Tough at the top: Will the FTSE giants fall from grace? March 26, 2015 From dividend cuts, to the accounting scandals just waiting to happen, SVM’s Colin McLean talks to Annabelle Williams about the potential pitfalls facing the UK market. The last few years have been tough for the UK’s biggest companies, as FTSE giants from supermarkets and banks, to insurers and oil majors, have come under pressure. [...]
Accounts with benefits: The perks of premium bank accounts March 26, 2015 Nothing says “badge of success” quite like a private bank account. Historically, offering them to customers has been the preserve of the private bank, but in recent years, growing numbers of high street institutions have begun to offer packaged – or premium – accounts to customers with substantial savings and (more often than not) six-figure [...]
Crowdfunding: A brief history March 26, 2015 It’s transforming the prospects of small businesses, but it’s still early days for crowdfunding in the UK. By the middle of this month, the Scottish National Party had raised nearly £35,000 on crowdfunding website Crowdfunder. It’s not the only party to turn to crowdfunding to bankroll its General Election campaign – over the past three [...]
The Big Question: Which multi-asset fund should I put my pension in? March 26, 2015 The upcoming pension reforms will mean new freedom for investors. Multi-asset solutions, which aim to give exposure to a range of asset classes while limiting risk, could be the best solution for your pension. We ask the experts for their recommendations. “The new pensions rules will throw some historic strategies up in the air” [...]
Ladies who don’t lunch: Sue Round talks fund management, sentimentality and being broke March 26, 2015 Buongiorno signora!” bellows the exuberant waiter at Bolton’s, an Italian tucked away in an unassuming corner near Leadenhall Market. “Hello, hellooo” comes the response. I know Sue Round has arrived, even before I see her. She greets me warmly, as if we’ve known each other for years. In fact, I’ve met Sue only once before [...]
Your Isa checklist: How you can make the most of your Isa in heightened volatility March 26, 2015 With just two weeks to go before the end of the tax year, and given the big tax advantages the Isa wrapper can offer investors, there is no shortage of advice on why you should make full use of your £15,000 allowance before 5 April. But filling up your Isa is only half the battle. [...]
The case for cash: Should you save in a cash Isa March 26, 2015 Cash hardly looks hot at the moment. It has lost almost 30 per cent of its real value in the past 10 years because of inflation, points out BlackRock’s Alex Hoctor-Duncan. “Worryingly, 68 per cent of Isa holders looking to retire in the next decade (55 to 64 yearolds) only save into cash Isas. Even [...]
Coining it? The case for gold bullion coins March 26, 2015 Gold has had a torrid few years and 2015 is unlikely to be any better. Respected analysts at Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco have forecast that the precious metal will post its third straight annual drop in price in 2015. Having plunged from highs of around $1,900 per troy ounce in 2011, the gold price now [...]
Ros Altmann: The savers’ champion talks pension reform, QE, and the pension annuities bombshell March 26, 2015 "I was gobsmacked.” Ros Altmann summarises her reaction to the Budget last year, when the chancellor first outlined his dramatic plans to bring pension freedoms to all. On the afternoon of that Budget day, Altmann, a pensions expert and campaigner, adviser to successive governments, and investment manager and economist, could barely contain her excitement when [...]
Banks are back: How the UK’s banking sector got its mojo back as dividend payments rise March 26, 2015 The UK’s banks are back on form and could be the best place to invest for good and growing dividends. British banks such as Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays were once the best places to invest for solid dividends. Ten years ago, banks provided a quarter of all dividends in the UK market, according to figures [...]
