Monument Bank boss: Wealthy Brits in ‘fear’ ahead of punishing Budget
Wealthy Brits are in a state of “fear” ahead of the forthcoming Budget, according to a London bank chief, as economic turmoil and speculation of more punishing tax raids ramp up.
Ian Rand, the boss of Monument Bank, said affluent Brits were raising concerns over “certainty” and “getting things wrong” when attempting to protect their savings in a dreary economic climate.
Monument caters to affluent account holders with six figures of investable assets. Rand describes the client base as “those who look wealthy on paper but don’t feel it,” adding that it has “never been more true”.
He listed the changes in inheritance tax, rental properties and VAT on private schools as “things that are landing on this community”.
“They are having to think about things quite differently than they’ve thought of before,” Rand said.
“I would say that fear is genuinely a word we hear quite a lot when we talk to our customers, fear of the future but also fear of doing the wrong thing… we’ll see how much clarity we get from the Budget, but with any budget, the next thing is there’s going to be another one”.
He added the “direction of travel is very clear that property and wealth are likely going to be more challenging going forward”.
Brits don’t know how to ‘protect their wealth’
John Healey will deliver his first Budget at the end of the month where Brits are bracing for another potential tax hit as he seeks to balance the books.
Economists have forecast Healey’s fiscal headroom – which stood at £23.6bn in March – could have halved as a result of the Iran war, meaning spending cuts or tax hikes would be needed to meet the fiscal rules. This also comes alongside a series of hefty spending commitments from Prime Minister Andy Burnham from nationalisation, to capping bus fares and removing VAT from energy bills.
Burnham has previously said there needs to be a “greater sense of fairness and people feeling that things are being done in the right way and in a fair way”.
Rand said for many Brits “not wealthy enough to have a financial advisor” there was a “real concern that they don’t know how to best protect and grow their wealth”.
His comments come as Monument released its accounts for the 2025 financial year, where net income swelled 35 per cent to £13.9m.
Monument’s losses widened to £19.4m, compared with £14.5m the prior year, which Rand credited to the investment in the group’s banking-platform-as-a-service arm. Interest income grew 87 per cent at the bank to £149m.
“Obviously we’re very keen to hit profitability as soon as we can but for us 2026 has been a year of build,” he said.
“We have no problem investing in the business, and we know that strong profitability will be the outcome… No one wants to be small and profitable. We’ll get large and profitable.”