Personal finance

10 April 2026

Investment scams are rising fast – here’s how to fight back

Being regularly confronted with scams of one form or another has become an unfortunate feature of modern life. This applies in investing just as much as anywhere else.

Data from the City of London police shows victims of investment fraud lost an average of £1,675 every minute in 2025 with 34,673 people reporting fraud of this nature, up 31% from...

9 April 2026

Why investing in an ISA early could have made you £25,000 richer

With April comes the start of a new ISA season and research by AJ Bell found that those who get started using their renewed £20,000 allowance tend to benefit more than those who delay putting their money to work.

It's not just about being organised with your life admin, it’s also about giving your ISA more time to work its magic.

The research by AJ...

8 April 2026

Lottery spending versus investing

If you are one of the millions of people who spend regularly on lotteries or prize draws, you might have wondered at some point what that money could have grown to if it was invested instead.

By our calculations, after 20 years, you might have enough cash to put down a deposit on a house, pay for student fees or accumulate a significant supplement...

7 April 2026

What five years of tax freeze has cost you

On 6 April, it will be five years since income tax thresholds were frozen at 2021 levels. Since then, the personal allowance of £12,570 and the higher rate threshold of £50,270 have been stuck at the same level. By the time thresholds rise in April 2031 the income tax system will have been in deepfreeze for a decade.

Tax threshold freeze

Chancellor...

2 April 2026

Three tips to start the new tax year on the right foot

The new tax year begins on 6 April, and while it may not bring the same fanfare as your New Year’s Eve blowout, it deserves a note in the diary nonetheless. The start of the new tax year is an excellent time to take on some financial goals, but don’t worry: they are much more easily achieved than the gym goals you took on in January.

These tips...

1 April 2026

Why have bonds not protected investors during the Middle East crisis?

Bonds have historically provided shelter and ballast to portfolios during times of market uncertainty because of their stable fixed income.

That has not happened over the last month because the shock to stock markets has come from rising energy prices. Something which is likely to lead to higher inflation.

The worry is that central banks might be...

31 March 2026

How to afford your pension (without neglecting other expenses)

Most of us know that we should be saving into our pension. But when there are more immediate costs, it can easily stay at the back of the queue.

Early in your career, it might not feel like there’s enough money coming into your account. Starting salaries in the UK for those who went to university typically range from £25,000 to £33,000, according...

25 March 2026

How rate expectations have changed and what it means for your money

Before the Iran conflict began, the market expectation was that rates would gently ease in 2026. But those assumptions have been thrown out of the water since the beginning of March.

What’s now expected by the market and what does this shift in the trajectory of rates mean for your money?

How much have expectations for rate hikes moved?

The chart...

25 March 2026

You might not be as diversified as you think

If you’ve been keeping an eye on your investments in the past few weeks, you may have experienced a nasty shock. Despite all the work you’ve put into creating a diversified portfolio, the market turmoil of March may have put a dent in your investments.

This isn’t a reason to panic. Even well diversified portfolios aren’t immune to falls in the...

24 March 2026

How to use the X-Ray tool to keep your investments on track

Staying on top of your investments is important if you want to make a success out of putting your money to work in the financial markets.

A useful tool created for this purpose is the Morningstar Portfolio X-Ray, which is available to AJ Bell customers.

To find your own X-Ray portfolio report simply log in to your account and look for four icons...

20 March 2026

The pay rise sting: how crossing income thresholds can cost you

The UK tax system is very taxing, and lots of people celebrating a pay rise may later find that the pay boost has a sting in the tail. Once people hit different earnings thresholds they are met with tax cliff edges, allowances being slashed and tax rates jumping – as well as valuable benefits being chopped.

The situation has become so complex that...

18 March 2026

What is ‘stagflation’ and why is it a worry?

‘Stagflation’ is a term that makes regular rounds on the news and can be a point of real concern for the markets.

It refers to an economic condition when inflation is rising, but gross domestic product (GDP) and employment levels are flat or shrinking. This means that while goods and services are getting increasingly more expensive, the country is...

13 March 2026

Fewer than 1% of Premium Bonds prizes go to those holding less than £1,000

The allure of Premium Bonds resides in the potential for holders to win a prize up to a maximum of £1 million, but many of those with money in the accounts will never win – or see a return on their money at all. There are more than 14 million premium bond holders yet to win a prize big or small, making up nearly two thirds of all account holders.

F...

11 March 2026

Three investment goals to unlock with your ISA

Working towards a specific goal can be a great incentive to put money away. Rather than a random ‘something for a rainy day’ motive to set aside money, having a clear purpose and a target amount keeps you focused.

It’s like putting a postcard of a dream holiday destination on the fridge – every time you walk past, you see the picture and feel even...

5 March 2026

How to make your family millionaires in just 10 years 

Analysis from AJ Bell shows a family of four could have built a tax-free investment portfolio worth £1 million in just 10 years by consistently maximising their ISA and Junior ISA allowances.

If a family of four had used their ISA allowances in full over the past decade, and invested the money in a global tracker fund, they would be sitting on £1...

4 March 2026

How to speak with your family about inheritance

Money is something that sits in that uncomfortable zone of being a huge part of life and the topic no one wants to discuss outright. A study by the Money and Pensions Service found that just 52% of Brits are comfortable speaking to their family about finances.

Often, when the conversations do happen, it can be in vague terms that make it difficult...

26 February 2026

Can you afford the house you want?

Buying a home is the biggest purchase that most of us will make, and it has a massive impact on day-to-day life. For many, a first home will be the place they plan to start a family or enjoy the first years of married life. It doesn’t stop there: finding bigger homes or downsizing later in life are just as much the start of a new chapter.

We want...

24 February 2026

Will you earn more investing all at once or monthly?

Taking your money out of a savings account to put into the market might feel like standing on the edge of a high dive.

So, it makes sense that many investors choose to wade in, by investing just a bit each month, before building up the courage for a full plunge.

The idea of ‘a little bit often’ feels intuitive because it’s the way we approach many...

20 February 2026

Student loan changes could cost graduates £250 a year

In the 2025 Budget chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a plan to freeze the threshold at which around four million graduates start paying off their student loan.

How much will these changes cost? The precise impact will depend on each individual and their own earnings, as well as future inflation over the next three years. But our estimates show...

17 February 2026

Discover the tool which can tell scammers apart from real firms

If you were making your way through Waterloo at rush hour recently you may have spotted a mysterious ATM offering untold riches before the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Emil the Seal mascot emerged to warn of the dangers of investment scams.

The stunt was part of a broader campaign to raise awareness of the regulator’s ‘Firm Checker’ tool...

12 February 2026

How investing just £25 a month could have netted you £6,300 in 10 years

When people think of investors they may imagine people with private yachts or thousands of pounds in the bank, but investing doesn’t have to mean big sums or expert timing to deliver decent results.

Putting away just £25 a month could grow into a sizeable investment pot over time, and the figures highlight the powerful impact of investing little...

11 February 2026

How simplifying your portfolio can save you cash

A golden rule of investing is not having everything in one basket so you’re not caught out if something goes wrong with one of your holdings. But a less discussed point is how to do it and how doing it effectively can really save you money.

Ultimately when it comes to diversification what matters is not how many funds you hold, but their underlying...

4 February 2026

Just three steps could save you hundreds of pounds in 2026

After many spent January penny pinching, February brings a bit of good news for bank accounts: most people will not pay council tax payment this month or next month, which might make achieving regular investing goals a bit easier.

For most (but not all) people, council tax payments are split across 10 months, with no charge in February or March...

29 January 2026

Hargreaves Lansdown new charges: here’s how AJ Bell compares

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has made its first change to pricing in more than a decade, with fee cuts for a number of customers but increases to costs for many others.

While HL customers will benefit from a cut to the headline platform charge from 0.45% to 0.35%, other customers will find themselves paying a lot more in fees, thanks to certain fee...

23 January 2026

Is it really HMRC contacting you or a scam?

As tax season starts up this year, none of us want to find ourselves on the wrong side of HMRC. So, it’s natural to want to act fast when you get a phone call or text claiming to be from HMRC informing you of some unpaid sum.

Scammers often use tax season to manipulate people into revealing their bank account details under the ruse of HMRC, because...