Lee Kirk - Financial Adviser

01/03/2026

“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲… 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱?”

Valuation anxiety is real.

When markets are trading at high price-to-earnings ratios, it feels like a crash must be around the corner.

𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 👇

📌 High valuations are not reliable short-term timing tools.
�📌 Expensive markets can stay expensive for years.
�📌 The bigger risk isn’t usually a sudden crash - it’s lower long-term returns.

Valuations help set expectations, not predict crashes.

Stay disciplined. Think long term. Avoid reacting to noise.

Source:
https://www.evidenceinvestor.com/post/valuation-anxiety

——————————————————

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥.

25/02/2026

𝗔𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗦&𝗣 𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 👇

You’ve probably seen the headlines.

A handful of US giants now dominate the index.

𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨:

📌 Concentration isn’t new - markets have looked like this before.

📌Research shows reacting historically hurt returns.

📌 Today’s largest companies are global, diversified businesses.

📌The real question is whether your overall portfolio is properly diversified.

Be careful of narratives that lead to expensive “solutions”.

Full article here:
https://www.evidenceinvestor.com/post/s-p-500-concentration

——————————————————

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥.

09/02/2026

Apparently this is what happens when a former S&C coach becomes a financial planner.

I’ll always believe the same things matter in both worlds - consistency, patience, good coaching and avoiding panic when things get uncomfortable.

Consider this my official contribution to the caricature bandwagon.

23/01/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺? 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 "𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹" 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸… 🤔

A nice article on why mutual fund outperformance is often more about luck than skill.

The latest research shows that a significant portion of what looks like a manager’s “talent” is actually randomness, and past winners often struggle to beat the market later on.

𝙆𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨:
📌 A large share of fund performance is driven by luck, not repeatable skill.
📌 Funds that attract assets after good years often find it harder to outperform later.
📌 Traditional star ratings can mislead by rewarding past results rather than future potential.

Worth a read if you’re interested in what drives fund performance - and what doesn’t.

Why do mutual funds underperform? New research from the University of Sydney reveals that at least 55% of fund performance is attributable to luck, not skill. Worse, luck actively predicts future underperformance: lucky funds attract inflows, grow too large, and lose their capacity to generate retur...

15/12/2025

26/11/2025

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱… 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂? 🫵

Here’s the simple version…. ⤵️
�📌 Minimum wage rising next year.
📌 Fuel duty staying frozen.
📌 More support for families with the two child benefit cap being removed.
📌 A 2% increase to tax on dividends, savings and property income.
📌 Cash ISA rules changing - limits being adjusted.
📌 Final salary pensions: changes to how employer contributions are treated.

But the real impact for most people is less obvious:

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘇𝗲𝗻⁉️

That means as your income naturally rises over time, more of it gets taxed. Even if nothing changes in your life, you could slowly drift into paying more.

This is what we call a 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝘅.

For most people, this matters far more than the headlines.

So, what do you do?

📌 Stay calm, no knee-jerk reaction.
📌 Understand how these changes affect you.
📌 Review your strategy.
�Your financial plan should stay consistent - adjust only when needed, not when headlines shout.

——————————————————

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 – 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦.

20/11/2025

‘𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 – 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝘆 – 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.’ (𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗺) 🫵

In the world of finance, where markets are unpredictable and volatility is the norm, the biggest challenge lies within ourselves.

Here are a few key takeaways to consider:

1️⃣ 𝙀𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚
2️⃣ 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨
3️⃣ 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙏𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚

——————————————————

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥.

𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺.

19/11/2025

𝗙𝗦𝗖𝗦 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 🚨

From 1 December 2025 the FSCS deposit limit will rise from £85,000 𝘵𝘰 £120,000 per person, per authorised bank.

Temporary high balance protection will also increase from £1 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 £1.4 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯.

This is a simple but meaningful change - giving savers more protection.

For anyone holding larger balances in a single bank, it’s worth making sure everything still sits within the new limits.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2025/november/pra-confirms-fscs-deposit-limit-to-be-increased-to-120000-from-1-december

——————————————————

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦.

𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺.