AES International

When life gets chaotic, the instinct is to do something.

With your career. With your family. With your finances.

That instinct, applied to a long-term financial plan, is one of the most common ways we watch financial independence get quietly undermined.

Our CEO and founder Sam Instone explores why the messy middle of a working life is when good plans are most at risk, and what the people who reach financial independence in good shape actually do differently.

Read his latest column in The National:

Why smart people interfere with good financial plans that are working | The National Beware the urge to act when everything else in life seems chaotic

Your brain takes shortcuts to cope with information overload. Useful in a meeting. Expensive when the decision involves money.

Confirmation bias, sunk cost, overconfidence: this cheat sheet maps the mental traps that catch even sharp investors, and how to spot them in yourself.

Read it here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0w9Rfh0

The questions worth asking before the next renewal aren't usually about price.

They're about whether the plan you're paying for still fits the team you've got. Whether the cover your employees expect is actually in the policy. Whether the way you'd want a medical emergency handled is the way it would actually be handled if one happened next week.

We built a 2-minute benchmark for HR teams to answer those questions on their own. It scores your employee benefits across three areas and shows you where the gaps are before you sit down with your broker.

It's called the Corporate Healthcare Assessment. Free. Results on the screen.: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0w9QbR0

Plenty of people with $1m+ portfolios drift back to work. Not because they need the money, but because the plan fell apart the moment life went off script.

Staying retired isn't about hitting a number. Sam Instone lays out the seven truths that decide who actually stays out. Read it here:

https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0w9LMm0

Rising healthcare costs aren't an HR problem to absorb. They're a leadership decision being made, or avoided, every year.

AES wrote a guide for CEOs on what's pushing costs up, where the spend leaks, and the calls only you can make.

Read it here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0w9tCz0

Today, we're celebrating Kelwin Soans, marking three years of steady excellence with AES as part of the financial life management team.

Kelwin is calm, steady, and genuinely caring – always wanting the best outcome, whether it's for a client or teammate. His impressive patience with Salesforce and determination to deliver high-quality work never go unnoticed. He leads by example, and his commitment and positive attitude are qualities we can all learn from.

Last quarter really showcased what makes Kelwin special when he stepped up to train a new team member. His patience and care were evident throughout, helping the new colleague build confidence while strengthening the entire team.

His analytical mind, combined with genuine care for relationships, creates that rare colleague who both gets things right and makes people feel supported. That responsibility he takes for others' growth builds the kind of collaborative environment where everyone thrives.

Thank you, Kelwin, for three years of being exactly the kind of colleague everyone hopes to work with – steady, reliable, and always ready to help others succeed.

What a weekend at the first-ever Apex Games! Over 1,200 competitors descended on the World Trade Centre, and we're incredibly proud of the AES team who stepped up to the challenge.

Jack, Craig, and Rory formed a formidable trio, pushing through every obstacle together. Special mention to Jack, whose back decided to spasm halfway through – but true to form, he somehow soldiered on and crossed that finish line. (That's the kind of determination we see from him every day in the office.)

And then there's Ciara, who competed in a trio with friends and family whilst managing an 8-month-old baby! Watching her cross the line was genuinely inspiring.

Thanks to CaB Sports and Paul Downes for organising such an incredible event. Partnerships like these help us put well-being at the heart of our approach to employee healthcare.

Well done to all who took part – you've set the bar high, and we're already looking forward to training for the next one!

Most CEOs delegate group medical insurance to HR and revisit it at renewal.

That's understandable. It's also an expensive decision.

Healthcare costs in the region are rising year on year. The companies doing a great job of controlling those costs aren't negotiating harder at renewal. They're making better decisions all year round.

AES has put together a guide specifically for CEOs and business leaders on the cost, productivity and strategic implications of group medical insurance in the MENA region.

What's driving costs up, what good looks like and what your role is in building a benefits strategy that actually works.

Download here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vyrQD0

Today, we're celebrating someone who is an essential cog in the AES flywheel – Caroline Castro, marking ten incredible years with us.

Carol has this unwavering focus on getting the right outcomes for clients, no matter what it takes. She keeps operations for the financial life management team running smoothly, always on hand to share advice, explain processes, and genuinely help others develop their skills. She steps in without being asked, making sure clients always get the best care possible.

What people really appreciate about working with her is how approachable and thoughtful she is. She checks in regularly to see how she can support the team, creating a collaborative atmosphere.

When urgent cases need escalating, Carol's the one who drives things forward. She doesn't just pass problems along – she sorts them out, efficiently and without fuss. That generosity with her knowledge has built a stronger, more capable team around her.

A decade of Caroline means a decade of things getting done right, people feeling supported, and clients knowing they're in safe hands.

Thanks for being our constant, Caroline.

The same event, described two different ways, can produce two completely different decisions in the same person.

In finance, the language we use every day shapes how we feel about money. And how we feel drives what we do with it.

"Crash."

"High risk."

Even, "the stock market".

In his latest piece for The National, Sam Instone unpacks some of the most expensive words in finance and what they're quietly costing investors.

Read more here:

The most expensive words in finance you don’t notice | The National Financial products are designed and sold by an industry that depends on you feeling either anxious or excited