Lowes Magazine Issue 125

INSIDE TRACK

Lowes client competition 2022 winner WE ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF OUR 2022 LOWES CLIENT COMPETITION. In January 2022, we asked you to predict the increase in the rate of inflation for each of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and Retail Prices Index (RPI) over the 12 month period to November 2022, as published by the Office for National Statistics in December 2022. When we set the competition the latest published inflation figure was 5.1% and not many people would have placed it as over 11% by November. But for numerous reasons, including ongoing

energy and supply chain issues, inflation figures were driven up throughout 2022. The inflation figures as published for November were: CPI = 10.7; RPI = 14.0.

Congratulations to Miss S Wallace who had the nearest prediction to both inflation figures, guessing 9.8 for CPI and 12.4 for RPI. Although a winning answer, it just goes to show no one could have predicted how much inflation would rise. The prize voucher for £500 is on its way to you. See page 10 for details of our 2023 competition.

Inflation November 2021 to November 2022 (%)

16 14 12 10

CPI RPI

8 6 4

Source: Office for National Statistics

Percentage Inflation

Nov 2021 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Feb 2022 Mar 2022 Apr 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 Aug 2022 Sept 2022 Oct 2022 Nov 2022

Lowes board member retires HUGH IMRIE, LONGSTANDING Non-executive Director of

‘Alternative’ investments AS TRADITIONAL INVESTMENTS HAVE SUFFERED from volatility in the markets and greater correlation between equities and bonds, more investors are considering what are termed ‘alternative’ investments. Structured products are often cited as one of these investments. We consider structured products to be more of a mainstream product, categorised as alternative simply because they are less widely used than funds invested in stocks or bonds. We successfully use structured products to help diversify clients’ portfolios and, while like all investments there are risks involved, we have seen the majority deliver defined returns year on year, as well as protecting capital along the way. If you have not considered using structured products before or want to know what products are currently available for investment, please contact your Lowes Adviser or call 0191 281 8811.

Lowes and more recently Client Representative on the board, is stepping down from the role. Hugh has been a client of Lowes and a personal friend to company founder, Ken Lowes since the early 1970’s and joined the board in 1996. As a long term client, almost since Lowes inception, he

has been perfectly placed to wholly understand what the company does and able to apply his experiences to continually improve and adjust how Lowes has built its relationships with clients, making sure we as a company are constantly evolving. His many years contribution to Lowes is very much appreciated and we wish him all the very best for the future.

This magazine is for general information purposes only and does not constitute advice or a personal recommendation. It does not consider your specific circumstances as an individual and/or corporate investor. If you wish to establish if any of the products, services or options discussed are suitable for you then you should contact us for advice. Remember that the value of your investments can go down as well as up and that you could get back less than you invest. Best endeavours have been made to ensure all information contained within the magazine are accurate at time of writing, however they may be subject to change later.

Covershot: Portrait shot of a stag. Source: Lewis J Newman, Shutterstock.

2 LOWES Issue 125 · Published January 2023