The daffodils and crocuses are beginning to appear, the trees are blossoming and the days are getting lighter. Spring is definitely on its way. Traditionally, this was the time to do the big annual household clean. Now that fewer homes are heated by coal fires, with all their soot and grime, this is no longer […]
Introduction Not the election of Donald Trump, not the US/China trade dispute. Not even Brexit. We cannot recall a single issue having so completely dominated a month’s news – or threatened to have such serious consequences – as the outbreak of Coronavirus in China. In February, the virus’ impact on the world stock markets was […]
Stock markets across the world have fallen sharply because of fears over the economic impact of the coronavirus as the number of cases continues to rise. The situation is changing rapidly all the time but at the time of writing (29th Feb), the virus that started in China has spread to more than 50 countries, […]
Market timing is an investing strategy where investors move their money in and out of the market to try and avoid losses before they happen and buy-in at the bottom after the market has crashed. It’s the well known tactic of ‘buy low and sell high’. It all sounds fine in theory, but timing the […]
Introduction Last month was the month when it was almost impossible to keep up with the stories coming out of the White House. Normally as I make notes for this commentary through the month I end up – not surprisingly – with far more notes about the UK than anywhere else. That was BT – […]
Whilst you might expect an increase in the cash and investment ISA limit to be welcomed, at least one dissenting voice has come from Steve Webb, former Pensions Minister and current policy director at Royal London. Webb has warned that the rise in April from the current annual limit of £15,240 up to £20,000 could […]
A recent study has revealed the worrying statistic that over a fifth of all people with multiple pensions have lost track of at least one, with some admitting to have forgotten the details of all of them. With around two thirds of UK residents having more than one pension, this amounts to approximately 6.6 million […]
Probate fee increases are due to come into effect as early as May 2017. The full extent of the increase is shown in the table below: Value of estate (before inheritance tax) £ Existing fee* £ New fee £ Up to 5,000 Nil Nil 5,001 – 50,000 155/215 Nil 50,001 – 300,000 155/215 300 300,001 – […]
Recent figures suggest that house prices are set to slow during 2017. Property prices grew by 5.7% in the year to the end of January, slower than the annual growth of 6.5% in the previous month. In January, the average UK home was valued at £220,260. Whilst prices in the three months to the end […]