The final edition of the 2024 Top Rated Financial Adviser Guide was distributed in The Telegraph today.  If you select the image below, you will open up a PDF listing the UK's top Financial Advisers.  Blue Heron's Rebecca Harbrow features in this guide, take a look.

Financial scams are more sophisticated than ever before, but a few telltale signs can give them away. Here are four ways to spot a financial scam and what to do if you think someone’s trying to scam you.

We’d like to think we wouldn’t fall for a financial scam, but the truth is we’re all vulnerable. Even amateur fraudsters can create convincing ads or replicate the websites, emails and phone calls of genuine financial businesses.

But no matter how sophisticated the attempt there are usually a few key signs that someone is trying to scam yo...

Critical illness cover can help ease the burden that serious health conditions place on our finances, but almost three-quarters (73%) of young adults don’t have a critical illness policy. More than half of adults aged 18 to 40 don’t understand what critical illness cover is for, according to research published by Beagle Street and reported in IFA Magazine.

After having it explained to them, however, four in five of those surveyed said they would consider purchasing it. Critical illness cover pays out if you are diagnosed with a specified se...

You and your money

1.      Income & expenditure

Tracking how much money you bring in and how much you spend can give you an accurate picture of where you could cut back, and conversely where you can spend more.

2.      Debt

Knowing how much debt you have, whether it's your mortgage, credit cards, or loans can help you make informed decisions about your spending, budgeting, and saving.

3.      Credit score

Knowing your credit score is an important part of monitoring your financial health. You should know what your credit score is, but a...

We all hope that our estates will be dealt with in an orderly, considerate manner after we pass away, but the number of Will disputes is increasing.

Up to 10,000 people in England and Wales dispute wills every year according to a report by The Guardian, and a growing proportion of these are being taken to court – 195 in 2022 compared to 145 in 2017. Thousands of families have been embroiled in challenges to wills that are often “ruinously expensive”, time-consuming, and emotionally draining.

Disputes can be taxing for our loved ones, but t...

You need to be wealthy

You can invest with less than you may think. Making small, regular investments can provide more benefits than investing in a lump sum. Even with rising interest rates, leaving money sitting in a bank account can be less profitable than investing it in the market.

It’s too much of a risk

With any type of investment, it’s going to be a risk. However, if you understand the risks involved and how these can change, you’ll be able to make an educated decision as to whether it’s worthwhile.

You need to know the best time ...

Homeowners who sold their properties in 2023 made an average profit of £74,000 according to data from property website Zoopla. But you don’t have to sell your house to benefit from rising property prices – they could help you get a better interest rate on your mortgage.

9 in 10 homes sold for more than their purchase price

Concerns that the Bank of England’s decision to increase its base interest rate might cause property prices to stagnate or fall appear to be unfounded as homeowners continue to benefit from long-term growth.

The average...

Affordability challenges prompted a fifth of first-time buyers to opt for a mortgage term of 35 years or more in Q4 of 2023 according to a report from UK Finance, twice as many as the year before.

A longer mortgage term might seem attractive at first glance, but there’s a hidden catch. Let’s look into it.

A longer mortgage term could reduce monthly repayments, but...

This is the main draw of a longer mortgage term for first-time buyers. Borrowing a large sum of money and opting to spend more time paying it back means your monthly repaymen...

Welcome to a landmark episode of Business Growth Talks, hosted by podcaster, Mark Haywood.  This special episode commemorates the 500th instalment of the podcast, recorded live at Riverside Studios in London.  Rebecca Harbrow owner of Blue Heron Financial Services was invited to participate in the podcast to share her strategies for her success.

As a distinguished Chartered Financial Planner, Rebecca shared her innovative approach to financial advising, which includes a comprehensive range of services such as inheritance tax, pensions, and ...