With the focus on kickstarting the economy, perhaps some of the tax rises we might have anticipated have been postponed for better times. However, there are still some less obvious ways the budget is set to bring in revenue.

Tax allowance freezes

Some of the tax allowances and thresholds will not move for years, meaning more and people are captured by them. This means

From 1 February 2021, pension companies must offer ‘investment pathways’ to customers who don’t have a financial adviser acting on their behalf. This is an attempt by the financial regulator to make it easier for those approaching retirement to do the right thing.

Why is this necessary?

Since 2015 and the introduction of “Pensions Freedoms” consumers have a lot more

If you enjoy our newsletter you may have seen this week we were hosting an event for clients. You may have even attended!

Our Virtual tour of Kirkby Lonsdale with Blue Badge Guide, Tess Pike was one of the most successful events we have done, perhaps thanks to the wonderful news coverage  featured both on Granada Reports and Border Lookaround.

We had almost 100 people

How many times do we hear, “Interest rates are rubbish”, “They’re not what they used to be”?

Yes, it’s true. The Bank of England have interest rates at their lowest ever level since records began. However, we really must keep this in context.

The devil in disguise is inflation. Interest rates must be looked at in conjunction with inflation. Afterall, growth which is

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...

UK fraud prevention groups are warning individuals to be extra vigilant following a huge increase in the number of scams seeking to exploit the pandemic; as these scams increase in sophistication, we are all vulnerable.

Your best tactic is to equip yourself to stay ScamSmart; you can do this through checking the FCA

Some frequently asked questions about the current investment situation

In this ever changing situation we are receiving e-mails from all the fund managers and investment companies on an hourly basis. I wanted to share this from Aberdeen Standard with you, because I thought it was helpful, to the point and mirrors exactly the kind of conversations we are having (on the

Message from FMB Managing Director, Liz Beavis

As you know from the many conversations with your Financial Planner over the years, we always take a long term view of investing. We tell people to sit tight in a crisis and certainly do not cash in any investments that you don’t need to.

However, we are seeing an unprecedented level of volatility right now and it would be

We are a bit like a stuck record every time there is some kind of uncertainty which threatens economic disaster. At the risk of being repetitive I will lay out our key investment principles at FMB. Of course we are always here to chat with you if you feel you want some additional reassurance and advice.

• When you make an investment we look at your goals and objectives,