After several government lockdowns, state-mandated closure of entire sectors, plummeting financial markets, whole swathes of the population working remotely, on/off-trade deals, closed borders and a whole lexicon of new terminology, 2020 will go down in memory as one of the most volatile and unexpected in living history. The question is, what financial lessons can we learn from the past 12 months?

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is a potential target for reform to start to recoup the significant costs of the pandemic. The recommendations put forward by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) in its review of CGT, which were published on 11th November, have created quite a stir.

We’ve all noticed the number of scam emails and phone calls increase over the past few years. But with their increasing level of sophistication, what steps can we take to protect ourselves online?

Pension tax relief is a ‘bonus’ paid by the government on money someone pays into their pension. At present, how much tax relief you receive is dependent on what you earn and what your highest rate of income tax is.

In 2015, one of our advisers, Louise Baughan, was diagnosed with colon cancer. This is Louise’s personal story of how critical illness insurance changed her life, aided her recovery and now allows her to spend quality time with her family.

We are seeing an increased number of queries from clients concerning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and, as they are such a new concept, we thought it would be useful to provide a short primer and answer what bitcoin is and how it works?

A pension is a type of investment that aims to provide an income when an individual retires. In the UK, individuals can have a private pension, employers can provide a pension and the government may also provide a pension, as long as certain criteria are met.

Protection insurance is an umbrella term typically used to describe insurances which provide cover for you and your loved ones in the event of your death or illness, such as life insurance, income protection and critical illness insurance.

With many of us working from home and spending increasing periods of time on the internet, how can we make sure our data is safe online?

The six Principles for Responsible Investment are a voluntary and aspirational set of investment principles that offer a menu of possible actions for incorporating environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues into investment practice.

A divorced woman may be able to substitute her ex-husband’s National Insurance record for her own up to the date of their divorce when working out her Basic State Pension, thereby increasing her own entitlement.

Homebuyers could benefit from better borrowing rates on mortgages in return for purchasing more energy efficient homes or committing to implement energy saving work within existing properties.

Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria refer to three main factors investors consider with regard to a firm’s ethical impact and sustainable practices.

For most people, buying a new car is the second biggest purchase you are likely to make (your home being the most expensive). With so many financing options out there, how do know the best way to pay for it? This article compares car leasing and cash purchase.

Our planet is facing serious challenges. Climate change is a real and ongoing threat. There is no legal requirement for small companies in the UK to publish their climate change efforts.

When you’re looking to invest in shares or bonds, you may think about putting your money into one or more funds. You can find funds which invest in a wide variety of markets and sectors. But wherever you invest, your fund managers will take one of two basic approaches to managing your money: active or passive investing.

They say that two things are certain in life; death and taxes. A Legacy Folder can make calculating your final estate taxes and understanding your wishes as easy as possible for your family when the time comes.

The terms ‘responsible investing’ and ‘sustainable investing’ are often used as a catch-all to describe investments made with social, environmental, or other responsible or sustainability criteria in mind.

Other than a deposit and mortgage, you also need to consider stamp-duty, legal fees, moving costs and a budget for instant-fixes. This article covers buying your main home in England. Second-homes and buy to lets are out of the scope

Whether tax is payable will depend on the individual circumstances of your divorce or dissolution, this article looks into the detail.