Keeping your tax bill to a minimum is not a matter of aggressive or complex tax schemes During this period of austerity, why pay more tax than you need to? Sensible tax planning is an essential tool in making the most of your finances. Keeping your tax bill to a minimum is not a matter… Continue reading Are you making the most of your finances?
Category: Investment
Tax-efficient investing made easy
An Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a tax-efficient ‘wrapper’ designed to go around an investment. You’ve got until 5 April 2014 to use your current 2013/14 tax year annual ISA allowance before you lose it forever. Splitting the investment The crucial thing to remember is that in every tax year – which runs from… Continue reading Tax-efficient investing made easy
Do you have a long-term investment strategy?
Keep focused on your end goals and don’t let market noise sway you The complexity of today’s economic and global conditions, coupled with uncertainty in Europe, North America and China, have combined to create a degree of cautiousness among many investors. A long-term investment strategy could provide you with a clear advantage during uncertain times.… Continue reading Do you have a long-term investment strategy?
Get your finances in shape this summer
Review our financial fitness checklist to see how we can help you make more of your money Utilise personal pension tax relief When you contribute to a registered pension scheme, you automatically receive basic rate tax relief on your contributions. Your personal pension tax relief depends on your circumstances. These are the current UK pension tax… Continue reading Get your finances in shape this summer
Europe’s economic slowdown
Is there room for any further disappointment? Europe has suffered a stream of destabilising news this year. Firstly, there was January’s emerging markets crisis, which slowed the demand for European exports. Then there were EU parliamentary elections in May, which returned a large number of anti-establishment MEPs to Brussels and spurred David Cameron’s attempt to… Continue reading Europe’s economic slowdown
‘Am I diversified enough?’
What’s positive for one investment can be negative for another Different types of investments are affected in different ways by factors such as economics, interest rates, politics, conflicts, even weather events. What’s positive for one investment can be negative for another, and when one rises another may fall. This interlinked movement between assets is known… Continue reading ‘Am I diversified enough?’
Investment trust
Reflecting popularity in the market An investment trust is a company with a set number of shares. Unlike an open-ended investment fund, an investment trust is closed ended. This means there are a set number of shares available, which will remain the same no matter how many investors there are. This can have an impact… Continue reading Investment trust
Investment bonds
Putting your money in a range of different investment funds Investment bonds are designed to produce medium- to long-term capital growth, but can also be used to give you an income. They also include some life cover. There are other types of investment that have ‘bond’ in their name (such as guaranteed bonds, offshore bonds… Continue reading Investment bonds
Self-Invested Personal Pensions
TAKING MORE CONTROL OVER YOUR PENSION FUND INVESTMENT DECISIONS If appropriate to your particular situation, a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) could be another option to consider if you require the flexibility to choose where your pension money is invested. SIPPs are now also open to people of lower incomes – not just those with commercial… Continue reading Self-Invested Personal Pensions
Pooled investment schemes
Investing in one or more asset classes Investing in funds provides a simple and effective method of diversification. Because your money is pooled together with that of other investors, each fund is large enough to diversify across hundreds and even thousands of individual companies and assets. A pooled (or collective) investment is a fund into… Continue reading Pooled investment schemes
