The EU tax liberation day small print: Why the UK beats flat tax Lithuania May 12, 2014 WHEN I tell you Lithuania has a 15 per cent flat tax rate, does your mouth water at the idea of Britain adopting a similar system? As a former stockbroker who has researched “The Tax Burden of Typical Workers in the EU” for the past five years, I’ve learned to look at tax rates the [...]
Future star fund managers revealed April 8, 2014 A number of the industry’s big beasts have moved on, leading some to question the value of active management A NUMBER of the fund management industry’s big names either retired or moved on in 2013, turning the spotlight onto the importance of investors keeping abreast of who is managing their money. But while star managers [...]
Investment Comment: Three principles to guide Isa investors for the long term April 15, 2014 Multi-asset funds will likely become increasingly popular as the bumpy global recovery continues WHEN investing in your Isa, the first step – getting your money in place before the end of the tax year – is the easiest. But now that savers have secured their use-it-or-lose-it annual allowances (currently up to £11,880 in a stocks [...]
It’s a national scandal that Britain is driving away foreign talent April 7, 2014 THE NEWS that the number of overseas students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in almost 30 years is little less than a national scandal. When migrants are responsible for founding as many as one in seven UK businesses – according to the Centre for Entrepreneurs – and our companies struggle to [...]
CNBC Comment: How to invest amid fresh market highs March 10, 2014 IF THERE’S a full-blown war, we sell. If there’s a semi-war or ongoing tensions, we keep buying.” Most of the discussions I’m currently having with my guests sound a lot like this. While war is no good for anyone, fears about Ukraine and Russia are perceived by most investors as isolated, and many simply aren’t [...]
Brits told: Save six times more for your pension or face poverty January 21, 2014 BRITISH workers must be forced by government to save six times more of their salary or face dying in poverty, a damning new report warns today. Average savers have just £36,800 to pay for old age – well below the £240,000 barrier required to get a decent pension in retirement, the study by Policy Exchange [...]
EU finance tax to wipe £3.6bn off UK savings February 18, 2014 THE EU’S financial transaction tax (FTT) would tear a €4.4bn (£3.6bn) hole in UK savings even though the Treasury would gain no revenue from it, according to new forecasts. The huge sum would be wiped off the value of equities and bonds in the UK if European countries pursue the levy, despite Britain being outside [...]
EU finance tax to wipe £3.6bn off UK savings February 17, 2014 THE EU’S financial transaction tax (FTT) would tear a €4.4bn (£3.6bn) hole in UK savings even though the Treasury would gain no revenue from it, according to new forecasts. The huge sum would be wiped off the value of equities and bonds in the UK if European countries pursue the levy, despite Britain being outside [...]
How to find value in a volatile market February 4, 2014 A correction can be a good time to add on weakness – but capital protection should still be key OVER the course of last month, investors pulled around $12.2bn (£7.5bn) out of emerging market (EM) equity funds, according to EPFR data. And this month’s headlines have been no less dramatic, with the S&P 500 suffering [...]
The startup spicing up Britain’s wealth management industry September 8, 2013 Annabel Palmer meets Nick Hungerford, who switched the Valley for Vauxhall to found the online investment management firm Nutmeg THE British public has long been accustomed to depositing their earnings in a bank account, or investing through an established stockbroker. But Nick Hungerford wants to disrupt the centuries-old wealth management industry, in precisely the same [...]