Not all prospective homebuyers will be familiar with ‘catfishing’ – a term from the online dating world to describe a person who presents themselves differently online to how they are in person. But a lot of them have suffered the catfishing experience at property viewings. New word, familiar trend A recent survey1 of homebuyers suggested […]
Author archives: charlie
Consumers and investors tune in to tackle climate change
More than half (57%) of consumers want their pension to be invested responsibly to help tackle climate change, but only one in seven people who have a pension have taken steps to invest it responsibly1. Climate change and the environment are bigger concerns for most people than COVID-19 or the economy, according to a new […]
News in Review
“The economy has recovered more quickly than expected, creating a growth dividend for the Treasury” Some interesting data was released last week, which prompted speculation as to the Chancellor’s intentions regarding the rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) in April. The data showed that government borrowing reached nearly £17bn in December; despite this being the […]
How to minimise your risk of property chain collapse
Picture the scene: you’ve found your dream home, you’re almost ready to exchange contracts, and then you get the call… your buyer has pulled out. Domino effect Such unexpected events in the property chain can leave your own purchase in jeopardy. Many property transactions are interlinked in this way, with the decision of one buyer […]
Gen up to protect yourself from pension scams
With pension scam losses totalling millions each year, good news came in November, when new regulations came into force to protect pension savers and stop suspicious scam transfers. From 30 November 2021, pension trustees and scheme managers received new powers to intervene. Previously pension providers were not allowed to refuse to carry out a transfer […]
Lights, camera, action!
Did you know that Jackie Chan’s stunt team has been blacklisted by all insurance companies, leaving Chan to pay out himself for any injuries? Fortunately, for most people it is considerably easier to get covered, so there is no excuse to be uninsured. Over a third of people say they are more likely to buy […]
News in Review
“It’s likely households will face a cost-of-living crunch for much of the year” The biggest economic story of last week is something impacting everyone’s pockets – inflation. Data released from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday revealed that surging food and energy prices had pushed inflation to a near 30-year high of 5.4% […]
Time to consider external factors
The Autumn Budget may have left a sense that nothing much had changed in the realm of personal financial planning, as no major changes to Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax, Income Tax or pensions, were announced. Despite this, a prime consideration needs to be how external factors such as frozen rates and higher inflation, could […]
‘Special dividends’ boost investor income
In Q3 2021, UK dividends reached £34.9bn, an impressive 89% year-on-year rise1. Part of this rise can be attributed to large one-off special dividends, a trend expected to continue in Q4. Excluding special dividends, the underlying total in Q3 was £27.7bn, a 52.6% increase. In context, this year-on-year rebound, is comparable with a pandemic-stricken Q3 2020, […]
Home Finance – In the news
FTBs go mad for BoMaD Half of all first-time buyer (FTB) transactions in 2021 involved support from the Bank of Mum & Dad (BoMaD)1, with £9.8bn of BoMaD loans helping 169,000 FTBs onto the housing ladder. Analysts suggest the trend towards higher parental contributions could be here to stay given that Help to Buy is set to be […]