What are ETFs and why could they be useful for your Isa? March 15, 2016 In today's environment of volatile equities and low bond yields, achieving strong returns is a tall order. So many investors have sought to mitigate the impact of lower returns by cutting out the fees and charges associated with active fund management. With $3 trillion invested in ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, by the end of last year, [...]
ETF or managed fund: What should I put inside my Isa? March 15, 2016 The main benefit of investing in an active fund managed by a “star” manager is supposed to be getting a superior return to simply tracking an index. However, research from Cass Business School shows that the majority of active fund managers fail to beat the index once fees have been deducted from returns. In fact, [...]
Gold, oil and robots: Big trend investing with ETFs March 15, 2016 The best-performing exchange-traded fund (ETF) so far this year is a triple-leveraged gold miners product that goes by the ticker symbol “NUGT”. Aiming to deliver three times the returns of the Arca Gold Miners index in any given session, its 150 per cent increase this year is of little surprise: gold miners have rallied on the [...]
How to become an Isa millionaire: Embrace consistent saving and the wonders of compounding to make a million without clever stock picking March 15, 2016 It sounds like an unachievable dream, but people with more than £1m within their Isa are not quite as rare as you might think. Last March, Barclays Stockbrokers revealed that 67 of its clients had already achieved that financial milestone, while Telegraph research put the total number in the UK at around 200. Although Isas have only [...]
Early retirement suggested for women facing late pensions March 15, 2016 The work and pensions select committee has suggested offering women who were given short notice of the increase in the state pension age the option to retire earlier, with a slightly reduced pension. The suggestion has been made in a report out today on the introduction of a higher state pension age. Committee member John [...]
FTSE 100 edges up but Admiral share price hit as investors await Budget and interest rate decisions March 14, 2016 The share price of one of the UK's largest insurers was hit in early trading after it emerged over the weekend that the chancellor may drop a tax bombshell on the sector when he delivers his Budget later this week. Admiral Group fell 1.6 per cent to 1,884.5p in early trading, after reports suggested George Osborne will raise the [...]
Budget 2016 predictions: A spread of tax raising measures are coming – from raising capital gains tax to tackling salary sacrifice schemes March 14, 2016 Next week’s Budget looms large as experts are anticipating wide-ranging changes, with chancellor George Osborne tweaking tax to raise revenue and balance the books. Pensions were widely anticipated to be an area of huge upheaval, but Osborne has now delayed plans to fiddle with the system. It’s more likely that lots of niche areas are targeted. [...]
UK pension changes: Savers could shun pension pots in favour of bricks and mortar if chancellor George Osborne cuts lifetime allowance in his Budget on 16 March March 14, 2016 Middle and high income earners could turn their backs on pensions in favour of investing in property should chancellor George Osborne make further changes to the lifetime allowance at the Budget later this week, research out today has found. The study by Zurich found that a quarter (25 per cent) of all Britons would funnel their savings [...]
Larger companies are opting to borrow against their invoices March 14, 2016 More large businesses are borrowing against payments they are owed, according to data released this morning. The number of companies with a turnover above £50m that were borrowing against invoices climbed 25 per cent last year to 893. The figures from the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) also show the amount of cash borrowed by [...]
UK pensions and Budget 2016: Higher earners benefit from chancellor George Osborne’s decision to delay any pensions reform but the majority miss out March 13, 2016 Higher earners have likely benefited from chancellor George Osborne's decision last week to push back any pension tax changes, but the majority of earners are now missing out, a report released today argues. According to the research by the Resolution Foundation, if Osborne had unveiled a flat rate of relief of 30 per cent at next [...]