End of the tax year checklist

Make more of your money with your adviser, before the end of the 2021/2022 tax year on 5 April 2022.

As the end of the tax year approaches, there’s still time to take advantage of your annual tax-free allowances if you’ve not already done so.  This is one of the best ways to make your money work harder and grow, especially with interest rates on the rise.  We can guide you through the best ways to use your allowances – depending on your needs.

ISAs

The maximum you can invest across your ISAs (if it’s a cas...

Omnis Weekly Market Update – 21^st March 2022

It was generally a positive week in markets across the world – with China the only major market to register losses, though we did see a turnaround later in the week. This week is a clear example of what we mean when we talk about volatility – volatility means you can get big swings either way in markets. Last week Omnis published a video that looks at why it’s important to stay calm when markets become volatile. You can watch this video here.  

Following the Russian Federation’s invasion of its neighbour Ukraine, global markets have been reacting and this has seen increased volatility over the past two weeks.

Whilst the invasion was expected amongst much of the intelligence community, it appears that most politicians and commentators had assumed that the worst-case scenario would be a limited incursion into the Donbass region. Asset markets had been relatively sanguine leading up to the invasion, despite the heating up of rhetoric, as they assumed some common sense would prevail. ...

Events in Ukraine continued to dominate headlines, demanding attention from all, investors included. From a market perspective, Europe ’ s decision not to follow the US in embargoing Russian oil and gas was critical to developments over the week, as it has removed some of the worst scenarios for European the economic growth outlook

UK The UK stock market was bolstered by its high allocations to commodity producers – although the price of oil and some other basic materials fell sharply, they remain high, boosting profit margins at the l...

Talking about money

While, for many, discussions about money can be extremely uncomfortable, experts have long stressed the best approach to financial issues is invariably to talk about them.  Indeed, perceived wisdom suggests the more open and honest people are about money, the better their life and relationships tend to be.

Finance: the last taboo

There’s a wide variety of reasons why people don’t like to discuss their finances. In some cases, money is simply viewed as a vulgar subject to talk about, while many individuals lack financia...

High inflation, disappointing earnings results from some tech companies and Russia’s invasion in Ukraine caused turbulence for the financial markets.

The reality of armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine pushed down leading stock market indices during February. Since the start of the year, conditions have been volatile owing to concerns about persistently high inflation and central bank interest rate rises. Geopolitical tensions added further uncertainty, with rapidly changing events causing markets to slide around the world.

Oil prices...

Junior ISA

In the Autumn Budget in 2021, it was revealed that the Junior ISA spending limits would remain at £9,000 for the 2022/2023 tax year. The JISA limit was last changed in early 2020, when it was doubled from £4,500 to its current level.

JISA and CTFs both benefit

JISAs replaced Child Trust Funds (CTF) in 2011, but those who still hold CTF will continue to benefit from the increased allowance. Both JISA and CTF are a tax efficient way to build up savings for a child. It is not possible to have both a JISA and a CTF.

Savings for c...

Market volatility was up last week – for the US stock markets for example, this was the most volatile week since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although a Russian attack on Ukraine had been widely anticipated, investors appeared surprised by Putin’s decision to launch a broad-scale invasion beyond the breakaway Donbass region. News of attacks on the capital, Kyiv, and other major cities on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning sent stocks sharply lower, where we saw a historic crash in Russia’s stock markets of over 50%, sendin...

Why should I use a mortgage adviser?

Simply put, we have the experience and expertise to help you navigate the 1000s of products available, and feel confident in what is likely to be the biggest purchase you'll ever make.

My bank can help me with my mortgage, and they won’t charge me an advice fee.

Your bank can indeed help you to navigate your way through the mortgage process, helping you select the best fit for you from their own range of products.  We, as advisers, source from 1000s of products from a range of lenders, giving you, the ...