In a rare move, the rules for what constitutes an income fund have been changed. What counts as an income fund? The Investment Association (IA), the trade body for investment fund managers, sets detailed criteria for no less than 39 different investment sectors, ranging from Japanese Smaller Companies to Volatility Managed. The IA also monitors […]
Criminals continue to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to commit fraud, as a scam involving the purchase of pets, such as puppies and kittens, continues to be reported to Action Fraud. So far, 669 people have lost a combined total of £282,686 in March and April, after putting down deposits for pets they have […]
One perhaps unsurprising side-effect of the Covid-19 pandemic has been an upsurge of interest in wills and estate planning. However, the lockdown is constraining options. Press reports have suggested that the increased interest in will writing has been particularly high among those in the older age brackets who are more vulnerable if they become infected. […]
The world’s share markets had a buoyant first six months. Index 2019 H1 Change FTSE 100 +10.4% FTSE All-Share +10.4% Dow Jones Industrial +14.0% Standard & Poor’s 500 +17.3% Nikkei 225 +6.3% Euro Stoxx 50 (€) +15.7% Shanghai Composite +19.4% MSCI Emerging Markets (£) +9.3% The final few months of 2018 were a dark time […]
The BBC’s decision to scrap universal free TV licences for the over-75s is part of the larger debate about our growing ageing population. Free TV licences for the over-75s were introduced by Gordon Brown in his 2000 Budget. It was a classic rabbit-out-the-hat Budget measure, designed to please at a relatively modest initial cost. Wind […]
The recent problems with the suspension of dealings in a heavily promoted UK equity income fund have exposed the blurred line between advice and guidance. According to the Investment Association (IA), there are around 3,500 funds on sale in the UK. The IA sorts these into over 30 individual investment sectors, although about […]
