FINANCE

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS & YOUR MONEY

For all those investors who didn’t carry out a review of their financial affairs last year here’s the solution. Go see an Independent Financial Advisor! Most companies give some free advice Abacus Assurance give an hour’s free consultation. Many clients I’ve met over the years that DIY their investments have come a cropper at some point because it’s such a complex and crowded market place. Even the most intelligent admit to giving up eventually when they see all the correspondence pouring through their letterbox. Most times doing nothing is easier than making a decision and this is where inertia ruins wealth just as procrastination is the thief of time. This is where an IFA can help you through the maze of investment products and funds and help you make the decisions you might not be qualified to make and at the same time be protected by the regulators. Typically I often get asked ‘what’s a good Stocks and Shares ISA this year?’ or ‘who’s the best pension provider now?’ or ‘what’s the best investment to avoid tax?’ There isn’t a right answer to any of these questions as everyone’s needs differ. An investment that would suit one client could be totally wrong for another. Here’s a good one - ‘I’ve got all these shares my dad left me and they pay dividends and I don’t know what to do with them, do I sell them will I pay tax’? An IFA can answer these questions and much more, like moving the shares into an ISA and not paying tax on income or capital gains, but do you know how to do it? Some people don’t want to use a financial advisor because they charge fees to make their money work for them. New clients ask me what I charge and I say I’m reassuringly expensive, in reality ignorance costs a lot more. Don’t underestimate the value of your IFA!

Philip Vaughan is a Director at Abacus Assurance Financial Services, Porthcawl 01656 772222 PAUL FIELDING Dragon Financial 01656 782545 / 07768 418308

PHILIP VAUGHAN Director at Abacus Assurance Financial Services Ltd Porthcawl 01656 772222

A DIFFERENT YEAR IN 2022?

As I look back over the last year I can only conclude that it’s been one heck of a ride, with COVID still chomping away at our heels and everything else, with new variants popping up at the most inconvenient times. Certainly, we’ve tried our best to get back to normal in so many ways in everyday life, work, etc., yet for those of us engaged in the Financial Industry, especially mortgages, it’s been a non-stop battle to keep pace. We’ve had incentives around things like a Stamp Duty holiday, Government financial help for businesses, the furlough scheme to protect jobs, etc. It’s fair to say that we may never see a year like it again, although we’re not out of the woods yet. Only today, as I’m writing this, the Bank of England has just raised the base rate at the time of the year when they don’t like raising interest rates as such but with inflation running at its’ highest for a decade, it’s not entirely unexpected. Yet, although this small rise could put upward pressure on mortgage interest rates, many lenders were amending rates over the previous few weeks, so may not have to adjust all that much. That said, NOW is definitely the time to get your borrowing sorted, for if there’s another rise in the New Year, you could be wishing you’d done it sooner. There are still some fantastic rates out there for borrowers of all ages, whether you’re just starting out in life owning your own place or indeed looking at getting some much cheaper borrowing on later life lending, if you’re over 55 and still have either a standard mortgage or a retirement mortgage or equity release loan. This has been a record year for us in the Later Life market, with rates never this low and many people coming to us to change their very high rate on schemes done years ago for some of the very much lower rates available now. Call me on 01656 782545 or 07768 418308 to have an informal chat, just to see where you’re positioned currently and to see whether we could assist you in enjoying a better deal. For now, may I thank all of you who’ve entrusted us with your business this year and we look forward to seeing you in 2022, for what we hope will be a better year for all. Here’s wishing you a very Happy Christmas and a great New Year.

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