Cryptoassets may not be regulated financial products, so please be aware that trading them carries a considerable amount of risk for your capital. Cryptocurrencies are also not covered by existing consumer protection laws and are not suitable for the majority of investors. Crypto is slowly becoming more mainstream, but it remains a high-risk investment. While you might view cryptoassets as outside of your regular financial plan, considering them alongside other assets and dec

When you’re investing using ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria, fund labels can be confusing. They might leave you unsure about which ESG factors are considered or what impact your investments will have. ESG investing is an approach to investing that considers more than just a company’s financial performance. It assesses numerous factors to understand how responsibly a company operates across three pillars: Environmental: How a company manages its impact on

It can be easy to overlook your own financial security if you’re focused on your business. However, if you’re relying on your business to deliver an income, it’s important to take steps that could improve your financial security. If you haven’t already taken these steps, it’s worth considering whether they should form part of your financial plan. 1. Have an emergency fund you can use to pay for short-term outgoings The unexpected can happen and it could harm your financial

In last month’s article, you read about why it’s often more difficult than you expect to identify scams. With the amount of money lost to fraud rising, being aware of common types of scams could mean you’re in a better position to spot the warning signs. According to UK Finance (15 June 2026), £1.28 billion was lost to fraud in 2025, an increase of 4% when compared with 2024. There were 4.06 million confirmed cases of fraud in 2025, which fall into two broad categories, both

The amount HMRC is forecast to collect through Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is set to more than double between 2024/25 and 2030/31, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR, 9 February 2026). The good news is that there might be steps you could take to reduce a potential bill. CGT is a tax you might pay on gains you make when you dispose of certain assets, including: Shares that aren’t held in a tax-efficient wrapper, like an ISA Property that’s not your main home S

After months of volatility, markets were relatively calm in August, though economic data was mixed. Discover what factors may have affected your investment portfolio throughout August 2026. When markets opened on 3 August, it was a good start to the month. Falling oil prices led to the Stoxx Europe 600 index, which provides a broad measure of the European market, being up 0.5%. Similarly, US markets rose when they opened, with the S&P 500 index up 0.5%. However, the FTSE 100

Ongoing conflict in the Middle East and investor concerns that technology companies are overvalued continued to affect market performance. Read on to find out how these factors and others may have impacted your investment portfolio in July 2026. Markets started the month with a sell-off of chip stocks as investors lost enthusiasm for AI. Asian markets were particularly affected on 2 July, with South Korea index the KOSPI suffering an 8% loss. Despite poor job data, US mark

As a business owner, you might neglect your personal finances because you’re focused on those of your company. Your business may be among your largest financial assets, but it is important to remember that your personal finances exist separately. Taking time to review your own financial plans can help you make more informed decisions and ensure your personal goals remain on track. Here’s a list of important tasks you should consider completing this year if you haven’t alread

Selling your business is often a goal you’ve been working towards for years. But viewing it as the finish line, rather than the start of a new journey, could lead you to overlook steps that make the next chapter of your life more enjoyable. Entrepreneurs often find that their personal goals and finances become entwined with those of the business. So, once they exit the business, it might feel like starting from scratch. Making what comes next part of your exit strategy could

Gifting assets during your lifetime has become a common strategy for reducing a potential Inheritance Tax (IHT) bill. Indeed, according to Paragon Bank (31 July 2025), 1 in 5 savers aged over 65 are passing on cash for this reason. Yet, gifting doesn’t always mean that assets are excluded from your estate when calculating IHT, and there are a lot of misconceptions about when the tax could be applied. Inheritance Tax may apply to your estate after you pass away To understand

Key changes are being made to ISAs in April 2027, and they could affect how you use the tax-efficient wrapper. You might have read in the news or heard that the ISA allowance is being cut or that tax will now apply to cash savings. While there is some truth in these statements, without further details they’re misleading. To cut through the sometimes confusing headlines, we explain the two changes you should be aware of. ISAs are a popular and tax-efficient way to save and inv

A cashflow model isn’t a one-off exercise. If you want to use it to inform your financial decisions, regular updates are essential. A cashflow model is a visual representation of your wealth and how it might change in the future. While the result cannot be guaranteed, it could be a useful tool that helps inform your financial decisions. Your financial planner will create your cashflow model by inputting data, such as your income, expenses, and the value of your assets. They w

Investing is often as much about emotions as it is about numbers. One emotion that might affect how you invest at times is fear. Learning how fear influences investment decisions and how to master it could support your long-term success. Fear could strike investors in multiple ways There’s more than one form that fear can take when you’re investing. You might experience a fear of: Losing money, which could lead to you being overly cautious. You might even avoid investing al

Most people will have multiple financial goals they want to achieve. A common challenge is balancing these competing goals and understanding how to use your assets to work towards them. It’s an area that a financial plan could help you with. Over the last few months, you’ve read about short-, medium-, and long-term goals that might be important to you and different financial strategies that suit each time frame. Now, read on to find out how a financial plan could help you str

This guest blog was written by Chris Budd, who wrote the original Financial Wellbeing Book as well as The Four Cornerstones of Financial Wellbeing. He founded the Institute for Financial Wellbeing and has written more than 130 episodes of the Financial Wellbeing Podcast. Once upon a time, there was a man who had come into a bit of money. Not a life-changing amount, but enough to pay off the mortgage and do some nice things. Now, this chap’s wife wouldn’t discuss the money. S

Having a reliable income in retirement could give you the freedom to create a lifestyle you enjoy and achieve those bucket-list goals you’ve dreamed about for years. In a 2023 survey by Legal & General, 94% of UK adults said their most important retirement dream is to feel financially secure for the rest of their lives. However, working out what your income might look like many years from now can be complex. As such, you may feel in the dark about how your pensions, savings,

Affluent families who delay estate planning could miss out on chances to reduce a potential Inheritance Tax (IHT) bill and pass more on to their families. Find out if you could benefit from considering IHT and how you might pass on assets tax-efficiently. According to a report covered by Today’s Wills and Probate (5 June 2026), delays in estate planning could cost UK families £12.3 billion when changes mean pensions will form part of your estate next year. Under the current r

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a global recession could occur if the conflict in Iran continued into 2027. The organisation warned that delays in agreeing a peace deal would affect global growth and cause energy shortages. Indeed, the OECD said in a scenario where the conflict continues into 2027, global GDP could fall to 2.1% in 2026, compared to 3.4% in 2025. Markets experienced volatility but recovered throughout June 2026 O

During April 2026, markets have continued to experience volatility as the conflict in the Middle East has developed. Find out what external factors may have affected the performance of your investments.

As a business owner, how you pay yourself matters. Doing so without considering the tax implications could mean you miss opportunities to make your income more efficient.