Market Update: Positive growth sentiment returns
January is beginning to shape up rather nicely, after both positive growth sentiment as well as surplus liquidity staged a welcome return
Succession Planning, A Family Affair
Transferring wealth within a family is a delicate process that requires clear communication and effective planning. Otherwise, it could lead to a potentially large tax bill and bad feeling in the family.
Market Update: Data vs Davos
Was it the latest market data making early and substantial interest rate cuts unlikely, or the latest ‘news’ from leaders gathered in Davos, that caused bond yields to rise once again?
Market Update: A bumpy upwards path ahead
After the recent rally valuations feel elevated, yet the biggest risk to them is not whether the economy will grow again, but rather how fast.
Making Better Investment Decisions
Investing is no longer a luxury reserved for the very wealthy; it's a financial necessity for everyone. Whether we're saving for retirement or our children's education, personal investing is crucial in securing our financial futures.
Market Update: After the party, the hangover?
Following the impressive Santa Rally markets started 2024 on a less euphoric note, is this simply a correction from overbuying, or a genuinely bad start?
Market Update: Central bank Elves boost 2023 Santa rally
The scrooges of last year’s Christmas, US central bankers, put markets in a warm festive mood this week by surprisingly declaring ‘peak rates’ - is the US getting ahead of Europe and the UK once again?
Expanding Horizons: Tean Hatt
We’re thrilled to announce the newest addition to the Vizion Wealth family, Tean Hatt, a seasoned and highly knowledgeable financial advisor with an impressive track record in the industry. I’m personally delighted because I worked with Tean for 5 years at Hargreaves Lansdown until 2011 when i left to set up Vizion Wealth. Tean's arrival not only strengthens our advisory team but also reaffirms our commitment to providing top-notch financial advice and services to our clients nationwide.
Taxing Times for 2023
As we approach the end of the year, taxpayers should begin assessing their tax obligations. This is not a task to be left to the eleventh hour, especially considering tax changes coming into effect in 2024. By understanding your tax obligations early on, you could avoid unwelcome surprises.
Market Update: A bit of a downer
We review November’s cheery asset performance below. Early December is also currently on a positive track and trading volumes have been higher than November’s averages generally, suggesting quite a bit of capital is being put to work by investors.
Market Update: Higher for shorter on the horizon
As we have written here over the past weeks, the distinct turn in sentiment that drove markets in November was, once again, mostly about central banks and the likely path of interest rates. After October was about ‘higher for longer’, early November transitioned to ‘no more rate rises and the next move is down’, when inflation came down far more than most had expected. In this past week, we have heard discussions of Eurozone rate cuts in time for Easter.
Our Guide to Making A Will
We often avoid thinking about the inevitable, but planning ahead is crucial, especially when it comes to securing your loved ones’ futures. Writing a Will isn’t just a legal formality; it’s a way to ensure your assets are distributed per your wishes and your family is cared for even when you’re not around.
Market Update: US economy slows to our pace
November remains a positive month in capital markets, although equities had a neutral week and longer bond prices have fallen back. UK government bonds (Gilts) have been the best performing bond market in the past few weeks, but the tax cuts announced in Wednesday Autumn Statement, although relatively minor, were enough to push the ten-year Gilt yield back up above 4.25% (rising yields mean falling bond prices).
The perils of trying to time the market
The common adage 'buy low, sell high' might seem like a fool proof strategy for maximising investment returns. However, the reality is far more complex than simply trying to predict market fluctuations. Timing the market involves anticipating its highs and lows to buy when prices are at their lowest and sell when they peak.
Market Update: Inflation genie back in the bottle?
Last week was another good one for most investors. In sterling terms, the strongest equity markets were in Europe with the DAX up 4.5% since last Friday afternoon. The biggest winners have been small and mid-sized firms; the FTSE 250 has stormed up by 4.3% compared to a 1.4% increase for the FTSE 100. Likewise, the Russell 2000 (America’s most-watched market index for small and mid-sized companies) is up 5.1% in US dollar terms.
Market Update: Back pedalling central bankers
The turnaround rally in stock and bond markets – started by the previous week’s dovish central bank comments – petered out towards the end of last week, with central bankers seemingly at pains to reverse their messaging or at least reaffirm their continued commitment to keeping interest rates high however long it takes to get inflation back to their 2% target.
Market Update: Dovishness proves contagious
Just how much change a week can bring to markets was amply visible during the last seven days. Last week, we wrote about how negative sentiment in stock markets can turn into a self-perpetuating destructive force for an entire economy as the investing public feels the heat of being poorer (at least on paper). At the end of last week, we look back at pretty much a reversal of the previous week’s perspective after stock markets staged an impressive bounce back. Monday’s rally was still dismissed as an entirely predictable trading-based short-term reversal from oversold levels.
Missing out on unclaimed money that could be in your pocket?
According to recent research, higher rate and additional rate taxpayers in the UK leave millions of pounds of pension tax relief unclaimed yearly. This amounts to a staggering total of £1.3 billion over a five-year period. This unclaimed money could be in your pocket instead!
Market Update: The resilience narrative comes under pressure
A potentially meaningful change in correlations happened last week. In recent times, a fall in yields (and therefore a rise in bond prices) would go alongside rises in equity prices, particularly the mega-cap growth consumer-related techs like Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft and Apple.
Market Update: Bond yield volatility has markets guessing
While we hold our breath over the Middle East tragedy, markets return to interpreting if bond yields are just enough to eradicate inflation or if their volatility points to something bigger.