the lang cat

The Top Class Wednesday Update lets the mask slip - The Lang Cat Well it’s me again and no pink elephants, nor bunnies dispensing chocolate eggs in the night. Speaking of which, I am reduced to stealing chocolate from my children; I must have been extremely Bad…

Mark Polson gives a masterclass on the 'pivot' in today's #Update, gliding seamlessly from singers in masks to adviser concerns about consolidators.

Read his thoughts in full on our website:

The Top Class Wednesday Update says don't think about the big pink elephant - The Lang Cat Steven Nelson takes over the #Update duties this week and he’s trying to avoid thinking about the big pink elephant…and the online noise surrounding recent market volatility

Steve Nelson takes over the #Update duties this week and he’s trying to avoid thinking about the big pink elephant…and the online noise surrounding recent market volatility.

Read his full #Update on our website: thelangcat.co.uk/the-top-clas...

The Top Class Wednesday Update don't charge no tariffs - The Lang Cat Mark's looking back 10 years on since pension freedoms and some thoughts on the USA...

In a week where markets are trampolining, @theactualpolson.bsky.social takes a look at some fresh research on how investors deal with volatility and also reflects on 10 years of pensions freedom.

You can read Mark’s full #Update here: thelangcat.co.uk/tcwu-dont-ch...

The Top Class Wednesday Update is ready for 2025/26 - The Lang Cat The final #Update of the 24/25 tax year is here and, to mark the occasion, Mark Polson has dedicated it to some of the latest regulation and policy news that’s been making the headlines.

The final #Update of the 24/25 tax year is here and, to mark the occasion, @theactualpolson.bsky.social has dedicated it to some of the latest regulation and policy news that’s been making the headlines.

Read Mark's #Update here: thelangcat.co.uk/the-top-clas...

The Top Class Wednesday Update is dazed and confused - The Lang Cat Rich Mayor returns for this week’s #Update which can only mean one thing - it’s time to see how platforms have been doing.

Rich Mayor returns for this week’s #Update which can only mean one thing - it’s time to see how platforms have been doing.

Read his #Update on our website: thelangcat.co.uk/the-top-clas...

Are you an early stage #advicetech firm wondering whether to apply to Catwalk this year? Apply and demo your tech in front of our High Inquistors in June thelangcat.co.uk/catwalk-is-b...

Need more persuasion? Last year's Best in Show winners Joseph Williams from ZeroKey talks through the process:

The Top Class Wednesday Update is ethically marching on - The Lang Cat Welcome to the middle of March, almost. March is a good month for a few reasons, in particular that the F1 season starts (back to Aus this year, phew), we tend to get the most sun since Christmas (I’m...

Ben Hammond takes the helm for this week’s #Update and he’s mulling over the changing views of AI within the financial services industry and the ethics surrounding the use of new tech.

Read Ben’s full #Update on our website: thelangcat.co.uk/the-top-clas...

Catwalk is back and open for business - The Lang Cat Join us on the lang cat Catwalk, where early stage tech firms demo the cool stuff they are building for advice professionals.

Catwalk, our event focused on emerging tech designed with advice professionals in mind, is making a comeback - June 5 in London.

thelangcat.co.uk/catwalk-is-b...

Applications are open now for those who would like to demo their tech - ticket details at the same link. See you all there in June!

The Top Class Wdnsday Updat has donated its E's - The Lang Cat Mark Polson is back for this week’s #Update, dropping E’s (of the letter variety) in tribute to Aberdeen’s name change.

@theactualpolson.bsky.social is back for this week’s #Update, dropping E’s (of the letter variety) in tribute to Aberdeen’s name change.

Read Mark’s full #Update here: thelangcat.co.uk/the-top-clas...

The Top Class Wednesday Update always provides ongoing service - The Lang Cat Box Office Michael Barratt takes the helm for this week’s #Update and there’s only one topic of discussion this week – the outcome of the FCA’s ongoing advice review.

Box Office Mike Barratt takes the helm for this week’s #Update and there’s only one topic of discussion this week – the outcome of the FCA’s ongoing advice review.

Read Mike’s #Update in full on our website: thelangcat.co.uk/the-top-clas...

The Top Class Wednesday Update goes a-crofting - The Lang Cat Mark Polson talks pensions (and some platform pricing) in this week's #Update, sparked by an unexpected state pension discussion onstage at a recent Fish gig.

@theactualpolson.bsky.social talks pensions (and some platform pricing) in this week's #Update, sparked by an unexpected state pension discussion onstage at a recent Fish gig.

Read his full #Update here: thelangcat.co.uk/the-top-clas...

The Top Class Wednesday Update divided and then conquered - The Lang Cat Mark Polson is back in God’s country in this week’s #Update and is reflecting on another successful lang cat live event.

@theactualpolson.bsky.social is back in God’s country and is reflecting on last week’s #langcatlive event in London in today's #Update.

Read it in full on our website: thelangcat.co.uk/the-top-clas...

And there’s still time to donate to our charity partner and support the Samaritans’ important work.

That's it from #langcatlive Divide & Conquer. See you next time.

If you’d like to come along to a lang cat event, we’re back in London on 5th June and in Glasgow on 30th September. Check out our website for more details: https://buff.ly/47HU3xL

#langcatlive

Thank you to all our delegates who came along and joined in the debate.

Thanks to our event partner Parallel Blue for their huge contribution behind the scenes.

And finally huge thanks to all the lang cats on stage, off stage and back at the office. Best team ever 😻

#langcatlive

Thank you to our brilliant speakers for their contributions throughout the day: Zara Okoro, Samantha Gratton, Roddy Munro, Victor Sacks, Dan Wiltshire, Peter Coleman, James Wallis, Sara Woodroffe, Verona Kenny, Amanda Mayes, Steve Levin, Caroline Stuart, Pete Matthew and Philippa Hann.

#langcatlive

We’ve had an amazing day at Divide & Conquer #langcatlive.

Thank you again to our sponsors: Quilter for Advisers, Fundment, abrdn Adviser, Aegon UK, Morningstar Wealth EMEA and Wesleyan.

Natalie Holt takes us into Divide & Conquer 3: Navigating division and still keeping clients at the heart, with Caroline Stuart, Sparrow Paraplanning, Pete Matthew, Meaningful Money / Jacksons, and Philippa Hann, Paradigm Norton.

#langcatlive

Next up at Divide & Conquer, Mark Polson has a fireside chat with Steven Levin, CEO of Quilter.

Talking about the priorities for the platform sector, Steve says there's still work to be done on integrating systems more effectively.

#langcatlive

Our session: Divide & Conquer: When the balance is disturbed, features Mike Barrett talking about platforms 10 years on from our Platforms Are Dead event. "Back in 2015, vertical integration was a dirty word. Now every platform operating at scale has some sort of vertical integration."

#langcatlive

Natalie Holt introduces our first session: Divide & Conquer: the tribes are massing. With Sara Woodroffe, FCA, Verona Kenny, abrdn and Amanda Mayes, Magus Wealth.

#langcatlive

We're also proudly supporting Samaritans as our charity partner for this event.

#langcatlive

Divide & Conquer is all about exploring the relationships between the advice profession, providers and the regulator. Mark Polson says in a perfect world, they should all work in balance, but in reality, there's always an imbalance. But are we actually holding each other to account?

#langcatlive

We couldn't put these events on without the generosity of our sponsors. Thank you to Quilter, abrdn, Fundment, Aegon, Morningstar Wealth and Wesleyan.

#langcatlive

After launching our State of the Advice Nation (#SOTAN) research this morning, we’re back with the main agenda for this year’s #langcatlive: Divide & Conquer.

Our full #SOTAN report is now live. If you'd like to find out more about the research, there's more information over on our website: https://buff.ly/3SEPgaO

#langcatlive

Year on year we measure where business owners feel they are headed in the next five years. In Wave 7 of #SOTAN we saw a moderate uptick year on year in consolidation expectations and a dip in succession planning.

#langcatlive

Rich Mayor chats to Peter Coleman, Kingswood, and James Wallis, Aristotle Financial Planning about our third theme: consolidation. And client outcomes.

#langcatlive #SOTAN

We asked #SOTAN respondents whether recent changes to CGT had impacted firms. Just 14% had seen no impact on them or their firm.

#langcatlive

Next up, Katey Pigden talks to Roddy Munro, Quilter, Victor Sacks, VS Associates, and Dan Wiltshire, Wiltshire Wealth, about our second theme: Positioning your IFA business between advice and planning. And client outcomes.

#langcatlive #SOTAN