Laura Suter is AJ Bell's Director of Personal Finance. She joined the company in 2018 and is the go-to spokesperson on all things personal finance - from cash savings rates to saving for children and how to invest for the first time. Laura has a degree in Journalism Studies from the University of Sheffield.
Since joining the company, Laura has co-founded AJ Bell’s Money Matters campaign, which aims to help more women start their investing journey and close the gender investment gap. She writes articles for the campaign and co-hosts the Money Matters podcast.
Laura also co-hosts AJ Bell's weekly Money & Markets podcast, giving an update on all the investing and personal finance news of the week. She's regularly quoted in the national and trade press, as well as appearing on TV and radio. She speaks and presents at live events, ranging from AJ Bell roadshows to the company’s flagship investment conference, Investival, and Money Matters events.
Laura is a multi-award winning former financial journalist, having worked in this role for 10 years before joining AJ Bell. She was previously at the Daily Telegraph as an Investment Editor. During her time at the Telegraph, she was crowned the Headlinemoney Investment Journalist of the Year. She also worked for financial adviser publications Money Marketing and Money Management, as well as an investment publication in New York focusing on the hedge fund and private equity world.
7 April 2022
The new tax year is here! Six essential checks for your investment portfolioLots of people rush to make investments and fill their ISA before the tax-year end. But now we’re in a new tax year, and there’s a bit more breathing space until the next deadline, it’s a great idea to check your portfolio is still working for you. You may also want to work out where to invest any new contributions you made before the ISA deadline...
1 April 2022
Help to Buy ISA savers missing out on free cashHelp to Buy ISA savers who have had their accounts for years could be missing out on free money towards their house deposit by not switching to a Lifetime ISA. While Help to Buy ISAs have closed to newcomers, around 2.5 million people still have the accounts* where they are saving for their deposit for their first home.
Savers in both the Help to...
24 March 2022
Cash ISA savers in denial about poor interest ratesRising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis have prompted more people to check the interest rate they’re actually getting on their cash ISA savings. Our research* shows that half of people with a cash ISA have checked the rate they’re getting in the past year, compared to just a third of people a year ago. When the research was carried out...
23 March 2022
Chancellor does little to ease cost of living crisisThe big rabbit out of Rishi Sunak’s hat was announcing a cut to income tax rates from 2024, and while that will grab the headlines it’s precisely zero help to families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis now – or indeed for the next two years.
The announcement today, which clearly could have waited until the full Budget later this year...
21 March 2022
How to beat the looming £1.34 billion dividend tax hikeThe Government is cracking down on wealthier investors who have significant wealth outside of ISA and pensions, as well as company directors who pay themselves through dividends. The dividend tax regime has changed repeatedly over the past decade and investors have been subject to more and more squeezes on their income that have left them with far...
15 March 2022
Help to Buy ISA savers priced out of soaring property marketHelp to Buy ISAs are closed to new customers, but around 2.5 million people have the accounts and could get a higher bonus and more expensive property by switching to a Lifetime ISA. Help to Buy ISA savers risk being priced out of the property market, as UK house prices have soared since the accounts launched and the limit on the ISAs has failed to...
4 March 2022
NS&I doubles rate to lure in more green saversAfter what must have been a lacklustre response to its initial launch, NS&I has revamped its Green Savings Bond and more than doubled the interest on offer to savers. While it’s still below the top rate in the market for three-year fixed rate bonds, which stands at 1.86% currently*, it’s far more competitive than the first issue of the bonds.
Sinc...
4 March 2022
The ultimate tax-year-end checklistThere's now just over a month until the end of the tax year, so Laura Suter, Head of Personal Finance at AJ Bell, gives her guide to what people should consider before the 5 April deadline.
1. Maximise free Government moneyWhether it’s your pension, your Lifetime ISA or ensuring you claim tax breaks that you're eligible for, it’s important to get...
3 March 2022
How to give your children a head start using Junior ISAsIn theory it’s never been easier to make your child an ISA millionaire, with a hefty Junior ISA allowance, an early start and a strong wind of bumper investment returns, parents can hand their children £1m as an 18th birthday present.
More on Junior ISAs
However, someone who has a child born today and contributed the full £9,000 a year Junior ISA...
24 February 2022
Cash ISAs hit with record outflows as interest rates, urgency, appeal and spare cash dwindleCash savers pulled more than £7bn from bank and building society ISAs in the last six months of 2021 – marking the biggest outflows from ISAs since they were launched in 1999. Poor interest rates, the cost of living crunch and the dwindling appeal of cash ISAs have all played into these outflows.
ISAs generally see outflows in the second half of...
