It seems that every way we look at the moment, uncertainty reigns. At home, we have the uncertainty caused by rising energy costs, the latest rise in interest rates (now 0.5% following last week’s Bank of England decision) and the corresponding concerns over people’s cost of living. Then, there is the continuing saga surrounding Prime […]
Looking back at my end of year message to clients a year ago, we were still to face the most testing period of the pandemic and the UK was just days away from leaving the European Union. Despite these substantial challenges, 2021 has been a year when the markets have shown remarkable resilience and investments […]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is pinning his hopes on a supercharged boost to productivity to ensure future economic growth. The Budget unveiled by Mr Sunak had more of the hallmarks of former Labour Chancellor Gordon Brown than one you would typically associate with a Conservative government. Rather than austerity, Mr Sunak announced an extra £150billion of […]
We are delighted to share the news with clients that our client administrator Emma Bowen is getting married to Pete Chegwin on Sunday, October 3rd at Thornton Manor in Wirral. The couple have had to change their plans twice in the last couple of years due to the pandemic, so we are thrilled that their […]
The other major announcement concerned the so-called ‘Triple Lock’. This ensures that the state pension is supposed to increase every year in line with whichever of inflation, the average wage increase or 2.5% is the highest. The Conservative manifesto at the 2019 election said that the Triple Lock would remain in place for the duration […]
The Government has made a series of important announcements this month as it seeks to address the two biggest issues in its in-tray – the need to start paying down the debt incurred as a result of the pandemic and, secondly, the social care crisis. The requirement to tackle how social care is funded has […]
Many of you will be continuing to read news reports detailing concerns about the potential impact of inflation on the UK and global economies. Consumer price inflation in the UK rose to its highest level in almost three years in June – hitting 2.5% against a forecast of 2.2%. Fuel prices and second-hand car sales […]
One of the areas where we have been most busy during the pandemic has been around future planning. While it is clearly integral to all of the long-term planning that we carry out on behalf of clients, there is no question that the seismic events of the last 18 months have led a good number […]
It is now just over two weeks since the team at Phillip Bates Financial Services returned to the office. We have enjoyed being back in Neston and from the number of face-to-face meetings we’ve had since returning, it is safe to say that many of you are too! While we may be back in our […]
There has been a lot of positive economic data circulating over recent days. The pound touched a three-year high as reports showed that British manufacturing grew at its fastest rate in almost 30 years, while house prices have risen at their fastest pace for almost seven years. Alongside this, we have seen far less volatility […]
