Amanda Newman Smith

Many will have enjoyed work-related social events in the run-up to Christmas but what about the remaining 11 months of the year? Does a career in financial advice come with the chance to develop a vibrant social life all year round?

According to the latest quarterly statistics from HM Courts and Tribunals Service, which runs the probate service, probate applications took an average of 14 weeks between April and June. There is currently a backlog of around 8,000 probate applications.

My daughter, Chloe, painted a picture last weekend that gave me a jolt. It’s an acrylic-on-canvas depiction of two silhouetted soldiers in combat against a blazing red, orange and yellow sky. One figure is a sniper, crouching on a dark hillside with his rifle pointing straight at his opponent. The larger silhouette

A lack of financial education can reinforce myths and incorrect beliefs

AI can improve compliance systems but, given the existence of cyber criminals, human oversight remains crucial

Whether going solo, specialising or taking other risks, what matters most is ‘belief in what I’m doing’

During lockdown I was obsessed with buying bits of beaten up antique furniture on eBay. My aim was to make these pieces beautiful again, not to spend lots of money on perfectly preserved specimens of the past.

In the recruitment process, firms may unwittingly build in barriers that impede under-represented groups

The charity Autistica estimates that around one in 70 people are autistic – about one million people in the UK. But the latest Labour Force Survey figures - quoted in the recent Buckland Report of Autism Employment – show that only three in 10 people with autism of working age are in employment.

Finding it harder to concentrate or remember things is a normal part of the ageing process. But sometimes cognitive decline — a decrease in the ability to think and process information — happens at a faster rate than usual and starts affecting a person’s ability to function.