Bespoke â Grant Thornton

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ADAY IN THE LIFE ARTWATCH Interesting art auctions from around the world FINE ASIAN ART San Francisco Monday 29 June 2009 www.bonhams.com Tony Deep MBE 24 Arriving in the UK aged 18 with just £3.50 in his pocket, Tony Deep set up East End Foods. Now worth £100 million, it sponsors afoundation that promotes organic farming always wake up at four in the morning. Today I’m staying at a small house just outside Delhi. It is the local office for the Heart and Soil Organic foundation. The first thing Idoistake medication for my diabetes and then Imeditate for an hour. That’s when one can talk to oneself. ‘I lost three members of my family to diabetes, which led me to good organic food. The foundation is concerned with sourcing organic spices and foods for the family business. Idrink green tea while Icontact people on the internet. Itried to set up organic sourcing in England but was told, “It’s not going to happen. You’re dreaming.” But here in India we now have 200,000 farmers growing organic food. This is the time of year when the spice crops are coming in and it is important that they are delivered directly to us so that we can keep up the Soil Association’s standards while we process them for export. ‘At eight o’clock Ihave some breakfast –anomelette of two egg whites, some cornmeal bread –and, of course, my insulin injection. Then it’s back to work. Icall myself retired. I’m 67, but Iwork about 12 hours aday. Itry to avoid political meetings, but they have to be done. We’re talking with the Indian government about exporting cereals, lentils and beans. They are currently banned for export as the government doesn’t think there are enough for the home market. ‘Delhi is very crowded so car journeys to meetings can take more than an hour. Iwould normally do two or three during the day. Sometimes it’s over lunch, and often, like tonight, there will be an evening meeting. There are around 700 people involved with the foundation and in simple terms our aim is to make food as good and pure as the food our ancestors ate. ‘I’ll be back about 10.30pm and go to bed at about 11pm. Idon’t really do anything to relax as my work is quite leisurely –I’m not pushed like Iused to be. Ihave no trouble sleeping. Iwatch the news; that always sends me to sleep!’ Afine 18th-century Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze figure of Vaishravana –The Guardian of the North dressed in military costume. Overall 30cm high. Estimate: $10,000–$15,000 RENAISSANCE &BAROQUE The Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection London Wednesday 8July 2009, 6pm www.sothebys.com Christ carrying the cross, Andrea Solario, Milan, circa 1465-1524. Overall 51.6cm high, 52.1cm wide Estimate: £250,000–£350,000 MASTER PAINTINGS WEEK London, 4–10 July 2009 www.masterpaintingsweek.co.uk The most distinguished names in Old Master galleries, along with two auction houses, will showcase their expertise and great paintings with special displays or events. BONHAMS, SOTHEBY’S AMSTERDAM, MIKI ALCALDE
LATEST THINKING What to do with cash? Three experts provide their take on the best strategy ILLUSTRATION PETER JAMES FIELD ■ The £75 billion committed to quantitative easing has had afairly dramatic effect on medium-term UK Government bond yields. Longer-term rates are likely to fall further as aresult. ■ We feel that UK rates are likely to remain low over the next 12 months as inflation falls and we enter adeflationary period. Beyond that, we see inflation returning as the new money entering the economy takes effect. ■ Asensible strategy for managing significant sums in this market is one that places cash on the balance sheets of highly rated banks or building societies that have either explicitly or implicitly received Government support. Also,fixa proportion of the cash for up to 12 months to protect against persistently low rates. ■ Fixing cash rates for longer than 12 months might be worthwhile for a small proportion of the available balance, given the likelihood that inflation and therefore rates will be on the increase in 2010. ■ We can supplement this approach by looking to pick up yield through some short-term investment strategies that exploit factors such as the high volatility in equity and currency markets and deliver returns in atax-efficient manner. Rory Gilbert, Managing Director of UK Private Bank, Barclays Wealth ■ The outlook for all the major currencies in the next year or so, at least to some extent, is abattle of the ‘least bad’. All of the policymakers face major challenges, and each of them is undertaking monetary and fiscal risks that threaten their currencies’ long-term purchasing power. ■ Quantitative easing, together with fiscal expansion, is usually arecipe for currency disaster. The only dilemma is that all of the US, UK, Japan, Switzerland and, in an indirect way, the eurozone, are doing this. This is why many people currently like gold. ■ So where is the pound going? By default, we like it at Goldman Sachs. It has fallen alot already, and because of this, two things make it attractive. It is cheap on our measures of fair value, especially relative to the euro, Swiss franc and yen, and to amore moderate degree against the dollar. In addition, there are signs in leading indicators that the UK might be the first major economy to show some ‘green shoots’. We expect that the pound will be closer to 1.80 than 1.40 against the dollar by this time next year, and agood 10% stronger against the euro. Jim O’Neill, Head of Global Economic Research, Goldman Sachs ■ As the consequences of the credit crunch started to emerge, many investors initially fled to capital safe options. However, many are now looking for abetter interest rate in addition to capital security for their short-term cash deposits. ■ With base rates so low and predicted to stay low in the near term, ‘better than base rate’ interest rates are available if you shop around. ■ For significant sums, ensuring you keep to the £50,000 (per individual) Government compensation scheme limit would complement the strategy, while watching out for those deposit takers that are part ofthe same group of companies. ■ For medium to longer-term investors willing to accept adegree of risk, having set aside acash reserve, then diversifying your investments into aportfolio which includes avariety of asset classes may be asuitable option. ■ The volatile investment periods that we are currently experiencing often create opportunities for the longer-term investor. These investors could benefit from any turnaround in economies around the world. Richard Wheatley, Partner, Private Client Services, <strong>Grant</strong> <strong>Thornton</strong> www.grant-thornton.co.uk
Page 1 and 2: Bespoke FOR PRIVATE CLIENTS ISSUE 1
Page 3 and 4: welcome This is the first issue of
Page 5 and 6: ‘Each is different. Some are more
Page 7 and 8: PEOPLE AND PLACES ‘Mechanical eng
Page 9 and 10: DEVIL’S ADVOCATE NO PLACE TO HIDE
Page 11 and 12: FINE ART Art has much to offer the
Page 13 and 14: FINE ART The Hon John Tufton, by Si
Page 15 and 16: INVESTMENT King George Ibecame the
Page 17 and 18: INVESTMENT INVESTING IN TURBULENT M
Page 19 and 20: PROTECT YOUR WEALTH SPARE ATHOUGHT
Page 21 and 22: PROTECT YOUR WEALTH The case for aw
Page 23: NEED TO KNOW the very helpful Entre
Page 27 and 28: ‘All Iask is a chance to prove th

Bespoke â Grant Thornton

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Bespoke â Grant Thornton