Budget 2020 Overview
Introduction So was it the Coronavirus Budget, or the Infrastructure Budget? Or was it, as the Chancellor declared at the end of his speech, the ‘people’s Budget from a people’s government?’ It was certainly a Budget that was high on spending commitments and one that the Chancellor declared would ‘get…
4 UK cultural events that you might not know about
Cooper’s Hill Cheese Roll The infamous Cooper’s Hill Cheese Roll has been taking place in May since the 1800s. Competitors hurl themselves down a steep hill in pursuit of a wheel of prime Gloucestershire cheese; the hill is so steep that few competitors manage to stay on their feet, resulting…
Why timing the market doesn’t work
Market timing is an investing tactic where investors transfer their money in and out of the market in an attempt to avoid losses before they occur and buy-in at the bottom after the market has fallen. It’s the well known strategy of ‘buy low and sell high’. It all sounds…
Uplift in the housing market
Positive news for property owners looking to sell; The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has reported that sales expectations have ‘’risen sharply’’ according to a survey of property professionals. House sales increased in December for the first time in seven months, boosted largely by elevated activity in the South…
What’s happening to the tapered annual allowance?
There has been much talk in the financial press recently of proposed changes to the tapered annual allowance. The taper was introduced in 2016 and gradually reduces the annual allowance for high earners. For every £2 of adjusted income above £150,000 a year, £1 of annual allowance is lost. It…
The link between human behaviour and investing
Financial planning… Isn’t that based on cold, hard facts and scientific reasoning? Surely emotions and feelings don’t have much to do with investing? I think they do. And here’s why. A little thing called human behaviour gets involved, you see. Only it’s not so little. Human beings are highly complex…
4 financial planning tips for 30 and 40 something year-olds
After age 30 it’s likely that financial planning will increase in importance and become a far more serious matter. It’s worth thinking about how things have changed over the past few generations; more and more individuals are going to universities, people are having children later, are buying property (and by…
What does the election result mean for your finances?
With the Tories having won their largest majority since 1987, we thought now would be a good time to reflect on some of the pledges made during the election campaign. How will the promised reforms affect you and your finances? Income tax When he was striving for leadership of the…
6 things to do before tax year end
The tax year will be coming to an end on 5th April. With that cutoff date in mind, we wanted to remind our clients of some of the allowances available to you during the tax year. It’s important to make sure you’re making the most of your allowances in all…
Have kids? Watch our guide to Junior ISAs
By starting to save early you can give your child a good financial start in life. Junior Individual Savings Accounts (Junior ISAs or JISAs) let you save and invest on behalf of a child under 18. There is no tax on the interest or investment gains, which means the money…