Don’t leave tricky money confersations hanging in the air this New Year The Family Financial Tree report from Standard Life looked at the family money tree over four generations and makes some surprising findings. It reveals how families collectively manage and have talked about their personal finances.

Yields have dropped across the asset classes, except for equities He may only have been in the job for just over six months, but Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, has already signalled his intention to do things differently and this is most noticeable in his concept of ‘forward guidance’.

When it comes to taking investment risk to secure a higher return, those aged 55 and over are most likely to be taking the lead with Stocks & Shares Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), according to research from Standard Life (08 April 2013). Over one in ten (11 per cent) of 55 and overs invest in […]

You’ve spent years putting money aside into a pension scheme, but what actually happens once you retire? Sadly, it’s not as simple as just withdrawing the money. You must now convert your pension pot into an income that will last you for the rest of your life, which is typically done by buying an annuity.

An Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a tax-efficient ‘wrapper’ designed to go around an investment. You’ve got until 5 April 2014 to use your current 2013/14 tax year annual ISA allowance before you lose it forever.

Sooner or later we will retire, and the decisions we make today are the ones that will determine the standard of living we will enjoy in the future. If you are approaching your retirement there are some very important choices you need to make that will determine how much income you live on once retired.

The complexity of today’s economic and global conditions, coupled with uncertainty in Europe, North America and China, have combined to create a degree of cautiousness among many investors. A long-term investment strategy could provide you with a clear advantage during uncertain times.

During this period of austerity, why pay more tax than you need to? Sensible tax planning is an essential tool in making the most of your finances. Keeping your tax bill to a minimum is not a matter of aggressive or complex tax schemes, but rather of identifying which of the many tax reliefs and […]