The volatility experienced in global markets over the past six years has tested the nerves of even the most experienced investors, making it a difficult time for individuals who rely on income from investments for some or all of their needs.
Asset classes
When putting together an investment portfolio there are a number of asset classes, or types of investments, that can be combined in different ways. The starting point is cash – and the aim of employing the other asset classes is to achieve a better return than could be achieved by leaving all of the investment on deposit.
Spreading risk in your portfolio
One of the principal tenets of spreading risk in your portfolio is to diversify your investments. Diversification is the process of investing in areas that have little or no relation to each other.
Wealth creation
The first step to building wealth starts with a disciplined decision to pay yourself first, then compounds with a disciplined investment approach.
Question time
Why planning for your future retirement requires answers
We all look forward to stopping work, embarking on a new path and making the most of our new-found freedom. But with all the talk and concern about dwindling retirement funds and our shaky economy, many retirees and soon-to-be-retired boomers need to consider three very important questions, sooner rather than later.
One of life’s unpleasant facts
Protecting your assets to give your family lasting benefits in an uncertain world
Inheritance Tax (IHT) in the UK is a subject that was once something that only affected very wealthy people. It may be one of life’s unpleasant facts but today it affects more people than ever, partly due to the rise in the property market that has not been matched by a corresponding rise in the IHT threshold.
‘Am I diversified enough?’
What’s positive for one investment can be negative for another
Different types of investments are affected in different ways by factors such as economics, interest rates, politics, conflicts, even weather events. What’s positive for one investment can be negative for another, and when one rises another may fall. This interlinked movement between assets is known as ‘correlation’.
Full nest households
The financial pressure on parents providing board to their adult offspring
Parents with adult children living under their roof are spending £1,200* more than their Empty Nester counterparts each year on everyday household expenditure, bringing the total annual cost of ‘Full Nest Syndrome’ in the UK to £3.2 billion[1].
Sandwich generation
Filling in the family gaps
With an ageing population and increasingly more children living at home for longer, more and more people are joining the ‘Sandwich Generation’, having to fund family at both ends of the spectrum, such as their parents and children as well as themselves.
Workplace challenges for older workers
One in three could not carry out current jobs past their traditional retirement age
Employers estimate up to a third of their staff would struggle to continue in their current jobs past traditional retirement ages, research for MetLife Employee Benefits[1] shows. Its nationwide study found HR directors believe that, on average, 31% of their current workforce would not be able to perform their jobs adequately once they reach normal retirement ages, even though 54% of them expect an increase in the proportion of older staff.
