As yet another general election looms over the UK population, you could be forgiven for not quite feeling in the festive spirit. I think we can all agree no one really wants to be thinking about politics and the future of the country in December. I’m sure we would all much rather be sipping mulled wine and searching for the perfect Christmas tree.

With more uncertainty in the air we know that many of you might be concerned about what may lie ahead for your investment. It can be tempting at times like these to make short term decisions in an...

In July Omnis Investments, appointed a new fund manager to the Omnis Income & Growth Fund to replace Woodford Investment Management. Omnis made this change to help enhance the performance of all the assets held within the Fund.

Only a small part of your investment portfolio is held in the Income & Growth Fund, but with so much news on Woodford Investment Management in the media, I wanted to make sure you are fully informed about the transition to Jupiter Asset Management, and the positive impact on performance so far. 

Omnis selected the n...

There has been a lot of talk in the media recently about the risk of a recession over the next 12 to 18 months. According to Bloomberg, the number of news items mentioning ‘recession’ has spiked in 2019 to the highest level in five years. One of the main triggers was the inversion of the yield curve which in the past has tended to precede a recession. However, we believe that may not be the case on this occasion.

Typically, investors expect higher compensation for putting their money away over a longer period to make up for the risk of infl...

Under new rules, if you move out of a home that was your main residence — because of a marriage breakdown, for example — you will have as little as nine months to sell that property without being hit by a capital gains tax bill on any profits.

At present you have 18 months to sell your home after moving out before you have to pay a capital gains tax. However, that time period will be reduced to nine months from April 2020.

Take a couple who bought a house for £200,000 and lived in it for 10 years. Let's say they decided to divorce and the ...

Sarah Hogan is a Pension Transfer Specialist on behalf of Openwork and has been awarded the Gold Standard for defined benefit pension advice.

Defined benefit pension transfers have been popular in the market and the press in recent years due to the availability of Flexi Access Drawdown following a pension transfer from a defined benefit scheme. However, giving up a guaranteed, inflation proofed income in retirement for a lump sum that is not guaranteed is not right for everyone.

The FCA believes that a defined benefit scheme is, in some ca...

Over 55’s are burning a hole in their pension savings even when they don’t need to according to data published by HM Revenue and Customs. According to the data 336,000 over 55’s withdrew a record £2.75bn from their pensions between March and June 2019. Since the flexible pension rules were introduced in 2015, more than £28bn has been withdrawn from pension funds by nearly 2.2 million people and a large percentage of these were still working and didn’t really need it.

But why is this the case?

Let’s explore some of the factors...

1. “I’m a...

Getting fed up of everyone coming around to yours for Christmas?

Or are you rattling round a large house because your kids have grown up and flown the nest?

Or perhaps you’ve found a lovely little property in a part of the country you’ve always wanted to live?

Whatever your reason for downsizing we’ve got some practical steps to help you make the most of the move...

Measure up
Whether you’re moving into a two-bed bungalow or a one-bed flat, you’ll still need to know how much less space you’ll have in your new home so that you can take ...

It’s a small price to pay
Ah, that daily takeaway coffee on the way to work – it’s a little bit of luxury for just a couple of pounds.

But for less than that, you could provide something even more satisfying: peace of mind for you and your loved ones.

An essential ingredient
Far from being a luxury, Family Protection (or more specifically, Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover and Income Protection) should be considered essential – especially  if other people rely on your income.
It can provide funds to help deal with the financial consequen...