19 January 2026
I’m a cash lover, what do the Budget Cash ISA changes mean for me?Ask the experts. Laura Suter is on hand to answer your personal finance questions. If you'd like a question considered for a future edition send it in now.
I’ve seen the changes to Cash ISAs announced in the Budget, and I’m worried about how it’ll affect me. I max out my Cash ISA every year by putting in the full £20,000, so any change to the...
15 January 2026
What you can do about changes to salary sacrificeSalary sacrifice has hardly been out of the news since the November Budget. It’s a formal agreement between you and your employer to lower your headline salary in return for pension contributions. The salary sacrificed up front is then exempt from National Insurance (NI) deductions for both you and your employer and in some cases, your employer...
14 January 2026
Scottish Budget: income and wealth tax changes explainedIn a boost for those on lower incomes, Scottish taxpayers will see some income tax thresholds rise from 6 April 2026 for earned income.
But the 788,000 Scottish taxpayers who are forecast by the Scottish Fiscal Commission to pay tax at the higher rate and above from 2026 will still be at the mercy of fiscal drag. This is because the higher...
14 January 2026
UK mortgage rates are falling: what to do with any savingsThe New Year is bringing with it a welcome reduction in mortgage rates – with HSBC the first big lender to cut its rates in 2026.
Clearly anyone on a five-year fixed rate might be facing up to a painful increase in repayments but if you are moving off a two-year fix, there’s a decent chance you could have a bit of extra cash in your pocket. A trend...
13 January 2026
Seven fund ideas for your portfolioBefore you decide which fund to buy, you need to establish two key things: what is your risk appetite and how long is it before you need to access the money.
Those happy to ride out the ups and down of the market, and have time to do so, might be comfortable owning funds that invest in shares. Those with a more cautious mindset and/or a shorter...
8 January 2026
A major tax deadline is approaching: do you need to file a return?The festive period is now firmly in the rear-view mirror and millions of people are yet to file their self-assessment tax return for the 2024/25 tax year ahead of the 31 January deadline.
Although nearly 20,000 filed a return on New Year’s Day, just under half of the expected 12 million tax returns are yet to be received by the taxman, according to...
7 January 2026
These tools can help up your investing game this yearResearching an investment often begins with being swamped with information. While there’s heaps of analysis and tools to help you find the best fit knowing how to use them, and where to find them, is a mission in and of itself.
Here, we’re going to run through a few of the tools AJ Bell has available to investors and how to get them working for you...
6 January 2026
How much money can dry January save you?As Brits woke up with a sore head on New Year's Day, some didn’t take much convincing to opt for a sober month.
Dry January fits in the calendar nicely after a December spent at long lunches and festivities, establishing a clean slate for those forging ahead with New Year’s resolutions, or just a good excuse to skip the pub in favour of being...
29 December 2025
How a regular savings plan dampens stock market volatilitySimplicity is a virtue when you first start investing, which is why setting up a regular savings plan can take some of the load off the decisions you have to make.
Money is automatically moved from your bank account to your ISA, SIPP or Dealing account every month, and then invested according to the standing instructions you gave when you set up...
11 December 2025
How one AJ Bell customer plans to save hard to retire in styleTo Saul, the perfect retirement is living in Greece, with a healthy amount of steak dinners.
In some ways, it’s more achievable for him than most Brits: Saul is half-Greek, so it would be a bit of a homecoming. For now, he’s based in Yorkshire.
While he won’t be running into passport issues for his retirement dreams, he will still have to come up...
11 December 2025
What should I do with my first bonus: treat myself, save it or invest it?Ask the experts. Laura Suter is on hand to answer your personal finance questions. If you'd like a question considered for a future edition send it in now.
I’ve just received my first-ever work bonus, and I’m not sure what to do with it. Part of me wants to celebrate and splurge on something I’ve wanted for ages, but I also feel like I should be...
9 December 2025
Embracing uncertainty – what you need to know about investment riskWhen you hear the word ‘risk’ in the context of investing, your first thought could be in relation to losing money. It’s an understandable reaction – after all, no one likes the idea of their hard-earned savings falling in value. But investment risk is more than just the chance of loss. It’s also the reason investors can grow their money over time...
8 December 2025
How an 18-year advent calendar can generate £265,851 for your childParents currently pillaging the toy shops or Amazon for their kid’s Christmas presents should pause and think about whether they should ditch the presents and give them some money instead.
Rather than carrying out a supermarket-sweep style dash around the shops before Christmas Day, in the long run kids may prefer cash that goes into an account for...
1 December 2025
11 years of dividend tax hikes: how bills have dramatically risenDividends have faced an onslaught of changes over the past decade, and investors and company owners have seen soaring bills during that time, with the latest Budget change increasing rates once again.
The Budget change means both basic and higher rate taxpayers will face an increase of two percentage points in the amount they pay on dividend income...
28 November 2025
Nine ways to beat the Budget’s £26 billion tax hikesThe chancellor unveiled £26 billion of tax hikes in her most recent Budget, with much of it landing at the feet of savers, investors and workers. While there’s no doubt that tax increases are coming, there are clever ways to mitigate the impact of these tax changes. Making smart moves before some of the changes come in place, while also getting the...
26 November 2025
How Budget changes might impact your moneyAmong a raft of changes, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced reforms to salary sacrifice as well as increases to income tax on savings and dividends as she attempts to bridge the gap between spending and revenue in the UK’s finances.
The protracted leadup to the Budget included rumours around gifting limits and a hike in employee income tax. However...
26 November 2025
How to rebalance your portfolioHaving a balanced portfolio is a widely accepted strategy for creating solid returns for your investments without taking too much risk.
The goal of balancing a portfolio is simple: create a diversified portfolio that isn’t overly exposed to any single element, so you can ride out market dips with a little less stress. But how exactly to go about...
24 November 2025
Are my savings or investments protected if something goes wrong?Customers with bank accounts in the UK will soon enjoy greater protection if their provider goes bust.
The Prudential Regulatory Authority, the UK Banking and Building societies regulator, has announced that compensation limits will rise from £85,000 to £120,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme as of 1 December 2025 for deposit...
21 November 2025
Odds of December rate cut fade as Fed division reignsThe odds of a second consecutive interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in December have shrunk to around 30% from near certainty a month ago and a coin flip at the beginning of November, according to Bloomberg data.
Investors lowered their bets following the release of a new employment data schedule on 19 November which saw the cancellation of...
21 November 2025
The risk of opting for cash over investingNew analysis from AJ Bell shows the dramatic difference between keeping money in cash and investing it over the long term. Since 1999, when ISAs were launched, stock market investments have significantly outpaced both inflation and cash savings – with investors building far greater wealth despite short-term market ups and downs.
The analysis shows...
21 November 2025
Budget preview: the big issues on the agenda for savers and investorsWith just days until Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ second Budget, we’ve rounded up the big issues relevant to savers and investors, and what might be on the agenda.
ISA reformHaving committed to simplification of ISAs in the run-up to the general election, the government now appears set on reducing the Cash ISA allowance.
Such a change which would...
21 November 2025
How high-income earners can cut their tax billDue to tax threshold freezes since 2021, HMRC predicts there will be over 1,230,000 people in the highest income tax bracket this year, over double the amount in the 2022/2023 tax year.
The additional rate of income tax begins at £125,140, with earnings and saving interest above this band taxed at a rate of 45%. These taxpayers will also no longer...
13 November 2025
Five ways to help your children gain confidence with moneyThe government is worried about a lack of financial education for children leaving them ill-equipped to deal with modern life. Research from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPs) showed less than half of young people aged between 7 and 17 had received some sort of education when it comes to money. But those who had been taught about finances felt...
10 November 2025
How to pick an ETF and a tracker fundAn investment journey should start by defining your investment goals, time frame and attitude to risk. That applies to any type of investment, whether it is ETFs, tracker funds, bonds or even individual stocks.
Once you’ve established those points, you can think about where you would like to invest.
Someone new to investing starts with a blank...
7 November 2025
Discover the truth behind common misconceptions on ETFsWhen it comes to exchange-traded funds (ETFs), many investors fall into a trap of simplifying them as “just passive funds” or misjudging their risks and costs. These funds are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, so it’s worth addressing some common misconceptions
1. ETFs are just plain vanilla passive fundsThis is perhaps the most pervasive...
