7th September 2020

The Week in Review – 7 September

“Massive milestone” Millions of children in England and Wales returned to school last week. For many, it was the first time in attendance since March, due to the disruption caused by the pandemic. Pupils started adjusting to life in a class or year group bubble, with a raft of precautionary measures in place, such as […]

3rd September 2020

Reassurance for Savers

In the spring, a surge was reported in the number of people enquiring about and opening savings accounts, as they sought to secure the best rates, before interest rate cuts fed through to savings rates and to benefit from a secure home for their money. For UK savers, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) can […]

Focus on the horizon

Investors will understandably be pondering their portfolios as economic challenges endure. You may have heard the age-old investment dictum – time in the market, not timing the market. If so, recent research1 has explored the concept, with some very compelling results. In March 2000, during the height of the dot-com boom, if an investor made […]

1st September 2020

The Week in Review – 1 September

“Our priority is to get children back to school safely” As Storm Francis lashed the UK last week, another storm was brewing as the government took a late U-turn regarding the use of face coverings in schools in England. From the beginning of September, secondary pupils and adults in local lockdown areas of England and […]

26th August 2020

Fraud goes viral – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

UK fraud prevention groups are warning individuals to be extra vigilant following a huge increase in the number of scams seeking to exploit the pandemic; as these scams increase in sophistication, we are all vulnerable. Your best tactic is to equip yourself to stay ScamSmart; you can do this through checking the FCA website www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart. […]

Home working opens new horizons

One effect of the coronavirus epidemic has been the pressure placed on many people to find viable ways of working from home, aided by technology. Where insurance, security, connectivity and any local planning constraints allow, it’s likely that a significant number of these workers may continue to be wholly or partially home-based after the virus […]

24th August 2020

The Week in Review – 24 August

“A new approach to public health” Last week, as the COVID-19 global death toll passed 800,000, Health Secretary Matt Hancock launched a new body tasked with a “single and relentless mission” of protecting people from external health threats including pandemics and infectious diseases. Mr Hancock said the National Institute for Health Protection will combine Public […]

19th August 2020

Timing pays off for the early bird ISA investor

Early tax year ISA investors could be thousands of pounds better off, according to research1 looking at the investing habits of hypothetical ISA investors over the last 10 and 20 years.  The study concludes that if you were an ‘Early Shirley’ and invested your full ISA allowance on 6 April for the past 20 tax […]

Making sense of pensions withdrawals

Research1 has revealed that one in five over-55s with a private pension withdrew a lump sum during 2019, although the study does suggest that, for many, this was probably not a financially sensible course of action. ‘Stash the cash’ The most popular reason for accessing pension wealth was to put the money into a savings […]

17th August 2020

The Week in Review – 17 August

“There are going to be bumpy months ahead” In the week when global coronavirus cases passed the 20 million mark, on home shores, the latest official labour market statistics released on Tuesday revealed the largest drop in employment for over 10 years. In response to the data, the Prime Minister cautioned, “Clearly there are going […]