Vivian Slattery

I have talked about market falls in recent articles, but I don’t think I have pointed out the fact that this is not at all unusual after an event such as the Ukraine invasion. For those individuals who have recently invested and whose investments are currently in negative territory the situation can be daunting but understanding how historic events have panned out can help your perspective.

After 9/11 the S&P 500 (The Standard and Poor’s 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on exchanges in the United States) fell by more than 14%¹. There has even been research² that there was some unusual trading shortly before and after the event, including specific investments in American Airlines and Morgan Stanley. However, there is no proof that it was the terrorists who made these investments.

The FTSE 100 (a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalisation) was adversely affected after the London bombing 7/7, but not as sharply.

I have always said that one of the best ways we can help clients is by being a sounding board, and at times like this I think this is even more relevant. When the markets have gone down it is a particularly worrying time, therefore a simple conversation and informed reassurance can be invaluable. There is never a guarantee that markets will go back up and even if they do how long this will take. But as long as investments are retained they are only losses on paper.

So during these uncertain times if you do need to speak to someone please do not hesitate to pick up the phone today and we will be happy to talk to you.

¹ Investopedia; ²Hugh McDermott(https://truthout.org/authors/hugh-mcdermott)

Many of us realised that life was not going to be easy after most of the COVID restrictions were lifted, but of course we did not know there was going to be a war in the Ukraine. This has impacted the equity markets, whilst inflation concerns and rise in interest rates have affected corporate bonds and gilts, which in turn affect investments.

As I have said previously, my advice remains that when an investment has fallen in value, don’t panic, sit tight. I always think that observing the percentage drop is always less frightening than looking at the monetary drop. When markets are down it is generally a good time to invest, as Warren Buffet said, “Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.” I always think the biggest concern with this is that you don’t know how far the markets are going to fall.

With energy bills soaring, interest rates on the rise and when even trying to escape from it all on holiday has its own problems, noticing that your investments are going down could be even more depressing, and that’s why I believe that talking to a financial adviser is even more important during this difficult period. We can hold your hand through times like this. As I have often said, I perceive that our most important role is being a sounding board, which brings to mind another famous proverb, “A problem shared is a problem halved.”

We offer a free without obligation consultation, so if you would like to talk to someone concerning your investments why not pick up the phone and give us a call.

The value of an investment can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you have put in. Past performance isn’t a reliable indicator of future performance.

I think many of us suspected that life after lockdown was not going to be easy, even before we knew that there was going to be a war in the Ukraine. We are now seeing the cost of energy on the increase, together with the Bank of England base rate being increased again this month to 1%, which is the highest level for 13 years.*1

With the price of many of our essentials on the increase, what would my advice be for approaching this period of time? My first piece of advice, as I have said many times before is to budget. None of us know how long this duration of increased prices will continue and I think it’s important to avoid getting into debt. Many of the people I have talked to during lockdown said that they enjoyed the simple life and I do think it can help to look back at this time.

It is very easy at times like this to think about stopping Pension and life insurance premiums. However, yet again COVID has taught many people that we don’t know what is round the corner, and therefore this is a reminder of the importance of insurance.

With Pension premiums it can often be hard to see the benefit of putting aside money for a period of time that we may not see for many years ahead, whilst at the same time we are struggling to put food on the table and pay for heating. Nevertheless my advice, yet again would be to think very carefully about this.

Time goes by very quickly and we can always find reasons for not reserving funds for our future. However, it is important to remember that retirement is a time that generally we will have little or no income coming in, and we will be totally reliant on the assets and savings we have accumulated. If you have not already done this exercise I would suggest looking at the income needed in retirement and then also looking at whether you are on target to be able to fund this level at your chosen retirement age.

We do offer a free without obligation consultation so if you do need help with budgeting why not pick up a phone today and book a free without obligation consultation.

*1bbc news 05.05.2022

A couple of years ago I wrote about the Pension Lifetime Allowance but as it’s something that we tend to advise on quite a lot at this time of the year, I thought it would be a good time to refresh readers’ memories.

The Lifetime Allowance was introduced on the 6th April 2006, and originally was set at £1,500,000. Over the first few years this amount increased and peaked at £1,800,000. It then decreased to £1,000,000 in 2016/2017. Since then there have been a few increases, but it has now been fixed at £1,073,100 until 2025/26.

When this was first introduced I remember thinking, as an adviser, that it was unlikely to affect many individuals, but following its reductions more and more individuals are affected.

The Lifetime Allowance is the maximum you can build up within a Pension while still enjoying full tax benefits. Pension benefits are tested against this allowance at “benefit crystallisation events” which generally arise when Pension benefits are taken. Any benefits in excess of this Allowance are subject to a Lifetime Allowance tax charge.

It is possible for individuals to have a higher Lifetime Allowance, for example by having a form of protection, and you can still apply for this.

The first question you should ask yourself is, are you near or over the current Lifetime Allowance? If you are, we would recommend that you seek advice. Paying tax is not necessarily a bad thing but there may be things you can do to help your position. You should not just stop paying into a Pension because you are near to this allowance, as there can be additional benefits to keeping the Pension, for example if your employer is paying into it. So, if this or any other area is concerning you why not pick up the phone today and book 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.}

Over the years I have met numerous people who have had financial concerns for many years before they have chosen to seek help. The issues have included whether their mortgages would be paid off by retirement, or knowing that they have a pension shortfall. Others had accumulated debts and had no idea how they were going to repay them. Generally speaking the earlier these problems are addressed the easier they are to solve.

My first piece of advice would be to face up to your fears, they are often not quite as bad as you may think. One of my favourite sayings is that a problem is not a problem when you have a solution. For example, if repaying your mortgage by retirement was your concern, and you were shown that making an additional payment of £500 could solve this, you would still have the same problem but now you have a solution. Normally, this would eliminate the concern.

Clients have often said to me that they wished they had sought help much earlier. Financial worries can lead to many things including sleepless nights. YouGov* research commissioned by Equifax revealed that a third of people in work have said they can’t sleep at night because of money worries.

We are coming up to the 2nd anniversary of the first lockdown in March 2020. All our stories of this period are very different. Many still have financial concerns as a result of this and these still may need to be addressed.

So, as we have entered into spring, why not give your finances a spring clean and at the same time address any concerns you may have buried. As another one of my favourite sayings goes, “A problem aired is a problem halved”

We offer a free without obligation consultation, so if you have any financial issues why not pick up the phone today and we can chat with you about your concerns.

 *Debt and mental health in the workplace – June, 2018