SSAS Business Podcast

About Mike Bristow: Mike Bristow is the CEO and Co-Founder of CrowdProperty (www.crowdproperty.com), the UK's leading specialist property project online lending platform. With a background in strategy consultancy advising major corporates and private equity funds on corporate strategy and buyouts, Mike has been investing in property since 2002, investing in high potential proptech businesses since 2014 and sits on the Investment Committee of Pi Labs, Europe’s first and most prolific venture capital fund investing exclusively in early stage ventures in the proptech vertical. Mike has an MBA from London Business School, was named in the Peer2Peer Finance News Power 50 list in both 2018 and 2019, is a founding board member of the Innovate Finance 36H Group alongside other leading peer-to-peer lending platforms and was named 'Entrepreneur of the Year' at the Midlands Business Awards 2020. About CrowdProperty (www.crowdproperty.com), the UK's leading specialist property project online lending platform: CrowdProperty is a fintech/proptech online-lending innovator, exceptionally efficiently matching the demand (quality property professionals undertaking quality property projects) and supply (retail/institutional investors) of capital for value-creating property projects, delivering a better deal for all – borrowers, lenders, the under-supplied UK housing environment and spend in the UK economy.  Actual property development and investment experience lies at the heart of the business meaning hands-on, expertise-led due diligence and loan monitoring. Lending is focused on the SME property professional market, a key segment for supplying much needed UK housing stock, which is poorly and inefficiently served by traditional funding sources. CrowdProperty funds property professionals undertaking any sort of property project (including auction purchases and bridging), structuring the perfect funding product and doing so with greater speed, ease, certainty and expertise than anyone in the market. As property people providing property finance, we intimately understand the market needs. CrowdProperty has lent almost £100m, funding the development of over 1,000 homes worth over £180m since 2014, rigorously curated from over £3.5bn of project applications, with a perfect payback track record.  CrowdProperty is authorised and regulated by the FCA, is an HMRC approved ISA / IFISA manager, attracts significant SSAS Pension and SIPP Pension capital and is a founding member and only property specialist platform in the Innovate Finance 36H Group (and formerly on the board of the P2PFA / Peer-to-Peer Finance Association). CrowdProperty became the first and only property P2P lender to become Brismo Verified, independently validating CrowdProperty’s market-leading performance, showing significant outperformance of Brismo's UK P2P Index. Read more about alternative finance, peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding, property and CrowdProperty on the  Find out more at www.crowdproperty.com Read more on the CrowdProperty Blog: https://blog.crowdproperty.com/  About investing with CrowdProperty: www.crowdproperty.com/lenders About borrowing with CrowdProperty: www.crowdproperty.com/borrowers Video case studies from existing borrowers: www.crowdproperty.com/case-studies  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

This week I am joined by my great friend and co-author Louise Righton. Louise Righton is one of the new wave of SSAS Trustees learning how to unlock pensions built up over a lifetime of contributions and turn them into a multigenerational family asset. Louise has spent her thirty-year career as a senior level global marketer in the life sciences industry, building consumer health and pharmaceutical brands. A graduate in Industrial Management from Nottingham Trent University, a Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Louise also holds a master’s degree in Strategic Marketing Leadership from Henley Business School. She is a property investor and residential landlord, SSAS Trustee and founder member of the SSAS Alliance regional networking groups in Yorkshire and the East Midlands. Louise is co-author of SSAS Superstars! How Ten Entrepreneurs Unlocked Their Pensions – Without Waiting to Retire, published in 2020, and is a regular contributor to podcasts on the subjects of wealth-building and SSAS pensions.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiserighton https://www.facebook.com/louise.righton See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

This week I am joined by my great friend Chris Henry.  With 24 years of experience working at senior levels within the UK Banking sector and having helped Banking and Financial Services divisions and subsidiaries grow, Chris now uses his knowledge and experience to coach SME business owners, so they get great personal & business results.   Chris also owns a Wealth & Property business, has been interviewed on local and Sky TV & has first-hand experience of how to use existing Personal & Business assets to generate increased wealth and 'passive' income.   Chris is an experienced SSAS (Pension) Trustee and has a successful track record in deploying funds through 3rd party lending and direct investment in property.   Chris is also an author having recently contributed to a book which is a legacy for future generations ’Advice to Your Younger Self’     This is Chris’ powerful chapter in the book ADVICE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON NOW.   As children we have a special place, a place where dreams are formed, and imagination is allowed to meander. My conversation with the young Chris Henry starts here at a sports field (Beck Lane) close to our childhood home, where school summer holidays and evenings were spent practising being the next big football superstar - this was our Wembley.     Looking back isn’t something I’ve spent much time doing. I’ve been so focused on moving forwards, meeting the challenges that life has brought, so when I meet myself in my memory, that young man of twenty, his whole life ahead of him, I can’t help but feel a strong desire to impart to him an understanding of the one thing that lies at the heart of everything - the precious gift of time.   The average person lives 4,000 weeks, I tell young twenty-year old Chris as we sit in the goal mouth, looking across the well-manicured Beck Lane pitch in Liversedge, West Yorkshire, a place I have known all of my life. Back then the days were long, the memories short and time seemed endless. This area is where I grew up, where I went to school, where I had my children, and where I finally learned what truly mattered. Interesting I say to Chris, that as children we dream but then as adults sadly, we stop as reality kicks in.     Time, I tell him, is your most precious asset. It’s the one thing you cannot halt or get back once it’s gone. That perception was never more acute than in 2005, after  suffering a pulmonary embolism in Madeira at the age of 44, when time very nearly ran out. What followed was two weeks in intensive care, followed by six months recuperation.  I’d been forced to stop, literally, and after being handed my life back, I slowly, over a period of years, began making changes to bring my one precious life back into alignment with who I really was. It made me focus on what I really wanted and though we can’t halt time, I tell young Chris, we can start to use the knowledge and insights gained to make the absolute most of the life we have been given.   We were so busy, I tell him, in our twenties, thirties and forties - life went by in a bit of a blur.  It was all about earning a living, bringing up a family and not stopping to question. It was only in my 50s when I’d reached a level of financial comfort that I started to appreciate the importance of developing who I was as a person.  I discovered that the only way to develop and grow personally was to really get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It was not something I found easy at first but key to this was finding and discovering people further ahead on the journey than you are - inspiring people, with clear plans and goals, mentors, coaches and people who keep questioning you to discover your limitless potential. The key to this is to focus on what brings you joy - ‘follow your bliss’ - when you find what you enjoy doing, throw yourself into it wholeheartedly. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help either – we learn not just from our life experiences but from those around us too.   I look back at Chris again and reflect more sadly on the things I didn’t do or say to the people who really mattered. Time eats everything, it leaves nothing in its wake, and when time runs out for people you love, that’s when you regret all the things left unsaid. I wished I’d spent more time with the older people in my family, especially my parents. I know you think they don’t know much - well, you think like that when you’re 20 - but ask them more questions, take their advice, and listen. You won’t regret a moment of that once they’re gone.    Young Chris and I make the short walk up the hill to my childhood home, the garden of which was the meeting point for most of the local kids, at the time a large grassed area with a swing and make-shift football goal. We had an amazing upbringing; we weren’t short on laughs/or love/or whatever it is you appreciated most, but with four children in the family, things were financially very tight. We were the children on the free school meals and the hand-me-down clothes and my limiting beliefs about money, set the stage for my earlier work experiences. These beliefs have since being rooted out and challenged and now my thinking around money and wealth has created a freedom I never knew existed. Young Chris looks at me and smiles. Good times ahead maybe, but money isn’t the answer to everything.   As a father now myself, it’s become easy to overcompensate with my own children and smother them with the things I wished for as a child, but never had. But the risk is always that they don’t grow themselves, that they lose sight of the journey and every step that brought us here. In February 1995, my beautiful daughter Alexandra was born with a disease called Cystic Fibrosis - a genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Life expectancy for Alex, when she was born, was just 40 years. Her appreciation of time and life and her drive and positivity astounds me. As Alex would say, we will all face challenges in life, but don’t ever take your health for granted because some people do not have a choice.    Swimming was a big feature of our childhood and the open-air swimming pool in Morecambe was where all our summer holidays were spent. Summers seemed to be hotter then, the outdoor life served us well as children. Eat well and exercise well and just as you take your car in for a service and check up, get your body checked at regular intervals and act on the advice given. Don’t underestimate how important fitness and health are in creating a successful and happy business and personal life.    Have an understanding that although money and wealth aren’t everything, learning how money works is the key to creating personal freedom. Having enough money dropping into your bank account whilst you are asleep, enough to cover your basic and luxury needs, is a life-changing concept. What this gives you is choices and options - it gives you back the time you sold for over 30 years making someone else rich. Own a business rather than have a job and make sure that this becomes an asset that can operate without you giving your time and freedom but still reap the financial rewards. Learning this became a game changer.   We take a longer walk to the beautiful cemetery in Robertown where my dear parents are buried, an oasis of tranquillity, a place where reflection is easy.  There’s something comforting when you visit about having the place to yourself.   I explain to young Chris that my parents both died in 2012 within exactly 6 months of each other. Now we are left with the memories. One of the best things I ever did was voice record my father in general day to day conversation, a treasure on my phone that I will keep forever. We also converted some reel tapes to CD for my father shortly before he died and I managed to give him the pleasure of listening to his mother’s voice, a voice he had not heard for 34 years. He listened in private, but I can only imagine the emotion that he felt from the experience.  What has this taught me? Start from an early age thinking about how you want to be remembered and what legacy you want to leave behind. What recording of your life do you want future generations to listen to? What do you want people to say at your funeral? This will give you a focus and help you with your road map for your life. As you get older, you do start to look back and reflect more and ask more questions.   As I take in the words on my parent’s graves, I think back to my life before Madeira. My life was matter of fact, on autopilot and possibly devoid of any emotion. I remind young Chris of his desire to please others all the time and tell him eventually it will come at the expense of his own happiness. Be true to who you are, I say, without that you will be lost for a very long time. Be yourself, follow your passion, don’t compare your life to others and don’t live by others’ rules either. Be the best version of you possible.   As we leave my parents grave behind, I am mindful yet again of the preciousness of time and am reminded of a brilliant poem often read at funerals: ‘The Dash by Linda Ellis’.  The Dash is the squiggle on your headstone between your date of birth and your date of death. That’s your life - it’s short, it’s a blip and it’s over in no time. So don’t waste a day of it, I tell my younger self. Savour it all and when it comes to your eulogy, be proud of the things they say about you and how you lived your dash.   Media links:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachchrishenry/  

This week I am joined by my good friend Rob Wilkinson.  Rob Wilkinson is an award-winning co-founder of FCA approved property funding platform, Crowd with Us. He heads up a specialist team that provides investors with a variety of debt and equity-based property development investments. Along with his team, Rob is responsible for creating and administering CWU’s Institutional grade due diligence. He oversees all operational and business activities to ensure continued growth and consistency with the overall strategy and vision of the business. Rob is also responsible for building long-term relationships with key partners and stakeholders. Through careful monitoring of market conditions, he maintains a deep knowledge of both the property and finance industries. Rob is a qualified Master Mariner, having worked on some of the world’s largest and most prestigious privately-owned yachts. In this role, he was responsible for managing the assets and relationships of Global Leaders and Captains of Industry, including a senior member of the Saudi Royal Family and former world's richest man with a net worth of over $60bn USD. In this role, he met and dealt with well-known world leaders such as Donald Trump, Tony Blair and Barack Obama to name a few.    Here is Rob’s chapter from the book. If you feel inspired and want to read more then buy the book “Advice To Your Younger Self” on amazon and support our great causes.   ROB WILKINSON BOOK CHAPTER   I’m a Master Mariner (Ships Captain) by trade, having been awarded a scholarship to study as a Navigational Officer Cadet at the age of 16.  Prior to my first trip to sea at this young age, knowing that I’d be surrounded by, and leading men much older and experienced than myself, my father gave me two pieces of advice that I’ve never forgotten. “Don’t ask others to do what you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself” and “Speak to others how you’d wish to be spoken to”.  These two principles came to serve me well as I progressed through the ranks of life at sea.  Up until around my 25th birthday I’d always been the youngest person on any ship I sailed on and had been leading teams on a daily basis for most of my career, up to that point. I’ve always asked myself the question: ‘Would I do this?’ before asking something of someone else. In many cases, especially in new environments, where it’s important to gain the trust and respect of those you’re working with, or where the personal safety of others comes into play, I’ll often carry out the task alongside my team to demonstrate my ability and the fact that I’ll happily do anything I ask of others. The above said, you can’t expect to know everything, so it’s also incredibly important to always show humility.  There may be instances where you have no choice but to ask someone to do something you wouldn't do yourself, for the simple reason that you don’t know how to do it.  In these situations, I’m always honest with those I work with, explaining that they are the experts, that I don't know how it should be done and that I need to learn from them.  This is a much better position to take as opposed to claiming to know something you don’t, as those that do know will easily identify you as a fraud and any respect or trust you’ve built up will quickly erode.    My father's second piece of advice goes without saying really, but is easy to forget, especially when we find ourselves in positions of power. This could be anything from being promoted to the Captain of a sports team to running a deck full of grown men. By speaking to people how you’d want to be spoken to yourself, rather than at them, you’ll get a much better reaction. This is where effective communication comes into play. Mastering the skill of interpersonal engagement is fundamental to our personal and social development. It sets rules, boundaries and steps to attain desirable results and success. The ability to communicate accurately with others is a vital life skill that should never be overlooked and is, in my opinion, the number one tool for a successful life, whether that be in personal relationships or business. Think of the most successful people you know, and I guarantee they’ll all be amazing communicators.    Whatever it is, the answer is YES!  We grow as people through experiences, however we’re not always ready for what life throws at us and there’s nothing more uncomfortable than being out of your comfort zone.  As such, the natural reaction is for us to wait until it feels right!  This is often a long way off in the future. The strange thing is, the best place to grow and flourish as humans is when we’re in this place of discomfort and unease. As the saying goes: ‘pressure turns coal into diamonds!’.  I’ve always made it my goal to jump at every opportunity that presents itself to me.  However, there have been times where I was so uncomfortable that I’ve made excuses or procrastinated so much, I’ve lost the chance. Whilst I may have experienced immediate relief, once this subsided it became replaced with regret.  As such I’d suggest you say ‘YES’ to any opportunity for growth and run with it!  If you don’t know how to do something, or even how you’d find out how to do something, say yes anyway and figure it out as you go along! The mind is amazing at solving problems and I guarantee you’ll figure it out! That said, don’t take shortcuts, as they rarely pay off. One of my mantras is ‘don't do something because it’s easy, do it because it’s right!”.  Whilst I’m all for carrying out tasks in the most efficient manner, shortcuts are rarely shortcuts and inevitably result in you having to do something twice, so I’d always suggest doing it right the first time around.    Failure = Feedback What’s the worst that can happen?  We’re often so concerned with failure that it clouds the bigger picture - So what if we fail?  ‘What will our friends or family think?’.  Who cares!  I believe the only failure is in giving up. If you don't succeed the first-time round, take a step back and analyse what you did, what went wrong and why? What could you have improved upon? Work on getting better then try again! If you’ve failed an exam for example, re-book it the same day you find out you didn’t pass. Whilst it’s OK to be disappointed, don’t dwell on the result, focus on doing it better the next time around and I guarantee you, your friends and family will be just as excited when you do get the result, whether it’s your first try or your third! Approach failure with excitement and positivity. How thrilling, inspiring and stimulating it is to get a chance to do something again. The more you fail, the better success feels after all.    The importance of Mentors Always seek out mentors. Try to spend as much time with people who have achieved what you aspire to and less time with those who pull you back. You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.  Just think about it.  If you want to learn to drive, do you try to teach yourself, have someone else who can’t drive teach you, or do you employ the services of a qualified driving instructor? I’d probably go one step further and interview several driving instructors to find out from each how many of their students passed the first-time round in the last six-months and go with the one who had the highest success rate!  Whether you want to learn a new sport or want to rise to the top in your career, spend some time identifying the best person in that field/industry and become their friend. In many instances, those people haven't made it there alone, they’ll also have had mentors and will be very open to helping you. That said there are two important rules that follow this. Number 1 - listen more than you talk; and number 2 - if they set you a task, make sure you follow it through and report back.    In the same way that mentors are important, if you notice anyone in your life pulling you back and taking more from you than they give, start spending less time with them. Whilst if you’re lucky you’ll be surrounded by fans, those family and friends that support every success with you, you’ll find there’s another subset of family and friends that struggle with your progress and try to pull you back. The more successful you get, the more they’ll talk to you about the ‘unnecessary risks’ you’re taking and that ‘it’s all going to end in tears’ and how they’d do it much differently.  Whilst this is never easy to hear, it’s very common that your success pushes them way out of their comfort zone and results in them projecting their fears onto you. Don’t pay attention to what they’re saying.  I find it best to limit time with these people and generally over time they’ll adjust to your new level of being and will come back into your life.    Don’t work to live, live to work - The importance of goals! It’s so easy these days to get bogged down by work, to get caught in the rat race with your only focus being on making money and living from one month to the next. Money is important, but don't lose sight of the bigger picture! We’re only here once so let’s ensure we have the best time possible! Set goals and work towards achieving them. Work out what you want out of life and ensure your life revolves around making them a reality. It doesn't matter how crazy or ‘out there’ your goals seem, write them down anyway. Bigger goals are much less daunting when chunked down into more manageable bitesize pieces. If you want to learn a new language or play a new musical instrument, you may ask yourself how on earth that could be possible.  However, spend 20 mins a day for 3 months practicing, and you’ll look at this once impossible task from an entirely different perspective.    Look at your goals every day and review them regularly. Are you progressing towards them or moving away from them? Accountability is a massive factor in ensuring success and can be achieved in a number of ways. A friend with similar values who can question you and help you stay on track, or announcing your goal on social media, are two strong accountability tools I use. Have short, medium and long term goals and most importantly, when you achieve one, ensure you celebrate it!    Have goals beyond your comfort zone, because in order to do something you’ve never done, you’ve got to become someone you’ve never been.  Media links:   https://www.facebook.com/robbie.wilkinson | https://www.instagram.com/rob_wilkinson46/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-wilkinson-a3360523/   URLs: Business: www.crowdwithus.london | Personal: www.rrwilkinson.com Go Fund me charity link: gf.me/u/xcp3qy

In this episode I interview Lars Singleton of Empowered Pensions. Lars is widely known as being one of the most experienced SSAS Corporate Trustee in the UK as well as being a business owner and entrepreneur in his own right. As Lars is a Corporate Trustee to my own SSAS I get a really insightful view of the man behind the SSAS role, the experience over several decades and really get into the nitty gritty of what it takes to manage a SSAS as well as the potential that can be realised by using sound business, investment and governance principles. In the interview we dive into the detail that Trustees need to be aware of, the penalties for non-compliance and the challenges that Lars has personal encountered and also seen other Trustees overcome. I know you are going to love this episode, frank, to the point, no fluff – just years of experience distilled into raw discussion between Corporate Trustee and SSAS Trustee. Lars is Managing Director at Empowered Pensions, Empowered Trustees & is an FCA Regulated IFA Lars is also a co-owner of several other businesses in the Professional development, Corporate Trusteeship and Property Development arenas. As a Financial Adviser to High Net Worth individuals for over 20 years he blends mainstream Financial Advice with a business entrepreneurial style.

In this episode, Alex Impey shares with us how he has transitioned his engineering knowledge working in many challenging environments around the world into harnessing the power of his SSAS.   Alex Impey is the head of property operations and founder of XUSA Properties, a niche development company that specialises in commercial to residential conversions. They aim to deliver both rewarding and life-changing experiences through sustainable developments by creating urban living spaces and social community development projects. Their ultimate mission is to make quality living both affordable and enjoyable for everyone.   XUSA focuses on mixed-use, mixed-tenure (private and social) schemes wrapped around a community element. It is this community element which differentiates them and makes them unique (please see their product model on the left). XUSA creates bespoke residential and mixed-use homes designed solely for first time buyers, young professionals, key workers and aspirational renters. This will support quality end to end living and provide an environment for private and social renters to flourish. These homes will integrate technology to encourage interaction and build a supportive community.   Alex is also a Chartered Mechanical Engineer (CEng) and has travelled around the world working in professional integrity and assurance roles across highly resilient global infrastructure.   His role has always been simple; to mitigate risk and provide steadfast assurance at all stages of a project’s life cycle.   He has achieved this whilst visiting some of the most challenging and extreme locations in the world and has personally delivered over £250M of CAPEX projects. Alex loves all things related to his personal development and has dedicated the last 12 years of his life to researching the best ways to improve and evolve personally whilst mapping what he has learned, into a repeatable system for others to use.   Alex studied both Mechanical Engineering and Astronautics and Space Engineering at University, not only is he a self-confessed geek but also a massive Star Trek fan too! He is also a co-author of “Advice to Your Younger Self” available on Amazon with all profits being donated to B1G1 and The British Heart Foundation Media links: www.xusa.co.uk www.aleximpey.com

In this episode, Bronwen Vaerncombe shares with us her personal story of how she moved from her banking career to living a life of choice through property and SSAS and travelling the world.   Property Investor and coach, Bronwen Vearncombe, has built a successful business over the last few years and been able to give up her full-time corporate job and find freedom. Having been told she’d not be able to retire until aged 67 – she knew there must be a way to escape and to spend more time with her husband and two children, and maybe even be her own boss!  In just two years she and her husband replaced their corporate income with property rental and left their jobs. Inspiring many people each year through her success, not only does she have a great property business, but she teaches others through her online learning platform established in 2017.     Just two years later they set out follow their dreams and specific adventures:  Not only did John circumnavigate the globe with the Clipper Round the World yacht race, but Bronwen followed working in the business and volunteering along the way.  Travelling the world proved that they could balance a property business and adventure. In 2019 they spent 6 months working from The Whitsunday Islands in Northern Queensland, where Bronwen wrote her book Building Your Dream Life which published end February 2020. Featured in national property media, Bronwen loves to share her knowledge and to help others get onto the investor ladder of success.  Her programme of pre-recorded webinars and coaching enables easy, but supported, learning of the very foundation steps and uses examples from her own Hampshire portfolio too.    Bronwen’s recent book can be found on Amazon, Kindle and Audible at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-Your-Dream-Life-Property/dp/1784529060   Social Media links: WEBSITE: https://www.propertyinvestingfoundation.com/membership  FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/propinvfoundation/  LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bronwenvearncombe/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/bronwenv64  @bronwenv64 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bronwen_pif/

This is a very special episode for me as I give a detailed interview with my great friend and business partner Nigel Greene. Many of you have been mentored over the years by Nigel and have been and continue to be inspired by his incredibly focused energy, amazing achievements and his systemised way of finding analysing and undertake due diligence on a wide range of business, commercial and residential property transactions. Nigel is a highly sought-after mentor to many and supports committed people in many areas of business, property and commercial due diligence guiding them through their strategy and actions.   Here is Nigel introducing himself in his own words.   My name is Nigel Greene and I am a devoted Husband to my wonderful and supportive Wife Annette, and Father to four amazing children: Dan, Hannah, Caitlin and Josh. It is my family who planted those seeds of desire many years ago, to create significant wealth through business and property; to seek a lifetime’s ambition of creating a multi-generational legacy. Derby is my place of birth where I spent the first 30 years of my life before relocating to the Essex area through my work in 1998.   I have always had a firm belief that if you cannot directly input into something then you will have very little control of the outcome, which very early on made me opposed to the concept of the stock market and particularly UK Pension schemes.    With 29 years board level business and property expertise in engineering, construction, energy and telecoms industries, I have co-founded and operated within many national and international businesses, deploying complex projects of values between £5million - £500million.   As previously mentioned, I wanted to create wealth in my life and that all important multi-generational legacy. However, a pension today effectively halves in value on death and disappears totally when your next of kin/beneficiary departs, reducing the wealth and that legacy to zero. Therefore, my approach was to never invest in the Stock Market and to find an alternative/supplementary route to pension, and to invest in an asset class that would generate a passive monthly income throughout my lifetime and beyond. The answer for me was residential and commercial rental property.  Over the past 20+ years, my Wife and I have invested heavily and we have built an impressive multi-million-pound international property portfolio. This continues to grow both in property numbers, valuation and provides a monthly income that is impactful to our lives now.  I left the corporate world for the last time in March 2015.  My business partners and I established a property development company, EquaGroup (www.equagroup.co.uk). As a company, we focus on our combined passion for creating shared and sustainable value through property and building a powerful and enduring legacy for future generations. I am passionate about helping others to succeed in their lives and sharing the knowledge that I have gained over the years. Our training and mentoring business EquaSSAS has created a wonderful platform for us to help others to achieve great things in their lives and for us to achieve our passion.  Despite my personal views on pensions, over the years the corporate world has contributed to a significant personal pension value, through a combination of final salary and stakeholder schemes. In 2016, I transferred this into a Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) Pension, where myself and fellow trustees now actively invest this money into commercial property, or other HMRC approved investments.   I retain a low profile, by choice, and looking back have quietly and consistently achieved over the years through lots of hard work, my love of detailed analysis, being creative and being decisive when it matters. I have always given more than I take and I remain determined and passionate about achieving my life’s goals.    Nigel is a chapter author in the book Advice To Your Younger Self – see pp 113 – 126 with all proceeds going to very worthy charities.   This is me:  Husband, Dad, multiple Business Owner, successful Property Investor, Pension Trustee, Trainer, Mentor and multi-generational Legacy Creator.   Nigel’s contact details   Message me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nigel.greene.56 Email: nigel.greene@equassas.co.uk Web: www.equaacademy.co.uk

It was great to interview David Johns for our SSAS Business Podcast and to share with you David’s fascinating story of how he turned a 20+ year corporate banking career involved in risk management into an independent highly accountable and successful entrepreneurial life for him and his family. David, from the Leeds area, shares with us the reality of coming to the decision of exiting a successful career and pursue his interests in property amongst other things. Following leaving Lloyds Banking Group, David decide to take control of his pensions as well and after research settled on a SSAS and in this episode he shares with us some of the decisions he made, the successes and the diligence which is needed to manage his SSAS effectively and with compliance. With experience in his SSAS on acquiring commercial land, loan backs and 3rd party non- connected loans, David has certainly made the most of his first year of SSAs Trusteeship and you can hear all about his experiences, lessons learnt and wisdom freely shared in this episode.

Michelle Bryant is a Chartered Accountant by background, project manager by vocation, London Landlord by design and SSAS Trustee by choice.   Michelle shares with us her journey from New Zealand to London and how she planted deep roots in the capital with her property portfolio. It is clear from interviewing Michelle that she is very clear on her strategy yet also very open to embracing change – more of that in the episode as she has encountered my change on a global scale than most!!    Michelle has been a SSAS Trustee for several years and includes crowd funding, loans and business investment as part of her SSAS investment strategy.   We discuss together the fantastic depth and breadth of experience of SSAS Alliance members and the opportunities of meeting so many interesting people with similarly aligned values who are collaborating, inspiring and supporting each other. As an early member Michelle leads by example and is not afraid to challenge herself and recently became a book chapter author in ‘Advice to your Younger Self’.   I know you are going to love Michelle’s passion for the freedom of choice in her life enabling global travel, networking and business engagements to dovetail with family and close friends.

In this inspirational episode, Richard Kennedy shares with us his deep and purposeful values and how he has successfully combined Business, entrepreneurship, SSAS Trusteeship to become a ‘Force for Good’. This powerful episode will, I am sure make many of us start to think very differently about how we create social good and help us all to navigate a way to serve others whilst also being economically sustainable from a business perspective. I think you are going to really enjoy this. Richard’s mission is to use the power of business models and capital to create sustainable, positive social change. Richard has over 20 years of not for profit, social investment, corporate and hospitality experience with a strong track record in developing cross organisational and cross sector partnerships. He is an experienced multi company non-executive and executive director as well as a charity trustee and non-profit director. Richard is a seasoned international conference speaker on topics such as social investment, inequality and social impact measurement. He has an MBA from the University of Cape Town and London Business School including specialties in social enterprise, corporate finance, negotiation and organisational behaviour. Richard has been investing in property for over 10 years and through Cornerstone Place brings together his passion for property with his deep rooted and spiritual drive to improve the lives of others. He lives in Sussex with his wife, Liz and their four children.

The beauty of a SSAS pension that attracts many, is the diversity of investment opportunities that are available for those who seek ownership, choice and control of their decisions. The following is a comprehesive list of the range of assets permitted by HMRC, at the time of writing, for a SSAS to invest in: Commercial Property Industrial property Retail Units Agricultural Land Commercial Land Industrial/business units and warehouses Offices and shops Forestry and woodland Land for development Public houses Nursing homes Hotels, bed and breakfasts and serviced accommodation in certain cases Marine berths Prisons Regulated Collective Investments such as Unit Trusts, OEICS and ICVC’s Gilts Bonds Fixed Interest stocks Investment Trusts Direct Quoted Equities Trustee Investment Plans Loan back to the sponsoring employer Equities Futures and options traded on recognised futures exchange Authorised UK unit trusts and OEICs and other UCITS funds Unauthorised unit trusts that don't invest in residential property Investment trusts subject to FCA regulation Unitised insurance funds from EU insurers and IPAs Intangible assets such as intellectual property (IP) Deposits and deposit interests Traded endowment policies Derivative products such as a Contract for difference (CFD) Gold bullion Peer to peer (P2P) Lending/Crowd Funding Off shore funds Cash deposits Image rights Copyrights Trademarks Some of these investment areas may have caveats to them on how they may be allowable - some are only applicable to the UK for instance. It is always appropriate to seek sound advice from your financial advisor or tax advisor when reviewing new investments, ensuring that you stay clear of any potential for tax penalties or loss of tax efficiency. A SSAS can offer to those able to harness its power, the missing link to drawing together their entire personal economy and CREATING EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS OF COMPOUNDING WEALTH to levels of unprecedented calibre. The word Calibre is synonymous with quality and exemplary achievement. Take the incredible talent, innovation and precision in Horology, the study of watchmaking. Calibre is the term used for the inner workings or movement of the watch, as opposed to the protective casing. As an engineer I have always been drawn to the precision excellence of the design and manufacture of a watch calibre.  Within the hallowed halls of the premium brands of horological royalty such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Breguet and A. Lange & Sohne, there lies the crème de la crème of precision design and engineering. Simply stunning. The same level of superlative and exceptional performance can be held within the calibre of a person, organisation or process. The Collins English dictionary definition of Calibre is: The calibre of a person is the quality or standard of their ability or intelligence The calibre of something is its quality It is only fitting that the CALIBRE© MODEL defines the 7 core powers in deploying a SSAS with life changing and multi-generational impact. They are: C     -           Collaborate A     -           Acquire L     -           Loan I      -           Invest B     -           Borrow R     -           Resonate E     -           Educate

A Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) is a pension Trust set up by a limited company or a partnership.  A SSAS is primarily set up by private and family run limited companies for the benefit of the owner directors and senior employees. The members are also Trustees and so have control and flexibility over the Scheme assets and investment choices in a tax efficient environment. The key features of a SSAS are: It is an occupational pension scheme The members are usually directors or employees of the sponsoring employer There is a limit of 11 members It is a highly tax efficient environment You have control of the investment decisions A SSAS is an occupational pension scheme established in the Finance Act 1973 and is usually, but not always, set up by the directors of a business. The directors may want greater control over the investment decisions for their pensions, especially the use of their pension plans, to invest back into their business or indeed other businesses, should they wish. A SSAS is registered with HMRC and so benefits from wide ranging and generous tax reliefs available to pension schemes. These may include, but not limited to: No Income Tax on allowable investments No Capital Gains Tax due on disposal of investments Company and personal contributions are deductible against tax Tax-free lump sum on death before retirement Tax-free lump sum from age 55 on retirement A SSAS is not an FCA regulated product and so the ‘wrapper’ or vehicle is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). However, the FSCS does cover any regulated investments held by the SSAS. Each member of the SSAS is a Trustee which is a requirement to comply with the Pensions Act 1995. A SSAS is a truly eye-opening concept that will leave you wondering why you didn’t know about it long ago, irrespective of what age you are!  And that can be a fear for many – they don’t know what they don’t know.  Being a Trustee of your own SSAS is similar in many respects to running your own business. In fact, it calls on exactly the same business acumen and tenacity and should not be something that should be feared. For sure, there are rules to learn and be followed, the same as in any walk of life.  However, once you have mastered the basics relatively quickly you will start to see the immediate benefits and experienced the feeling of freedom and control which will, I assure you, become intoxicating! The responsibility should not be taken lightly in setting up any business and a SSAS is no different in that respect. Embrace the knowledge and drive your own path towards an incredibly fulfilling future with the empowerment of a SSAS pension.

The SSAS Alliance is growing exponentially as more and more people are choosing to understand how they can responsibly take control of their personal economy including their pensions, through a SSAS. The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘Alliance’ as a relationship based on similarity of interests and qualities Within the SSAS Alliance our mantra is ‘we are only competing with what we are capable of’ leading to unprecedented levels of collaboration between members and creating a unify force for good enabling those that have a need for funding to meet those that have a need for investment opportunity, to meet responsibly for the creation of shared value. Mark talks openly about his aspirations for growing the SSAS Alliance as it reaches out to 50,000 members by 2020 as a leading lighthouse for guidance, best practice and knowledge. The culture of the SSAS Alliance continues to evolve around transparency, due diligence, and an eyes wide open approach to responsible investing.

In this episode, Mark shares with you deep insights into what I learnt over a 26 year corporate C-suite career and how he used those skills to take control of his personal economy, helping thousands of other people and creating large scale wealth generation through collaboration, due diligence and accountability. Mark runs through is corporate background and the skills that have served him well as well as a personal insight into Mark – the father of 4, business man and investor and what makes him tick. He talks candidly about the profound impact that his business partners have had on him over the years including the positives and also reflecting on tragedies. Mark gives us a walk through into his journey into SSAS, the drivers, e the process and his experiences in unprecedented details – warts and all! It is clear that collaboration sits right at the heart of Mark’s value system – Creating Shared Value and he discusses ‘What is our size of the prize’ and offers a contrarian view on how you can create a double compound curve whilst establish control of your personal economy. A lifetime in industry around world ranging from construction, telecoms, power stations and data centres, Marks experience in risk management and £1Million to £1Billion global infrastructure deployments allows him to share intriguing insights into  being a catalyst of value creation, a force for good and the UN Environmental Social Governance, establishing stewardship of our economy and planet for future generations through effective leadership, duty of care and grounded bank grade due diligence. Mark closes with 3 final takeaways that can transform your destiny: Take control of your personal economy Be the bank – lead your investment fund through bank grade due diligence Understand what is YOUR size of the prize whilst Creating Shared Value for all