Cash defies low interest rates

New statistics from HMRC show that cash is still a popular ISA investment, despite ultra-low interest rates. In early summer the Financial Conduct Authority published a report looking at easy access cash interest rates for savings account and cash ISAs. … Continue reading

Chancellor aims to launch LISA next April

The previous Chancellor’s plans to launch a Lifetime ISA (LISA) have been given a fresh breath of life. In his final Budget last March, one of the surprises George Osborne produced was the Lifetime ISA, known as the LISA to … Continue reading

A better quarter

The third quarter of 2016 was not the meltdown it threatened to be after the referendum. The final days of the second quarter of 2016 were dominated by the fall-out from the outcome of the referendum on 23 June. It … Continue reading

What role does property play in retirement planning?

There has been a difference of opinion on the role of property in retirement planning between the Bank of England’s Chief Economist and a former Deputy Governor. Andy Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England, caused a few raised … Continue reading

HMRC plans another turn of the anti-avoidance screw

In August, HMRC published a consultation document on adding a new weapon to its anti-avoidance armoury: penalties on ‘enablers’. While many were enjoying their holidays, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) released yet another paper examining ways of “strengthening tax avoidance … Continue reading