Tags: Review of the year
Category: Thought pieces

In 1805, the Manchester Mail newspaper published, for the first time, the story of the Wizard of Alderley Edge as told by Parson Shrigley, former Clerk and Curate of Alderley.

A farmer from Mobberley was taking a white mare to sell at the market in Macclesfield. Walking along the Edge, he reached a spot known locally as “Thieves Hole” where an old man clad in a grey and flowing garment stopped him. The old man offered the farmer a sum of money for his horse but the farmer refused, saying he could get a better price at the market. The old man told the farmer that he would be at this spot again that evening when the farmer returned, not having found a purchaser for the horse.

The farmer went to market; but having failed to sell the horse, returned in the evening and made his journey back along the Edge. At the same point, the old man appeared again, repeating his offer, which this time was accepted. The old man told the farmer to follow him with the horse.

As they approached an area just past Stormy Point, the old man held out a wand and uttered a spell, opening the rock revealing a pair of huge iron gates, which the wizard – as he was – opened. Assuring no harm the wizard told the farmer to enter. The farmer did so and was led through the gates into a large cavern. In the cavern, the farmer saw countless men and white horses, all asleep. In a recess there was a chest, from which the wizard took the payment for the horse, which he gave to the farmer.

The astonished farmer asked what all this meant; the wizard explained that all these sleeping warriors were ready to awake and fight should England fall into danger. The Farmer was then ordered to leave and although he returned the next morning, there was no trace of his other-worldly encounter.

Fast forward over two centuries and sitting here at my desk in Alderley Edge, the ‘story’ of 2022 seems only marginally less fantastical. The year began with a gloriously sunny day in the UK, a portent of good fortune for the year ahead we may have thought, after the difficulties of the previous Covid-hit years.

Three Prime Ministers later, pummeled by double-digit inflation, spiraling interest rates, widespread workers’ strikes, war in Ukraine and the loss of our beloved Monarch Queen Elizabeth, we were left in no doubt that 2022 was a difficult year for many people in the UK and worldwide.

Inevitably, the investment world did not emerge unscathed. The one thing the stock market hates most, uncertainty, was in abundance in 2022, leading to a difficult year overall for worldwide equity markets and an even more turbulent ride for normally lower risk bond assets. For a classic balanced portfolio of equities and bonds, the tandem falls in both asset classes created the strongest headwinds against investment performance since 1932.

Although a little help from the Wizard and his warriors would have been welcome, he clearly did not feel we had fallen into sufficient danger to warrant their intervention and left us to our own devices, a wise conclusion I feel if one looks at the longer-term perspective.

To paraphrase the message our Chairman Keith Thompson sets out in eloquent detail in his latest Stock Market & Economic Commentary, inflation has most likely peaked, interest rates are expected to halt their upward trajectory at a level that will still be considered low in historic terms and markets will recover to their previous highs and beyond, they always have done.

When the economic and geopolitical backdrop is volatile, resilience and patience are qualities that will be rewarded eventually.

Notwithstanding the difficult circumstances, 2022 has been a successful year for Clarion. As well as maintaining our turnover we have, most satisfyingly, taken on a number of successful and interesting families as new clients. I welcome those families to Clarion and look forward to providing them with the highest level of service for many years to come.

Our charity Clarion Welsby Family Foundation has continued its good work and is open to applications for assistance.

Still reflecting on the year behind us, did I get my wish for “more kindness in the world” and “more time communicating in person, rather than through technology” as expressed in my New Year Message 12 months ago? I would have to be looking through heavily rose-tinted glasses to say so. The atrocities still playing out in Ukraine almost single-handedly put paid to the first part of my wish and, if anything, based on the UK experience, I feel the populace has become more remote from each other, not less.

I think is only a matter of time before the freedom and flexible benefits of working from home (WFH) are outweighed by the resultant negative effects of us being more remote from each other.

I feel this is especially important for younger people, the remote worker is missing out on the opportunity to develop work and social skills through face-to-face interaction with colleagues.

On a lighter note, 2022 was no exception in giving us plenty of reasons to be cheerful and uplifted. The Commonwealth Games were not only a feast of sporting endeavour, but also a wonderful example of the power of making people feel welcome; well done to Birmingham for hosting such a memorable event.

Well done also to England women’s football team for going one stage better than the men had managed in the previous year’s ‘Euros’ by lifting the trophy. The unbridled joy of ‘Lioness’ Chloe Kelly’s goal celebration will go down in sporting history.

COVID-19, the worst global pandemic since The Spanish flu over a century ago, now also seems finally to be releasing its grip on us, with the World Health Organisation declaring in September that the end is ‘in sight’.

What do I wish for in 2023 and beyond? Each time I ponder such a question, I ask first ‘what is important to me?’. The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly after almost 40 years at the helm of Clarion, is embodied in the company’s number one core value – ‘Look After People’.

In 1803, two years before publication of the story of the Wizard of Alderley, the world’s population was 1bn. Having taken over 300,000 years of human history for the population to reach that milestone, it has since taken little more than 200 years to November 2022 for the world’s population to reach 8bn, and each of us needs to be looked after in one way or another.

So, my humble wish is for people to look after people, be that the young caring for the elderly, the ‘well-off’ giving to the less fortunate, or simply being kind to the people we encounter as we go about our daily lives.

From a Clarion perspective, I am very lucky to work with a board of directors and colleagues for whom looking after people is second nature. I am very grateful for their commitment and together we will continue to focus on our clients, provide them with the best possible service, and welcome them to our offices in Alderley Edge where they will be met by smiling human faces.

From everyone at Clarion, Happy New Year to you all and I wish you good health and plenty of fun in 2023.

Ron Walker
Founder, Clarion Wealth Planning

If you’d like more information about this article, or any other aspect of our true lifelong financial planning, we’d be happy to hear from you. Please call +44 (0)1625 466 360 or email enquiries@clarionwealth.co.uk.

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