Our insights

May Market Commentary

May 01, 2012 by TIna

Category: Uncategorized

Wednesday April 25th must have been the morning David Cameron felt like phoning in sick. The Office of National Statistics officially confirmed that a shock 0.2% contraction in growth had pushed the UK into its first double dip recession since the 1970s. Meanwhile the Leveson Inquiry rumbled on with Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt facing calls to resign; Labour opened an eight point lead in the opinion polls and there were predictions that the increase in diabetes could bankrupt the NHS. All in all a good day for a sick note…

Read more

The Gender Directive – what you should know

April 30, 2012 by TIna

Category: Uncategorized

The European Court of Justice has ruled that from 21st December this year, insurers wont be able to use a persons gender as a factor in calculating the cost of their insurance.

Statistically, women live longer than men so they've typically had lower rates for life insurance. This will no longer be the case.

Read more

Financial Planning and Divorce

April 25, 2012 by TIna

Category: Uncategorized

No-one who is going through a divorce finds the process easy: it’s long, messy and almost always painful. Even if there are no children involved, divorce is a procedure that takes its toll on both sides: the acrimony, the paperwork – and the inevitable meetings with your solicitor.

Read more

Who will be looking after YOU?

April 10, 2012 by TIna

Category: Uncategorized

Ongoing concerns over NHS reform are causing more people to think about taking out private medical insurance (PMI). The benefits of PMI are well-known: prompt access to diagnosis and treatment (bypassing sometimes lengthy NHS waiting lists), your choice of consultant, and hotel-like accommodation in clean, modern hospitals.

Read more

The importance of making a Will – and keeping it up to date!

April 05, 2012 by TIna

Category: Uncategorized

According to the latest statistics, yet again we hear that at least 60% of us do not have wills!   In this age of divorce, debt and increasing taxes, that’s a very worrying number.   Sadly, it seems that the majority of us are under the usual misconception that “my wife/husband/children will get everything when I die”!

Read more

Pension tax relief changes – what does it mean for you?

April 03, 2012 by TIna

Category: Uncategorized

The annual allowance for tax-privileged pension saving was reduced from £255,000 to £50,000 in the 2011/12 tax year. Now the lifetime allowance on money that can be accrued in a pension fund and still receive tax relief, for tax years 2012-13 onwards, will be reduced and is set to fall from £1.8 million to £1.5 million from April 2012.

Read more