apparent. For those who already have property, along with high net worth (HNW) and ultra-HNW individuals, investing their new wealth in stocks and shares will be the order of the day, resulting in a changing client base for financial advisers.

Some things will be consistent with what has come before, according to research from Deloitte[2]; 82% of millennials still want to discuss their financial situation face-to-face with an adviser, meaning a wholesale switch to digital communication is unlikely. Furthermore, the ultimate aim for millennial investors will still be healthy and sustainable returns.

What could change is the kind of assets new investors are interested in. The growth of “impact investing”, also known as environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, is particularly popular among millennials––EY predicts that almost a fifth of investments now under management worldwide are in sustainable financial products[3]. What’s more, two thirds of young people feel “obliged” to change the world for the better, meaning this is likely to inform their future investment decisions[4].

There are many examples of ESG investments providing good returns. The Cordes Foundation, headed by 29-year-old Steph Stephenson, has 100% of its $230 million in impact investments––and achieved an average yearly return of 8%[5].

The rise of millennial HNW individuals has one major implication for financial advisers: they need to be entirely up to speed with ESG financial products and the options available to millennial investors. With the importance of ESG products to the financial sector only likely to increase in markets around the globe, this is an important task that must be prioritised.

Alpa Bhakta is the CEO of Butterfield Mortgages Limited. Part of the Butterfield Group and a subsidiary of The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited. Butterfield Mortgages Limited is a London-based prime property mortgage provider with a particular focus on the needs of UK and international HNW individuals.

[1] EY (2017), Sustainable Investing: The millennial investor

[2] Deloitte (2015), Millennials and wealth management

[3] EY (2017), Sustainable Investing: The millennial investor

[4] Deloitte (2015), Millennials and wealth management

[5] Sarah Murray (2019), Rich millennials push to put family wealth into impact investments

Lifestyle

Novice rower swaps big data for big waves to row the Atlantic – cheered on by Coldplay

ByCFI.co Blogger

Crown Records Management account manager takes on the world’s most gruelling rowing race

Novice rower swaps big data for big waves to row the Atlantic – cheered on by Coldplay

A records management professional who is swapping big data for big waves is set to row the Atlantic – cheered on by rock band Coldplay.

Claire Allinson of Crown Records Management normally spends her time as an account manager in Enfield, London, but will soon be part of a three-strong team attempting to row from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the gruelling Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

Claire, who had never rowed in her life before starting training two years ago, was inspired to raise money following the death of her dad from cancer.

And she has since pulled off an incredible coup – by not only persuading her employers to sponsor the boat but also coaxing Coldplay to support her too.

The legendary band, fronted by Exeter-born Chris Martin, have made a big donation to support the team who are raising money for Blood Bikes, a charity dedicated to providing an ‘out of hours’ service delivering essential items to NHS hospitals and hospices.

She said: “It’s a special charity to me because thanks to their fast action dad was around for precious extra time and even able to walk me down the aisle at my wedding.

“We all have very personal reasons for taking up the challenge and we are just ordinary women who want to achieve the extraordinary.

“To get support from Coldplay has been amazing. It all started when I bumped into Chris Martin’s dad Anthony and it has snowballed from there. We are so grateful for their backing.

“It’s not just the donation, they have also been Tweeting out support on social media. I’m a huge fan, so it means a lot.”

Claire has also received backing from Crown Records Management, which has sponsored the team’s Rannoch ocean rowing boat and allowed her to take three months off.

“The journey could take us 65 days, so it’s a long period off work,” she said. “My bosses have been really supportive, and my workmates have rallied round and agreed to do extra work to cover for me as well.”

As a Cross Fit fan, Claire has always had incredible stamina. But her practice routine involved getting up at 4am, training twice a day and then rowing for 36 hours every weekend for 24 months to prepare for the challenge.

She is joined in the boat by Bird Watts from Mevagissey and her 60-year-old mother Mo O’Brien from Penzance (who is severely hearing impaired).

The trio are also supported by a fourth member of the Oarsome Foursome, Linda Whittaker, who will be land crew support for the trip.

Linda completed two years of training but then developed such severe sea sickness that she was sadly forced to pull out.

Once on their way, the team could face 40ft waves and will row in six-hour shifts – two hours with 100 per cent effort, two hours with 50 per cent and then 2 hours of rest. But they must also keep a constant lookout for sharks.

“It’s a bit different to records management, that’s for sure,” said Claire.

You can keep up to date with the adventures of the Oarsome Foursome by visiting https://www.oarsomefoursome.co.uk/ or following @OarsomeFour on Twitter.

A full interview with Claire is available at: https://www.crownworldwide.com/en-us/article/interview-with-claire-allinson–one-of-the-oarsome-foursome

The rowers are also raising money for Exmouth and Lympstone Hospice Centre and Carefreespace, which helps support unpaid carers.

RACE FACTS:

The rowers will row between 3,000-3500 miles to reach their destination.
Forty teams are taking part and two safety yachts with access to satellite phones will accompany the teams.
The Atlantic Ocean is 5.28 miles deep.
Waves can reach 40ft high.
Together the team will row 1.5m strokes during the race.
Each rower needs to drink 10 litres of water and eat 60 calories per kg of bodyweight a day to keep them alive.
The rowers will burn 5000 calories a day and lose 12kg in weight during the race.
They will also battle blisters, sea sickness, severe exhaustion and even hallucinations.
More people have climbed Everest than have completed the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

Business

SMEs in cashflow black hole as they wait for £24bn in late payments

ByCFI.co Blogger

Late payments up more than £10bn in a year

15% of British freelancers spend 4 hours and above a week chasing invoices

CEO of ETZ Payments, Nick Woodward, provides commentary on how late and inconsistent payments are hurting businesses and freelancers alike

Today, new research showed that Small and medium-sized companies are waiting to receive £23.4billion, up from £13billion in 2018. More than half of businesses are chasing money owed, with the bill for trying to collect it hitting £4.4billion, says retail payment authority Pay UK. This comes as ETZ Payments reveals startling national representative research that shows that nearly a sixth of freelance and contract workers spend over 10% of their working week chasing invoices and payments. The new research from PayUK showed that the average amount owed to each firm had risen from £17,000 last year to £25,000 today. This demonstrates that across the board, self-employed contractors, freelancers, and small businesses are under strain. As we near the general election and with almost guaranteed further Brexit uncertainty, SMEs and workers are going through one of the most turbulent periods of their existence.

Nick Woodward, CEO of ETZ Payments, a back-office solution provider for the recruitment sector, offers the following commentary:

“This year and next year will undoubtedly be a turbulent period for small businesses and workers alike with myriad political and economic issues and an increasing amount of late payments. This issue is seriously harming cash flow, investment and growth across the UK economy. There are over 2 million freelancers and 5.7 million SMEs today, and with financial constraints such as chasing invoices, this will harm productivity and profit, and more needs to be done by the next government to ensure that these entrepreneurs, business owners, managers and workers, are paid justly and on time to keep the economy moving.”

Banking

Cardstream Works With Banking Circle To Create Unique Lending Service

ByCFI.co Blogger

Joint white label solution allows Cardstream’s Partners to offer their merchants flexible and affordable business loans

www.bankingcircle.com

London, November 2019 – Independent payment solutions provider, Cardstream, has partnered with Banking Circle to pioneer a unique joint white label lending solution. Each of Cardstream’s more than 200 Partners provides payment services to many hundreds of SME merchants. Now, with the launch of this new initiative, they can offer these merchants access to affordable, flexible business loans which could make the difference between their success or failure.

To help smaller businesses access essential business financing more easily, Banking Circle entered the SME lending sector in 2018, launching Banking Circle Lending and Banking Circle Instant Settlement. These revolutionary new solutions were built in response to an SME study involving more than 500 businesses, which revealed the impact of high interest rates, high arrangement fees and inflexible repayment options when accessing funding through traditional lenders.

Cardstream identified that the Banking Circle Lending solutions would provide an important added-value for its Partners as CEO Adam Sharpe explained:

“Cardstream’s Partners enjoy strong and trusted relationships with the merchants to whom they provide our white labelled payment gateway service under their own trusted brand. Now, with this new service developed with Banking Circle, they can offer loans to any of their merchant customer businesses based on their online payments revenue.

“The loans are risk free to the Partner, who is able to retain a share of the revenue generated if this falls within its business model and merchant agreement. We believe it’s a win-win for both sides. The Partner enhances its merchant relationships and the merchants have quick access to valuable funding, whether to fill a cashflow gap or to support business growth.”

Anders la Cour, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Banking Circle added: “Banking Circle is committed to providing market infrastructure as a real alternative to traditional banking solutions, with the aim of increasing financial inclusion. As part of this, we wanted to deliver a more accessible lending solution for businesses in need of a financial boost.

“Now, through our partnership with Cardstream, more than 200 payment providers have access to our unique lending solution, meaning tens of thousands of small businesses can access the cash they need to expand, restock or simply survive a quiet period. In the past, these SMEs would have been unable to borrow the vital funds, which could have meant letting employees go or even business failure.”

About Banking Circle

Banking Circle is a next-generation provider of mission-critical financial services infrastructure leading the rise of a super-correspondent banking network. Banking Circle empowers banks and financial tech businesses to support customers’ trading ambitions – domestic and global – whilst reducing risk and the operational cost of transactions. Banking Circle solutions are increasing financial inclusion by helping thousands of businesses transact across borders in a way that was previously not possible.

In 2013 Saxo Bank formed a new entity, Saxo Payments A/S, with the purpose of using Saxo Bank’s core capabilities within the non-cash payments market. In October 2015 the company launched the Banking Circle – its ground-breaking product for payments and FX to the Financial Tech industry. In October 2017, the company launched its new identity for Banking Circle, to reflect its position as a financial utility, servicing Financial Tech businesses and banks. In September 2018, Banking Circle was acquired by EQT VIII and EQT Ventures, in partnership with Banking Circle’s founders.

Domiciled in the European Union, Banking Circle specialises in providing global banking services including accounts, payments, lending and foreign exchange services to financial institutions, including FinTechs, banks, acquirers, payment service providers, FX brokers, money transfer businesses, e-wallets, and alternative payment providers.

About Cardstream

FinTech success Cardstream is the UK’s largest independent provider of white label payment software and services. Its mission is to become the global standard for white label payment provision. Everything the company does is designed to give its partners the freedom, flexibility and control to deliver the unhindered achievement of their business objectives.

Cardstream’s breadth of relationships, advanced portfolio of features and acquirer independence ensures that its partners can build a payment proposition they control and that delivers the maximum financial return.

For further information and inteviews please contcat the Cardstream Press Office:

Leon Lee – Commercial Director

T: 0345 0099575

E: leon.lee@cardstream.com

Economics

The Link: The world’s biggest taboo we dare not discuss

ByCFI.co Blogger

Although it should be a relationship we are all most concerned about, it remains under wraps. “The Link”, as we call it, is the critical connection between equal opportunities for women, overpopulation and the problem of climate change.

Let us start with demographics. The world is heavily overpopulated, and according to some estimates by as much as 300%. This not only has an impact upon things like housing availability and the level urbanization, but also – more fundamentally – on consumption of the world’s finite and barely renewable resources and its vulnerability to famine. Overcrowding on a wide scale is strongly correlated with poverty, social unrest, crime, pandemics, large scale economic migrations and, in turn, to pollution and climate change.

But what makes this subject a political “hot potato” is the fact that women, given true equal rights, will self-limit population growth and the coexistence of rapid population growth in some regions and fears of depopulation in others. Germany, Italy and China, for instance, face the prospect of reducing indigenous populations as women marry later (or not at all), have smaller families or do not have any children at all. Even though this should be an advantage to a country in the face of growing automation, it is a political crisis because governments see population numbers as correlating with their country’s status in the world.

Companies also want population growth, because more population equals more consumers and available labour. However, the biggest driving force in population growth is the cultural norm of “the family”. In many countries the pressure exists from within the extended family to conform through marriage by a certain age and the production of children. This right is also sacrosanct and even discussing it can be a tricky process. Moreover, even in the developing world it is increasingly being supported through statutory family friendly employment policies.

Back at the turn of the century books were even being published such as “The Baby Boon: How Family-Friendly America Cheats the Childless” by Elinor Burkett. There was then even the vestiges of a movement to assert the rights of single, childless (never called “child free”) workers and claim parity with those who received often generous employee benefits. But nothing truly came of it. Yet, it remains the big issue because it not only costs the employer and taxpayer a large slice of GDP to support those expanding their families, but there is also a direct link between every birth, the drain on finite global resources and other social/environmental problems.

Robin Chater, Secretary-General of the Federation of International Employers (FedEE), has addressed this issue at conferences several times, knowing that invariably the message will be seen as an attack on the family. However, because the issue is sensitive does not mean that it should be ignored. Robin reflects: “I can recall standing up at an international conference organised by ‘The Economist’ in Athens a few years ago. I produced lots of evidence to illustrate how much the world was overpopulated, then linked it directly to climate change – on many fronts, as well as more people equals more CO2 – and finally demonstrated that population growth was strongly linked to women’s rights. The more equal the society the more well balanced a society’s population will be. At the end of my talk the audience of around 200 people was momentarily silent and then up stood the vast majority of the women in the room and clapped. Not the men present, just the women.“

What is FedEE?

The Federation of International Employers (FedEE) is a leading corporate membership organisation for multinational companies. It was founded in 1998, with financial assistance from the European Commission. Today it is an independent body with corporate members all around the globe.

Business

Three reasons why Corbyn’s Labour manifesto will bring economic chaos

ByCFI.co Blogger

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party’s radical Marxist manifesto will bring far-reaching economic chaos for Brexit-battered Britain, affirms the boss of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.

The founder and CEO of deVere Group, Nigel Green, is speaking out as the Labour leader unveils his party’s manifesto on Thursday ahead of next month’s general election.

Mr Green says: “Labour’s Marxist manifesto is the most radical and dangerous in decades.

“It would bring far-reaching economic chaos for a Brexit-battered Britain already on the brink.

“Corbyn and McDonnell’s agenda would create a nightmarish scenario that would hit those very people the most that it is proclaiming to try and support and protect.”

He continues: “There are three fundamental reasons why the Corbyn-led Labour manifesto would damage the UK economy.

“First, it would drive down already stagnate business investment in the UK.

“The mammoth nationalisation programme will leave companies thinking ‘who’s next?’ Plus, the snatching of 10 per cent of the shares in every big company and a significant increase in trade union power, including a return to collective bargaining, will leave UK and international investors justifiably concerned that their investments will not be safe under Labour.

“This will seriously erode any attempts to generate long-term, sustainable economic growth.”

Mr Green goes on to say: “Second, it would trigger an exodus of some of the most successful and wealthiest individuals.

“This would likely be due to concerns regarding Labour’s stance on inheritance tax, income tax, stamp duty and capital gains tax, potentially even capital controls, and the slashing of pensions tax relief.

“Typically, these people have the resources to move to safe lower tax jurisdictions if the tax burden in Britain becomes too great.

“Should these largely job and wealth-creating, tax-paying individuals quit Britain, the government’s finances will suffer significantly because they contribute a disproportionately large amount to the state’s coffers. Indeed, they prop-up the system.

“And third, a renegotiation of the Brexit deal, which would be put to a second referendum, would create many more months of uncertainty for businesses.”

The deVere CEO concludes: “Labour’s economic agenda is a risky gamble. Its potential for serious adverse consequences is massive.

“And whilst the radical plans are already far-reaching, this might be just the beginning, with more misguided policies to come.”

Banking

Atos and Fintech Circeo develop innovative loan management solution for major worldwide retailer

ByCFI.co Blogger

A solution to help run Loan Management from a hybrid cloud leveraging Google Cloud Platform

November 20, 2019 – Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, and Circeo, a leading Fintech in developing next-generation retail loans software, today announce the development of an innovative loan management solution built with Google Cloud Platform. Developed initially for the bank subsidiary of a major worldwide retailer, Atos and Circeo will soon begin bringing the solution to market for other customers.

This offering is based on a hybrid cloud solution which combines Google Cloud Platform (GCP) together with Atos’ expertise in end-to-end cloud orchestration and management, and infrastructure services and support. It enables users to benefit from the advantages of a fully-managed and secure cloud service which is seamlessly integrated with Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

With this joint solution, clients can run Fintech software built on Oracle technologies on hybrid cloud infrastructures, and thereby benefit from elasticity, resilience, innovation and pay-per-use models – without the need to redevelop their existing systems. The Google Cloud Atos partnership ensures that the client benefits from direct, secure and high-performance network connectivity, for faster and optimised access to Google Cloud resources.

This new solution from Atos and Circeo will help the end-customer manage peaks of activity in Loans, particularly during sales and specific events such as black Friday thanks to the elasticity and resilience of GCP.

Circeo is an innovative Fintech delivering a next generation flexible digital lending platform, based in the Cloud, which enables tailor-made financial products to be made within just a few days. It is part of Atos’ FinTech Partner Program and one of Atos’ most dynamic Fintech partners.

“This solution demonstrates the unique value we deliver to our customers thanks to our ambitious Fintech Engagement program which aims to bridge the gap between banks and Fintech.” says Wim Los, SVP, global Head of Atos and Google Cloud enhanced Alliance at Atos. “Developed by Atos and Circeo, it is a framework which will be replicated for other clients, on other markets”.

“We are glad for this unique opportunity leverage our global partnership with Atos to promote and implement the Atos-Circeo Retail Lending Factory platform” says Laurent Clerc, Founder and CEO at Circeo. “By delivering unique value with Atos, we expand existing client portfolios and onboard new clients into production.”

We’re delighted that Atos and Circeo chose to develop this solution with Google Cloud Platform,” said Rayn Veerubhotla, Director, Partnerships at Google Cloud. “With this solution, customers can modernise their existing infrastructure and begin to take advantage of the core capabilities of Google Cloud.”

Atos was recently recognised as ‘Global breakthrough partner of the year’ by Google Cloud.

About Atos

Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with over 110,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of over € 11 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions. The group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Syntel, and Unify. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.

The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information technology space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education as well as multicultural and pluralistic approaches to research that contribute to scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the group enables its customers, employees and collaborators, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably and confidently in the information technology space.

Lifestyle

Money remains the biggest conversation taboo

ByCFI.co Blogger

Money is a bigger taboo than sex, religion or politics, according to a survey by one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations.

In the global survey, conducted by deVere Group, 56% of those polled ranked personal finance as the most difficult subject to discuss with family, friends and colleagues.

It came ahead of sex (18%), politics (12%), religion (8%) and health issues (6%) in the poll of more than 700 clients in the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia.

Nigel Green, the founder and CEO of deVere Group, comments: “We’re moving towards the holiday period when people, typically, are more likely to get together with loved ones than at any other time in the year.

“But the survey shows that what they are least likely to be discussing is personal finance – including income, taxes, pensions, debt, savings and expenses.

“Money remains the biggest social taboo.”

He continues: “The taboo of talking money needs to be broken down and normalized.

“We need to recognise and celebrate how money can truly provide individuals and their loved ones with incredible life-enhancing opportunities.

“In addition, high-net-worth individuals tend to be society’s primary wealth and job creators, major tax contributors and philanthropists.”

He goes on to add: “The de-stigmatization of talking money would also help banish the ‘head in the sand’ attitude to personal finances that prevents many from achieving their financial goals.

“Plus, when money is an awkward topic of conversation, it is easier for people to get an unfair deal. These people typically tend to be women, younger people and ethnic minorities. Silence about money issues can often allow the unfairness to continue unabated.”

Mr Green concludes: “Finances can be complex and are specific to each individual. The answer is to seek independent, expert help from professionals who will be able to signpost people in the right direction.

“We use money every day, it’s an essential part of our lives. Therefore, we need to get more comfortable discussing it.

“Beginning a conversation about money is the first step, but it should become a normal occurrence, because as our lives change so do our financial needs and wants. Tackling the money conversation taboo is likely to lead to enhanced financial freedom and security.”

deVere Group is one of the world’s largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients. It has a network of more than 70 offices across the world, over 80,000 clients and $12bn under advisement

Business

CitySprint recruiting over 500 couriers across the UK for peak season

ByCFI.co Blogger

London, UK, 19^th November 2019: CitySprint — the UK’s largest same day distribution company — has announced that 500 additional couriers are required across the UK ahead of the Christmas rush.

Christmas can often be a make-or-break time for many businesses — especially those who operate online and rely on an efficient delivery service to get their goods to their consumers. Peak season traditionally runs from the end of October until the New Year — with CitySprint completing an incredible 600,000+ deliveries during this time lastyear.

New couriers will add to the 5,000-strong fleet to support with seasonal demand — with the business focusing primarily on van couriers to cover increased delivery volume. These couriers are needed across the UK, with a specific focus across the following cities:

Central London
Manchester
Bristol
Birmingham
Nottingham
Leeds
Telford
Letchworth
Cambridge
Reading

Speaking about the benefits of delivery work, Stephen Gray, a courier in Wales says: “A friend recommended I apply to be a courier with CitySprint sixteen years ago, so I bought a van, tried it out and I haven’t looked back since. I love the freedom of being a self-employed courier; I meet different people, travel across the country and experience different situations every day — it keeps things exciting! Plus, the team at CitySprint are fantastic. Honestly, if you’re looking for a satisfying job which gives you choice, flexibility and financial security then I suggest you give CitySprint a call!”

Bristol-based courier, Filip Boshnakov, adds: “Before joining CitySprint in 2017 I’d been considering working as a courier for a while. Ultimately, I chose CitySprint because I wanted to work as a self-employed person and valued the freedom attached to the role. The flexible hours, opportunity to meet different people, and the ability to visit different places mean that I can combine work and family commitments whilst also still enjoying the work that I do. Working with CitySprint makes you realise that your job isn’t just a job; you can relish your work and the experiences you face every day here. I would highly recommend joining our team to all of my friends.”

Paul Gisbourne, Chief Operating Officer at CitySprint, commented: “With just 36 days to go until Christmas, businesses are gearing up for the busiest time of the year. Bolstering fleet numbers will allow us to continue to deliver a first-class service and ensures we stay ahead of our competitors. We know that the Christmas season brings increased pressure, demand and competition for our customers, which is why we are committed to going the extra mile at a time when it matters most.”

For more information on becoming a CitySprint courier, visit and apply today: www.citysprint.co.uk/couriers/christmas-jobs

About CitySprint

CitySprint is the UK’s largest privately-owned same day distribution company and is one of the top five same day distribution companies in the world.
CitySprint supports businesses across the UK with a range of delivery solutions, including same day, UK overnight and international delivery, bespoke logistics design and specialist services for key sectors such as retail and healthcare.
CitySprint has several brands under the CitySprint name, supporting their specialist services. These include CitySprint Health, CitySprint Office, On the dot and Transworld.
CitySprint has a regional network of 30+ service centres across the UK with a fleet of over 5,000 vehicles.
CitySprint is backed by leading, independent equity house, Dunedin, and private equity specialists, LDC.
CitySprint’s unique national same day delivery network can reach over 88% of mainland UK within 60 minutes (source: Crimson & Co.)
Download CitySprint’s free app and quote, book and track your courier from the palm of your hand: Google Play / iTunes
Website: citysprint.co.uk

Business

Sickness absence is severely impacting UK business – yet take up of key protection benefits is low

ByCFI.co Blogger

Long-term sickness absence is a serious issue with over two-fifths (44%) of UK SMEs reporting at least one employee absent for four weeks or more in the last twelve months, according to research from leading employee benefits provider, Unum.

The majority of SME bosses also said that long-term sickness (absence over six months) of a key employee would have a significant (44%), or even critical (24%), impact on the future success of the business. More than half (55%) said they would do everything they could to aid a member of staff back to work after a period of illness.

Despite the business impact of long-term absence and the employer’s desire to help employees back to work, another recent study by Unum and the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), found uptake of core protection benefits to be very low.

According to the Unum and BCC study, only 8% of UK businesses surveyed offered income protection, one of the core products to help businesses and their employees through sickness absence with financial assistance and rehabilitation support. 22% surveyed said they offered Life Insurance, just 9% offered Critical Illness Insurance, while 22% said that they provide nothing at all in the form of financial protection benefits.

Alongside financial protection and rehabilitation support, fast access to early clinical help can be invaluable to employers and their employees. With that in mind, Unum has launched a new easy to use app ‘Help@hand’ as part of its Group Income Protection product to give employees and their families fast access to remote GPs, second medical opinions, physiotherapy and mental health services.

Peter O’Donnell, Chief Executive Officer, Unum UK, said: “Illness and long-term sickness absence can have a serious impact on individuals and their families as well as to businesses of all sizes and across every sector. At Unum, we want to help businesses of all sizes put in place the necessary services and products to enable them to manage this effectively.

“As evidenced in the recent Government consultation – ‘Health is everyone’s business’ – the government is also placing greater importance on the role of employers in keeping people in work. Good employers want to support employees when they are unwell as our research shows, and making our services more modern and helping them better understand how products like Group income protection can help, is an important place to start.”

About Unum

Unum is a leading employee benefits provider offering financial protection through the workplace including: Income Protection, Life insurance, Critical Illness, and Dental cover.

Our Income Protection customers have access to medical and vocational rehabilitation expertise designed to help people stay in work and return to work following illness and injury.

Unum LifeWorks, our Employee Assistance Programme, provides help and advice on a range of work/life issues.

Our Critical Illness customers can access our Cancer Support Service, providing personalised support for employees with a cancer diagnosis.

We are committed to workplace wellbeing for both employees and employers. We have a wide range of tools designed to help businesses create or enhance their employee wellbeing strategy, including our Mental Health Pathway and Wellbeing Calendar.

At the end of 2018, Unum protected 1.4 million people in the UK and paid claims of £314 million – representing in excess of £6 million a week in benefits to our customers – providing security and peace of mind to individuals and their families.

Our parent company, Unum Group, is a provider of employee benefits products and services in the United States, including group and individual disability insurance. Premium income for Unum Group and its subsidiaries totalled $9.0bn in the year ended 31 December 2018, with reported revenues for the group totalling $11.6bn and total assets of $61.9bn.

A.M Best has given all rated Unum Group companies an Excellent rating for Financial Strength, with a stable outlook.

For more information please visit http://www.unum.co.uk.

Unum Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Unum Dental is a trading name of Unum Limited. Registered in England 983768.

About the British Chambers of Commerce

The British Chambers of Commerce surveyed 1,000 business leaders online between 29 April and 16 May 2019. Around 91% of participants were SMEs.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) sits at the heart of a powerful network of 53 Accredited Chambers of Commerce across the UK, representing thousands of businesses of all sizes and within all sectors. Our Global Business Network connects exporters with over 50 markets around the world. For more information, visit: www.britishchambers.org.uk