Vivian Slattery

With the new tax year just beginning and the last one fresh in our minds, I thought I would write about ISAs as I often find that these are overlooked.
ISA stands for Individual Savings Account, which were introduced on 6 April 1999, replacing the earlier Personal Equity Plans (PEPs) and Tax-Exempt Special Savings Accounts (TESSAs). PEPS date back to 1987 so the concept has been available for many years.

Since the advent of ISAs and their forerunners PEPs in 1987, it would have been possible to contribute over £375,000^*1 into these tax efficient mediums, by utilising the maximum available allowance each tax year. We have seen individuals who have built up large ISA holdings, sheltering these funds from tax.

We also have to remind individuals to use the ISA holdings they have built up as most of the tax benefits are only available during their lifetime, although in most cases a surviving spouse or civil partner can inherit the tax benefits of the deceased’s accumulated ISA through an ‘additional permitted subscription’ or APS.

When comparing interest rates with Cash holdings the interest rate is not the only consideration, the type of product also has to be taken into account and this includes Cash ISAs. On a number of occasions recently I have seen these forgotten. In fact there are more than one type of ISA, so if you wish to gain further insight into these and the different risks involved, we offer a free consultation, so why not pick up the phone today and book a free, without obligation consultation.

^*1Charles Stanley, 26th Feb 202
The content included on this page is based on our understanding of the UK tax
law at the time of publication.
It may be subject to change and may not be applicable to your circumstances.

I am writing this article on Valentine’s day, which has focused my thoughts on what I view as one of the essential ingredients for a long and happy relationship. It is estimated that financial problems contribute to 20-40% of divorces, which indicates that out of 10 marriages that end in divorce four of them are due to money issues^*1. This means that keeping finances in order helps to ensure better relationships.

Our finances play a big part in achieving our goals and again 39% of adults (20.3 million) don’t feel confident managing their money, about 11.5 million have less than £100 in savings and nearly 9 million of us are in serious debt, and only around a third receive help.^*2

So what would my advice be?
In considering that it plays such a big part of our lives if finance is an issue, then it may be time to seek some help. As the saying goes, “A problem shared is a problem halved”, whether it is through an adviser or a counsellor. I have often said that I see my job as a sounding board and often even in our work environment I have used counsellors as they can act as referees so that both sides are able to air their views.

We offer a free without obligation consultation, so if you would like some advice why not pick up the phone and book a free consultation. Even if you have no financial issues, booking a consultation at the beginning of a relationship that could be long-term, could be beneficial, so that you can plan your future and put some strategies in place for your financial plans and how they can be achieved.

^*1Jimenez Law firm, 29th Dec 2022
^*2Money and Pensions, 2024

I know I have said this before but investing is not just about performance, it’s also about taxation, and trying to minimise the tax you pay on your investments. In recent years I heard many individuals comment on how unattractive their Cash ISA had become. With the increase in interest rates, it can be more attractive to have your deposit funds in a Cash ISA, as interest in Cash ISAs is tax-free.

Now is the time to do a spring clean on your finances because the end of the tax year is fast approaching and your income levels for the year are much clearer. Sit down and consider these different taxes: Income tax; Capital Gains tax; Savings and Investments; and Inheritance tax – how they will impact you this year, and whether there are any measures you can take for financial improvement.

It is not possible to address all the considerations in the space available here, but they will include trying to utilise your allowances for all of the above. For income tax we all have a personal allowance, are you going to use this in full?
If not, are there ways you can do so?

The personal allowance is also gradually withdrawn for individuals with an adjusted net income above £100,000. If your income is above £100,000, then you may be able to use individual pension contributions before the tax year end to restore all or part of a 2023/24 personal allowance which might otherwise be lost.

Your Capital Gains tax considerations include utilising your Capital Gains exempt allowance and realising any losses. For Inheritance tax, have you utilised your annual exemptions? Do not forget your ISA and Pension allowances that can be utilised prior to the end of the tax year.

I have mentioned some of the end of year tax planning you could consider but there is more. If you would like help with your own situation why not pick up the phone today and request a free without obligation consultation.

The content included on this page is based on our understanding of the UK tax
law at the time of publication. It may be subject to change and may not be applicable to your circumstances.

January is usually a tough month after Christmas, many people are paid before the holiday which makes this a long period before the next pay day, and with this year being in the midst of the cost of living crisis it’s going to be even tougher for some. Although things are looking slightly more positive, with the Bank of England base rate remaining unchanged since August 2023, it is still at a 15 year high and it is hard to believe that in February 2022, nearly 2 years ago it was only 0.5%, nearly 5% lower than it is today.

The cost of living also seems to be coming under control too, the annual rate of inflation reached 11.1% in October 2022, a 41 year high before easing. Recent data shows it was 4.6% in October 2023, down from 6.7% in September 2023^*1.

However, I have to say that countless times I have been shocked at the increase in some items, including my recent household and buildings insurance renewal which appear to have nearly doubled. Talking amongst friends this seems like a general trend.

So what would my advice be? Firstly, try to avoid using credit cards if you can. It is so easy to get caught up in a credit card trap and quickly build up debts which can easily spiral out of control. Also, consider seeking professional advice and don’t try to hide from your situation. There have been measures put into place to try to help individuals currently.

We offer a free without obligation consultation so if you would like advice on how to manage your finances why not pick up the phone today and give us a call.

^*1House of Commons Library website, Dec 2023

In previous years I have usually dedicated a critique to January’s article about preparing yourself for the New Year, but this year I considered that perhaps I should do this a little earlier, allowing more time to prepare. I have read many times that the clearer the resolution, the more likely it is to succeed.

So this year why not take some time out for yourself prior to the New Year and work out your own resolutions for the year ahead, and then put a clear plan together on how you intend to achieve them. Certainly, there have been times when I have realised in that moment approaching Midnight on the 31st of December that I have not quite given enough thought as to what my resolutions should be, and so I then quickly scramble to make some up! In which case, they have simply not been very meaningful.

Once you have decided what your resolutions will be, take some time to put a plan together to aid them to become meaningful and achievable. I always say that the reason the banks ask for a business plan is that you are able to see clearly from the figures whether a business has the potential of working and I always look at the figures to check the feasibility of ideas.

So my advice would be to break down all your resolutions into segments and work out a monthly target in how you plan to achieve them. It is never too late to try and turn your dreams into reality.

If you would like some help in either choosing your financial resolutions or planning how they could be achievable why not pick up the phone today.

We are just about to enter what I regard as the season of madness, which is not going to be easy for many people due to the current cost of living crisis, therefore I thought it would be a good idea to address this in the article.

It was only 3 Christmases ago when Christmas was cancelled for many at the very last moment due to the COVID restrictions, and for many of us we just wanted a Christmas with our families. I know for my family at least, presents did not even enter our minds. I think very often what’s most important gets forgotten. I am not a big fan of going to supermarkets in the lead up to Christmas as it is so easy to start buying items which are not needed, and it certainly appears that everyone around you is doing exactly this.

So, before all the madness begins why not plan how you wish to approach this Christmas and work out a budget of how much you wish to spend on the event.

My approach has always been a different one, so rather than buying lots of presents, I fund a special event which the whole family can enjoy around the Christmas period. In fact, we have started to go to Christmas markets together, which does not have to be expensive.

Christmas can also be a time of sadness for many. For people who have lost loved ones it can make them focus on their loss. For people who are struggling financially it can emphasise their difficult situation, so I think it’s a time when we should stop and think about others around us and consider carefully how we may be able to help.

If you would like to receive any help planning your Christmas financially why not pick up the phone today and book a free without obligation consultation.

I have received some very sad news with regard to both clients and friends and this has brought home the importance of making sure you have everything in order in case anything happens to you. It is probably too early to know all the knock-on affects from the pandemic and if this is a factor. So, what should be your starting point? Have you ever thought of doing a risk assessment on yourself to see the consequences if you died or if you are unable to work due to sickness?

Firstly, I think you need to look at who will be affected, such as a young family, a business, a partner or even a combination of these. Then sit down with a blank piece of paper and consider how each one would be affected if you were to suddenly die or become seriously ill. This should include who would be responsible for your dependents on death or, if you were unable to work, how you would manage financially. In turn this will answer the question as to whether you need additional life or sickness cover. At the same time you should make sure you have a will and that this is up to date, making sure that your responsibilities and funds go to the individual(s) you have chosen, rather than being chosen for you. Also, if you have Pension funds you need to make sure that you have completed an ‘Expression of wishes’, to nominate who you wish the funds to go to, and ensure that this is up to date.

Then I think you need to look at how easily they would be able to access the necessary funds, remembering that following a death any account in the sole name of the deceased could only be accessed once probate is granted. You also need to make sure that you have a power of attorney in place to act on your behalf if you were to lose mental capacity.

There are many considerations if either event were to happen to you, and as I have said before, I see one of my main functions as being a sounding board, so if, once you have done the risk assessment you would like to go through it with someone, why not pick up a phone today and book your free without obligation consultation.

Many people are currently talking about AI and the impact of this pending revolution on our lives, so what does the abbreviation stand for? Artificial intelligence.

It is hard to know what the future is going to look like, just the other day I made a reference to AI taking away all the menial tasks and someone said to me, “Yes but individuals will still have to go out and pick fruit and vegetables”, but will they? There is no reason why these can’t be picked by robots in the future.

The growth can be seen by looking at Tech’s share of the S&P 500 (a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 of the largest companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States). They grew from just 6% in 1992 to 19% in 1998 and 30% in 1999.*¹ As one of 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500, the tech industry currently accounts for more than a quarter of the stock indexes value.*²

The speed at which we are now embracing new technology is also interesting. It took Netflix nearly 3.5 years to get a million subscribers, but ChatGPT hit 1 million users in 5 days.*³

So if an individual wanted to invest in this sector how could they go about it?

Well, they could invest in an individual company by buying some shares or they could invest in a unit trust that specialises in that sector, giving them holdings in more than one company so that their risk is spread. They don’t necessarily have to be invested in a specialist unit trust to have holdings in tech companies, and often a fund fact sheet will tell you what the top ten holdings of a fund are.

So if you would like to find out more and the potential risks involved why not pick up a phone today and book a free without obligation consultation.

*1 Forbes, 6th March 2000
*² Google, July 2023
*³ Indian Express, 2023¹

1. ↩︎

I am sure many are aware of the interest rate rises over the last few months. The Bank of England base rate started to increase in March 2022 when we saw it rise from 0.25% to 0.5%, currently the Bank of England base rate is 5%. In turn the average standard variable mortgage rate is currently 8.45%*¹.

Again, as I am sure many are aware the reason for the rate hikes is due to inflation. The Government inflation rate target is 2%. For the year ending May 2023 the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation in the United Kingdom held steady at 8.7%*², unchanged from the previous month’s 13-month low, above market expectations of 8.4% and significantly higher than the 2% goal.^*3

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sets the Bank Rate, they sit once a month and their aim is to help the Government to reach their target inflation rate.

| think most of us understand the rationale around this, increasing interest rates means in turn mortgage payments increase, which means we have less money to spend.

However the impact can be delayed because for fixed rate mortgage holders the rate rises will not impact their mortgage payment straight away. Also not everyone has a mortgage.

According to data from the English Housing Survey^*4, just over one third of households rent their home (36%); another third own their own home outright (35%); and just under a third own their home with a mortgage (30%), in the UK.

So what would our advice be if your fixed rate period is coming to an end soon? We would recommend that you look at your situation as early as you can and do not bury your head in the sand. We offer a free without obligation consultation so if you would like some advice on this matter please pick up the phone today.

_{*¹ www.uswitch.co.uk
*² Forbes
*³ Office for National Statistics*3
*⁴ NimbleFins}