Your Future.
Your Way.
Insightful, cost effective advice tailored to you
Your Future.
Your Way.
Insightful, cost effective advice tailored to you
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Scroll through TikTok or Instagram for a few minutes and you’ll find no shortage of people telling you how to invest, where to put your money, and how you can get rich a bit quicker than everyone else.It all sounds very straightforward. That’s usually the first warning sign.The Sunday Times has been running a series
Posted by: Jon Lawson
You may remember that, in our last email ahead of the Budget, we suggested you should take much of the media noise with a pinch of salt. The warning was simple: don’t believe everything you hear. As it turns out, that was sensible advice (if we say so ourselves).Rachel Reeves’ second Budget as Chancellor was
By any measure, it has been a curious few years for investors. The headlines tell a story of markets marching confidently upward. And yet, the reality beneath the surface is a little different: it is not the entire market that has surged, but rather a small number of American technology firms.After two decades in which
Why it’s becoming harder to be a buy-to-let landlordIn the past, buy-to-let was one of the UK’s safest investment strategies. With steady rental income and long-term capital appreciation, property was seen as a reliable way to build wealth, particularly during times of low interest rates. Recently, however, a slew of tax and regulatory changes have
Investment markets had largely ignored Donald Trump’s threat to impose stringent tariffs for much of the first quarter.However, as we neared last Wednesday’s “Liberation Day” there had been a marked move to risk-off sentiment as investors focused on the potential negative impact on the global economy. The tariff increases announced last week were higher than
Last October the chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that from April 2027, pensions would form part of a deceased person’s taxable estate. This means that savers may no longer be able to pass on pensions to beneficiaries tax-free on death.How exactly inheritance tax (IHT) will apply to pensions is still being finalised by the government. The consultation
November’s budget saw some important changes to inheritance tax (IHT) rules. The IHT threshold of £325,000, which had not changed since 2009, was extended for a further two years until April 2030.There were other more complicated changes announced by the chancellor Rachel Reeves. Whereas previously pensions had sat outside of a person’s estate for IHT purposes,
Last week the chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled her Autumn Budget – Labour’s first major fiscal event in 14 years. The Budget had three main goals: to generate economic growth; to plug a £22 billion hole in the country’s finances; and to pump money into flagging public services.Not all of the announcements in the Budget will
In this week’s King’s Speech, which outlined Labour’s plans for the coming year, the 40 pieces of legislation announced by His Majesty were underwritten by a promise to promote ‘economic stability’. The new Chancellor Rachel Reeves has described ‘sound money’ as the cornerstone of Labour’s policy for government.Therefore one should not expect a raft of
The Spring budget on 6 March was a bit of a non-event for many clients.There was an important cut in Class 1 national insurance contributions from 10 to 8 per cent for those who are employees. High earners with children were given a boost, thanks to changes that were introduced to the high income child
Most people won’t pay inheritance tax, but the number of people who will is rising.In 2009/10 just 2.6% of deaths gave rise to IHT. Yet according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies this figure is set to rise to more than 7% over the next decade.You might gift excess income to: Basic allowancesFor those who
In recent years, property has been viewed as an ideal investment asset. In 1980, the average house sold for just £19,273. That compares to £239,927 in 2020 – a staggering 1,145 percent increase. Against that backdrop some investors have begun to assume that property prices only move in one direction: up.And this seemed true, for
How Should You Respondto Rising Interest Rates?What are interest rates?Interest rates are the cost of borrowing money or the return on investment for lending money. Interest rates play a crucial role in the economy and financial markets as they influence borrowing and spending behaviour, investment decisions and overall economic activity.The Bank of England uses interest
WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS? Inheritance tax aka iceberg tax Here at FiveWays we sometimes refer to inheritance tax (IHT) as an iceberg tax. You don’t always see it coming, but there can be a whole lot of trouble hidden beneath the surface.The first rule of IHT is that you do not usually have to pay it
The Autumn Statement – What was Announced and How it Affects You On the back of months of economic turmoil, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement aimed to stabilise jittery markets and restore confidence in the British economy.And much to his undoubted relief, unlike his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng, Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement did not trigger
When Kwasi Kwarteng stood up to present his “mini budget” (aka “Growth Plan”) on 23rd September, he was unlikely to have considered quite how dramatic the Financial markets response would be.Pulling in opposite directionsMeanwhile, the Bank has continued to warn of higher inflation on a CPI (Consumer Prices Index) basis, raising its estimate for the
