While the rise in interest rates is welcome to many, savers are facing the prospect of paying tax on their savings for the first time in some years. Rises in salary earnings are also pushing a larger number of people into the higher rate or additional rate income tax band, effectively leaving them with no […]

The cost-of-living crisis has seen people considering cancelling their life insurance payments to save money.  Research carried out by insurance company, Vitality, suggested that only three out of ten respondents considered life insurance as a financial imperative. It also revealed that a majority of people did not consider life insurance policies as something of importance […]

Just relying on your state pension in later life could leave you suffering a threadbare retirement. The current State Pension stands at just £185.15 a week, as of December 2022. To make sure you have a more financially successful retirement, it pays to put things in place now. Firstly, make sure you have an alternative […]

The September Mini-Budget sent the economy into a tailspin, causing chaos in the mortgage market and sending interest rates rising. A change at Number 10 & 11 Downing Street, and the Autumn Statement has bought some stability, but many mortgage holders and first-time buyers are still left scratching their heads.   The burning question for many […]

Given the pandemonium around the gilts market after the Mini-Budget in September, it would seem that investors would naturally shy away from Government bonds. But as the dust settles and rates recover is there an opportunity for investors? Government bonds or gilts are akin to an IOU that the Government issues when it needs to […]

It is a fairly cliched saying, but you really shouldn’t “put all your eggs in one basket”. During times of volatility and uncertainty, having a wide and diversified spread of investments, savings and assets is often the best approach to minimise risk to your overall wealth. If you were to only invest your money into […]

It is often hard to achieve the rewards of investment without taking on a little risk. However, how much of your wealth you are willing to risk will often differ at different stages of your life. When it comes to risk, everyone is different. For some a calculated risk with the chance of higher return […]

Lots of landlords and property investors, including many people investing to supplement their retirement income, have been able to enter the property market over the last decade thanks to buy-to-let. The ability to get an affordable buy-to-let mortgage has opened up the door to many people who would have otherwise considered property investment too costly […]

Rapidly rising inflation has been pushing up the Bank of England’s (BoE) base rate at a historic pace in the last few months. The rate, set by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), rose by 0.5 per cent in both August and September and currently sits at 2.25 per cent (at the time of writing). […]

During the mini-Budget, the former Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, plans to “accelerate” reforms to the pensions charge cap. This move, he said, would help to “unlock pension investments” into UK assets and high-growth businesses. Under these new pension measures, the Government has brought forward plans that exclude performance fees from the 0.75 per cent charge cap on […]