The rules around ISAs (or individual savings accounts) change relatively often and different types of ISA rise and fall in popularity depending on where savers consider the most competitive place to put their hard earned money. ISAs are a great way to save because of their tax efficiency. You don’t pay income tax or capital […]
Introduction February was another month when all the important news seemed to happen in the last week of the month. President Trump delivered the annual State of the Union address on February 6th and announced a second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. The two duly met up in North Korea three weeks later, only […]
Many clients who have just begun working with us are surprised by how our planning process starts. We don’t begin by talking about pensions and investments, or how much you’re regularly saving. Instead, we begin by talking about you, not your money. Putting your life before your financial plan. As Lifestyle Financial Planners, our process […]
Since the release of the film Mary Poppins Returns in December, it’s taken over $250m, making it a financial success. The story of the film itself however seems to recommend a few ways of making your own personal finances successful too. With the original set in 1910, the sequel takes us to 1935 where Michael, […]
For those who want to stay safe from the efforts of pension scammers, help is out there. It’s just as well because such help is in high demand. Between August and October alone last year, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ScamSmart website had over 173,000 unique visitors. That’s around 3,145 people per day on average, […]
Introduction The story of the US/China trade dispute was a thread running through much of last year. Some progress was made in resolving the dispute at December’s G20 summit and that appeared to continue in January with China saying it is ‘ready to work’ with the US. Donald Trump confirmed this, describing a telephone conversation […]
Mifid II came into effect over a year ago on 3 January 2018. It’s an acronym for Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2 and, at over 30,000 pages, it’s far from a bit of light reading. Mifid II was designed to offer more protection for investors and to inject more competition into the trading of […]
With help-to-buy ISAs being phased out on 30th November 2019, many people are considering transferring their funds into a Lifetime ISA. You’ll still be able to access existing help-to-buy accounts until 30th November 2029, but it’s worth knowing which option is right for you. Help-to-buy ISAs have been around since before the Lifetime ISA was […]
It’s easy to push saving for your retirement to the back of your mind. Future events have a habit of feeling very distant, until they arrive. It can be a difficult thing to keep track of too; with nobody helping you along the way or checking up on your savings, putting a retirement plan in […]
A quiet wind down to Christmas? Everyone leaving their offices early and not much happening in the second half of the month? Nothing could be further from the truth: December was one of the most eventful months of the year and while there was some good news, it was eclipsed by falling stock markets as […]