Personal finance

11 December 2025

How one AJ Bell customer plans to save hard to retire in style

To 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...

9 December 2025

Embracing uncertainty – what you need to know about investment risk

When 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 child

Parents 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 risen

Dividends 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 hikes

The 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 money

Among 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 portfolio

Having 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 reigns

The 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

Budget preview: the big issues on the agenda for savers and investors

With 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 reform

Having 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 bill

Due 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 money

The 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 fund

An 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 ETFs

When 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 funds

This is perhaps the most pervasive...

6 November 2025

These investments could help pay your energy bills

I am a miser when it comes to putting on the heating. My family has a long-standing tradition of telling each other to ‘layer up’ and leaving the oven open after cooking to make the most of the electricity spent.

But last winter, when my flat became known in my social circles as ‘the igloo’, I realised I may have gone too far. I kicked on my unit...

5 November 2025

What would a change in income tax cost you?

The Budget is coming at the end of this month and we’ve had the clearest sign yet that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is looking to increase taxes. In an unexpected speech just 20 days before the Budget, Reeves paved the way for future tax rises, saying she wanted to give the context ahead of her speech on 26th November.

While she batted away questions...

5 November 2025

Marks & Spencer mounts a comeback after profit hit by cyberattack

Marks & Spencer has laid bare the full impact of a gruelling cyber-attack on its earnings. Profits have nosedived as shoppers were unable to buy everything they wanted during a catastrophic summer for the retailer.

A £100 million insurance payout will help to soften the blow, yet there are bigger issues at hand which need to be resolved.

Its...

3 November 2025

You might be investing in a company you hate - what can you do?

Passive investing has surged in popularity over the past decade, as investors are attracted by the lower costs and, often, better performance.

The method makes sense for many people. It facilitates exposure to a large number of holdings and is a hands-off way to make your money work for you. However, because there are so many investments in a fund...

31 October 2025

The Budget is a month away: What could be on the chopping block

Reports suggest that Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces a growing ‘black hole’ in public finances in the tens of billions, leading to mounting questions around which tax raising measures could be announced in her second Budget next month. With four weeks to go until the chancellor takes to the despatch box on 26 November, we've analysed some of the...

30 October 2025

The golden rules of investing

The market is always changing, with developments around new products, innovation, and geopolitics to consider. But interestingly, the behaviours that lead to successful investing have looked very similar throughout the years.

These behaviours are just as important for someone that’s been investing for 30 years as they are for a first-time investor...

23 October 2025

Can you prepare your finances for the Budget?

The upcoming Budget has left many people feeling antsy about their finances, and fearful of impending taxes. As the day draws closer, investors are making decisions based on rumours in a process rivalling the Traitor's roundtable.

It’s an understandable phenomenon, even if we don’t have Alan Carr pulling the strings. No one wants to be blindsided...

17 October 2025

Is it time to market-proof your portfolio?

Investing can be an exciting process, and just as easily, a nerve-racking one.

Lately, the news has been rife with concerns about markets, causing some investors to feel antsy about their holdings. Unfortunately, volatility is just part of having money in the market. If you were guaranteed to make profits all the time, everyone would be doing it!

S...

16 October 2025

How AI can (and can’t) help you invest

AI is becoming a staple in many of our routines, whether it's creating an itinerary for a weekend away or concocting a recipe from leftovers in the fridge. And now, according to a survey run by AJ Bell through Opinium, about a third of people have used AI to help make financial decisions or get financial information.

The stakes are a lot higher...

15 October 2025

What to do when you’re laid off – right as you’re nearing retirement

The last years of your career aren’t something that’s usually associated with uncertainty. In many cases, you’ll have been at the company for years and bring a wealth of knowledge that has earned you status as a senior member of staff.

But often, a senior status comes with a fatter pay cheque. And in the event of a round of layoffs, this might push...