Easy-to-understand groupings should be viewed with caution Investors like to sort things into neat categories; it helps make sense of a highly complex world. Categories like ‘Emerging Markets’, ‘BRICs’ and the ‘Fragile Five’ have all been invented as easy-to-understand groupings of supposedly similar countries. Yet we have to be careful of such generalisations, because the… Continue reading Investing in a highly complex world
Category: Wealth Creation
Managing your pension pots
Keeping track of your retirement savings Over the course of your working life, the chances are you’ll change jobs a few times, picking up different pension pots along the way. A fter a number of years, you may even forget about the odd pension pot. To help you manage your pots, it’s possible to bring them all together, making it… Continue reading Managing your pension pots
Bank of Gran and Grandad
Three quarters of grandparents say that they have dipped into their savings to help their grandchildren this year Forget the bank of Mum and Dad – today’s young people are now receiving help from the bank of Gran and Grandad, with millions of grandparents offering financial support to their grandchildren. According to retirement specialist LV=,… Continue reading Bank of Gran and Grandad
Mind the savings gap
Having a plan for the future can make the present feel less stressful The number of people in the UK with no savings at all has risen year-on-year from eight million to over nine million, or 1 in 5 of the UK adult population, according to the 2014 Scottish Widows Savings Report. This brings the… Continue reading Mind the savings gap
Taking vital steps before the new tax year
You need to act fast to avoid next year’s child benefit charges Families impacted by the high income child benefit charge need to act now to limit or avoid it in the next tax year. Doing this could make them potentially up to £2,449 better off, but they only have until the 6th April 2014… Continue reading Taking vital steps before the new tax year
Increases in the cost of childcare
Families are feeling the impact of benefit cuts The cost of bringing up a child has reached £227,266, up from £222,458 last year, with the first year of a child’s life seeing the largest increase. According to the annual ‘Cost of a Child’ report from protection specialist LV=, the cost of a child’s first year… Continue reading Increases in the cost of childcare
Make sure you beat the ISA deadline
Sheltering up to £11,520 tax-efficiently means taking action NOW Time is running out if you want to make the most of this year’s Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowance, so you’ll need to get your skates on. ISAs are a tax-efficient way of investing, helping you minimise the tax you pay on your savings and investments. No… Continue reading Make sure you beat the ISA deadline
Tax attack
Legitimate planning could save you money by reducing a potential tax bill With tax increases the prospect for the foreseeable future, it is essential that you make the most of every available tax relief. Using the tax breaks available to you also makes good financial sense. Different ideas will suit different people. If you would like… Continue reading Tax attack
Desperately Seeking income
Yields have dropped across the asset classes, except for equities He may only have been in the job for just over six months, but Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, has already signalled his intention to do things differently and this is most noticeable in his concept of ‘forward guidance’. Ongoing problem… Continue reading Desperately Seeking income
Its good to talk
Don’t leave tricky money confersations hanging in the air this New Year The Family Financial Tree report from Standard Life looked at the family money tree over four generations and makes some surprising findings. It reveals how families collectively manage and have talked about their personal finances. The findings, based on survey data of over… Continue reading Its good to talk
