£94bn lost by holding money as cash A new report has revealed that the UK’s working adult population has missed out on a staggering £94 billion over the past five years through failing to invest in the stock market and holding their money in savings accounts. The figure comes from public policy think tank, The […]
We’re well into the new year now and after President Trump’s inauguration on Friday past I thought it might be useful to reflect on the past year. In 2016, the UK market reached new highs and stocks in a majority of developed and emerging market countries delivered positive returns. UK investors with overseas assets benefited […]
I travelled to London this week to take part in the launch of Worthstone – an organisation established to promote investing for social impact. The event took place in the House of St. Barnabas. The House of St. Barnabas is fascinating and operates a not-for-profit private member’s club in Soho which funds the Employment Academy […]
It always takes a few hours for the detail and ramifications of a new budget to sink in. Osbourne’s budget has been hailed as the “Beer and Bingo” budget – a fair comment? It certainly is good news for beer drinkers and bingo players but it has had a huge impact on pensions legislation in […]
Just this week we had a great result for clients who had recently sold business premises and moved into a new purpose built warehouse in Coleraine. They face a capital gains tax bill of just over £47,000 which is payable in January 2015. Both Mr and Mrs have substantial income tax bills and are fortunate […]
Today the government launches the Junior ISA or JISA, the replacement for the Child Trust Fund (athough existing Child Trust Funds will not be affected). These are designed to allow parents to save for their children although unlike the CTF the government won’t be making a starting contribution. The current limit for investing in any […]
It’s a challenge to make a blog post on pensions interesting but I’ll give it a shot! Defaqto, who provide independent financial research, recently surveyed people under 35 years old and found that less than half of them had a pension of any type. In a previous study carried in 2010, Defaqto found that 44% […]
When the Sopranos first aired in the late 1990s I was a student in Belfast and watched it every week until I graduated and left Belfast in the middle of the second season. It might have taken me 11 years but I’ve finally arrived at the fourth season. The first episode, “For all debts public […]
Now is the time to invest in an ISA An ISA-or Individual Savings Account-is a tax efficient way to save as you pay no income or capital gains tax on the returns you receive. It remains one of the taxman’s most valuable concessions to investors. LONG-TERM INVESTING STILL MAKES SENSE The past […]
Found this video online – real people talking about their worst financial mistakes and what they wish they’d done differently. Well worth the 3 minutes it takes to watch.