2020 sees an old plan mature and its replacement given a boost. Be prepared to feel just a little old: the first Child Trust Funds (CTFs) will mature on 1 September this year, when their owners reach the age of 18. CTFs were first launched in 2005, when nearly every child born on or after […]
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You may be reading headlines and news articles that give rise to understandable concern about the position of your investments presently. We want to provide some perspective to these events and reconfirm our support in navigating this current volatility. Cutting through the ‘noise’ Popular news outlets and commentary can make a great deal of ‘noise’ […]
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Up until recently, if you wanted to check that your adviser was an authorised individual and qualified to give you advice, the place to look was on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Register. However, the FCA register has now been removed for client-facing advisers, due to the introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime […]
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Sandringham Financial Partners, a national financial advisory firm based in Huddersfield, is extremely proud to announce that 80 of its 181 advisers have been listed as Top Rated Advisers for 2020 by a specialist review site. After sending out an email request to its client base in November 2019, Sandringham was flooded with nearly 2,000 […]
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In early November, HMRC undertook a distinctly non-festive bulk mailing. “We receive information about investment funds and this information shows that you may have invested in Offshore Investment Funds.” Those slightly discomforting words are contained in a letter which HMRC sent out in early November. It was sent to a subset of taxpayers whose tax […]
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New proposals for reforming capital gains and income tax have been published by an influential think tank which could make their way into an election manifesto. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is “the UK’s pre-eminent progressive think tank”, according to its website. This may sound like boasting, but it is probably a fair […]
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In September the US and European central banks cut interest rates, again. When the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, cut its main interest rate by 0.25% at the end of July, it was the first reduction in over 10 years. Less than two months later, the Fed announced a second cut by another 0.25%. […]
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There are currently long delays in gaining probate on the estates of the recently deceased. Late in 2018, the government issued a written statement announcing its intent to go ahead with controversial increases in probate fees for England and Wales. Instead of the current flat fees of £155 for applications through a solicitor and £215 […]
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Is a state pension age (SPA) of 75 looking more likely? Recommendation The SPA should better reflect the longer life expectancies that we now enjoy and be used to support the fiscal balance of the nation. The SPA in the UK is set to rise to 66 by 2020 (Pensions Act 2011), to 67 between […]
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The recent problems with the suspension of dealings in a heavily promoted UK equity income fund have exposed the blurred line between advice and guidance. According to the Investment Association (IA), there are around 3,500 funds on sale in the UK. The IA sorts these into over 30 individual investment sectors, although about 10% are […]
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A government-commissioned report has proposed significant changes to the funding of university students in England. Students resident in England (different rules apply in other parts of the UK) pay a maximum university tuition fee of £9,250 per year, financed by a student loan. Further loans to cover maintenance plus interest at RPI+3% mean that at […]
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Recent HMRC statistics highlight the over-taxation of some pension benefits. More than one million people have received flexible pension payments thanks to the rules introduced just over four years ago. HMRC’s most recent statistics, to the end of March 2019, show that 1,113,000 people have withdrawn over £25,600m from their pensions, across 6,136,000 payments. The […]
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