Research has found that UK investors remained committed to growing their wealth during the first half of the year

• Despite continued geopolitical and economic uncertainty, 30% of investors increased contributions to their portfolios in Q1
• Findings suggest that many are continuing to prioritise long-term financial goals over short-term market volatility
• The strongest

• UK inflation holds steady at 3.8%, with food prices easing for the first time since May 2024
• Inheritance Tax receipts climb again, with forecasts suggesting record highs by the end of the decade
• Consumer confidence rises slightly as shoppers prepare for Black Friday and await the Chancellor’s upcoming Budget

“The Chancellor must use the upcoming Budget to tackle

Divorce can be a complex and emotionally challenging process, particularly when it comes to dividing assets such as pensions. In the UK, pensions are treated as a form of matrimonial property and can be split between divorcing spouses.

The first step in dividing pensions during a divorce is to gather information about the value of the pensions. This will involve obtaining

Research* suggests that nearly one in five people are, or will be, financially worse off due to their divorce, and that many divorcees struggle to make ends meet after separating from their partner.

The statistics make for worrying reading. A third of divorced respondents said they were forced to take money from their savings to supplement their finances, 20% had to use

Keeping up to date with tax changes can be challenging and you may have missed this one in relation to the reporting of Inheritance Tax (IHT), especially as it’s not something most of us will deal with very often.

Excepted estates

The changes came in at the start of the year and apply to the estate of anyone who dies on or after 1 January 2022. Now, before you make a

A few weeks after my father died, I decided to have all my long hair cut off. I cried for hours afterwards, I was clearly in no place to make such a major decision, but thankfully hair grows back. Financial decisions on the other hand can be long lasting. Nobody wants to think of themselves as vulnerable but at some point in our lives unless we are extremely lucky life can

If you have set up a trust, have you written a letter of wishes?

As part of our ongoing review process, if a client has set up a trust, then we check if they have a letter of wishes in place and if it is up to date. There is a similar document for pensions usually known as an expression of wishes.

A letter of wishes is a way for the settlor of a trust to inform the

"I am working with a client who is looking to sell their home and move into rented retirement accommodation. They need their two residential nil rate bands (RNRBs) to reduce the value of their estate so that they do not have an inheritance tax (IHT) liability. So, they asked me if they can still get the RNRB if they sell their home?

In addition to the standard nil rate