Gosling's Grouse - The time has come for compulsion

Fifteen years ago I did not look like this and I did not have this column - I was far too shy to have a picture of myself in the first issue - or in fact any issue until a few years ago. How times change.

There is a temptation to get sentimental with anniversaries like this as somehow life was so much better when it all started. Actually, it is much better now than it was 15 years ago because this industry remains one of the most fantastically competitive and innovative anywhere in the economy – perhaps comparable with the food retail sector. Certainly, when Investment Week started the usual doom-mongers predicted the disappearance of IFAs, to be replaced – if that is the right word – by tied agents linked to estate agencies, or the direct sales forces or tied reps of life companies. ...