Trying to navigate the ups and downs of market returns, investors seem to naturally want to jump in at the lows and cash out at the highs. But no one can predict when those will occur. Fortunately, there are a number of time-tested strategies that may help you deal with market volatility. Two of the most prevalent are: invest for the long term, and maintain realistic performance expectations when it comes to returns.
Pound cost averaging is an investing strategy that can help to smooth out the effects of market volatility and reduce your overall risk. Investing at regular intervals can be a good idea to help smooth out the ups and downs of the market.
There are many reasons to invest through a fund, rather than buying assets on your own. At a basic level, investing in a fund means having a fund manager make investment decisions on behalf of the investor.
Sharing many traits, but also having important differences
Pooled investment funds are usually large funds built by aggregating relatively small investments from individuals. A professional fund manager (or a team of fund managers) determines which assets to invest in and then purchases accordingly. They are also known as ‘collective investment schemes’.
An investment trust is a public company that raises money by selling shares to investors, and then pools that money to buy and sell a wide range of shares and assets. Different investment trusts will have different aims and different mixes of investments.
Minimising the amount of tax you pay on your investment returns
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are a ‘tax-efficient wrapper’ enabling you to minimise the amount of tax you pay on your investment returns. Some ISAs give you instant access to your money and can be used to plan your finances for the short term.
Impact on work, wealth and wellbeing putting further pressure on age group
The financial decisions made by individuals as they reach retirement could have significant consequences on their finances and standards of living. Midlifers (people aged 40 to 60) are facing a challenging backdrop, with rising inflation and increasing energy bills putting further pressure on an age group that is already juggling multiple headwinds.
30 million parents want to leave wealth in their Will
Research[1] has highlighted how millions of Britons say they want to plan to pass on wealth to their children and grandchildren in a Will – but fewer than half have written one. Failing to plan write a Will or complete estate planning could potentially lead to a significant Inheritance Tax (commonly called IHT for short) bill being levied on a person’s estate when they die.
Key financial changes that have affected millions of people from April
Most taxpayers started to see their tax bills increase from April 2022. As we move into the new 2022/23 tax year, now is the time to review your tax affairs to ensure that you have taken advantage of all reliefs available and have considered some planning opportunities to help reduce your tax liabilities.
Ensure your financial security for when you might need it most
There are a number of reasons why you might need life cover and critical illness cover. If you have dependents, then it is important to make sure that they will be financially secure if something happens to you. If you have a mortgage or other debts, then life cover can help to pay these off.
