Demand drops amid economic uncertainty Activity is weakening across the sales market, according to the latest UK Residential Survey from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which points to a challenging year ahead. The headline net balance for new buyer enquiries was -38% in [...]

Happy New Year! After three successive years where the performance of stock markets has been disconnected from the state of the real economy and with gloomy predictions of impending recessions this year, we are hopeful that markets will again buck the trend. Markets are thought [...]

More Stamp Duty changes in Autumn Statement Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement on 17 November left housing out of the limelight, though it did include a commitment to keep the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) changes announced in the ‘mini-budget’ – for now. In September, [...]

There was much rumour ahead of the Autumn statement about how the hole in the UK finances will be fixed. Overall, there are several changes that will affect the finances of our clients. The government has mostly decided to fix the problem through stealth taxes [...]

While Rudyard Kipling may not have been thinking about investments when he penned his famous poem ‘If’, his words will certainly resonate with investors at the moment. The current investment landscape undoubtedly presents a challenge, even for experienced investors, but those who can keep their [...]

One of the best-known mantras in investing is ‘buy low and sell high’ and whilst this is an uncontroversial strategy it proves surprisingly difficult in practice. The first challenge is to judge when a high or low is occurring, as it is only with hindsight [...]

On Friday 23^rd September the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced his “Growth Plan” aimed to kickstart the UK economy and which he claims to be the biggest tax cuts in a generation. As usual, our note is not intended to provide a commentary [...]

In recent times the importance of expert financial advice has become greater than ever, as people seek reassurance that their pensions, investments and protection plans are being professionally looked after during uncertain times. Good financial outcomes are obviously important, but these can only be measured [...]