Each day, month and year brings a fresh wave of predictions about which markets, sectors, or asset classes will outperform. Financial headlines continue to highlight the latest themes – whether it’s the rise of AI-driven companies, the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies, or the apparent resurgence of gold as a safe haven asset. Despite the persuasive […]
HMRC figures for 2023/24 show cash ISA subscriptions have increased by around 224% more than stocks and shares ISAs by the end of the decade. The Chancellor’s plan to reform individual savings accounts (ISAs) to “improve returns for savers” has been considered for some time. Rachel Reeves’s scheme is widely believed to mean the […]
Nine months into 2025, investment performance may not be what you expect. The daily blog from Financial Times, FT Alphaville, runs a competition every Friday for a trivial prize, such as a T-shirt. The quiz typically involves a trio of graphs with the same question applied to each one: what is being plotted? The answers […]
HMRC’s latest statistics show a jump in unclaimed Child Trust Funds (CTFs) to over £1,500,000,000. CTFs had only a brief existence. They were launched in January 2005 by the previous Labour government and survived for just six years, before being culled by the Conservative /LibDem coalition government in 2011, shortly after it came to power. […]
A new report has shown conflicting ideas about retirement. The report included two questions: Question 1: At what age would you like to retire? Question 2: At what age do you think you will be able to retire? If your answers to those two questions are different, then you are not […]
HMRC is sending out letters asking taxpayers to check their dividend totals. You may have received something that starts like this: “Dear XX Please make sure your tax return included all your dividend income. We’re writing to ask you to check your self assessment tax return for the year ended 5 April 2024. This needs […]
