Five things you wanted to know about pensions

The world of pensions is complex and ever-changing. You may have a bunch of questions that you’re saving up to ask your adviser next time you have a catch up.

3 mins

Importance of foreign exchange

I want to begin this blog by firstly taking time to explain why foreign exchange is an important part of portfolio composition and why as investors you should be paying close attention to currency exposure, as it could be driving or eroding your investment returns.

2 mins

Cost of living crisis and the impact on savings

The rising cost of living is impacting households far and wide, putting pressure on budgets. Prices are rising, most notably, for energy bills, groceries and filling up the car with fuel. One knock-on effect when bills get more expensive is the difficulty for individuals to maintain their current level of monthly savings.

3 mins

International womens day

It’s official: women are better investors than men. They just don’t think they are. In fact, a 2017 study from Fidelity Investments1 shows that just 9 per cent of women believed that statement. But that same study also analysed returns on investments by both men and women – and found that the women earned 0.4 per cent higher on their investments than the men.

3 mins

COP26 revisited

COP stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’ and is the decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

2 mins

National Insurance – the lowdown

There’s plenty of column inches in the news dedicated to the cost of living crisis at the moment. As well as having to deal with soaring inflation and sky-high energy bills, it’s important to prepare for the fact that we’re all going to pay more National Insurance from April.

3 mins

End of tax year planning

As the end of the tax year approaches, it’s important to review if you have taken full advantage of the tax breaks and shelters available.

4 mins

Discover The Merits of Long-Term Investing

Being interested in and engaged with your investments is to be applauded. But there’s a potential danger in becoming too involved with day-to-day movements and how funds are performing, worrying over the latest share price shift or market panic. Markets move up and down – that’s the very nature of stock market investing.

3 mins

January CIO commentary: bumpy start

It’s been a volatile start to 2022. For the last two-ish years, markets have enjoyed a buy-the-dip mentality as pro-growth fiscal and ultra-accommodative monetary policies have kept the show on the road.

6 mins

Beware the scammers who want your pension

Pension fraud has been on the rise ever since pension freedoms was introduced in 2015, allowing the over 55s…

3 mins