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Personal Finance
The personal finance changes hitting in April
Thursday 04 Apr 2024The new tax year often brings a raft of changes that impact people’s pay, investments and savings – and this year is no different. Here we list the big changes affecting people’s finances from next month. 1. Capital Gains Tax breaks cut again… From April the tax-free allowance for capital gains tax...
How to make the most of the big gilt revival
Thursday 28 Mar 2024In the middle of a bull market in stocks, gilts are back on the menu for investors. They might not offer the eye-popping returns experienced by Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) shareholders, but nonetheless individual gilts were some of the most popular investments made over the last year on the AJ Bell...
How a Lifetime ISA can shave years off your house deposit savings journey
Thursday 21 Mar 2024Getting on the housing ladder is the top priority for many young people, but with both house prices and mortgage rates rising it can be an increasingly hard-to-reach goal. However, using a Lifetime ISA can supercharge your savings and get you closer to your house-buying dream. The average house...
Is the British ISA an investor’s friend or a flop?
Thursday 14 Mar 2024The introduction of a new British ISA was announced in the Budget, in a bid to revive the UK’s flagging stock market. The BRISA, as it has already been dubbed, will only allow money to be invested in UK stocks and bonds. The Government hopes to boost the performance of UK shares by restricting...
Giving to charity? Don’t miss the tax boost
Thursday 07 Mar 2024Lots of people gift money to charity every year, but many aren’t aware there are big tax breaks for doing so. Research commissioned by HMRC showed that although 94% of higher earners donating to charity had heard about gift aid, only 52% were aware they could claim a tax rebate on their donations...
The hidden costs of safe-haven investing
Thursday 29 Feb 2024Every investor understands the basic trade-off when it comes to where to put your money: the more risk you take, the more potential reward you garner. The flip side of this golden rule is the less risk you take, the lower the returns you should expect from your investments. Cautious investors are...
How to beat the incoming capital gains tax hike
Thursday 22 Feb 2024More than a quarter of a million more people and trusts will be paying capital gains tax for the first time, according to HMRC figures, thanks to the Government crackdown on gains. From April the tax-free allowance for CGT (capital gains tax) will be less than a quarter of what it was just a year...
Why investors are dumping funds which invest in UK stocks
Thursday 15 Feb 2024The last two years have seen unprecedented levels of outflows from funds invested in UK equities. Across the course of 2022 and 2023, around £25 billion was withdrawn from these funds by retail investors. This isn’t a new phenomenon. UK funds have seen outflows every year since 2016, to the tune of...
Mortgage rates have fallen, what does it mean for homeowners?
Thursday 08 Feb 2024The Bank of England has held interest rates for a fourth time, but despite that mortgage rates are dropping, giving some hope for homeowners who are refinancing. The base rate was kept at its 15-year high of 5.25% at the Monetary Policy Committee’s first meeting of 2024. However, the year has...
Get ahead of the big ISA changes coming soon
Thursday 25 Jan 2024Thank you to Shares reader Thomas, who suggested we cover the ISA changes announced in the Autumn Statement. If you also want to get ahead with next year’s ISA planning, here is a reminder of what is happening from 6 April 2024. ALLOWANCES STAY THE SAME The ISA allowances have been frozen for 2024/...