So the Spending Review has now been and gone. I won't dwell on the more general elements here, but I will cast an eye over the pension changes announced - less than a week after the last set of pension reforms. In summary, the State Pension age for everyone will rise to 66 by 2020. Not too big a deal, you might think, since it's currently...
Read MoreI'm very pleased to see lots of focus on pensions by the BBC at the moment. First Newsnight, now Panorama. Some initial thoughts on last night's Panorama programme. Firstly, the positives: They are right to name and shame pension providers for high charges (for the record, HSBC, Co-op and L&G were the three worst offenders); They were also VERY right to focus on fund rebates as a...
Read MorePlease see below a link to the August edition of our Quarterly Private Client Newsletter. Now that the Budgets are out of the way, I've decided to shift from focusing on tax changes to focusing on some investment-based topics. I have tried to contribute to the active versus passive investment debate, and have included some rules of thumb when it comes to saving towards your...
Read MoreI'm delighted to say that Kennedy Black Wealth Management featured in Saturday's edition of The Times (17th July) in the 'Money Makeover/Ask the Expert' section. Click here to view the article online, although unfortunately you will need to be a subscriber to view the article. For non-subscribers, please click here for a pdf version....
Read MoreAs you may have just seen, the new Coalition government has just announced its "emergency" Budget, including a large array of spending cuts and some not insignificant tax rises, with the goal of reducing the UK's budget deficit. Below is my initial reaction to the main anouncements, although as usual the devil is in the detail so there may be further conclusions to draw once...
Read MoreWe are pleased to publish the latest edition of our Quarterly Private Client Newsletter. We continue one of the themes of the last edition (available below), namely the tax changes coming in for high earners. Furthermore, there's a bit more in relation to investments with a focus on Structured Products as well as a quick introduction to Self-Invested Personal Pensions ("SIPPs"). We also continue the...
Read MoreAs seen on FT.com The Tories came under serious fire from Gordon Brown in the final televised debate over their plans to raise the Inheritance Tax threshold to £1 million per person. On the one hand, IHT is among the most unpopular taxes – perceived as one final opportunity for the government to get its hands on our already-taxed wealth – but on the other hand it...
Read MoreAlastair Darling today announced his last Budget before the next general election. As a result, it was expected to be high on political rhetoric - and it didn't disappoint. However, at the same time it was low on new measures - which was rather disappointing. The key points for our Private Clients are outlined below, with some of our initial thoughts. Overall, the main winners were first-time...
Read MoreAs part of our ongoing commitment to our clients, Kennedy Black has launched a Quarterly Private Client Newsletter which will cover a whole range of topical personal finance stories. This month, we start by focusing on the numerous and important changes that will occur at the end of this tax year, and the actions that need to be taken. We also start a series of...
Read MoreNew income tax and pension rules introduced in the 2009 Budget will affect anyone earning over £100,000 – and I cannot stress urgently enough that people in this bracket should be seeking professional advice before the end of the 2009/10 tax year in April 2010. In short, anyone earning over £150,000 a year will pay 50% income tax from 2010/11. Furthermore, the removal of higher rate...
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