Goslings Grouse

We do not really have celebrities in this industry, unlike other major sectors. Vacuum cleaners have James Dyson, cheap airlines have Stelios, and for everything else there is Richard Branson.

Thank god for Warren Buffett, he really is the saviour. His latest venture into the markets - buying $5bn of stock in Bank of America - reminds us of another time when he did his bit for America and capitalism.

It is quite strange being abroad when your city and country is burning, as it was for me while I was away on holiday during the recent riots.

Trust is the most important asset the industry has, so imagine the nightmare if it is lost or threatened.

Did you see the article in the Sunday Times recently about ISA millionaires? It was one of those classic pieces which is everything that is right (or wrong) about our industry - at least according to a mate of mine.

I have only ever met Gerald Ronson once, and that might be overstating it. He was standing in the dock at Southwark Crown Court, accused of his involvement in something older readers will remember as the Guinness scandal.

What would you call your asset management business if you were launching one? I would call mine Gosling Asset Management, which I could shorten to GAM, but then again a very good group called GAM was already in existence long before upstarts like me tried...

"To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity."

A fund manager recently told me an adviser asked him to speak to a group of his clients. Nothing unusual in that, you might say. The manager turned up at the venue - a local library outside of London - and expected a modest crowd of 20 to 30 people.

I met a conman the other week - a fully-fledged fraudster. And I will tell you, it is frightening how easy it is for people to get taken in by them.