It is a theme that we constantly return to at Phillip Bates & Co Financial Services, but there really is no substitute for long-term, diversified financial planning.

It was just a few weeks ago that we were facing up to President Trump’s tariff wars and their potential consequences for economies around the world.

While there will inevitably be further twists and turns in the road over the coming weeks and months as the policy continues playing out, many of the financial markets have proven extremely resilient following the Spring wobble.

Only last week, our own FTSE 100 breached the 9,000-point level for the first time in its 41-year history, while other markets such as the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the German Dax have also had a strong start to 2025. The S&P 500 in the United States continues to perform creditably if not to the same levels of a few years ago when the ‘Magnificent Seven’ tech stocks were delivering such phenomenal returns.

The recent success of the FTSE 100 market, where most of the revenues of the listed companies come from outside the UK, is not, however, reflective of the health of the UK economy with Chancellor Rachel Reeves still struggling to unlock the growth that was a key plank of their election winning strategy a year ago.

Latest economic data showed a small dip in GDP and a rise in inflation from 3.4% to 3.6%. 

Meanwhile, the Government’s climbdown on some of its flagship welfare reforms has also left it with a £5 billion black hole ahead of the Autumn Budget, reducing the already limited wiggle room that the Chancellor has and ramping up the feverish speculation that there may have to be some form of tax rises.

Part of our role as chartered financial planners is to help our clients read the road ahead and provide advice regarding potential steps that can be taken to protect your portfolios whatever stage you are at.

The recommendations we make are always aligned with a client’s individual plan and enabling you to achieve the retirement that you want.

As we look ahead to the Budget later this year, we will again be talking to clients about any additional pension contributions that could be made, while cash ISAs are something that often get ignored but are a useful means of shielding the future from tax.

You will recall from the October 2024 Budget – the first by a Labour government in 14 years – that as of April 2027 pensions would no longer be exempt from inheritance tax. We continue to await the findings of the consultation into these planned changes.

The reality is that the public purse needs more money with the likelihood that those with the so-called ‘broadest shoulders’ will be the ones most impacted.

Despite the febrile nature of our economy and, indeed, our politics with Nigel Farage’s Reform Party intent on continuing to upend the traditional political landscape, client portfolios continue to perform well with typical returns of between 5-7% over the last 12 months.

As ever, please do get in touch if you would like to talk through anything with a member of our team.