“Money is an emotional lightning rod”, TFP Financial Planning director, head of growth and financial planner Dan Haylett has claimed.

Speaking at Money Marketing Interactive in London today (8 October), Haylett explained how his wife had inherited her mother’s Tesco shares worth £15,000 when she passed away.

However, that money is still in his wife’s bank account and she cannot bring herself to spend it because of the emotional attachment.

Haylett added that human beings in general “do not like numbers but stories and that is why he feels “cashflow planning does not work”.

He takes a similar ethos when explaining retirement to clients and said asking how much a person wishes to save for retirement is the wrong question.

Haylett said that when he asks this question to clients, they always respond with a figure that is double with what they have saved.

“As human beings we are wired for the journey, not the end destination,” he added.

Speaking on the same panel, Clarus Wealth director and financial planner Simon Roughsedge said part of the job is to “hold a mirror up and challenge our clients”.

Often the client would say how much they want to save for retirement, but then spend a decent amount a month on something non essential, he added.

Roughsedge added that it is important to be “empathetic and not sympathetic” when talking to clients.

Octopus Money CEO Ruth Handcock said that people are wrong when they say advice cannot be mass marketed.

Handcock said when the firm goes into offices and ask employees if they want any advice, around 40% of the team will respond and say, “yes I do”.

She added that advice really works for people when you combine “emotion with administrative support”.

FRESH weather warnings for thunderstorms have been issued as Storm Kirk just misses the UK – but brings with it frost and snow to parts of the country.

Brits are bracing themselves for the coming cold air and downpours as the ex-hurricane passes just south of the country.

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There are plenty of heavy showers across the UK, especially sweeping through the south east of England.

Northern Scotland appears to be avoiding the rainfall but may be subjected to strong winds and a bitter chill setting in shortly.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms in the south east until 10pm today.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said over the next couple of days “colder air is coming.”

Deakin said: We’ve got the northerly winds setting in here – a sign of things to come.”

Temperatures just remain in the double digits despite the downpours, around 11 or 12C, whilst areas in southern England are even getting into the high teens.

Those down south are facing intermittent sunshine, bumping the temperature up to 19 degrees.

It looks like there will be patches of heavy rain and strong winds that may even threaten hail and thunderstorms spreading from the southwest.

It looks like this will develop over land, during the morning, lasting through the afternoon and into the evening.

Some areas will remain unaffected but others might face 20-30 mm of rain within 2-3 hours – some even 40-50 mm over a longer period.

Many of these areas have been given a yellow weather warning which means there could be disruption to travel.

This means vehicles could be affected by spray, flooding or hail which could lead to longer and more dangerous journeys.

Public transport might be delayed and buildings may be subject to damage from lightening strikes.

Deakin added: “As yo you go through to this evening the however, if anything, are becoming more widespread.

“So again, some very heavy downpours around – not a great evening rush hour at all.”

Hail and lightning will be additional hazards, with a risk of temporary hail accumulations in places.

In addition, heavy showers and thunderstorms will be associated with strong and gusty winds in the south of the warning area at times with 40mph gusts possible.

As the cold weather kicks in on Thursday, Scotland will be the first to get a winter experience with freezing temperature on the way and maybe even snow.

Facing an arctic blast towards the end of the week, Scotland could get a layer of snow on it’s highest mountains.

Temperatures of will stay above 10C during the daytime but there will be frosty spells throughout the night time especially in the northern territories.

Hurricane Kirk is losing it’s tropical energy and has been named storm Kirk by the French weather service as it travels through Europe.

It’s current path suggests it will miss the UK but could cause trouble in other regions.

Deakin said: “It’s really the central southern parts of France that will bear the brunt but also the north of Spain too.

“There are potential for some damaging gusts of winds across parts of France.”

In its long-range forecast over the following week the Met Office said there will be a period of “unsettled” weather with “frequent bouts of wind and rain associated with areas of low pressure.”

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Ares Management has agreed to pay up to $5.2bn to buy the international arm of real estate investment manager GLP Capital Partners, in one of the largest combinations in the private investment industry in recent years.

The deal will add $44bn in assets to Ares’s business — taking it towards its goal of managing more than $750bn by 2028 — and extend it beyond its core credit franchise. It also puts Ares much closer in size to its larger peers, including Blackstone, Apollo Global Management and KKR.

The takeover of GLP Capital’s international business, which excludes its funds in Greater China, will nearly double Ares’s investment business in the property sector, giving it large real estate holdings in Japan and Europe.

Ares chief executive Michael Arougheti told the Financial Times the deal would make it one of the three largest investors in industrial real estate, putting it behind Blackstone and Prologis. The Los Angeles-based group managed just under $450bn at the end of June.

Top executives at Ares, led by billionaire Arougheti — who is also a co-owner of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team — have turned to takeovers to expand the private investment business, which has more than doubled in size since the end of 2020.

In 2021 it bought secondaries investor Landmark Partners for $1.1bn, which was followed closely by the buyout of US real estate investment firm Black Creek. Then in 2023 it purchased Asia-focused private equity group Crescent Point Capital.

Ares will pay $1.8bn in cash for the business known as GCP and fund the remainder of the $3.7bn purchase price with its own shares. It has also agreed to a long-term incentive plan with GCP’s top leaders, which could lift the payouts they receive by a further $1.5bn through 2027. Ares may choose to pay the majority of that with stock.

Arougheti said Ares was drawn to the deal as the Federal Reserve was cutting interest rates and demand for data centres continued to explode.

“We are able to come into the deal having underwritten property values in a higher interest rate environment,” Arougheti said. “As interest rates come down . . . you should see an improvement in economics. We’re buying in at the right time.”

The groundswell in the data centre business has unleashed a race by some of the largest money managers. Ares’s investment comes a day after rival credit investment shop Blue Owl announced it had agreed to buy IPI Partners, an investor in data centre infrastructure with $10.5bn under management, for $1bn. Last month BlackRock partnered with Microsoft on a $30bn artificial intelligence investment fund to help finance data centres.

“This market is so massive in terms of the data centre demand,” Arougheti said. “There is still a significant undersupply of capital to meet that demand.”

TENS of thousands of struggling energy customers can have their bills wiped and get a host of energy-saving gadgets this winter.

EDF Energy, one of the country’s largest energy firms, will offer fresh support to those facing fuel poverty this winter.

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The supplier will invest £29 million in a range of initiatives, including debt matching and write offs, as well as providing free energy-saving gadgets.

Debt matching allows struggling customers to get part of their balance wiped.

For instance, if a customer pays £100, EDF Energy will pay off £100, too, effectively wiping half the amount owed and getting them back on track sooner.

British Gas also offers a similar scheme for hard-up customers.

EDF could also write off debts completely on a case-by-case basis.

Other customers could be offered free energy-saving gadgets if they contact the supplier as well.

To get the support you’ll first be referred to one of EDF’s charity partners: Citizens Advice Plymouth, Income Max, and Charis Grants.

Last winter, EDF helped 65,000 customers with support, including debt advice, Income maximisation, energy efficiency advice, debt clearance and financial assistance payments.

Its Warm Winter shop also helped 1,000 customers with electric goods such as kettles, air fryers and slow cookers.

To be eligible, a customer must be fuel poor or at risk of fuel poverty and have known vulnerabilities in the household.

EDF says its team will identify eligible customers and refer them for extra support from Income Max and Plymouth Citizens Advice.

These partner firms will then recommend customers and support them with an application for debt relief.

EDF says that any decision is made based on many factors, including the value of debt, its age, and customers’ repayment behaviour.

Philippe Commaret, managing director of customers at EDF, said: “Whilst the Ofgem price cap has reduced in three of the last four quarters, an October rise of 10% will have a significant impact on those who are already struggling. 

“We are doing all we can to reduce bills, however, to make a real long-term difference, we believe a social tariff is still needed.

“Only through meaningful Government and industry-wide intervention, paired with better data matching, such as a single cross-sector Priority Services Register, will affordability improve for those most in need.”

To find out more about the help, visit edfenergy.com/about/support-for-customers.

What should I do if I fall into debt?

You should contact your supplier as early as possible to let them know if you’re struggling.

Energy debts are priority debts, which means there can be more severe consequences to not paying than with other types of debt.

Failing to engage with your supplier about your debt could also see them apply for a court warrant to forcibly install a prepayment meter in your home.

Once you’ve contacted your supplier about your debt problems, ask for an affordable repayment plan.

Your supplier should work with you to figure out a sensible amount you can pay towards your debts each month.

Your supplier may also allow you to apply for an energy grant.

These could be delivered as energy credits to help cover your debt, or your supplier might agree to wipe your outstanding balance.

Ask your supplier what’s on offer and how to apply.

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Congressman Russ Fulcher is not shy about telling people why he deserves a fourth term as Idaho’s 1st District representative. But he has no desire to make his case on a debate stage, or even give his opponents the time of day.

Fulcher’s primary challenger is Democrat Kaylee Peterson of Eagle, who is making her second run for the seat. Brendan Gomez (Constitutional Party) and Matt Loesby (Libertarian) also are on the ballot.

But to Fulcher, he doesn’t see enough there to warrant his attention.

“We monitor these things closely and there is no objective metric of a viable campaign,” Fulcher says. “To sign up for a debate would be the single largest contribution they would have, and I’m not in the business of campaigning for my opponents. I’m not afraid to debate, but I’m not stupid either. They’re going to have to do their own campaigning.”

Peterson has not lacked for effort. The 34-year-old mother of two, who has turned congressional campaigning into a long-term project, is a community activist and student at the College of Western Idaho. Her candidacy has at least some viability, with endorsements from labor unions. The Idaho Statesman endorsed her two years ago, and she very well could get it again given the paper’s overall disagreements with Fulcher. Peterson has spent much of this campaign meeting with various people in communities and holding town hall meetings for Republicans in rural pockets.

But getting attention as a Democrat running in one of the nation’s most conservative districts has been a challenge. Editors and reporters have not shown interest in her campaign, figuring that the race is basically decided, and lining up speaking engagements with civic organizations have been difficult with that pesky “D” attached to her name. Her biggest problem might be running in the wrong state. She fully backs Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid and embraces her plans for the economy, which can be problematic in an area that former President Trump is expected to win big.

But her campaign is not all about presidential politics. She says that Fulcher, and the Idaho congressional delegation as a whole, are not working for Idaho families.

“Russ Fulcher travels up and down the state telling his followers that politics is good vs. evil and that his Democratic colleagues want to turn us into some socialist Venezuelan state,” she says. “It’s easy to see why people believe I am the enemy. My job is to go into the most conservative rural areas and show them that I am an Idahoan who just wants good common-sense policies, which we have not seen from our congressional delegation.”

She chides Fulcher for under-funded infrastructure projects in the district and fostering an environment that has produced low wages. “Our families are struggling. We have all these issues that can be solved at the federal level that are not being addressed right now, and we have a congressman who loves to make political points.”

Fulcher argues that his “points” are for better government. And, of course, he backs Trump.

“We have a wall coming, and it’s in the form of a $35 trillion debt,” he says. “I am not for begging the federal government for funds that it doesn’t have. The answer is state and local control and the resources we have here.”

In the big picture, Fulcher says, he stands with a party that embraces a free-market economy, individual liberty and personal freedoms. “The other side” is more in tune with western European style of socialism “with things like electric-vehicle mandates, more government programs, energy dependence, an open-border strategy and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).”

The 62-year-old Fulcher says his range of experience – 20 years on a farm, 20 years in international business, 10 years in the Idaho Senate and three terms in Congress gives him an attractive resume. He’s also gaining seniority on committees that are related to energy, commerce and natural resources – which cover a wide range of interests in Idaho.

Peterson says she’s not going away regardless of the outcome in this election and, with her age, time is on her side for winning over the district. The question is whether conservative voters there will ever look beyond party labels.

Chuck Malloy is a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com.