A question I am increasingly being asked by clients is whether a change in Government has a significant effect on the financial markets. The question is an interesting one given that next year will see a General Election in the UK and a US Presidential Election. As things stand, the polls suggest that both Prime […]
Celebrating our 25th anniversary This November will see us celebrate a special milestone as it is exactly 25 years since Phillip Bates & Co Financial Services opened for business. Many of our clients have been with us for much or all that time while, for others, we have started acting for you in more recent […]
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came in for a fair bit of criticism at the weekend for telling the British public to “hold our nerve, stick to the plan and we will get through this”. The PM’s interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg followed the announcement by the Bank of England that it was raising its […]
Recent stories in the press have raised concerns about pension planning or, rather, the lack of it. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has launched a wide-ranging review of the pension system, looking at whether people are saving enough and if more support is needed for people to use their funds appropriately. The Pensions Review is […]
The decision by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to abolish the lifetime allowance on pension pots is an important one. Within a few minutes of the Chancellor sitting down after his Budget speech, we received several enquiries from clients wanting to know the implications of the announcement. The lifetime allowance limit was first introduced by Chancellor Gordon […]
We hope your 2023 has got off to a good start. The early data suggests that the economic situation continues to look brighter than it did for much of last year. The UK inflation rate eased in December from 10.7% to 10.5% with lower prices for petrol and clothing pushing down the headline rate. While […]
As we approach the end of 2022, we look back on what has undoubtedly been a turbulent year economically around the world. For those of us in the UK, it has also been one of the more extraordinary years politically with three different Prime Ministers. There are, however, some tentative signs that inflation may have […]
Like all smart politicians, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt talked up the need for Britons to “face into the storm” ahead of presenting his Autumn Statement. But while some sections of society will have to play their part by paying more in taxes, the statement was nowhere near as painful as some commentators had been forecasting it […]
The financial markets may be complex in many ways, but in other ways they are very simple. After a turbulent few weeks, the appointment of a new Chancellor in Jeremy Hunt and the subsequent instalment of a new Prime Minister in Rishi Sunak has given the markets the one thing they crave more than anything […]
The Government may not have called Friday’s ‘fiscal event’ a Budget, but it certainly packed more of a punch than many Budgets put together. In just over 25 minutes on his feet, new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng took the biggest economic and political gamble in 50 years – the last time there was a tax cutting […]
