magazine archive
magazine archive
Money Matters
What to do if you inherit a stocks and shares ISA
Thursday 06 Jul 2017Inheriting a stocks and shares ISA could make your financial situation a lot more secure. But there’s a high chance the assets you inherit will be unsuitable for your own individual circumstances. If you’ve never owned shares but your dearly departed was a keen and experienced trader with an...
Queen’s Speech fails to address savings issues
Thursday 29 Jun 2017While Brexit is clearly sucking up huge amounts of policy time and resource, there remains a significant domestic reform agenda for the Government to undertake. Unfortunately Theresa May’s dramatic loss of power following the general election means a number of vital retirement reforms were watered...
Why do platforms list different versions of the same fund?
Thursday 29 Jun 2017Deciding which fund to buy is difficult at the best of times, but when you’re presented with lots of different versions of the same fund it can make the decision even harder. Most investors should be comfortable with the fact that funds have an accumulation (Acc) and an income (Inc) version in...
Will Brexit hit my pension if I move abroad?
Thursday 22 Jun 2017Investors are concerned about the impact of Brexit on their pension entitlements should they move to another country. In particular, there are major concerns from EU nationals who have worked in the UK for a number of years and built up substantial private and state pension entitlements. They are...
Investment strategies for the out-of-work
Thursday 22 Jun 2017If you’re unexpectedly off work for a lengthy period of time because of redundancy or illness your investment strategy could be thrown into disarray. The key is not to panic and cash in all your investments, but to evaluate your finances and determine a sensible plan for your changed circumstances...
Don’t solely rely on a workplace pension
Thursday 15 Jun 2017The introduction of auto-enrolment has ensured that everyone who works for an employer can benefit from their company’s pension scheme. Unfortunately, the amount of money put aside is unlikely to be sufficient to meet many people’s retirement goals. If you want to enjoy your retirement –...
The death of lifestyle investing for retirement?
Thursday 08 Jun 2017One of the central tenets of retirement planning theory has been ‘lifestyling’. This is where your asset allocation is automatically shifted away from higher risk investments towards bonds and cash as you approach a set retirement date. Lifestyling is based on a world where most people turned their...
The essential guide to getting dividends
Thursday 08 Jun 2017Most investors are used to receiving dividends and/or reading dividend declarations in companies’ financial results. But you might be less familiar with the specific timescale that determines who qualifies for a dividend payment and when those payments will reach your bank account. There are four...
What could the election mean for your finances?
Thursday 01 Jun 2017Deciding how to vote in a general election is something of a minefield. Not only is each party attempting to convince you it has the right answer on a vast array of major topics – they also rubbish the claims of others. Amidst this noise, it can be difficult to decipher who has said what and, more...
Reducing dividend tax the REIT way
Thursday 01 Jun 2017If you invest in a real estate investment trust (REIT) like British Land ( BLND ) , Assura ( AGR ) or Derwent London ( DLN ) you might have noticed that some or all of your dividends are paid as ‘property income distribution’ (PID) dividends. The key difference between PID and ‘normal’ dividends is...