magazine archive


magazine archive

Money Matters

Higher rate pensions tax relief could face the chop

Thursday 03 Dec 2020

The Government is facing a large hole in its finances, and while it’s not yet acknowledging the elephant in the room, this almost certainly means tax rises in the near future. The Conservative election manifesto rules out rises to income tax, National Insurance or VAT, which are the three big...

Options for savers as NS&I actions big rate cuts

Thursday 26 Nov 2020

Millions of NS&I savers will see lower rates of interest paid on their savings from this week onwards. Over £136 billion of cash held with NS&I is affected, with around £25 billion in accounts where the interest has now dropped to virtually nil. Since lockdown, NS&I has taken in more...

Preparing for a potential capital gains tax raid

Thursday 19 Nov 2020

Everyone knows the UK Government is going to have to raise taxes to try and get the public finances in order once the pandemic is in the rear-view mirror. Capital gains tax looks like a prime candidate for a Treasury raid, after chancellor Rishi Sunak ordered a review of CGT in the summer. That...

Managing your finances in lockdown 2.0

Thursday 12 Nov 2020

The new lockdown restrictions unfortunately mean the UK economy is going to take a hit again. The Bank of England now expects GDP to fall 2% in the final quarter of this year, meaning that the economy would be 11% smaller at the end of 2020 than it was at the beginning. Beyond that, much is...

Why fund investors are under-allocated to the US and does it matter?

Thursday 05 Nov 2020

It’s been a cruel ten years for investors in this country, who have watched the US stock market go from strength to strength while our home market brings up the rear. This is particularly galling because the typical fund portfolio is significantly underweight the US, and overweight the UK. While...

Don’t give up on finding the best rates for cash savings

Thursday 29 Oct 2020

The Bank of England’s interest rate committee meets on 5 November to decide whether it needs to inject more money into the economy. The outlook has deteriorated since they last got together in September, with Covid-19 restrictions becoming more widespread, and the Government looking to wean the...

Key points to understand about ethical investments

Thursday 22 Oct 2020

It’s impossible to ignore the tremendous attention to environmental matters that has emerged across the globe in recent years. Campaigners and activists have put green credentials on the priority list for most politicians, with Boris Johnson recently reinforcing his pledge to make the UK greener...

Personal finance tips for small business owners

Thursday 15 Oct 2020

Careful money management and keeping a lid on costs is vital when you’re running a small business, especially in the current environment of exceptional challenges. UK small businesses lost £2.2 billion in revenue for goods and services provided during lockdown as their customers become insolvent...

What would make people more interested in ETFs?

Thursday 08 Oct 2020

The passive funds market in the US is huge, with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) widely used by a range of investors, both novice and sophisticated. Globally, the ETF market is worth more than $7 trillion, according to ETFGI, of which around $4.6 trillion is in US-listed funds, while $1.08 trillion is...

The financial advantages of being married

Thursday 01 Oct 2020

‘It’s just a piece of paper’. ‘We’ve got a mortgage and kids, we’re already committed.’ ‘We can’t afford a fancy wedding.’ Whatever your objections to marriage, don’t be so quick to rule it out. The financial benefits can be huge, and not everyone realises quite how much security they’re missing...

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