Over £9 billion was invested in Child Trust Funds (CTFs) as of April 2020, according to new HMRC data. If you have a child or grandchild born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, they were almost certainly the beneficiary of a government payment – either £250 or £500 – into a CTF. The theory behind the CTF scheme was to ensure every child had some savings as they entered adulthood. In practice, the scheme was not a great success. Nearly a third of parents ignored the

A leading pension think tank has examined this question – but the findings aren’t straightforward. Over the years, there has been much focus on the tax treatment of pensions and ways to encourage greater saving for retirement. Arguably, there has been less attention paid to the question of how much income you will need once work ceases. The Pension Policy Institute (PPI) recently published a paper examining what an adequate retirement income means today in dollar terms. The p

A global jump in inflation in 2021 is raising the prospect of a broader upward trend beyond a short-term pandemic reaction. Source: Various including fred.stlouisfed.org, www.euro-area-statistics.org and Office for National Statistics The risk of the return of inflation has become a focus of attention in investment circles. As the graph shows, 2021 has seen a jump in the inflation rate in the US, UK and Eurozone. Inflation matters to investment markets because the standard ce

The outcome of a recent High Court case is a warning for anyone challenging a will. As inheritances become more valuable, the number of disputes about wills have increased. Court cases rose by almost 50% to 188 in 2019 compared to the previous year according to the latest Ministry of Justice figures. Many more are settled or abandoned along the way. The cases which do reach the High Court tend to be those involving the ‘right’ mix of large sums and elevated emotions. An exam