Introduction April was not a good month for world stock markets. We report on a dozen major markets in the Bulletin: they were all down in the month, with the honourable exception of the UK’s FTSE-100 index, which managed a gain of just 29 points. Why was it such a poor month? The war in […]
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Introduction Once again, the market commentary for our clients is dominated by events in Ukraine. As in March, we have included a special section on Ukraine and – as before – we must stress that ‘at the time of writing’ very much applies to the comments. This month’s market commentary was written on Friday April […]
Overall Market Backdrop, March After a two-month slump, developed equities finally broke free from negative returns. However, the same can not be said about emerging markets, which have extended their negative run to 3-months. On the back of a challenging inflation environment, the Federal Reserve (Fed) and Bank of England (BoE) both raised policy rates by […]
It is now a well-documented fact that the pandemic was good for billionaires. According to Oxfam’s annual report on global inequality – always released to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos – the pandemic saw a new billionaire created every day. The world’s ten richest men more than doubled their collective wealth between […]
The UK is facing a cost of living crisis, with inflation hitting 6.2% in February 2022, and according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, it could average at 7.4% this year. But people’s wages aren’t going up at the same rate, despite the words “high wages” effortlessly tripping off the tongues of government ministers only […]
As the saying goes, you can’t take your money with you when you die, so it’s only natural that you might want to leave your wealth to those people closest to your heart, such as your children. But this isn’t the only option open to you, as you can leave your money to a cause […]
Introduction On Monday March 23rd 2020, the UK went into its first lockdown, following the outbreak and rapid spread of coronavirus. At this point, Rishi Sunak had been Chancellor of the Exchequer for little more than a month, having replaced Sajid Javid on February 13th. He delivered his first Budget a month later, presenting what […]
Introduction Not the election of Donald Trump, not the US/China trade dispute. Not even Brexit. In all the time we have been writing this Monthly Bulletin, no single issue has so completely dominated a month’s news – or threatened to have such serious consequences – as the outbreak of Coronavirus in China. That was how […]
Retirement is one of those major life events that can throw up all sorts of emotions, from excitement to blind panic. But your reaction to this looming milestone can depend largely on how you deal with it in advance. If you’re prepared for retirement and have taken the right advice, you can look forward to […]
For many over-50s, the prospect of enjoying a long and fulfilling retirement doesn’t seem that far away. So now is the time for them to make sure they have their finances in order, so they can be sure of a steady income in retirement that lets them have the lifestyle that they want. However, a […]