Blog
Since 6 April 2010, the personal allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000. Since then, the personal allowance has almost doubled. It was £6,475 in 2010/11 and now stands at £12,570 in the tax year 2021/22. Income at this level is formally taxed at 40%. However, the fact that anyone
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Building an investment portfolio requires a mixture of investment science and common sense. The evidence suggests timing when to be in and out of markets (or sectors, or companies) is extremely difficult. It also suggests identifying a manager who can persistently beat the market is very hard to do in advance. We, therefore, focus on
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We sometimes refer to the way we invest as mostly being a ‘systematic’ approach. It is our duty to do what is right for our clients. When investing, we build on a foundation of facts. This is because we believe we would be doing our clients a disservice if we did it any other way.
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It has become common practice for employees to exchange part of their salary and/or bonus in return for their increasing the pension contribution they pay by the same amount. This can be far more attractive than the employee making a direct pension contribution on his/her own behalf, particularly if the employer is prepared to increase
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There is no doubt buy-to-let residential property has been profitable for some. However, it is not without considerable risks. These risks include increasing taxes, rent arrears, voids, dilapidations and many more. Any landlord effectively needs to run a small business. There is also the misconception that residential property only ever goes up in value. When
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What is an equity (or share)? An equity (or share) represents ownership of part of a company. This gives you a right to your share of any dividends paid and a claim on the company’s assets. Returns from equities come from changes in the price of the shares and dividends paid out. Are all equities
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This may seem an obvious question with an obvious answer. In some ways it is. We believe investing to be the means of building wealth to fund lifestyle and personal choices. It is a slow, emotional, and sometimes painful process requiring a robust plan, patiently executed over many years. Anyone hoping to get rich quick
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It is easier and cheaper than ever to invest money or to start a pension. In addition, we like to say that long term investing is, to a fair degree, solved. We do accept that we cannot tell you what the perfect portfolio is going to look like for the next 30 years. However, we
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There has been as much research into what makes us happier as there has been into what makes us wealthier. As financial planners, we are trying to help our clients improve their lives using their money. So, it is therefore important to look at what drives happiness and how it relates to money. The happiness
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The Institute for Fiscal Studies has released a report looking at when might be the best times for individuals to save for retirement. The findings are obviously very general but some chime in with what we find from our clients and our personal finances. What have the IFS said? Most individuals expect their income to
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