The Chancellor delivered a major reform on the pension front, one that was completely unexpected and potentially game changing – witness the dramatic fall in some life company share prices. The main points of a two stage process are: Initial … Continue reading →

Last year it was reported that the Treasury had asked ISA providers about the practicalities of capping total investments at £100,000.  Anyone expecting the worst in the Budget was pleasantly surprised. Initially the ISA limit rises to £11,880 for 2014/15 … Continue reading →

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) Enterprise Investment Schemes (EISs) and Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes (SEISs) all received attention from the Chancellor in the Budget.  There were several changes: As previously announced, the Chancellor shut down enhanced buy-backs schemes operated by many … Continue reading →

The 0.5% base rate is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.                     On 5 March 2009 the Bank of England halved base rate, from 1% to 0.5%. As the graph shows, … Continue reading →