Standard Life’s plans to demutualise mean that millions of its policyholders could pocket windfalls of up to £2,000, says Lucy Warwick-Ching in the FT. Yet it may not make sense to hang on to (and …
Standard Life: should you take the money and run?
Author: admin_mm
How to save on capital gains – and get a yacht into the bargain
If you are having difficulty convincing your bank manager that buying a big boat is worthwhile, then do not despair, says the Schmidt Report. Where an individual or a company makes a capital gain from …
Pensions: which sectors are suffering?
The effects of the UK’s pensions crisis have not yet reached the apocalyptic levels we were warned of this week. But they are noticeable nonetheless. Permira’s bid for WH Smith was scuppered last month because …
How to lock in the best rate on your loan
With interest rates beginning to rise again, borrowers need to take action, says Clare Francis in The Sunday Times. In an ideal world, the best thing to do would be to pay down your debt …
Stop inflation eating your savings
Not many of us understand the real effect of inflation on our investments, says Mark King in Money Observer. But the impact can be huge. In today’s low-interest-rate environment, you can easily find your savings …
There goes my retirement
Two weeks ago in this space, I claimed to have just taken out my first pension. In the style of Tony Blair, I can assure you that I told you this entirely in good faith. …
Is Britain’s pensions crisis a bigger threat than global warming?
Britain’s pensions crisis is right “up there with terrorism or global warming as a threat to much of what we value” – and is set to change the shape of the UK economy and society …
Allocating assets
For years now there has been an accepted way of allocating assets. Only a few months ago the FT spelt it out for us. Young investors, it said, should have 70% of their portfolio in …
You really do need to save for a pension. Now.
There was something quite extraordinary about last weekend’s pensions protest outside Parliament: joining those near retirement age were also hordes of young people – 25 to 35-year-olds already saddled with student loans, mortgages and credit-card …
Can Howard’s low tax agenda win an election?
Michael Howard has put tax at the heart of his general election strategy, said James Chapman in the Daily Mail. At Harrogate last week, he identified the spending versus tax-cuts debate as the central issue …