How to get a State Pension Forecast and Why it is important before 5 April 2025
The UK State Pension provides a valuable source of income in retirement, but the amount you receive depends on your National Insurance (NI) record. With key deadlines approaching, it is essential to understand your entitlements and take action if necessary. How Many NI Years Are Needed for the Full State Pension? To qualify for the […]
What does a second Trump presidency mean for investment markets?
Donald Trump has become only the second president in US history to win two non-consecutive terms after achieving victory over Kamala Harris in yesterday’s US elections, as well as winning the popular vote. In addition to taking the presidency, the Republicans have taken control of the Senate and at the time of writing have a […]
UK Autumn Budget 2024 – £40bn tax increases with business and the wealthy targeted
Rachel Reeves the first female Chancellor in British history delivered broadly the budget expected with significant tax rises combined with large amounts of both spending and borrowing. Ms Reeves asserted the only way to achieve economic growth is to ‘invest, invest, invest.’ Large tax increases The budget will overall raise taxes by £40 billion, the […]
Planning Ahead – Autumn Statement – 30 October 2024
In its first few months in office, the new Labour government has highlighted a £22 billion ‘black hole’ in the public finances, as well as repeated warnings of the need for ‘tough decisions’ to deal with problems in the UK economy, the NHS and other areas of the public sector. This gloomy picture presented by […]
Market Overview & Outlook Quarter 3 2024 (1 July – 30 September 2024) – Markets show resilience
Progress across asset markets disguised an eventful quarter where monetary policy moved from fighting inflation to supporting growth. August saw sharp falls in equity markets as weaker data in the US and a strengthening Yen saw popular trades unwound. Markets had largely recovered by month end. Bond yields declined pre-empting the first rate cut by […]
Discretionary Fund Management – Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Many clients prefer for their portfolios to be managed by us proactively on their behalf. This is known as discretionary fund management. It has the advantage that we monitor the investments and make changes to the portfolio as required over time in accordance with market dynamics. This helps to optimise both performance and risk management. […]
Post-Election Update
The Labour Party achieved a landslide majority in last week’s general election. This gives the new Prime Minister a strong mandate to deliver on his manifesto commitments. As one of his government’s top priorities, Sir Keir has set out his determination to improve economic growth, which has been lacklustre in recent years. This will require […]
Market Overview & Outlook Quarter 1 2024 (1 January – 31 March 2024) – The Rally Continues
In the first quarter of 2024, equity markets surged upwards, in particular North America, driven on by the ongoing artificial intelligence boom, Japan and Europe, with their respective stock markets returning an impressive 11.4% (S&P 500), 13.4% (Nikkei 225) and 11.3% (Euro Stoxx 50) in GBP. However, the UK equity market with its lack of […]
UK Spring Budget 6 March 2024
Chancellor Hunt announces £10bn National Insurance cut in pre-election Budget In today’s Budget statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt asserted that the UK economy ‘has turned a corner’ against a backdrop of taxes at a post-War record high and pressure on creaking public services. Mr Hunt spoke of UK economic growth of 0.8% in 2024 rising to […]
Market Overview & Outlook Quarter 4 2023 (1 October 2023 – 31 December 2023) and Investment Outlook 2024
Santa Rally 2023 Since a market low point at the end of October, equity markets, particularly in the US rallied strongly in the last two months of 2023. The US S&P500 surged 24% in 2023 and the technology focused NASDAQ jumped 43%. These gains were the largest since 2021 and 2020 respectively. The MSCI World […]