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Recent Newsletters
Summer 2025
With life moving fast, demands on our time and finances never-ending, it’s easy to push pensions down the priority list. Then there’s the
‘noise’ created by global geopolitics, economic challenges and their impact on markets and in turn your finances. Sometimes burying your head in the sand (preferably on a summer holiday) may seem like the most favourable option!
When it comes to your finances, neither inertia nor acting in haste is recommended. In fact, making informed, strategic, confident decisions about your wealth has arguably never been more important.
A decade on from pension freedoms: are savers making informed choices? Since pension freedoms were introduced in 2015, many over 55s have been accessing their pensions without understanding the tax implications or seeking advice. Research1 among over-50s has found that only four in ten had considered the tax implications of withdrawing taxable lump sums and just 39% had taken financial advice. Also, while
over half took the full 25% tax-free lump sum, many paid off debts or made the peculiar decision to move it into savings. Nearly one in five didn’t seek any guidance at all. With life expectancy on the rise, almost half of over-50s are worried about running out of money in retirement.
‘Lottery effect’ puts pension pots at risk Many retirees risk running out of pension savings by their late 70s as a result of the so-called ‘lottery effect’ (where access to large sums prompts impulsive spending) likely to blame, according to a new study2. One in seven see their pension lump sum as a bonus and nearly half access it simply because they can. With the average life expectancy of a current 60-year-old in
the UK sitting at 86, some retirees could be left with a shortfall between their retirement funds running out and the end of their life. With new rules likely to be introduced from 2027 regarding unused pensions becoming subject to Inheritance Tax (IHT), careful planning remains key to long-term retirement security.
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Spring 2025
Could your finances benefit from a spring clean? You could take your cue from the Swedes. They believe in ‘döstädning,’ or ‘death cleaning.’ It sounds pessimistic, but it involves decluttering your belongings to reduce the burden you leave behind to loved ones.
The philosophy gained international prominence through a 2018 book called The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, by Margareta Magnusson, but many of the methods described to organise your home and belongings can be applied to your finances as well.
Why should you death clean your finances?
First, it can help you feel more in control of your money. Second, it can help you refocus your time (and money) on what matters most to you.
And third, taking time to organise your finances now could spare your loved ones from a great deal of emotional and financial stress after you die.
Key steps in a financial spring clean
It’s a good idea to make a checklist and work your way through. Key steps include:
Streamline your finances
Close accounts you don’t use, cancel unused subscriptions or memberships, and explore ways to cut back on wasteful spending.
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Winter 2025
As a new year dawns and we ponder what the next 12 months may hold for us as individuals and investors, one thing is for certain – some familiar challenges lie ahead.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)1 unveiled its latest economic assessment the week prior to the US
election, proclaiming a period of ‘stable but underwhelming’ global growth for the year ahead. The update also predicted a return to a more neutral monetary policy stance as inflation in most economies steadily falls towards target in 2025.
The report acknowledged ‘exceptional’ levels of uncertainty, which Donald Trump’s subsequent return to the White House has done little to ease. Quantifying the impact of the Republican’s victory is difficult at this stage, but a return to US protectionism and the prospect of trade wars certainly pose a threat to the global economy.
A global phenomenon
The IMF forecast also highlighted some structural challenges that are expected to temper global growth, with an ageing population amongst the most prominent. As well as impacting the economy and presenting an investment theme to capitalise on, the unfolding longevity megatrend is a global phenomenon, which presents a financial challenge at a personal level too as we live longer.
Life goals
Research2 suggests most of us are vague when it comes to financing increased longevity – less than a third of 55 to 64-year-olds, for example, currently prioritise funding retirement. Preparation and setting life goals typically makes us feel more in control of, and optimistic
about, our futures and is undoubtedly key to confronting the realities and practicalities of living longer. Such targets, though, do need to be
Talk, support, plan, live
Encouragingly, the research also found that people who use an adviser tend to be better prepared for later-life eventualities, whether that be financing retirement or providing support for loved ones. Considerations extend to emotional and practical, as well as financial. Another element of longevity is successful communication. Advice helps clients successfully navigate the financial landscape as well as encouraging them to engage family in financial conversations; we can support you on all counts – it’s all in the planning!
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Autumn 2024
Reassuringly for investors, the latest batch of projections from economic soothsayers continues to predict a period of steady, if unspectacular, global growth. The forecasts also highlight a number of economic concerns including ‘sticky’ inflation, large budget deficits and geopolitical uncertainties, which could inevitably create some investment challenges.
Growth rates beat expectations
Economic growth figures released over the summer generally proved stronger than analysts had expected, particularly in relation to Europe and the US (in Q2). And while economic momentum is expected to soften across the second half of this year, forecasters are still predicting steady rates of growth. The latest figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for
instance, forecast global growth of 3.2% for the whole of 2024 with the rate rising slightly to 3.3% next year.
Inflation persistency
The IMF’s musings were contained in a report entitled ‘The Global Economy in a Sticky Spot,’ which highlighted two prominent near-term risks currently undermining growth prospects. Firstly, the
IMF warned that ‘services inflation is holding up progress on disinflation’ which could result in interest rates remaining ‘higher for even longer.’ Secondly, a deterioration in public finances has left many countries in a position of fiscal vulnerability and this is ‘magnifying economic policy uncertainty.
Elements at play
Economic resilience has flowed through to central bank monetary policy as global institutions have largely adopted a cautious approach. Slower but still positive growth, lower inflation and
interest rate reductions are a positive combination for investors.
Geopolitical uncertainties
In what was dubbed ‘the year of the election’, geopolitical uncertainties unsurprisingly continue to be a key concern as well. Indeed, their impact on global growth prospects can only be expected to rise in the near-term as the US presidential election looms ever closer. Continuing geopolitical conflicts and the rise in geoeconomic competition is also creating ongoing challenges for the global economy.
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