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Read more“Yesterday All My Troubles Seemed So Far Away”
“Yesterday All My Troubles Seemed So Far Away” – Monday Musings 04/10/2021
So wrote the Beatles with feeling. This song was running through my mind after I was reminded what yesterday really looked like. In the 1960s tax rates were so high that we had the brain drain and the Kinks wrote a song about the taxman taking all their dough- another great record- there was a social revolution going on which hasn’t achieved a lot. In the 1970s inflation was running at over 20% and interest on mortgages hit 15%. We had the three-day week because there was no electricity and industry was on its knees from a combination of industrial action by militant unions and inept management. By the time I started my first IFA business in the late 1980s we had products guaranteeing 11.5% income per annum for five years so you can guess what rate you were paying on money you borrowed.
Today we have a fuel crisis caused by, depending on your political standpoint, an inept government, a global pandemic, Brexit or weak opposition. Interest rates are for the time being low which keeps bills down, but it does mean that you will not get a guaranteed 11.5% per annum on your savings.
In my time as a Financial Adviser, I have learnt that in almost any set of circumstances there are ordinary people who still manage to build a nest egg or go on holiday or buy a home. These days the world of investments and pensions is much wider than the 1960s 70s or even 80s. There are many more opportunities available to the “man in the street” to build for the future. The real problem is that folks are not always willing to seek advice from a professional who can guide them through the financial maze. A good adviser can make sure that you make the most of the huge variety of vehicles that are out there. Yes, you will probably have to pay for the advice, but it will probably be a small price to pay when weighed against the value you get from the advice. I have the privilege these days of seeing the results of the plans I helped clients put in place coming to fruition be it a comfortable retirement, reducing the amount of Inheritance Tax on their estate or helping a child or grandchild on to the housing ladder and it feels good.
04.01.2021 | 04.10.2021 | % Change | % Change on week | |
FTSE 100 | 6571.80 | 7027.07 | Up 6.93 | Down 0.35 |
Dow Jones | 30105.26 | 34326.46 | Up 14.02 | Down 1.36 |
Nasdaq | 12696.74 | 14566.70 | Up 14.72 | Down 3.20 |
S&P | 3695.49 | 4357.04 | Up 17.91 | Down 2.21 |
NIKKEI | 27228.07 | 28771.07 | Up 5.66 | Down 4.89 |
Hang Seng | 27431.07 | 24575.64 | Down 10.41 | Up 1.59 |
Shanghai | 3502.13 | 3568.17 | Up 1.88 | Down 1.24 |
CAC 40 | 5584.96 | 6517.69 | Up 16.70 | Down 1.82 |
DAX | 13733.08 | 15156.44 | Up 10.36 | Down 2.42 |
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