Following months of speculation, the Budget announcements were far less severe than many rumours had suggested. Here are the key points that matter most for your financial planning: What Didn’t Happen • Tax-free pension lump sums remain unchanged. This is a rumour that has circulated for many...
Inheritance Tax and Pensions In the budget last October, Rachel Reeves announced plans to include pensions in estates for the purposes of Inheritance Tax (IHT). This is a change and will impact many families. The changes are not until April 2027 so the current rules still apply,...
What’s happened so far in 2025? US equities fell in the first quarter of 2025 with Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors posting the steepest declines. China’s Deepseek caused investors to reassess growth expectations around AI and the US leadership in the field and as the...
TRUMP, PENSION CHANGES & MARATHON TRAINING The sun has been out, the temperature is rising and April’s sporting occasions have started. We have a new tax year, upcoming new rules and I have been spending time plodding the streets in preparation for the London Marathon. But...
General Markets This year has been characterised with positive outcomes for the equity markets. Inflation has largely reduced to near target levels and companies demonstrated resilient growth and improving corporate profits.** That said, this year hasn’t been without its pockets of volatility and spooked markets. These positive...
The Nightmare Budget – A Little Overstated So after months of speculation the much anticipated and dreaded first budget of the new Labour government has been delivered. There is much to discuss, but our initial thoughts: The pain was overstated, it could have been much worse There is little...
Consumer Duty - One Year On Consumer Duty – prioritising your needs and providing the best outcomes for you. 31st July 2024 marked one year since the Financial Conduct Authority introduced the Consumer Duty regulations – a set of rules for financial firms to ensure they...
Signs of Sunshine in the spring Introduction No news is good news was the mantra of Q1, without a pandemic or a new war there was nothing to set a negative tone in the first three months of the year. Quite a contrast to the rest of...
2023 – A period of recovery or the lead up to a market downturn? The graph below shows surprisingly robust equity performance in the back drop of a high inflation, high interest rate environment via the S&P 500 and the FTSE Developed Europe ex UK index....
A fantastic group effort across the teams this year for Christmas Jumper Day, we raised a total of £105! ...