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So, another New Year has just begun, which I always get excited about and as I always find, it is a time to start afresh. Many people celebrate the start of the New Year, in fact research shows that in the USA 360 million glasses of champagne and sparkling wine are consumed at this time, according to research carried out by Wallethub.

Celebrating the New Year has been happening for centuries, the earliest records show that the Babylonians celebrated the New Year 4000 years ago with an 11-day festival, which involved a different ritual on each day. The festival was called Akitu, and it celebrated a victory of the sky god, Marduk, over the evil sea goddess, Tiamat¹.

But it’s not just a day of celebrations it’s also a day when many of us set our resolutions, which involve some form of change, such as exercising more and saving more, apparently these were noted to be the most popular in 2024². According to research by Forbes the trend of setting New Year’s resolutions was expected to be more widespread in 2024, as their research reveals that in 2023, less than one in five people (19%) set resolutions³.

When reading this article, your New Year’s Eve has probably passed by, but this doesn’t mean you can’t set yourself goals for the year ahead. If you are unsure where to begin, why not look back at last year or your current position and ask yourself how you would like it to be different and then make that your goal to go forward.

Following this, sit down and write out the steps on how you see yourself achieving your goal, this should make it much clearer and help you to focus on it. We do receive an influx of calls following the New Year probably due to the fact that saving more is a popular resolution.

So if you need help with setting financial goals why not pick up the phone today and book our free without obligation consultation.

^*1 twinkl.com
^*2 Statista.com
^*3 Forbes Advisor UK

Following weeks of speculation Rachel Reeves delivered the budget on the 30th October, this was not only her first budget but also the first budget to ever be delivered by a female. It was also the first budget for Labour in nearly 15 years and one of the longest budget speeches, which lasted 76 minutes and included £40bn worth of tax hikes¹.

These included:
• Immediate Raises in rates of Capital Gains Tax
• Raise in Employers National Insurance contributions
• Raises in the Stamp duty surcharge on second homes
• Carers allowance increase
• VAT on School fees
• Inherited Pensions subject to Inheritance tax.

These are just a few of the changes but how does this all affect you? There are a range of calculators available online which you can access to see how the budget changes will impact your finances. We are finding that we are being asked to review many of our clients’ financial plans due to this budget.

Over the years I have seen many individuals worrying about financial matters unnecessarily. For example, currently fewer than one in 20 estates, that’s just over 4%, pay inheritance tax. This means that tax is paid on about 27,800 estates a year. However, many more people than this believe they could be liable. A YouGov poll for The Times newspaper in July 2023 suggested a third of the UK population thought inheritance tax would need to be paid on their assets when they died². The number paying inheritance tax should increase by the budget changes, but as I have said previously, I feel it is important to treat your income like a business and see how all the changes affect you.

We offer a free without obligation consultation so if you want advice on the budget changes why not pick up the phone today.

*¹ This is Money, 1st November 2024
*² BBC, 30th October 2024

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.

It has been a while since I have written about the financial markets so I thought this month it would be good to provide a brief overview of recent events.

Last year, 2023 was a better year for investors with both fixed interest and equities bouncing back after one of the toughest years in 2022. We saw inflation starting to come down, although it was still above its targets, with central banks still using interest rates to try to bring inflation back down¹.

However, in the early part of 2023 we saw confidence being shaken yet again by the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and several others, however the crisis was relatively contained and the Equities market began gradually edging up². We then saw a lot of hype following the launch of AI’s Chat GPT 4 model. This was evident in the strong price increase of the largest technology companies, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, Microsoft, and perhaps the biggest AI beneficiary of all, NVIDIA. This group drove markets upwards in 2023 and they were named the ‘Magnificent Seven³.

However, it was not all good news, as although Cash was another sector to gain in 2023 due to the interest rate rises, it also meant that the property sector suffered, and we saw the market fall in China.

In 2024 we have seen the rise in the US and UK equity markets continue. Although the Japanese equity market had a blip in the summer, the Nikkei is up from the start of the year, and I think it is fair to say that the Gilt sector has had a better performance in the last 12 months.

I have written previously about the importance of having a diverse portfolio as I feel it’s hard to predict the winners and losers for each year. I also think that it is important to measure a fund’s performance by comparing it against others in the same sector, comparing like with like. If you do hold investments and want to discuss them why not pick up the phone today and book a free without obligation consultation.

*Please note that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results
¹Statista
²FTSE 100, closed 6th Jan 23 7699.49. 14th Apr 23 7871.91
³Mellon, Feb 2024

The date has been set for the end of October and Labour has already said there will be some difficult decisions. Previously I have written about the Budget but as this was some time ago, I thought it would be interesting to revisit, especially with all the history that surrounds it.

The Budget dates back to the 1720’s and was created to try and help public confidence at the time.¹ The Budget is when the Chancellor of the Exchequer unveils their plans for the upcoming fiscal year, including the details of the Government expenditure and expected rates of taxation.

The briefcase in which the statement is carried from the Chancellor’s residence to the Houses of Parliament also has a long history. The very first was made of wood, in 1860 for William Gladstone, it was covered in red leather and lined with black silk, and although other briefcases have been used, this one had its final outing in 2010 under George Osborne and is currently exhibited in the Cabinet War Rooms.²

The only time alcohol is allowed to be consumed in the House of Commons is when delivering the Budget speech, although recent Chancellors, both Gordon Brown and George Osborne opted for mineral water, others such as Ken Clarke have used this privilege³. Apparently, in 1868 Chancellor George Ward Hunt left the Budget at home and ended up delivering one of the shortest Budget speeches in history after delaying Parliament for some considerable time.⁴

Proposed tax changes can come into effect straight away at 6pm, however any new taxes must be debated and can also be rejected.

There is always a lot of speculation in what the Budget contains but its secrecy is respected and it’s not until the speech is delivered that we can be sure of its content. Even after this it can be difficult to understand the implications of the speech on our own personal finances. So if you do want clarification of what the proposed changes mean to you after the Chancellor’s Budget speech, why not pick up the phone and utilise our free without obligation consultation.

¹History Hit, 26th October 2021
²The Sun newspaper, 2nd March 2021
³The Sun newspaper, 25th Sept 2023
⁴History Hit, 26th October 2021

This summer has certainly been one for sport with the Olympics just finishing with an elaborate closing ceremony. The one thing that this Olympics has made me reconsider is playing the National Lottery. In recent years I had stopped playing with the view that there was limited chance of winning, forgetting about how it has helped good causes, including the sporting world.

The National Lottery was introduced in 1994, and the last Olympic games prior to this was held in Barcelona in 1992. Great Britain won 22 medals in Barcelona, compared to 65 medals this year in Paris and I think you can credit the contribution of the National Lottery to this increase. It has funded over 6800 elite athletes*¹, including Sir Chris Hoy over this period.

With the money spent on the National Lottery, 53% goes to the prize draw, with about 25% donated to good causes*², and the remainder going towards the administration and also to the Government.

When the National Lottery was first introduced I remember thinking, “how difficult could it be to choose 6 numbers?”, but the odds are actually over 45,000,000 to 1*³. However, I think it is exactly as the advert says, “You have to be in it to win it”, and obviously individuals do win, in fact I have even advised a client who won over £50,000. But for myself, I will look at it differently going forward and see this game for what it has achieved, rather than considering whether or not I could win.

Yet again don’t forget, if you do win, we can advise you on how to invest the proceeds and if you would like some guidance on this or any other investment advice, please remember we offer a free without obligation consultation.

*¹ Allwyn, June 2024
*² Wikipedia
*³ The Sun (newspaper)

We have just passed the half way point of the year so this is a good time to think about the goals we set ourselves at the beginning of the year and reevaluate them. With football still fresh in our minds, it is something that can be compared to half-time.

Half-time in football is 15 mins long and it’s much more than just a rest. It gives the manager a chance to address the team and to make adjustments. The summer holiday can be used for us in the same way, using the time out to reassess your year so far and make tactical changes if they are needed.

So where do you start?
Firstly, look back at your new year’s resolutions, to me these are the goals that individuals make for themselves for the year ahead. Ask yourself, if you are on target to achieve them or do they need adjusting and what moves can you make to achieve them. If you did not set any goals or resolutions at the beginning of the year, it is not too late to do so.

Why can setting goals be beneficial?
Well, goals may help us to stay motivated to achieve our desires, the American psychologist, Edwin A. Locke’s goal setting theory was based on the idea that setting specific and measurable goals is more effective than setting unclear goals. In his article in 1968, Locke showed how employees are more motivated by well-defined goals and constructive feedback, and are therefore more likely to accomplish these goals when they are specific and measurable.

How can we help?
I have often said that I see my most important role being that of a sounding board, where we can try and help individuals turn their dreams into reality. It is similar to that of a personal trainer, we can all train ourselves but I believe that a personal trainer can push you, and I know for sure that I have achieved results with a personal trainer that I don’t believe I could have achieved on my own.

As I have said many times before we offer a free without obligation consultation, so why not pick up the phone today and see how we can help you try and achieve your goals.

I began my career in the finance industry in the late 80’s and therefore I have seen lots of changes in research tools as well as how we deliver our advice but I am sure there is still more to come and it’s hard to predict what changes we will see in the future. I can remember being told in the late 80’s that we will all be carrying mobile phones and we didn’t believe it was possible, so most of us really don’t have any idea what the future is going to look like.

Recently, I heard someone say that AI should be used to take the robots out of us, meaning that we should use it for the repetitive tasks. I do think we should all embrace AI and I am hoping it will be able to do my dishes. But finance, I believe is emotive in my experience, individuals need reassurance and hand holding, and I think that only time will tell if a machine of the future will be able to provide this.

Often, we see individuals who have done their research but following a consultation they have said, “I knew that was an option, but I didn’t realise you could use it in that way”. I think currently with computers and AI you need to know the appropriate question to input, in order to see the correct answer achieved. Again, my advice differs depending on a client’s circumstances and goals and I wonder if this is achievable to the same level by a machine.

During the market turmoil in recent years, we saw individuals who had managed their own funds for years, suddenly turn to us for professional help and reassurance.

The future is exciting and I wish I could see into it, but in the present I do feel we still have a place and this is especially significant where change is happening in our life, I feel that financial advice is important, and to understand your financial options, I would say to anyone that as we offer a free without obligation consultation, why not give us a call if you need any advice and we will see if we can help.

As advisers we have noticed that more and more of our clients are interested in sustainable funds, which is now a worldwide trend. Investing in sustainability is on the rise with Morgan Stanley*¹ claiming that more than three quarters (77%) of investors globally are interested in investing in companies or funds that aim to achieve market rate financial returns, while also considering positive social and environmental impact.

At the same time, 200 financial advisers were surveyed in relation to this and only 1% of advisers “completely trusted” sustainability claims, when they were asked to rate their trust in funds using a scale between 1 and 5 (with 1 being: did not trust and 5 being: completely trusted).*² I think this speaks volumes when even financial professionals do not completely trust marketing claims.

However, a whole package of measures are now being introduced to try and improve trust in this area, including:
● Anti Greenwashing rules: Where all FCA authorised firms are required to reinforce that sustainability related claims must be fair, clear and not in any way misleading.
● Four labels: Where the product must have one of four specific sustainability objectives as part of its investment objective.
● Naming and marketing rules for investment products to ensure the use of sustainability terms are accurate.

I think the four labels will make the fund goals more transparent and build trust in the sector. These labels are as follows:
1. Sustainability Impact: Invests mainly in solutions to sustainability problems with an aim to achieve a positive impact for people or the planet.
2. Sustainability Improvers: Invests mainly in assets that may not be sustainable now, with an aim to improve their sustainability.
3. Sustainability Focus: Invests mainly in assets that focus on sustainability for people or the planet.
4. Sustainability Mixed Goals: Invests mainly in a mix of assets that either focus on sustainability, aim to improve their sustainability over time, or aim to achieve a positive impact for people or the planet.

So if you are interested in investing in sustainable funds and want help to understand this sector further, why not pick up the phone today and book a free without obligation consultation.

*¹ Morgan Stanley, 29th Jan 2024
*² PA adviser, 1st November 2022

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.