Act now to avoid the Tories’ pension tax grab June 18, 2015 The chancellor has announced an “emergency” Budget for 8 July. On the basis of the new government’s Queen’s Speech, which saw little by way of surprises, the expectation is that there will be nothing much in the Budget to concern investors. Public spending cuts will continue, the government has already committed not to increase the [...]
Government privatisations: Some key facts and figures June 18, 2015 In late May, George Osborne said that he’d like to privatise £23bn of government assets, and he raised the stakes last week by announcing the phased sale of the state’s stake in RBS. Here are some key facts and figures: ROYAL MAIL The government floated 60 per cent of the company in 2013 at [...]
Riding the rollercoaster: Investing in emerging markets June 18, 2015 It’s been a risky few years but some have still made money. Top fund manager Edward Lam of Somerset Capital Management tells Annabelle Williams the tricks of the trade. From one crisis to the next, emerging markets have been a rollercoaster ride for investors over the last five years. Countries as diverse as Indonesia, [...]
The great adventure: How to navigate the world of equity crowdfunding as an investor June 18, 2015 Debt and equity crowdfunding have the potential to revolutionise small business funding. In 2012, The Breedon Report predicted a funding gap of £59bn for UK companies by 2016, if nothing was done. The government’s response was to make funds available via alternative finance providers and to enhance the benefits to equity investors via the Enterprise [...]
A quiet revolution in Saudi Arabia is unlikely good news – Animal Spirits June 18, 2015 Each month John Hulsman examines under-appreciated opportunities around the world, uncovering markets that it would be easy to overlook. Economics has never been the problem with Saudi Arabia. Investors have long eyed the petrokingdom as one of the world’s last-untapped frontier markets. Given its almost boundless energy riches, with GDP equalling $750bn, Riyadh amounts [...]
Investing in Europe: Which fund should I buy? June 18, 2015 Europe received a boost earlier this year when the European Central Bank began a QE programme, following in the footsteps of the US, UK and Japan. The long-awaited bond buying scheme was greeted with cheer by investors who now hope Europe’s markets will continue to rise. This follows a very turbulent time for investors [...]
Chancellor puts pressure on pension providers with FCA to launch review June 17, 2015 The government is considering imposing a legal cap on the amount savers are charged to withdraw money from their pensions, chancellor George Osborne has said. Standing in for Prime Minister David Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) yesterday, Osborne said that Treasury is consulting to make sure that people are not charged excessive early exit [...]
Osborne will have to face up to Britain’s pensioners if he wants to tackle debt June 17, 2015 George Osborne promised last week to legally bind future governments into lowering debt. Thanks to one of his own policies, that debt ambition will be much harder to meet unless reforms are undertaken today. The problem is the “triple lock” on the basic State Pension, the main benefit for retired people which is received by [...]
Eyeing property crowdfunding? The nuts and bolts of the new sector’s leading platforms June 17, 2015 In the space of half an hour, 126 people clubbed together to buy a house via a property crowdfunding platform last month. The £212,900 two-bed flat in Byfleet, a half-hour train journey from Waterloo, was listed on platform Property Partner. Founded this year, it counts Betfair co-founder Ed Wray as one of its backers [...]
A third of pensions don’t qualify for George Osborne’s “pensions revolution” June 17, 2015 A third of pensions don't qualify for new rules which allow savers to withdraw their entire pension pots, it's been reported. The investigation by the Daily Mail found as many as six million policies could be "hard to cash in", including 2.29m final salary pensions. More than half that figure is public sector pensions, while insurance [...]