May #3 Firstly, please excuse an indulgence. Some of you may remember when my father passed, we asked for donations to the charity War Child at his funeral. The plight.
Read moreMoney Musings April 2024
Not all of its bleak out there. Sometimes we hear good things in the press. Ok, not often. But sometimes.
For example, news came in the press recently that the Parliamentary Health and Service Ombudsman (PHSO) published a report that found the DWP had ‘failed to provide accurate, adequate and timely information about areas of state pensions reform’ to women born between 1950 and 1953. You may have heard of the campaign group WASP? The PHSO has made a recommendation that compensation should be paid to those women affected at between £1,000 and £2950 each, although the PHSO has no legal remit to enforce this. You can read more here: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/complaints-womens-state-pension-age
Although this is just a report and recommendation, it’s a step in the right direction – and validation for the women who have made a complaint – which I’m glad to see.
On the topic of brighter news in a dark place, the FTSE is achieving record highs, trading at 8076, following an easing of tensions in the Middle East, and the announcement of the US aid package for Ukraine. The FTSE 100s lower reliance on tech stocks and consumer hopes of interest rate cuts are also helping, as concern over the weighty hold of the Magnificent 7 continues.
Speaking of UK investment, some of you may remember I mentioned my scepticism regarding the UK ISA announced by Jeremy Hunt in the Spring budget. Its been in the press again in the last few days, with Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, declaring the idea ‘intellectually incoherent’ (perhaps a term that could be applied to several of our current MPs themselves?) and our colleagues at 7IM questioning whether, for example, an investment into a UK-listed company that generates 96% of its revenues outside of the UK can really do very much to benefit the UK itself? We are still waiting on the June deadline for consultation to arrive, so we’ll continue to keep an (sardonic) eye on this.
On an even closer to home front, some of you will already be aware that we are improving our processes with regards to advising on ad hoc withdrawals or increases in income amounts for our clients. In line with improving FCA and Consumer Duty rules its important to us that we only advise our clients when we have adequate information to do so, and that we ensure our clients have received proper information from us to make informed decisions about their finances. What exactly this will look like will depend slightly on the individual circumstances, but it is worth noting that we will take you through a (efficient) process if asked to assist with a withdrawal so do allow a little time for that process to happen.
So, to the markets –
May #2 In a completely unsurprising turn of events, the Tories have not done well at the recent local elections. Can you feel the shock waves running through Parliament? No,.
Read moreMay #1 One of the challenges with writing these is not so much finding something to write about, it’s that there is so much I could write about! I know.
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