Hopeful FTBs consider buying with friend or sibling
Did you know that 46% of aspiring first-time buyers would consider buying a home with a friend or sibling to help them get onto the property ladder?1 Most people (62%) would ideally like to purchase a home with a partner; however, many have been forced to look at alternative options. The main reason for considering […]
Get into the savings habit to enhance your wellbeing
A report from UK Savings Week shows that having a savings habit improves wellbeing. Savers on the lowest incomes were found to benefit the most from regularly putting money aside, with 53% of this group reporting that they are satisfied with their life. However, only 40% of low-income non-savers could say the same1. Interestingly, low-income […]
Buy-to-let market update: Trends and insights
The UK buy-to-let (BTL) market has seen notable changes recently. The number of new BTL mortgages granted has decreased sharply. This decline is largely due to higher interest rates and stricter taxation measures, which have served to cool investor enthusiasm. Additionally, the overall size of the BTL mortgage market has contracted. Investors are encountering more […]
Why should you care about correlation
If you want your investment portfolio to strike a good balance between risk and return, it’s worth knowing how correlation can impact your investments. If two different investments are perfectly correlated, their value will rise and fall by the same amount, at the same time. Investing in highly correlated assets can increase your losses, because […]
A third of Gen X think they will never retire
Recently released research1 suggests a significant proportion of working age people are no longer planning a traditional ‘hard stop’ retirement, with 45 to 54-year-olds most likely to feel they will continue working beyond pensionable age. Work work work According to the survey, more than a fifth of working age adults think it unlikely they will […]
Many young mortgage holders do not have life cover
Research has found that 28% of young UK homeowners do not have life insurance1. It is estimated that 1.7 million adults aged 18-40 do not have appropriate cover in place, despite having a mortgage. This oversight puts their dependants in a precarious financial position in the event of their death. Why risk it? Of those […]
Don’t just plan – protect your money
Are you confident you have all the relevant cover in place to protect your finances? Having a financial plan should go hand-in-hand with a conversation about insurance. The statistics We may not like to think about death, but the reality is it is inevitable; however, data has revealed that only 29% of UK adults have […]
Self-employed? Remember your pension
Over one million individuals have entered self-employment since 20201, so it is important to ensure you are still planning for retirement by making regular pension contributions. A growing sector In 2023, there were 4.2 million people in the UK’s solo self-employed sector – 3% higher than the previous year. Overall, the solo self-employed contributed £331bn […]
Avoiding the unretirement ‘tax trap’
Research1 suggests a significant minority of over-55s either have or are planning to unretire. Worryingly, though, a majority in this group have not checked the tax implications associated with such a decision, leaving many potentially at risk of falling foul of the unretirement ‘tax trap.’ The great unretirement continues According to the research, more than […]