It’s been a business few months here at HA&W headquarters.
We’ve implemented a new investment process as well as celebrating exam success. And we’ve done all of that while two of our Chartered advisers – Alasdair and Rob – have been out in the community administering coronavirus vaccinations as part of the St John’s Ambulance volunteer drive.
Keep reading to find out more about their selfless sacrifice and what is involved in running a volunteer-manned vaccination site.
But, first, an important note about our investment process.
A change to our investment process
It’s now over a decade since we partnered with Parmenion and established the HA&W portfolios. You might invest in these via SIPPs and ISAs, for example, and the long-term performance has been good. The HA&W Balanced Portfolio returned +115.2% over the decade (compared with the average Mixed Investment portfolio which returned +93.1%)
We have made some changes to the way we oversee these portfolios. The main improvements are:
- The introduction of 10 risk-graded portfolios (instead of five)
- Creation of a more detailed strategic asset allocation profile for each of the 10 risk grades, which we will review yearly
- A more robust process to determine our tactical (short-term) asset allocation
- The establishment of an in-house Investment Committee, which will meet monthly to review the markets and funds we use and will augment the existing Investment Committee which meets quarterly and includes investment managers from Parmenion
- A more robust process of choosing investment funds with greater reliance on data analytics than previously
These changes will allow us to continue to offer consistent and long-term returns to you, our clients.
If you currently invest via our in-house portfolios, these changes will have a direct bearing on you, and you will be switched into a model portfolio that matches your risk profile.
If you currently invest in more than one HA&W portfolio, you will shortly be contacted by your adviser, who will help you to choose which of the new range of risk-graded portfolios best suits you going forward.
These changes have been made possible by the recruitment of our new investment specialist, Laura Ripley, and she and Jim will co-manage the portfolios going forward.
This is an exciting opportunity to improve our processes and ensure we continue to provide you with the best chance of achieving consistent and long-term returns. If you have any questions about the changes, please contact us and we’ll be happy to answer any queries you have.
Rob and Alasdair accept the vaccination volunteer challenge
St John’s Ambulance asks for 30,000 volunteers
Back in November 2020, St John’s Ambulance confirmed they had been asked to support the NHS delivery of the coronavirus vaccination. They aimed to find 30,000 volunteers to help run UK-wide vaccination centres and pop-up sites and HA&W’s Alasdair and Rob answered that call.
The sites are largely manned by volunteers who were needed to fill roles including marshals, patient carers, and dose runners.
Rob and Alasdair volunteered to train as full vaccinators and undertook the 20 hours of web-based study and 10 hours of in-person training, followed by supervised induction shifts.
They have since delivered lifesaving vaccines to hundreds of people at various sites across Leicestershire, including in Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, and at De Montfort Hall in Leicester.
No two shifts are the same
As well as those from the St John’s Ambulance, Rob and Alasdair were joined by volunteers from the Army Reserves, the Red Cross, and Voluntary Action Leicester (VAL).
A massive amount of teamwork and coordination is required to cover all necessary tasks on a given day. The result was that neither Rob nor Alasdair knew what they would be asked to do when they arrived and no two shifts were ever the same.
Patient care involved providing first aid and comfort to those who have been vaccinated. The most susceptible to fainting, Rob confirms, are generally younger males.
Drawing up doses, meanwhile, is the task of preparing individual syringes from a larger vial containing multiple doses. “The key here is drawing the exact dose and to avoid air in the syringe”, says Rob, “to ensure the whole process is sterile, and ensuring that no material from the vial bung makes its way into the syringe.”
Another important role was as a dose runner. Working alongside the pharmacist, this job required the use of trend modelling to monitor queues and ensure the optimum number of doses were produced and given to each station.
The trick is to avoid queues or backlogs without overproducing – and therefore potentially wasting – precious vaccines.
The public response has been overwhelmingly one of gratitude
Both Alasdair and Rob have been asked to accept thanks on behalf of all their fellow volunteers and the public have been overwhelmingly grateful.
Alasdair says, “this has been especially true in recent weeks as the younger cohorts arrive. As “Freedom Day” arrives and “vaccine passports” rear their heads, the young see the vaccine as an essential part of the road back to normality – to getting out and seeing friends – and to get the world moving again.
In a single day, Melton Mowbray vaccination centre alone vaccinated over 800 people, many of them in the 18–24 age group.
While the vaccination program continues and Rob and Alasdair continue to offer their services regularly, they are both clear on the rewards of volunteering for the program so far.
“Volunteers tend to be kind,” says Rob, “and people respond well to being treated kindly. There’s a massive amount of positivity and joy that comes from that.”
“The reward is that it’s a great way to see the best of humanity” Alasdair adds.
We would add our gratitude and thank Alasdair and Rob for the service they have provided, even as they continue to supply dedicated financial care to their HA&W clients. The guys are soon to be joined by Alyson Hunter (Jim’s wife) who is HR Director. Alyson has just been called up by the NHS as a vaccinator and is fully trained and ready to go.
Get in touch
If you would like to contact Alasdair Rob or any other of our Chartered Financial Planners about any aspect of your long-term financial plans, please contact us to find out what we can do for you.
