PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS
BLOWING THE PENSION ON FAST CARS
According to research from Prudential, 8 in 10 pensioners with company and private funds are taking lump sums averaging £21,500. They report that the average withdrawal is down 11 per cent on 2008, but an increasing number are blowing the cash on holidays, cars and DIY – potentially reducing the monthly income they get from their pension fund dramatically as a result.
SUNSHINE MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY
Last month’s Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index survey showed that consumer confidence was up 11 points in May. The month saw the Confidence Index register one of its largest ever increases. The report says that warm weather, bank holidays and the royal wedding are likely to have boosted sentiment. Significant increases in expectations and spending indices were recorded during the month, but Consumer Confidence is still low at 55 – 9 points below the same period in 2010.
HOUSING MARKET POSITIVE
The June 2011 BSA Property Tracker survey indicates that consumers are slightly less negative about the outlook for the housing market. The report from the Building Societies Association found the proportion that did not think that it is currently a good time to buy dropped to 21 per cent, from 29 per cent in March. 41 per cent think it is a good time to buy, the same proportion as in March.
PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN FOHFS
According to S&P Fund Services, funds-of-hedge-funds (FOHF) managers are starting to target smaller investors. Over the past 12 months, assets under management in aggregate hedge funds have grown by more than twice as much as those in FOHFs. According to S&P Fund Services, the FOHF model is of value to smaller and private investors but the relatively high minimum investment thresholds of many FOHFs appear to have discouraged. them.