First-time buyers….. Are you looking for help in the housing market?
THE housing market. What is that? For some, it’s a place to try and make money. For large house builders, it’s an economy. In its real and sustainable form, however, it’s a warm, secure home where families are created, laughter shared, pain and heartache talked through, and memories made. I’m uncomfortable with anything other than […]
Here’s how consumer duty helps you!
IN July 2023, Consumer Duty came into action, with financial firms having to prove they are doing what they need to deliver good outcomes for customers on products and services, price and value, consumer understanding and consumer support. Firms need to end rip off charges and fees and make it simple to cancel or switch […]
Equity release to pay off mortgage?
A QUESTION we get asked a lot is whether you should look at equity release to pay off your mortgage. Do you remember Dudley Moore and his sketch on honesty advertising in the movie ‘Crazy People’? He is asked what marketing is while he’s with his nurse girlfriend in a psychiatric hospital. When he explains, […]
Inheritance tax changes – yawn!
THE government has mooted a potential change in inheritance tax rules. It is being put forward as a potential election winner, but the belief is that the ‘changes’ are just to be written into a manifesto, so we are probably more likely to see ET returning, even with today’s phone systems. We just know how […]
Structured kick out plans
LAST week we covered the structured products, often marketed as capital protected. As you saw, they are extremely complex, and most advisers wouldn’t be able to understand them let alone an investor. Be careful. Next is another structured product where you will often see the name ‘kick out’ next to it. It’s quite something that […]
Structured protected investment twaddle
I TRY to write like we are sat having a beer, wine or coffee together, but this ‘simple’ product is highly complicated. Please stay with me. Structured products are generally made appealing to risk averse investors with cuddly round numbers offering ‘capital protection’. I’ll dissect one product for you. The marketing title of the plan […]
How does the help to buy interest rate work?
LAST week I covered a column I wrote in 2018 regarding interest rates moving to seven per cent or above and stress testing at that level. A second part of that column related to the risks to ‘help to buy’ where I mentioned that 40 per cent of those buying were on an income of […]
Are mortgage rates rising or falling?
IN MARCH 2018 I wrote an article entitled ‘Mortgage Stress Test at Seven Per Cent’. It said: “To stress test their mortgages at seven per cent would be unheard of. That would be Armageddon and a ‘conspiracy’.” Until it wasn’t of course. It has surpassed that level. My view then was that those short of […]
Pensions part five: Your retirement mop up
IN my final column on pensions and retirement, I’m going to mop up any other matters I think I may have missed as you reach the lovely retirement date. Firstly, do a full financial review. At the bar, I have lots of ‘can I just ask you a quick question’ moments. Our friend the psychologist […]
Should I opt for a pension drawdown?
IN the fourth of my columns on retirement, let’s look a little closer at one of the options I talked about last week, pension drawdown. At retirement date you are no longer forced to buy an annuity straight away, and so you can leave your pension fund invested and allow it to grow, whilst also […]
What options are available to those with a personal pension?
I’VE covered the key psychological plans for retirement and what income you may need in retirement, so here, in my third column covering retirement, I’ll look at some of the options available to those with a personal pension. In years gone by, as you neared retirement you had only one option which was to prepare […]
How much income do I need in retirement?
RETIREMENT can creep up on us in what feels like a blink of an eye. It seems like just the other day I was doing my pensions exams, but that was actually 35 years ago. When I talked about pensions back then, it bored me, like eating grass. I haven’t done that, but I can […]