Our Articles

Check out below all the articles and updates from Kellands.

February 20, 2023

End of year tax planning tips

With the end of the tax year fast approaching, there may still be time to review your tax and financial affairs to make sure you have optimised all your tax allowances and tax planning opportunities. So here’s a few of things to look at before the start of the new tax year on 6 April 2023.

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September 11, 2022

Queen Elizabeth II

In commemoration of Queen Elizabeth, Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms

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March 22, 2022

Don’t miss the deadline to give your pension savings a boost!

As another extraordinary financial year comes to a close, it’s more important than ever to make good use of your annual pension allowances. Giving your pension savings a boost and assessing where you stand will give you peace of mind that you are on track to enjoying the retirement you are planning for.

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February 25, 2022

What are the risks for income drawdown investors?

Since the pension freedoms were introduced back in 2015, many retirement investors have opted for income drawdown as part of their retirement income strategy. This can make sense for many, but there are risks involved.

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March 8, 2021

Why women should take control of their finances

Today is International Women’s Day, a day which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women from around the world. It is also an opportunity to look into the gender investing gap and what can be done to help encourage women to invest more and take control of their finances.

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September 6, 2020

Pension freedom age hike to 57

The government has announced that the minimum pension age will rise from 55 to 57 by 2028 to coincide with the rise in the state pension age to 67.

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January 21, 2020

Are you a ‘Pension-preneur’?

It’s no secret that the nature of retirement is changing. What used to be considered by many as a quiet, relaxing time in life, is increasingly becoming a period of greater activity.

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October 8, 2019

Time to consider socially responsible investing (SRI)?

The past decade has seen a big increase in ethical investing, although in overall terms, it is still a relatively niche market. In the middle of Good Money Week, which aims to let investors know about the range of ethical and sustainable financial options, we take a brief look at some of the statistics and issues.

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June 27, 2019

Are illiquid funds built on a lie?

The liquidity of investment funds has come into sharp focus in recent weeks, following the trading suspension imposed on investors in the Woodford Equity Income fund.

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June 12, 2019

Are UK retirees withdrawing too much from pension drawdown?

Latest figures from HMRC show that the average pension withdrawal from pension drawdown schemes in the UK is £7254. This is around 6%-9% of the average pension pot, well above the 4% often touted as a sustainable rate. The upshot is that savers could be at risk of running out of money in retirement.

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May 21, 2019

Some thoughts for income investors

Interest rates have been at record lows for over 10 years, causing problems for income investors, who have had to take on more risk to get some decent income yields. So what can income investors do to maximise their income potential going forward, without risking too much capital?

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March 29, 2019

Apathy towards inheritance tax

Recent research shows that most adults don’t have a will in place and that more than half have no plans to carry out any estate planning to mitigate inheritance tax.

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January 31, 2019

Bond outlook improves following market volatility

When equity market volatility strikes, investors often flee to safety in the form of bonds. Fixed income securities (bonds) are traditionally seen as a less risky asset class than equities, although their value can also go down as well as up.

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December 14, 2018

The smart way to give your kids money this Christmas

Many children get inundated with gifts at Christmas, often based on the latest fad or craze. However, parents, grandparents and relatives wanting to give a Christmas gift that lasts a bit longer might like to consider investing for their child or grandchild instead - for example through an investment children’s savings scheme or a Junior ISA.

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December 8, 2018

Maintaining focus in volatile markets

For investors, it’s always a scary time when markets get volatile - particularly when they start to tumble. So what should investors be doing and should they be reviewing their investment portfolios?

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November 7, 2018

State pension age equalisation is here

State pension age equalisation has taken place in the UK. The gradual change now means that women qualify to start getting their state pension from age 65, the same age as men.

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September 23, 2018

Protect your estate for future generations

If you are confused by the UK’s inheritance tax regime, recent research shows that you are not alone. Yet getting your inheritance tax planning wrong could mean your family is faced with an unexpectedly high inheritance tax (IHT) bill.

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August 2, 2018

Bank raises interest rates

For only the second time in a decade, we have an interest rate rise. This was heavily trailed, and as expected, the rate has been raised from 0.5% to 0.75%. This represents the highest bank rate level since March 2009.

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June 20, 2018

What will a trade war mean for investors?

For quite a while now, there has been talk of a trade war between the US and China. However, it’s now starting to look serious. So as markets have slipped across the world, what will the long-term impact be on investors?

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June 7, 2018

How to cut your inheritance tax bill

The amount paid in inheritance tax (IHT) reached a record high last year, with over £5.2bn being paid. Yet whilst death and taxes are inevitable, IHT has been called the ‘avoidable tax’ or the ‘voluntary tax’ as with some careful inheritance tax planning there are many ways to avoid it or at least reduce it significantly.

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May 18, 2018

Property or investments for income?

With interest rates being held once more last week, and likely to rise only slowly going forward, the debate about whether income investors should look towards buy-to-let to generate the income they need raises its head again.

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April 20, 2018

Investing in a volatile market.

The FTSE100 reached a new all-time high of 7778.64 on 12 January this year. In the three months since then, we have seen the index drop at one point by almost 9% to just below 7000, although it has recovered a bit since then, closing last night up a tad at 7328.92.

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April 6, 2018

A new tax year. Time for some tax planning?

The new tax year begins today, so the new tax allowances and benefits come into force. This year, most but not all of the changes are good news but here’s a quick guide to what the new tax year has in store for you.

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March 23, 2018

Is now the time to be invested in the UK?

With the FTSE100 dipping below 7,000 for the first time in over a year, and with professional investor sentiment fairly negative about UK equities at the moment, what does the future hold for those investing in the UK?

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March 3, 2018

Some year-end tax planning tips

With the end of the tax year just over a month away, it’s time once again to consider any last minute tax and pension planning, to make sure you utilise the tax breaks available to you. Here’s just a few ideas and options, some of which may be appropriate for you.

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February 6, 2018

Dealing with a Stock Market Correction

The last few days have seen markets fall around the world, prompting some to consider whether this is finally the end of the current long bull run. Sudden sell-offs can cause consternation amongst investors, so what is the best way to deal with a stock market correction?

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January 8, 2018

Where to invest globally in 2018

The start of a new year is always a good time to review your investment goals. To help that process, here are some thoughts on what the experts are saying is in store for 2018.

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January 3, 2018

What does 2018 have in store for UK investors?

At the start of 2017, there was talk of a Brexit-inspired economic meltdown in the UK, a market correction and interest rate rises. None of these happened. Why was this – and what can investors expect in 2018?

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December 8, 2017

Will we see a Santa Rally this year?

For investors, the Santa Rally has proved to be a ‘strange but true’ phenomenon over a lengthy period. So will we see one this year, particularly as 2017 has already seen impressive returns across most stock markets?

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October 22, 2017

Using the pension freedoms could see you run out of cash

Over a million people have taken advantage of the pension freedoms introduced in April 2015, which allow over-55s to take their pensions as cash rather than buy an annuity. However, many are missing out because they do not seek financial advice.

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September 4, 2017

Smart beta. A different style of investing

If investing jargon is all Greek to you, then smart beta may not initially appeal! However, smart beta represents an alternative style of investing, to add to the more familiar active and passive investment styles.

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August 16, 2017

As an investor, how do you spot the next big tech thing?

The first half of 2017 saw technology stocks flying on Wall Street. Whilst the passion for all things tech has cooled a bit of late, the world has certainly become a digital and technological marketplace. So as an investor, looking for the next big thing, how can you pick the new Facebook or Google?

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July 8, 2017

Pensions, hung parliament and Brexit

The general election and the ensuing hung parliament, along with Brexit, could have an impact on pensions. A month into the new parliament, what is the current situation regarding pensions and what is the likely impact on investors?

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June 9, 2017

Hung parliament – the implications for investors.

Following last night’s General Election, we now have a hung parliament – as we did back in 2010. The immediate upshot this morning was a fall in sterling of around 2% but at the same time a rise in the FTSE 100 of over 1%, with the index reaching 7545.12, not too far from the current intra-day record of 7,598.99.

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June 2, 2017

Why collective investments?

Whilst some investors select specific stocks, most investors use collective investment schemes. This makes a lot of sense as it reduces risk for the investor.

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April 10, 2017

Retirement and IHT planning intertwined?

Whilst the start of this tax year sees the new main residence nil rate band (MRNRB) come into effect for inheritance tax (IHT) planning purposes, the recent changes to pension rules have affected the IHT planning world in perhaps a more radical way.

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March 15, 2017

Year-end tax planning

There are still a few weeks to go for year-end tax planning, so here are a few guidelines to help you make any last minute plans.

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March 9, 2017

Tax-free dividend allowance cut – act now

The Chancellor announced in yesterday’s budget that the tax-free dividend allowance will fall from £5,000 to £2,000 a year from April 2018. This means investors should look to act now to make the most of their tax allowances.

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February 23, 2017

Is past performance a useful guide for future returns?

When it comes to investing in funds, looking at past performance data is very alluring and is the starting point for many. Because of this, despite the required disclaimer at the bottom of every piece of investment marketing material, stating that past performance is not a guide to future returns, most investors find it difficult not to rely on it.

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February 16, 2017

VCTs selling out fast

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) are continuing to sell well this year, with one selling out within 24 hours, according to last Saturday's Times. The total raised by VCTs in 2016 was £169.5m, well up from the £110.8m in 2015.

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January 21, 2017

Will the FTSE 100 continue to soar?

Friday 13th didn’t prove to be unlucky for the FTSE 100, which reached an all-time high that day, closing at 7,337.81, thus rising for an unequalled 14 consecutive sessions. Since then, the market has fallen back somewhat, leaving investors to ask whether this run can continue or if it has finally run out of steam.

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January 7, 2017

FTSE 100 hits record high for seventh day running

Last night, the FTSE 100 closed with a seventh consecutive all-time high, rising 0.2%, or 14.74 points, to close for the first time ever at over 7,200 (7,210.05). This is approaching the longest run of consecutive closing highs, which was recorded in May 1997, when the FTSE 100 finished at all-time peaks for eight straight sessions. It also represents the fifth straight week of gains.

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December 23, 2016

The lesson of 2016 – stay diversified.

Whether or not we see a Santa Rally this year, both the Dow Jones and the FTSE100 have already been flying high as we approach the year end, despite most expert predictions and the Brexit and Trump votes.

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November 24, 2016

Autumn Statement 2016

In his first Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond praised the "strength and resilience" of the UK economy since the Brexit vote and pointed out that the IMF predicts the UK will be the fastest growing major economy this year, with employment at a record high.

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October 19, 2016

Inflation hits 1%. Options for savers and investors?

Inflation rose to its highest level in 22 months in September. The consumer prices index (CPI) rate of inflation increased to 1.0%, up from 0.6% in August and looks certain to go even higher in the next few months, possibly exceeding the Bank of England’s 2% target next year.

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October 5, 2016

Stocks soar as sterling slumps

Stock markets in the UK soared yesterday, with the FTSE100 closing at 7,074.34, its highest level since the record finish of 7,104 in April 2015. Indeed, it came close to setting a new record high, before a last-minute burst of profit taking. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 mid-cap index did close at a new peak.

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September 25, 2016

Boring bull run OK for investors.

According to BofA Merrill Lynch, we are in the midst of the second longest cyclical bull market ever. They say the cyclical bull market started on 09 March 2009, and has now comfortably surpassed the June 1949-August 1956 rally, only being beaten by the December 1987-March 2000 advance.

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September 21, 2016

Property funds post-Brexit

Following Brexit, many investors rushed to get out of UK open-ended property funds, but the fall in prices could present an interesting opportunity for the brave investor.

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August 4, 2016

UK interest rates cut to record low level

As widely trailed, UK interest rates were cut today from 0.5% to 0.25% - a record low level and the first cut for over 7 years. The decision to cut interest rates was approved unanimously by the members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and further cuts were not ruled out.

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July 22, 2016

Lower Capital Gains Tax helps investors

The cutting of capital gains tax (CGT) in the March budget was an unexpected surprise and is good news for those with larger portfolios held outside Isas and/or those sitting on significant gains.

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July 14, 2016

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

Amidst all the recent political changes, unexpectedly today the Bank Rate stayed the same – held at 0.5% for a further month at least. The rate has now been held at this level since March 2009.

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February 12, 2016

Pensions and IHT planning

The pensions revolution of April 2015 means pensions can now play an important role in inheritance tax planning (IHT).

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January 21, 2016

Grin and Bear it? Or Act?

The FTSE100 entered bear market territory on Wednesday, closing over 20% below its previous peak of 7103.98 last April.

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January 7, 2016

2016 – Time to be greedy?

Warren Buffett famously said about successful investing “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful”.

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December 1, 2015

Autumn Statement

The Chancellor, George Osborne, presented his Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 on Wednesday 25 November 2015. The Autumn Statement is an annual update of government plans for the economy.

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October 23, 2015

China in your hand

The formal state visit to the UK of Chinese President Xi Jinping this week coincided with official figures showing a fall in China’s GDP.

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October 2, 2015

Don’t worry, be happy.

There is a lot of worrying going on in the financial and investment worlds at the moment. This has led to a good deal of market volatility.

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September 11, 2015

Death of buy-to-let?

Some pressure is being put on the Government to reverse the new taxes proposed in the 08 July summer budget for buy-to-let investors.

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September 1, 2015

Leaning towards a Pisa?

Pensions tax relief is in the spotlight again as a new Green Paper looks at the whole area of incentivising savers to prepare for retirement.

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August 12, 2015

How the summer budget affects small businesses

Last month’s summer budget had a smattering of good news for the UK’s legion of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) but the changes to dividend tax could have a big impact on many. The measures introduced could have some significant tax and financial planning implications.

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July 29, 2015

The UK economy is “motoring ahead”.

The UK’s recovery is "motoring ahead", according to George Osborne, the Chancellor, as the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the UK economy expanded by 0.7% in the three months to the end of June.

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July 9, 2015

A historic budget?

Yesterday saw the first fully Conservative budget since the one delivered by Ken Clarke back in 1996.

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May 22, 2015

Post-election – business as usual

The FTSE 100 rose last Friday by 2.32% to 7046.82, as investors welcomed the election result – both the return of the Conservative Party and the fact that it had an overall majority.

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April 19, 2015

Post-election raid on pensions likely

Much financial talk over the last year has been around the revolution in pensions, with the liberalisation of the rules to allow much greater pensions choice on retirement.

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March 21, 2015

FTSE 100 eclipses previous record

There was a second eclipse late on Friday as the FTSE 100 rose above 7,000 for the first time and hit a new record high. The benchmark stock index closed the day at 7,022.51, having set a new intraday record of 7,024.21 during the afternoon session.

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March 4, 2015

Pension changes due if Labour wins election

For some time, Labour have said that they would limit tax relief on pensions for "additional rate" taxpayers (those with income over £150,000) if they win the next general election. This plan has now been confirmed and they would use the savings to pay for a reduction in university tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000.

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February 25, 2015

A new all-time high

After threatening to do so a few times over the past year, the FTSE100 finally reached a new all-time high on Tuesday afternoon, passing the previous recorded at the end of the last millennium, just before the dotcom bubble burst.

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February 18, 2015

Inflation rate falls to record low

The rate of UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation fell to 0.3% in January, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday.

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February 10, 2015

Electing to invest – for the long-term

This year, so far, the stock markets have held up fairly well, despite all the noise out there in the marketplace, with the FTSE100 running at around 3% above its end of 2014 closing figures.

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February 3, 2015

The impact of QE in Europe

The much anticipated event finally happened in January. Mario Draghi of the European Central Bank (ECB) finally announced the introduction of quantitative easing (QE) in Europe with immediate effect. The figures are big - the ECB will buy back €1.1 trillion in assets, including government bonds and EU institutions, at a rate of €60bn per month.

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January 13, 2015

UK inflation rate falls to 0.5%

December 2014 saw UK consumer price inflation fall sharply to 0.5%, down from the 1% recorded in November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Many economists were expecting a rate of around 0.7%.

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January 2, 2015

From 2014 into 2015

As we enter 2015, it’s time to look back on the year gone by and start to plan for the year ahead.

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November 23, 2014

Autumn Statement. Good news for house buyers

Following the Budget last March that introduced significant changes to savings and pensions, the final Autumn Statement before the General Election next year saw the Chancellor George Osborne overhaul the stamp duty system. The changes come into effect immediately and will, it is claimed, improve things for 98% of house buyers.

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November 6, 2014

Where there’s no will

Last month, radical changes to the intestacy rules were introduced, representing the biggest change to the intestacy laws since they were introduced in 1925.

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October 20, 2014

Your pension as a bank account

On Tuesday last week, the chancellor George Osborne put forward the Taxation of Pensions Bill, which gave further details of the revolutionary pension reforms first announced in the Budget back in March. Amongst the proposals, the chancellor announced that people will be able to use their pension pots “like bank accounts”, withdrawing money whenever they choose.

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October 19, 2014

Scotland says ‘no’.

Yesterday Scotland voted no to independence by a 10.6% margin, higher than predicted by any of the various polls. The final result saw 55.3% voting ‘no’ and 44.7% ‘yes’.

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October 10, 2014

Taking the rough with the smooth

Despite the UK economy doing well, the stock market has seen further falls this week, since the peaks reached in September. Revised figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the economy grew slightly faster than first thought in the second quarter of 2014, up 0.9% rather than 0.8%. The ONS figures also show that the UK economy overtook its pre-recession peak earlier than thought, surpassing it in the third quarter of 2013 rather than the second quarter of 2014 as previously stated.

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October 1, 2014

No more pensions ”death tax”

Earlier this year, the government announced momentous changes to the pension rules. And now there is more good news, with major changes being introduced to the tax treatment of pensions on death.

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September 5, 2014

ECB cuts interest rates

At a time when talk in the UK is of when interest rates will rise, the European Central Bank (ECB) caught markets on the hop with cuts to its three main interest rates. The headline rate was lowered to 0.05% and the deposit rate to -0.2%. The Bank of England meanwhile left rates unchanged again this month.

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September 1, 2014

Emerging markets re-emerging?

According to FE Analytics, one of the leading providers of investment data, Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, is the leading performer out of all the investment sectors this year, rising 10.1%. The global emerging markets sector has risen 7.8%. By way of contrast, the FTSE All-Share Index has been more or less flat over the year.

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August 18, 2014

Sitting on top of the world

On Friday, it was reported that the UK economy grew by 3.2% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year. This is slightly higher than the original estimate of 3.1% and means the economy is growing at its fastest pace since 2007.

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August 4, 2014

Pensions revolution under way

The radical pensions changes, announced back in the March budget by Chancellor George Osborne, were given approval on 21 July 2014. The main thrust of the proposals have been adopted in full and a few other areas have been clarified somewhat.

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July 8, 2014

Some Nisa investment options

There were some interesting statistics in the Daily Telegraph recently, which amongst other things, pointed out that eight out of ten of the 23 million Isa investors choose cash accounts rather than opting for stocks and shares Isas.

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July 1, 2014

Isas just got Nisa

With effect from today, the new Isa rules come into play. The result is a transformation in the way Isa schemes work, providing much more flexibility along with significantly larger tax-free allowances.

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June 2, 2014

Two new funds out in June

‘Sell in May and go away. Come back on St Leger’s Day’. So goes the old adage and it is obviously one to ponder as we enter the month of June.

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May 19, 2014

Investment prospects – bullish or bearish? Half full or half empty?

There has been a lot of good news recently on the financial and economic fronts. Business confidence in the UK is rising and the markets have been performing well. Elsewhere, industrial output figures suggest that the Eurozone is recovering, whilst the US Dow Jones index ended the month of April at a record level. Even the Spanish economy grew – and at its fastest rate since 2008. So it would seem that we are in a glass half full phase.

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May 15, 2014

Will the UK economy win the World Cup?

"Securing the recovery is like making it through the qualifying rounds of the World Cup - it's a real achievement, but not the end goal. The prize in the economy is sustained and prolonged growth."

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May 1, 2014

UK economy grows for fifth consecutive quarter

The UK economy grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2014. This follows on from the growth of 0.7% in the final quarter of 2013, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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April 16, 2014

Inflation down, wages up

The UK inflation rate has fallen from 2.8% a year ago to 1.6% in March 2014, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is now at its lowest rate since October 2009.

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April 8, 2014

UK the fastest growing economy in the G7 this year?

According to the latest World Economic Outlook forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UK looks set to be the fastest growing major economy this year. Inflation has stabilised, unemployment is down, and consumer confidence is up, keeping the UK on track to post its strongest growth since 2007.

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April 1, 2014

Some immediate pension changes

The budget saw some dramatic headline changes on the pension’s front, but some of these changes don’t come into play until next April 2015, partly to give pension providers time to adjust their systems and practices.

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March 7, 2014

Don’t worry – be happy!

A couple of recent surveys by Scottish Widows are quite revealing about the nation’s psyche as well as behaviour when it comes to financial matters in general – and retirement in particular.

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February 14, 2014

Interest rates to stay low for a while yet

Announcing on Wednesday what he called “phase two” of forward guidance, Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, stated that interest rates are unlikely to rise before 2015, as the Bank believes the economy is not yet strong enough to support an increase.

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February 10, 2014

Mortgages. Is it time to get your fix?

Mortgage rates have started to rise again, with five-year fixed rate mortgages moving up from their record lows. This is partly down to the improving economy, plus expectations that interest rates will now rise sooner rather than later.

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February 1, 2014

UK economy grows at fastest rate since 2007

The UK economy grew by 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing the annual growth rate to 1.9%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS said that this was the UK's fastest annual rate of growth since 2007.

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January 22, 2014

Ups and downs – but all in a good way.

It has been a good start to the year for the UK in economic terms. The latest figures and reports show that not only is inflation coming down but unemployment is also down, whilst IMF predictions suggest that the economy is certainly on the up.

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January 20, 2014

How to make a mint. Or not?

At the start of the noughties, some investors built their portfolios with BRICs – investing in the then emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The past decade has worked out fairly well for them. However, several commentators believe that the BRIC markets are beginning to overheat and some investors are starting to look for new emerging market investment opportunities.

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January 17, 2014

Possible annuity changes as income drawdown on the rise?

In a recent interview with the Daily Telegraph, Steve Webb, the pensions minister, spelled out his vision for an overhaul of how pensions work. The essence of his plan is that he wants pensioners to be able to switch to better annuities regularly in the same way that homeowners can change their mortgage deals every few years. The aim is to avoid the situation where pensioners are trapped in potentially poor-value schemes until they die.

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January 14, 2014

Inflation finally hits government target

The Consumer Prices Index eased to 2% in December, down from 2.1% the month before. This is the first time that inflation has hit the government target of 2% since November 2009.

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News Feed

9/11/2024

Former students urged to check for loan refunds

New figures show university graduates could be eligible for refunds worth nearly £200m.

News & Views

November 9, 2024

More exam success for Oskar Chojaczyk

Oskar racks up his third exam success of the year.
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