Your Isa checklist: How you can make the most of your Isa in heightened volatility March 26, 2015 With just two weeks to go before the end of the tax year, and given the big tax advantages the Isa wrapper can offer investors, there is no shortage of advice on why you should make full use of your £15,000 allowance before 5 April. But filling up your Isa is only half the battle. [...]
The case for cash: Should you save in a cash Isa March 26, 2015 Cash hardly looks hot at the moment. It has lost almost 30 per cent of its real value in the past 10 years because of inflation, points out BlackRock’s Alex Hoctor-Duncan. “Worryingly, 68 per cent of Isa holders looking to retire in the next decade (55 to 64 yearolds) only save into cash Isas. Even [...]
Coining it? The case for gold bullion coins March 26, 2015 Gold has had a torrid few years and 2015 is unlikely to be any better. Respected analysts at Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco have forecast that the precious metal will post its third straight annual drop in price in 2015. Having plunged from highs of around $1,900 per troy ounce in 2011, the gold price now [...]
Ros Altmann: The savers’ champion talks pension reform, QE, and the pension annuities bombshell March 26, 2015 "I was gobsmacked.” Ros Altmann summarises her reaction to the Budget last year, when the chancellor first outlined his dramatic plans to bring pension freedoms to all. On the afternoon of that Budget day, Altmann, a pensions expert and campaigner, adviser to successive governments, and investment manager and economist, could barely contain her excitement when [...]
Banks are back: How the UK’s banking sector got its mojo back as dividend payments rise March 26, 2015 The UK’s banks are back on form and could be the best place to invest for good and growing dividends. British banks such as Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays were once the best places to invest for solid dividends. Ten years ago, banks provided a quarter of all dividends in the UK market, according to figures [...]
Budget, oil rig count and Nigerian GDP: Here’s our world view March 26, 2015 Rising debt, capital outflows and falling commodity prices – we highlight the numbers that matter from around the globe NORTH AMERICA 268 the number of rigs drilling for shale gas in the week ending 6 March 2015, down from 1,606 in the summer of 2008. And yet US gas production has continued to rise. Baker [...]
Entrepreneurs aren’t afraid of a setback: Optimism is in their nature March 25, 2015 STARTING a business is not for the faint-hearted. You need to be an optimist. While many of us see the metaphorical glass as either half full or half empty, for entrepreneurs it’s overflowing. This exuberance is rational. Before you can convince others that your idea will change the world, you must first convince yourself. For [...]
Pensions: How you can find the right adviser March 24, 2015 Don’t be put off by the maze of reforms – pay someone to help PENSIONS are undergoing the most significant reforms in a generation, but don’t squander your savings – seek professional help. The new rules are intended to give savers more freedom, as the requirement to buy an annuity at retirement has been scrapped. [...]
Private equity owner HgCapital sells spread betting giant Sporting Index March 23, 2015 Sporting Index, which has around 80 per cent of the spread betting market, was yesterday sold to an unnamed private investor. Private equity owners HgCapital bought the company for £76m from Duke Street Capital in 2005 and had decided to put it up for sale following the 2014 World Cup. Yesterday it agreed the deal, [...]
City watchdog tells pensioners to watch out for investment scams March 23, 2015 Retirees are being warned to watch out for scammers ahead of the liberalisation of pension rules next month, as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said fraudsters will try to make the most out of the new regime. Previously savers had to invest their pension pots in annuities, paying a guaranteed income each year for the [...]
