Our real spending power is falling
IN simple terms, it is fair to ask why governments might have an upward inflation target. Surely with the advent and simplicity of systems and computers, the world has become easier, and as such we shouldn’t have rising prices? Maybe the target should be to bring down the cost of living? Over simplification by me? […]
Should you really ‘sell in May and go away’?
SELL in May, buy again on St Leger’s day. This is an old saying that arose in the past, is derived from stock brokers avoiding the heat of the summer and going on holiday from May to September. Nice job if you can get it. The theory is that you should sell your stocks and […]
Frexit gone, Italexit a real threat to your investments?
STOCK markets, pension funds and investment ISAs didn’t breathe a sigh of relief last week after Marine Le Penn’s far right party was defeated, that sigh was enjoyed on the first round when it was clear Le Penn would not win. Avoiding a Le Penn victory avoids a referendum on leaving the EU in France […]
Long Walk To Freedom
The reality of freedom and revolution is always less enjoyable and straightforward than when the concept is first proposed. The pension world is proving no different as the reforms and freedoms, announced by the chancellor in 2014 and introduced this April, are not working as smoothly as many expected. Those, who expected to use their […]
Where There’s A Will
Why are we so reluctant to make a will? Is it purely down to the fact we always think there will be time to get everything straight before we depart? In some cases that might be correct. Statistics show that, on average, we are living longer than ever before – but there is always the […]
Taking Care To Save
There is a treasure trove of over £10 billion in the UK just sitting there waiting for us to claim it. That is the amount is in dormant bank accounts, forgotten pensions, unclaimed inheritances and investments and even over payments to energy companies. The unclaimed sums are quite staggering – £41m in premium bonds, £153m […]
Financial Safety Net
The dream for most investors, whether that hard-earned cash goes into property, equities, premium bonds or pensions, is to see that money grow and provide increasing financially security. The nightmare scenario is that the investment loses value over the years, perhaps disappearing altogether. For many investors, losses often figure larger in the decision-making process than […]
Computer Age
It is not up there with Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity”, but there is a property equation that is becoming increasingly puzzling and baffling! We are all living longer, yet the “House Years” – the window in which we can obtain a run-of-the mill average mortgage – seem to be diminishing! The average age for first-time […]
Finding That Little Extra
DEBT seems to have become a way of life. It’s hard to imagine how you would make your way in the modern world without it. The generation that saved first and then bought is long gone. We exist, normally and easily, with levels of debts that would probably have sent our grandparents, if not our […]
Stress Testing!
Finally – and fortunately – we have confirmation that our obsession with property ownership has gone too far. Forget the madness of £140m price tags on London flats, 30% annual increases, sealed bids way over the asking price or the successful buyer paying estates agents “finders’ fees” as well as the seller. None of the […]
Pension Power
No-one predicted the pensioners’ windfall that emerged from George Osborne’s Budget speech this week. In a stroke, the Chancellor has changed the aspirations of those approaching retirement by eliminating the annuity trap. The removal of the need to buy an annuity with your pension pot, plus the raising of the ISA annual limit to £15,000, […]
No Quick Fix
Could you cope with losing your life savings overnight to a mystery voice at the end of a telephone? One of the UK’s top policemen has revealed the devastation and embarrassment of “boiler-room” fraud. How normally careful and sensible investors of a certain age, after a lifetime of frugal behavior, are lured into scam investments […]