How to find the right investment for you
In the wake of the Woodford debacle, there’s a lot of talk around investments and the basis for choosing them. So we thought it would be helpful to outline what you should be thinking about when it comes to selecting an investment to enable you to get the best outcomes…
Eight top tips on how to choose a financial planner
Finding and deciding upon the right financial planner can be a daunting task. That’s why we’ve come up with some ideas for how to choose a financial adviser that’s right for you. Follow these eight top tips and you should be well on the way to working with an adviser…
Fame? Money? Working hard? Research uncovers what really makes us happy
In the 1930s, Harvard University began the longest study on human happiness. They invited 19-year-olds from Harvard as well as teenagers from the poorest neighborhoods of Boston to participate. For over 75 years, they did medical tests, interviews and checked up on their subjects every two years to see how…
The advantages of ‘running through the numbers’
George Horace Lorimer once said: “It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good too, to make sure you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.” Establishing a balance in life is crucial and at the heart of this is knowing how to…
Flexible retirement income and drawdown tax. What does it all mean?
Once you reach 55, a whole host of opportunities will open themselves up to you. One such opportunity is the fact that you can at last access that hard-saved pension fund. Up to 25% of your savings can be taken tax-free, with the remaining 75% being subject to income tax.
How can you make the most out of diversification?
Diversification is a word that tends to get mentioned a lot in conversations around savings and investment. We hear it often, but what does it mean? Put simply, diversification is a risk management strategy that blends a variety of investments within a portfolio. Through having different kinds of assets in…
How is your financial wellbeing?
Increasingly, people are talking about financial wellbeing. But what does it actually mean? Financial wellbeing is about having a sense of confidence and security around money. It’s about being in control of your finances and having enough money to meet everyday needs; having the financial freedom to make choices that…
What does it take to retire early?
The idea of retiring in your 50s or even your 40s sounds like a pipe-dream to most, what with increases in living costs and low or non-existent wage growth slowly eating away at your income. This hasn’t stopped the rise of the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement, though, a…
Is the Neil Woodford debacle another nail in the coffin for active investing?
If you read the financial press, this is huge news. On 4th June 2019, ‘Star fund manager’, Neil Woodford, stopped investors withdrawing money out of his flagship Woodford Equity Income Fund. This was brought about by a run on the fund, which saw investors withdraw a whopping £560m in May…
Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution pensions—what are the differences and trends?
As Defined Contribution (DC) pensions overtake Defined Benefit (DB) pensions (in terms of money paid into schemes) for the first time ever, increasingly people are taking an interest in how the two differ and the relationship between them. The Office of National Statistics has reported that in 2018, employee contributions…