SCM Direct

The Smart, Common-sense, Modern investment company offering clients 100% transparent, fair fee, discretionary fund management. Started by Alan & Gina Miller

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

@SCMDirect co-founder @thatginamiller will be joining @IainDaleAllTalk for Cross Questions at 8pm this evening on @LBC Radio to discuss the upcoming #budget and the top stories of the day.

Other guests Labour MP and former minister @SeemaMalhotra1, former NI first minister Baroness @ArleneFosterUK Foster and journalist @ianbirrell.

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

Every financial plan assumes a return. Few state the cost.
£100k over 25 yrs: ~£429k at 6% a year, ~£300k after 1.5% in total costs.

Same plan, £128k less. Ask for one all-in figure.

#WorldFinancialPlanningDay

Illustrative only. Capital at risk.

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

The state pension debate reminds us it was only ever a floor, not a retirement plan.

A comfortable retirement depends on your own savings, and the earlier you invest, the more time your pension pot has to grow.

Costs matter too: high fees compound as surely as returns.

https://t.co/ItpR3iVw55

*Capital at risk.*

#Triplelock #retiremnt #pemsion #SIPP

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

57% of graduates are women, yet no gender impact assessment was done on the student loan system or changes.

Lower pay + career breaks + a debt that keeps growing = the pension gap, 30 years early.

For any new students starting university, make sure you read the fine print!

Gina Miller 🎧 https://t.co/oKdt8UckeR

#StudentLoans #freshersweek @IChronicle

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

41% of young men aged 18–35 are investing.

Only 20% of women of a similar age are.

That gap doesn't close with age. It compounds - through lower pay, career breaks and the pension gap - for 40 years.

Gina Miller 🎧 https://t.co/ku2CjPKq8k

#PensionAwarenessWeek
@IChronicle

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

The next generation of family money says it wants transparency; but buying opacity.

They're moving money into less transparent, less liquid, and dearer assets - when lower-risk options are available.

Right diagnosis. Wrong cure.

Also, 97% of family offices say heirs' priorities differ from the founders/parents. Similar across all families.

👉https://t.co/nOOCvBm7Nw

#FamilyOffice #WealthManagement #InvestmentCosts #Investmentrisk

*Capital at risk*

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

Only 23% of couples discuss money, investing or pensions. MoneyShe research.

This Pension Awareness Week, have the conversation. And whatever else you do - have an account and a pension in your own name.

https://t.co/ku2CjPKq8k

#PensionAwarenessWeek 🎧
@IChronicle

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

2025 data: 71% of UK assets are owned by men.

More women hold their money in cash - which, against inflation, is a slow puncture.

"Visibility is not the same as confidence and voice." - Gina Miller, in a new @IChronicle Investors' Chronicle podcast

https://t.co/oKdt8UckeR

#PensionAwarenessWeek 🎧

Capital at risk.

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

Budget 28 October. Gilt yields climbing. Comparisons of the AI boom to 1999.

Where do the risks and opportunities sit for investors?

Hear from our CIO Alan Miller & Bond Specialist Charles Samen - between them, they’ve run money through the dot-com crash, 2008, and everything since.

Weds 23 Sept - 16:00 Investment Webinar

REGISTER TODAY - https://t.co/LCxbK3fVI1

Capital at risk.

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

On any food item, there’s a label telling you all the ingredients.

It’s time for a Fee Label to tell you all the costs, charges & cuts on your pension & investments

Our suggestions to the @FCA are here https://t.co/AnfkewXTGL

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

Over 20 years, the gap between an all-in cost of 0.85% and 2% is almost exactly a fifth of your final pot.

Read our full blog here - includes a 5-step, 10-mins way to work out your costs https://t.co/AnfkewXlRd

Our FCA submission https://t.co/ApJHL1MhcQ

6/6

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

The FCA's own analysis of its new cost rules admits investors may be left to add up their own charges.

We've published our response to their cost consultation – 3 fixes, none of them difficult. 🧵
@theFCA

1/6

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

Fix three: say what happens to your cash.

Bank Rate 3.75%. Platforms pay under 1% to 2.8%. The rest goes in their pockets. It isn't called a charge, so it appears on no fee schedule.

5/6

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

Financial Awareness Day. Three numbers every investor should know:

1. What you own
2. What it costs you each year, in pounds
3. What you'll need at retirement

Two are easy to find. The second shouldn't be this hard.

#FinancialAwarenessDay

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

National Financial Awareness Day

One question worth asking today: what did your investments cost you last year - all in, in pounds?

Most investors can't answer. That's not a failure of awareness. It's a failure of disclosure.

This Financial Awareness Day find out the true costs of your pensions and investments

#FinancialAwarenessDay #investmentfees #pensionfees #transparency

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

Real diversification takes real work – that’s what you need to be paying your fund/investment manager for.
Full commentary & analysis here:
https://t.co/ZYULcH9FaY

#Investing #IndexFunds #Diversification #Pensions #MarketConcentration #ETFs

*Capital at risk. Not investment advice.*

4/4

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

Is big really beautiful? The 10 largest US stocks are now a record ~40% of the S&P 500 - about double their long-run norm. Your “safe” index fund is a concentrated bet.
Our CIO, Alan Miller’s analysis on the risk hiding in your #investments #pension 👇

#Investing #IndexFunds #Diversification #Pensions #MarketConcentration #ETFs

1/4

[SCM Direct @SCMDirect]

$1.2 TRILLION of #SpaceX value erased in 6 weeks after its float. $570bn of AI-related debt issued in 2026. “Big, certain and expensive” is how good assets become poor investments - from Cisco to GARS to Fundsmith.

3/4