ING Investment Management; 14% Europe has good financial literacy

ING Investment Management has published new research with 5,500 people across 11 European countries looking at people’s financial literacy. The findings reveal that only 14% of Europeans have ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ financial literacy, with 20% having poor skills here. Some 66% have ‘basic’ skills. The UK had the second best score in the ‘league table’ but, despite this, only 22% of the adult population has ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ financial literacy skills. Interestingly, Greece came top. Other key findings include: Only 7% of people in Turkey had good or excellent financial literacy scores – the lowest of the 11 countries surveyed They study was based on 13 questions on personal finance issues. On average Europeans answered 6.2 of the 13 questions correctly compared to 6.8 in 2010 so financial literacy is getting worse Questions were based on four areas: Financial future (related to saving for your future) In and around the house ( related to mortgage payments, credit cards and savings) Savings (questions related to savings accounts) Investments (questions related to stocks and shares) The percentage of Europeans who answered the questions correctly in each section was as follows: Financial future: 52% In and around the house: 45% Savings: 41% Investments: 50% The scores for the UK part of the survey were as follows: Financial future: 51% In and around the house: 52% Savings: 40% Investments:57%

How Billionaire Indians Splash the Cash in London

It was really interesting putting this article together for editor Prince Matthews Thomas for Forbes India's Rich List issue. Ultra high net worth individuals have specific ways in which they spend their money and Indians are even more culturally specific. For example, they like to live mostly in central London, as the real estate here is secure. And though they will spend enormous amounts of money on jewellery abroad, buying up Elizabeth Taylor's gems for instance, they still favour their personal jewellers in India. To write an article like this needs a whole team of contributors I can turn to, and I am grateful to people like Vikrant Bhalerao, CEO of Credere Wealth Management and the Dorchester's PRO Rosanna Fishbourne who gave me special info that wasn't in the public domain. It's good working with PRs and CEOs who understand that if they go the extra mile with a writer the return is simply a more colourful piece on their topic. And PRs who can't be bothered, are too busy or make their subjects too precious? They are not best serving the company or person that is paying them, because we are all on deadlines and I like to talk to people who make themselves available to talk to me! One PRO I recently dealt with was so arrogant and inattentive, that that person has actually put me off writing about their subject now.

Most German Multi-Millionaires live in London!

My colleague Andrew Armoils at Wealth Insight sent me this data over this morning...interesting...it is part of WealthInsight’s report entitled: Germany – The Future of HNWIs to 2016: Wealth in the Powerhouse of Europe. Germany’s rich: Top 25 Cities for German multi-millionaires According to WealthInsight research, there are 11,392 multi-millionaires in Germany (each with assets of over US$30 million), the third highest number in the world, behind only the US and Japan. Frankfurt is home to the largest portion of these with 1,868 multi-millionaires. Compared to major EU cities: this is above Paris (1,500 multi-millionaires), Zurich (1,314) and Geneva (1,156), but well below London (4,220). There are also sizable German multi-millionaire populations in Munich (1,113), Hamburg (843), Düsseldorf (524), Berlin (464) and Stuttgart (382). According to WealthInsight analyst Andrew Amoils: “Germany has a relatively even spread of multi-millionaires with 10 German cities with more than 150 multi-millionaires and 5 German cities with more than 400 multi-millionaires. This differs considerably from other major EU countries (UK and France) where wealth is centered around the capital cities” “However, one should note that the top 25 German cities for multi-millionaires are all based in former West Germany.” “Leipzig is the top East German city - it has only 28 multi-millionaires.” · The number of multi-millionaires in Germany increased by 0.7% over the four year period between 2007 and 2011 (review period). ·

Spectator Life Conference Preview

I’ve come across an event taking place in London on 4th October; the Spectator Life Conference: Luxury in the Digital and Asian Age. The conference will explore the three key issues that affect luxury businesses today: how to create a powerful web presence without diluting your brand values, how to exploit the sophisticated new digital technologies such as augmented reality shopping to grow your business and how to create effective sales strategies to reach increasingly affluent and brand-aware Asian consumers. Speakers from India, China, France and the UK will be talking about the challenges and opportunities facing luxury brands. Speakers include: Grace Chang, digital strategy consultant to the luxury sector, and Tara Wang, co-founder of C&W Branding, on: "What Chinese Women Want" - the colour and taste aesthetics of Chinese women, the importance of digital strategies in China, and the use of social media. Katrina Dodd from Contagious, who specialises in advising brands on innovative digital marketing strategies, and Chris Sanderson, co-founder of The Future Laboratory on emergent trends in the Luxury market. Kate Anketill, CEO and Founder of GDR Creative Intelligence, on what's exciting and innovative in retail design. Also Claire Enders CEO of Enders Analysis, one of the leading consultancies and visionaries of the digital space. Stephen Bayley, author, critic, columnist, consultant, broadcaster, debater and curator.

Exclusive; Boris Becker, "You Have to Go Where it Hurts" for Forbes India

Boris Becker was gracious and expansive, frank and funny, easy to like. Trusting, and I trusted him too. Implicitly. He gave me much more than could be printed in one article, so watch out for the rest of it. When I asked him "What is your legacy?" He answered in a way that was completely unexpected. A champion. Special breed.

Wonderful to get back to reporting on the BBC

It's been a while, but I am happy to be back and filing reports for the BBC again. Some of those audience numbers are amazing. It's also nice to have an influence on the programme agendas.

Olympic Cauldron Designer Thomas Heatherwick talks to ForbesIndia

It was nice to get a chance to look at an aesthetic aspect of the London Olympics; the stunning cauldron, or set of objects which came together to form one big flame. Thomas Heatherwick oozes passion for his work; amidst the glitz, the glamour, the high octane level and the turbo-charged business deals, the still small voice of artistic endeavour was refreshing. While Thomas's interview about how he designed the cauldron effect is illuminating, I am fascinated by his other work. For instance, he designed the UK Pavilion for Shanghai for World Expo 2010. It was one of the standout features of that event, and is an important item in his portfolio. Thoughtful design which makes sense to the audience as well. How rare is that?