13 June 2025
Get ready for a ‘cruel summer of speculation’ ahead of the BudgetThe Spending Review was chancellor Rachel Reeves’ last scheduled foray into the national limelight before the Budget in the autumn, and attention will now turn to what tax rises might be in the post.
It’s not the Spending Review itself which will fan the flames of speculation, but the expansion of the Winter Fuel Allowance, which the government...
11 June 2025
Five ways to reduce your tax billTaxes are one of the certainties of life, but it doesn’t make it feel any better when you see them come out of your income. However, if you’re smart with your money, there are ways to protect your savings and investments from unnecessary taxes, leaving more for you to enjoy down the line.
Often, the key to these savings is to act sooner rather than...
6 June 2025
Does your pension meet the new retirement savings estimates?The amount of money you will need for retirement has ticked up for those aiming for comfortable or moderate lifestyles in later years, according to research by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA).
A single retiree is now expected to need an income of £31,900 each year for a moderate lifestyle (a £400 increase on the previous...
4 June 2025
Four ways we hold ourselves back from investingIf you read, listen or watch anything about finance, the mantra that ‘markets historically outperform cash’ has likely been engrained into your mind. While you might agree with this statement logically, you also could still be sitting on a pile of cash savings and have little to no investments in the market.
In case you haven’t heard the spiel...
4 June 2025
Should my investments be chosen by a computer or a human?When you choose to invest, one of the first decisions you make is if your money will be invested actively or passively.
But what is the difference between the two? In short:
An active fund means that the investments are hand-selected by a fund manager. A passive fund means that your money will be invested in a fund that follows a specific index...
30 May 2025
Ways to pay your investment fees (and not think about it)Paying fees on your accounts is admittedly not a fun task, but keeping on top of your investment charges is important to ensure your portfolio continues to run smoothly.
If not, there is a chance those fees could be taken out of your investments themselves, which could cost you in the future by having less money in the market. Instead, make sure...
23 May 2025
Your ETF might not hold what you think it does – is that okay?Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a type of tracker fund and are meant to be a simple way to access a particular part of the market. You buy shares in the ETF and it mirrors the performance of a certain index. Look a bit closer and you’ll find some ETFs are not quite what you think are.
A traditional equity fund contains a portfolio of different...
22 May 2025
Reporting capital gains tax for 2024/25? Make sure you’re not caught outChancellor Rachel Reeves increased the main rates of capital gains tax (CGT) to 18% and 24% in her maiden budget on 30 October 2024. The rate for trustees and personal representatives also rose to 24%.
But the mid-year change means some people filing self-assessment tax returns for 2024/25 risk underreporting and underpaying any tax they owe.
That...
21 May 2025
Who should I trust for information about money and investing?If you do a quick search on the internet of how to invest your money, you will likely end up with millions of answers and many that seem to contradict each other.
In short, no one can tell you with certainty what investment will give you the best returns. But if you have specific questions about your finances, or are looking for where to start...
16 May 2025
How to protect yourself from pension and investment scamsFinancial scams are depressingly common, particularly following a period of high inflation and rising interest rates which stretched millions of household budgets to breaking point. Economic turmoil is like blood in the water to scammers, who are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to fleece people of their hard-earned pensions and investments...
15 May 2025
How much time do I need to spend researching and monitoring investments?How you choose to invest your money is an important decision, but it doesn’t need to be a time consuming one.
While choosing individual stocks can mean close monitoring to decide when to buy or sell, many other types of investments offer a much more hands-off approach at minimal costs.
In fact, choosing your investments and then giving them time to...
9 May 2025
Should I opt out of my workplace pension and think about retirement savings later in life?Workplace pensions can be incredibly powerful savings vehicles. Your contributions are topped up by additional money from your employer and the government that can double the value of what you put in before it’s invested.
It’s also probably the simplest way to invest. If you work at a company, are aged 22 or older, and earn over £10,000 per year...
8 May 2025
What the second UK interest rate cut of the year means for investments, savings and mortgagesThe Bank of England has cut UK interest rates to 4.25% and this has a major impact on personal finances. It is the lowest level for rates in two years.
The cut is good news for anyone looking to buy a house or flat as mortgage rates should come down, although many rates have already fallen in anticipation of Bank of England base rate cuts.
Investor...
6 May 2025
Are you adding to the £280bn cash in accounts paying no interest?If you want one figure to sum up the apathy of the UK’s savers, it’s the fact that £280 billion is sitting in accounts earning absolutely no interest, at a time when interest rates are north of 5% for some savings accounts.
The latest Bank of England data to the end of March shows that there is a mountain of cash paying no interest, which has...
1 May 2025
How to invest when you’re not interested in financeThe finance industry is often associated with Wolf of Wall Street and finance ‘bros’ whose main interest is talking up crypto. You might think investing is only for these types of people, yet it is something that most individuals can do, and without much effort or knowledge.
At first glance, investing can look complicated from a practical point of...
29 April 2025
How AJ Bell DIY investors navigated the Liberation Day sell-off and recoveryThe way individuals responded to the market sell-off depended on their own personal circumstances. However, there were clear trends among AJ Bell’s DIY investors who felt confident enough to buy in the week after Trump’s big speech despite stock markets falling by a considerable amount in the first three trading days after the event.
With so much...
23 April 2025
Tariffs have rocked US government bonds – are they still safe?When equity markets experience turbulence, people have historically held tight to their bonds in the hope they provide a cushion for portfolios.
Even though some value may be lost on equities, the value of bonds would often go up, offsetting some of the losses. But earlier this month, both shares and bonds sold off together. The yield on a 10-year...
22 April 2025
Should I wait for the markets to pick up before investing?After an extended period of high returns, the stock market took a tumble in the past month that has rattled some investors.
Despite the fall, those who are not new to the market are still likely to be well in the green with their finances. If you’d invested in the MSCI World index five years ago, as of 11 April, you would have still increased the...
17 April 2025
How money market funds and gilts can fit in a portfolioInvestors have flocked to money market funds in recent years, attracted by the high rates on offer after the sharp rise in interest rates since 2022.
Despite the Bank of England cutting base rate from a peak of 5.25% in August 2024, the current 4.5% rate is relatively high compared to the 0.5% that prevailed during the covid-19 era and, indeed, the...
29 November 2024
Premium Bond rate has been cut, are they still worth it?NS&I has joined the troops of other savings providers cutting interest rates, as the savings market cools after a bonanza couple of years. The government-backed provider will cut the rates on several of its savings accounts, including the hugely popular Premium Bonds.
It’s not alone in cutting rates, but how are they cut and who could still benefit...
25 September 2024
Families urged to track down £1.4 billion in forgotten child accountsThe Government has urged people aged 18-22 to come forward and claim their share of £1.4 billion stashed in matured Child Trust Funds. Government data released last week showed that around £10 billion is sat in Child Trust Fund accounts, with £1.4 billion in unclaimed accounts and £7.5 billion in accounts still held by under 18s.
When someone...
28 August 2024
How to pay for your child to go to private schoolThere are over 2,500 independent schools in the UK, educating over 620,000 pupils. With inflation-busting increases to costs in the last few years, and the VAT exemption for private schools ending from January 2025, parents who are thinking about private school need to get started on their plans to fund it.
Average fees for a non-boarder are £18...
5 November 2023
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5 November 2022
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15 February 2022
Income vs. accumulation unitsYour choice of share class could affect your overall return.
Most open-ended investment companies (OEICs) and unit trusts are available in both income and accumulation share classes. The main difference between them is the treatment of income, but there are other less obvious factors that you need to recognise.
Each fund receives income throughout...
