Dividends from FTSE 100 companies expected to rise but investors should watch out for low cover December 14, 2016 Companies in the FTSE 100 are forecast to pay out £78.4bn in dividends in 2017, according to a new report. The total payouts are expected to be 4.6bn higher than 2016 forecasts in a report by AJ Bell, a provider of investment platforms and stockbroker services. This is equivalent to a yield of 4.6 per [...]
The UK alternative finance industry is still not transparent enough December 14, 2016 Alternative finance is very diverse – something we should celebrate as an industry. But as the sector scales up and attracts more mainstream investors, platforms have a job on their hands to help those investors, and these days their advisers, work out where we fit into portfolios and where we sit on the risk curve. [...]
Up a bit, down a bit: Last minute changes to Lifetime Isas prove they’re a bad idea, says former pensions minister December 14, 2016 A former pensions minister has hit out at the government's last-minute fiddling with Lifetime Isas, saying it is proof the initiative "has not been properly thought through". Steve Webb lamented the news the Treasury will scrap exit fees on Lifetime Isas in the first year of their existence. “This announcement is a further sign that the [...]
The hell of being middle-aged: The financial pressures of children and ageing parents mean that 45 to 54 year-olds are more likely than any other group to be saving nothing for retirement December 14, 2016 New research has found that an overlooked "sandwich" generation is saving surprisingly little for retirement Young people between the ages of 25 and 34 are often singled out as being the most hard done by in the UK today. Rates of home ownership within this group have fallen dramatically since the early nineties, leading many [...]
More pressure on Fox-Sky deal as pensions lobby group wades in December 13, 2016 Rupert Murdoch’s proposed Sky takeover came under further scrutiny today as a pensions lobby group stressed the need for an appropriate premium to be paid for the business. Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox is expected to make a firm £10.75-per-share cash bid for the 61 per cent of Sky it does not already own before the end [...]
Authorities claim victory for pension savers but underline there’s still room for improvement December 13, 2016 Over a million Britons' retirement savings have been boosted by slashed pension charges, authorities revealed today. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and department for work and pensions (DWP) hailed the news as "significant progress" but still felt there was more work to be done in reducing costs levied on retirement savings. Read more: This business sector is [...]
Two charts for those already suggesting the value bounce is finished December 13, 2016 | City Talk When you sign up to be a value investor, you soon learn you have not chosen the easiest path to tread. Even so, here on The Value Perspective, we still find ourselves occasionally astonished at the way the wider market can seem so willing to write off the discipline’s prospects. Take the recent resurgence [...]
Two charts for those already suggesting the value bounce is finished December 13, 2016 | City Talk When you sign up to be a value investor, you soon learn you have not chosen the easiest path to tread. Even so, here on The Value Perspective, we still find ourselves occasionally astonished at the way the wider market can seem so willing to write off the discipline’s prospects. Take the recent resurgence in [...]
As Trump enters the White House, will the Federal Reserve hike interest rates more aggressively in 2017? December 13, 2016 It was Ronald Reagan who warned against inflation in 1984 by describing it creeping “like a thief in the night to rob our savings, rob our earnings, and take the bread off our tables.” It is ironic then that President-elect Donald Trump, who borrowed his forebear’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” to win the [...]
Political shocks have been a buy signal in 2016 – why not in 2017 too? December 12, 2016 It's that time of the year for financial journalists: we are being inundated with lengthy outlook reports for the coming year. My inbox is littered with ominous warnings about how 2017 will see more uncertainty, and the overwhelming theme for the year is: it’s the politics, stupid. Given the rise in populist voting in 2016, which manifested [...]