As I sit to pen my latest snapshot of the financial services industry, the FTSE100 stands at a fraction over 6500, having dropped over 10% from the previous high, and then recovered the greater part of that loss. That means that the index has pretty much doubled, since the troubled times of credit crunches, bank failures, bail-outs, and the ensuing market crash(es). Over the 25 years or so that I have been in the Financial Services industry, markets have been ‘interesting’ to say the least. I had only been in the job about a year when Black Monday befell the London Stock Exchange on October 1987. One thing I have learned, is that markets will go up, and they will go down. This may not seem an earth-shattering revelation, but it is vital to remember. So is “saving is for the short term, and investing is for the long.” The longer, the better. Continue reading Look to thine own self →