“Should we still be worried about inflation?”

Dec 5, 2023 | Economy, Inflation

An independent (financial adviser’s) view

As rehearsed here many times, inflation, and mainly the US version, is the key to a revival in the fortunes of your and all of our investments. For responsible countries wanting to tame it, increasing interest rates remains the principal tool. And I guess the fact that those countries which have bucked that conventional wisdom (Turkey, Argentina and others) in pursuit of populism, have ended up with 100% or more shows its importance. Interest rates up, share and bond prices down to ‘increase yields’, the percentage return on your investment; same with house prices, certainly in the rental market. Even if they’re not going to increase rates again, the Bank of England and its international brethren have to hang tough to stop us getting too happy too soon. But it will all turn around; and when it does, it will happen surprisingly quickly.

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“Record year for annuity sales driven by advisers”

“Record year for annuity sales driven by advisers”

I was asked this week whether annuities are now ‘a good investment’. They’ve been recommended very rarely in recent years, since ‘pension freedoms’ allowed pretty much unlimited drawdown on pension funds and anything left to be passed on to beneficiaries free of Inheritance Tax.