Podcast - How Risky is your Portfolio?
Smart investors know that risk and returns go hand in hand. But is the degree of risk you are exposed to appropriate for your time of life and investment goals? In his latest Money Talks podcast, Nigel...
View ArticleThe OBR’s growth forecast leaves the Chancellor planning for the future but...
The contents Philip Hammond’s Budget Statement were always going to be constrained by the economic uncertainties about Brexit. The extent of these constraints were made clear by the latest growth...
View ArticleDon’t let your Christmas spending give you a New Year financial hangover
As we approach the festive season the television adverts and newspaper inserts are encouraging us to embark on the usual Christmas fare of ‘shopping to we drop’ – or these days shopping until our...
View ArticleGrowing poverty for children and pensioners highlighted by Joseph Rowntree...
The latest study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that the numbers in poverty in the UK have started to increase in recent years. Worryingly the study found that the number of children...
View ArticlePrice inflation at its highest for nearly 6 years – but set to ease in 2018...
The latest price inflation data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show price inflation for the year to November edging upwards to its highest level since March 2012. With an annual...
View ArticleA detox plan for your finances in 2018
This is my last blog for 2017. So I thought I’d finish the year by giving you my tips about how to detox your finances and give yourself a clear head for managing your money in 2018.Make a promise to...
View ArticleSigns of a credit slowdown? Latest figures hint at an ease in the appetite to...
Data on borrowing for November suggest that the trend line in demand for credit in the UK is downwards. Figures produced by UK Credit show that the total number of mortgages taken out was 5% lower than...
View ArticleVolatility in the global equity markets – is this a ‘correction’ or the start...
Back in October I wrote about the potential for ‘corrections’ (marked, but not severe, falls) in share prices in 2018, commenting that the US equity markets in particular had become over-priced. The...
View ArticleA week of missed economic data – what does it mean for households?
This past week has seen a mixed bag of economic data published. A rise in earnings inflation and a sharp improvement in productivity - both suggestive of an improving economy – have been...
View ArticleCommonhold ownership of property fails to take-off
In the UK the two main forms of property ownership are freehold and leasehold. Under freehold there is outright ownership of the property and land it is situated on. Under leasehold the freehold to the...
View ArticleThe impact of emotion on investment decision-making
The impact of emotion on investors' decision-making is a subject that members of the True Potential PUFin team have a great interest in - particularly Professor Mark Fenton-O'Creevy who is renowned for...
View ArticleAre US tariffs on steel and aluminium the start of a trade war?
On 8th March President Trump authorised the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US - albeit with Canada and Mexico exempted. The move is aimed at protecting US producers of...
View ArticleKeeping a level head when investing
Our feelings have an enormous influence on our attitudes to financial risk and investments. So how can consumers deal with the emotional side of money?Money brings out strong feelings in us...
View ArticleInterest rates on the rise?
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep Bank Rate unchanged at 0.5% at its March meeting. But with two members of the nine person committee - Ian McCafferty and Michael...
View ArticleAnother wet (and cold) bank holiday - but what about the effect on the economy?
Back in August last year I wrote this blog about the economic effects of bank holidays.Now after the worst Easter holiday break for years - weatherwise, at least - I was reminded of my blog in 2016...
View ArticleUnderstanding investment risk and risk appetite
With interest rates remaining close to historic lows, with the recent weakness in global equity markets and with even the UK property market becoming subdued the issue of where to invest for a good...
View ArticleIs there any reason for the Bank of England to raise Bank Rate in May?
The next quarterly Bank of England Inflation Report will be published on 10th May to coincide with the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee’s deliberations about the level of Bank Rate. Some weeks...
View ArticleIs it time to fire the apprenticeship levy scheme?
In 2017 the government launched the apprenticeship levy to fund its ambitious plan to have three million apprentices in training by 2020. After only a year the scheme is attracting growing criticism...
View ArticleThe growing participation of mothers in the workforce – a major social change...
The position of women in the UK labour market has come under close scrutiny this year, first with the publication of data on the gender pay gap and now with a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies...
View ArticleRent costs are putting the squeeze on workers and pensioners
The huge rise in the cost of property since the 1990s has already had a material social impact on the UK. We are all aware of the increasing difficulties that young people are having in getting onto...
View Article