Mission Impossible – Fallout

Solomons-financial-advisor-wimbledon-blogger

Mission Impossible – Fallout

The latest in the Mission Impossible series is now doing the summer blockbuster rounds in cinemas across the country. The six-film series has had a mixed reception over the 12 years since the first film directed by Brian de Palma. Known for its over-the-top stunts all 6 films cost a combined $828million. The return to date, with the latest film only just having opened is now in excess of $2.9billion. That’s a payback that would make most villains happy and as predictable as shots of Tom Cruise running, speeding on a motorbike, hanging to an aircraft, climbing or jumping.

This latest film is arguably the best, with a gripping, tense tale of a plot to save the world from three suitcase sized nuclear bombs. There are motorbike and boat chases across beautiful Paris, the standard Tom Cruise run across London, from St Pauls to the Tate (though why he didn’t use the millennium bridge is a mystery). Finally, a helicopter sequence over Kashmir, all in pursuit of (spoiler alert – perhaps the most obvious double agent in movie history) August Walker played by Superman himself, Henry Cavill. Note Mr Cavill is 35 and 1.85m, Mr Cruise is now 56 and 1.7m and managing to defy age in the way that LA residents do.

Mission Accomplished

Despite the obvious implausibility with this type of movie, its undeniably gripping for all 147 minutes. Throw in a few jokes and pepper with a cast (Rebecca Ferguson, Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, and Michelle Monaghan) that fill magazines, then it’s a fairly safe bet that this latest movie will be a hit. How they get London, Paris or Berlin to close down for some of the sequences is beyond me, but kudos to whoever pulled that off.

Who To Trust

As with all things IMF, there are questions posed about who can be trusted, aligned interests and then stakes so high that results are more important than methods. This is perhaps what investors feel when confronted by the choice of an IFA, restricted adviser, financial planner, wealth manager or stockbroker. It is possible that they can work well together, but in my experience, to do so, interests don’t simply need to be aligned, but all need to clearly understand that the client brief is the mission – nothing more, nothing less. Where this becomes impossible is when there is no plan, simply to “manage money” or arrange a financial product. This leaves plenty of scope for other interests to take hold and leave the client with a deep sense of mistrust.

Your Mission…

As financial planners, it is my belief that the regulator is largely right about transparency, revealing details to expose truth. The problem is that many will continue to find a loophole, work an angle or simply misdirect and in my opinion, trust is earned by keeping promises, not by providing information. As I knuckle down to writing yet another hefty report and wish that everyone could be happy with a short, clear and well-presented message that then self-destructs after 5 seconds, this is not my reality, or yours. I imagine that writing a report for Ethan Hunt, with all the possible scenarios of things that have been considered, the costs, options and possible risks, it may run to rather more pages than any report I have prepared to date… so a small comfort for those of us that prefer to cut to the chase – getting on with achieving the mission – yours, should we choose to accept it.

Here is the trailer.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

Email me to get in touch

Life Lessons from Victoria in Berlin

As you may have gathered, I’m something of a film fan. In truth, I simply love good stories that give me something to think about and why I am passionate about the arts in general. Perhaps I read too much into a script, but I invariably look for life-lessons – which I believe to be a less expensive way to learn life truths (from others) than constantly blundering my way through. Indeed that’s one of the advantages of seeing a financial planner – we have seen it all before, well… those of us that have the relevant experience. Clients benefit from collective and compounding wisdom, not merely a single interaction.

The German film “Victoria” is a fairly unusual movie for the reason that it is shot in a single continuous “real time” take. This is nothing new as an experience – essentially the same as theatre direction or any live event, however, this is a thriller, high intensity and is a considerable achievement. Whilst set in Berlin, the central character is a Spanish woman (Victoria) played by Laia Costa, and so the dialogue invariably is the shared spoken English of foreigners.

Under Pressure, wrong time, wrong place…

I had seen a trailer beforehand and was concerned that I wouldn’t like the film, thinking it likely to be yet another example of females portrayed as foolish, weak and daft for even speaking to the rather obviously dodgy shady male characters, meekly surrendering any power they have to men that follow the stereotype bully/criminal. I was pleased that I found it rather more nuanced, instead exploring concepts of rejection, allegiance and tribe, not to mention considerable power and self-confidence residing in Victoria.

It is often surprising to see and learn what some people will do for money or power, yet of course we are all prone to such experiences to a greater or lesser degree. Decisions made quickly from a place of vulnerability are often poor ones. This is a thrilling drama where the tension is vice-like in its grip as opposed to more stylised, expensive blockbusters.

There are reminders to parents about the expectations put on their children and how the wrong set of circumstances can quickly alter behaviour, previously unthinkable. It raises questions about how our own neediness is actually being met when we help others yet without any pause for reflection, can lead to a path of self-destruction.

Self-awareness is something that is rarely discussed in finance, even in financial planning circles (those that do it properly) yet it is a fairly vital element of a constructive relationship with your financial planner. Any good financial plan is driven by goals and based on values, but some of those really require considerable unearthing over time. The wrong pressures at the wrong times can have disastrous implications for your financial plan if it is not founded upon your values.

Here’s the trailer.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA