“Interest rate hike triggers largest wealth decline for UK households since WWII”

Jul 19, 2023 | Economy, Inflation

An independent (financial adviser’s) view

You might not have realised it, but ‘over the past four decades, wealth has soared across Britain’. And the sudden and big jump in interest rates in the past few months will have long-term effects, £2tn-worth, it’s thought. Interestingly, it’s thought that the next generation will benefit, as returns from investments will increase (yes, really) and house prices will fall. It may comfort some that the ‘losers’, apart from those who already have mortgages, are likely to be those at the ‘top’ end, running private equity funds, who borrowed cheap and bought companies at discounts which may not have been as big as they seemed. Not necessarily good news if they pull out and leave those companies and their employees in the lurch, or at best worse off than they might have hoped. However, I doubt those at that ’top’ end are worried about losing their house. Or even one of their houses.

Read more here

“Cash ISA allowance could be cut this month”

“Cash ISA allowance could be cut this month”

Our mantra has long been ’straightforward advice that you can understand’. That can mean trying to simplify the many complex products and options with which the world of finance tries to befuddle its target audience.

“Will the Bank of England Cut UK Interest Rates Again in 2025?”

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It’s easy to forget that five years ago the Bank of England Base Rate was at an all-time low of 0.1%, and only rose above 1% with the arrival of Liz Truss later in 2022. Something of which we often have to remind those who, when looking at how their investments have fared over the same period after yet another Trump Tweet has pushed markets in one direction or another, tell us ‘we could have been getting 4% a year if we’d left it all in the bank’.