A recent report on UK dividend payments suggests the worst of the cuts may be over. First, the bad news: In the third quarter of 2020, total (regular and special) dividend payments from UK companies were 49.1% lower than in the corresponding quarter in 2019. Two thirds of UK companies either cut or cancelled their […]
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It is more than likely that any expenditure you had planned for 2020, to make the most of your retirement, will have been affected by lockdown and travel restrictions, possibly meaning that you don’t need to take as much from your pension pot as you had originally thought. Now is an ideal time to review […]
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We are delighted to provide our summary of the key announcements in the Chancellor’s Winter Economy Plan on 24 September 2020. In his statement, Rishi Sunak announced the next stage of help and support for jobs and businesses. The aim is to steer the economy through what he described as a “difficult winter” after the […]
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As if the pandemic hasn’t given us enough to worry about, there is the resulting impact on global economies which has resulted in extreme stock market volatility. This may have made you anxious about your pension and wondering if you should take action, particularly if you are nearing retirement, but it is important to consider […]
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Dividends paid by UK companies dropped dramatically in the second quarter of the year. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on dividend payments has been highlighted by recent research from Link Asset Services, one of the leading UK company registrars. It looked at the dividend payments from UK listed companies in the second quarter of […]
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Lockdown has prompted many people to think about their current home and how it suits their lifestyle. Rather than moving to a new property, perhaps to accommodate a home office, it could make sense to stay put and release funds to give your home a makeover. Remortgaging can also make sound financial sense by making […]
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We are delighted to provide our summary of the key announcements in the Chancellor’s Summer Statement on 8 July 2020. Mr Sunak emphasised that we are only part way through the pandemic crisis and he will be coming back with further proposals later in the year – most notably in the planned Autumn Budget, when […]
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The cricket season may only now be slowly getting underway, but May saw the Chancellor score two centuries which, in different times, would have deeply worried investors. Every month the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes a detailed summary of the public sector finances, showing how much the public sector has spent and how much […]
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The fall in world stock markets has cut the value of many pension pots. Which would you choose as investment performance, assuming a £10,000 investment that would be untouched for 10 years? A steady return of 5% a year throughout the period; or Two years of 20% annual losses followed by eight years of 12.39% […]
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The pandemic has shown us that unexpected events can strike at any time and highlights the need for protection insurance to keep us afloat during times of financial hardship. Many people have seen their circumstances change, perhaps through job loss or a change in family structure. Now could be the time to think about how […]
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The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the values of many investments fall. But lower values can have a useful upside. Source: Data from uk.investing.com ‘It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.’ So it is with the drop in the value of shares and investment funds that has occurred since the start of 2020. It’s […]
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The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted many aspects of life which had previously gone unnoticed or ignored and found the holes. The full extent to which supply chains are global is an obvious example. Our reliance on internet connections and their surprising robustness when the world turned to Netflix and Zoom is another. Of crucial importance […]
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