A book we hope will help to change lives

This Thursday, 13th October, Bloomsbury will publish the new book by Robin Powell and JONATHAN HOLLOW, How To Fund The Life You Want. Here Jonathan explains why he thinks the book is needed and why he collaborated with Robin to write it.

A couple of years ago, I tried to cram everything I knew about money, pensions and investing onto two sides of A4 paper.

A friend who had never had reason to engage with the pensions and investing system had come into a large inheritance. Although she wasn’t asking for advice, she wanted some help navigating unfamiliar terrain.

I’ve been in the pensions and investing system for many years myself, and for the previous six years I’d been working for the Government’s Money Advice Service (now Money and Pensions Service), which aims to improve consumers’ understanding of how to manage their money.

But summarising what I knew was a challenging experience.

I started with a bumptious confidence that the key messages to get over were very simple. Because the evidence about what works in evidence-based investing is very simple, is it not? Start early, diversify massively, go passive, sit on your hands (don’t try to time markets) … and keep your fees low.

And then I began to think about what it means to actually put these principles into practice.

It’s not you, it’s the system

The reality of the pensions and investing system in the UK is that the path to implementing these simple principles is strewn with obstacles. For example:

Language. Most people think of a pension as an income stream. And that’s true if you have a defined benefit pension, but if you don’t, a pension is a product, not an income. And that’s just one example out of tens, if not hundreds, of slippery words.
Rules. You can’t take money out of your DC pension until you are 55. Simple, right? Except by the time you retire, the required age will be 57. And if you are very ill, the rule doesn’t apply. Within every simple rule there is a nest of complex exceptions.
Taxation. A pension and an ISA are, for a lot of consumers, two answers to the same problem. But they could hardly be more different in the way they interact with the tax system. If you want to apply the principles, which one should you choose?
Asymmetry and T&Cs. Product providers know everything about their products. Some of them communicate this clearly. Others consider clear communication a risk, and bury their consumer counterparts under a paper mountain of terms and conditions. There’s an inbuilt asymmetry between most consumers and their provider.
Fear, uncertainty and doubt. New scams are blossoming and burgeoning every year. Rightly, the media tries to keep on top of them and draw them to everyone’s attention. But the result, for the inexperienced consumer, is that fear can crowd out everything else. And justify the worst decision of all, which is to do nothing about their future.

So yes, the principles are very simple.

Implementation, however, is another matter.

I realised my two sides of A4 did serve a purpose, but could never do the full job.

And around that time, Robin and I began to talk about a book that would do the job – to help anyone become an evidence-based investor.

Two years later, How To Fund The Life You Want is the result.

“Another pensions and investing book?!”

That would be a reasonable reaction to a new entrant in a crowded field. But both Robin and I, and our advance readers, think that this book adds something you won’t find anywhere else in the marketplace.

It’s an evidence-based book that bridges the gap between theory and implementation, with real buyers’ guides to the market. And it’s emotionally aware, rather than emotionally clunky.

There are many great books out there that have hit some of these marks, but we’ve not found one that hits them all.

Evidence. Robin’s mantra is evidence-based investing, and he has at his fingertips the latest and broadest evidence. We didn’t want to write an academic treatise (and we haven’t), but we’ve peppered the book with the proven facts that support evidence-based investment solutions.
From theory to implementation. Every buyer of the book gets access to a free downloadable workbook that helps them to work through the lessons of each chapter. Our workbook helps you to take stock of your personal goals, your financial situation, and the path you are on towards your pension. This workbook links you to the very best comparison sites, calculators and personality questionnaires on the web. These take the effort out of parts of your journey, and add depth to the others.
Buyers’ guides. For pension products and platforms, we’ve given readers an overview of the marketplace, reviewing some of the best providers you’ll find on your journey to implement your new financial plan. We’re not trying to be comprehensive — doing so in a book would be pointless — but evaluative, to help readers to know what features (and price points) they should be looking out for.
Emotionally aware. Many books coming from the US market are boosterish, or lean heavily on readers’ sense of guilt about money mistakes. We’ve tried to steer clear of both of these, but have included callout boxes that talk about the money lessons we’ve each learned – the hard way. We also talk frankly and clearly about the implications of frailty in old age, and preparing for death.

It’s been a ball writing this book with Robin. I think both of us have pushed each other out of our comfort zone. The result is a book that is stronger in ways neither of us could ever have achieved on our own.

We’re also thrilled that Bloomsbury are publishing it. They told us this was a topic area they would normally not venture into, but the strength of our book persuaded them to skip their own rule.

Now it goes out into the world — and we hope it will help to change many lives.

JONATHAN HOLLOW worked for the UK Government’s Money and Pensions Service and is a writer and commentator on consumer education and protection.

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Here’s what people are saying about How to Fund the Life You Want:

‘If you’re serious about getting things right with your money – and avoiding costly mistakes – then set time aside to work through this excellent book.You will end up better off. No question.’

Paul Lewis, Freelance Presenter, Money Box BBC Radio 4

‘This book is an antidote to the misleading messaging and hype that some parts of the industry have been putting out for decades, to consumers’ detriment.’

Andy Agathangelou, Founder,Transparency Task Force

‘This book possibly has the most heart of any finance book ever written. It gets right to the nub of why mastering the management of our finances for ourselves is so crucial – but also so difficult.’

Becky O’Connor, Head of Pensions and Savings, Interactive Investor

‘Wonderfully researched, jargon-free, thought-provoking, interactive and engages the reader from start to finish.’

Jeff Prestridge, Personal Finance Editor, Mail on Sunday

’This is such a valuable guide to DIY investing, I recommend you make this book your first investment.’

Claer Barrett, Consumer Editor, Financial Times