2011

The business strengthened its team with Andrew Hirst joining as financial planner and Gaynor Rigby was made a partner. Due to increasing demand we expanded our events calendar and began to hold our popular seminars in Knutsford.

We received an accolade for customer service from Investor in Customers, achieving the highest award of a 3 star accreditation. In addition, we were thrilled to be named Business Adviser of the Year in the inaugural Macclesfield and Wilmslow Business Awards.

The year also saw us buy some of our first defined returns products for portfolios. To find out more about defined returns and how they continue to fit into our investment strategy, see a great blog from one of our investment analysts, Graeme Black, here.

Key events

• Andrew Hirst joins the business and Gaynor Rigby is made partner
• Equilibrium receives a 3 star accreditation from customer service from Investor in Customers
• We were named Business Adviser of the Year at the Macclesfield and Wilmslow Business Awards

What else happened in this year?

In finance…

Annual UK Inflation: 4.20% CPI
Bank base rate: 0.5000% since 2009
IHT threshold: £325,000 since 2009

In the charts…

• The release of Adele’s 2^nd album, 21, saw her career take off with the popularity of singles such as Someone Like You, the bestselling single of 2011. The record dominated the album charts for a total of 18 weeks throughout the year.  

On the screen…

• The eighth and final instalment of the Harry Potter film series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was released on 15 July, and became the highest grossing film of the year.

Around the world…

• March 12 – A day after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant explodes in Japan.
• April 17 – The HBO TV adaptation of the Game of Thrones series of novels premieres.

In the UK… 

• April 29 – Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton get married in Westminster Abbey.
• May 14 – Achievements by both Manchester’s football teams were celebrated: Manchester United won a record setting 19^th Premier League; whilst Manchester city won the FA Cup, their 1^st time major title for 35 years.
• July 10 – Following much controversy over recent publications and allegations of phone hacking, the newspaper News of the World publishes its final issue, after 168 years of circulation.
• July 23 – Singer songwriter Amy Winehouse is found dead in her London home, at the age of 27.