18 June 2025

How much cash do I need for emergencies?

Having money saved for a rainy day can be key to making you feel financially secure. But how much savings you should hold, versus when you should start investing, can be difficult to balance.

Generally, advisers recommend holding between three and six months of expenses in cash savings. Many people refer to this pot as an emergency fund. This is...

11 June 2025

Five ways to reduce your tax bill

Taxes 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...

9 June 2025

Is the main US stock market index too reliant on just a handful of companies?

Even though US stock indices hold hundreds of names, your diversification may be less than you think because of how companies are weighted in the index.

They are weighted by the value of each stock – so various companies worth trillions of dollars will account for a much bigger chunk of the index than those worth low billions of dollars.

This year...

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 investing

If 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...

21 May 2025

Why is my investment trust asking me for a continuation vote?

If you are a shareholder in an investment trust, you may receive communications asking you to participate in a continuation vote.

A continuation vote for an investment trust is simply a vote to ask if the trust should keep going as an investment vehicle, or if it should be shut down. When an investment trust is wound up, the assets are liquidated...