It’s perfectly understandable if you just want 2020 to be over already. The fact is that there are still five months of it left to go. What’s more, some of those months cover what is traditionally peak home-buying season. The good news is that the housing market has now adjusted to the COVID19 situation and all the usual services are still very much active, albeit possibly with some changes. Here is a quick guide to what that could mean in practice. Getting mortgage advice All the established reasons for getting mortgage advice still apply in the post-COVID19 environment. In fact, they have become even more significant. With COVID19 looking set to linger for quite some time to come (at least economically) and Brexit on its way, it’s arguably never been more important to make sure that you get the best, possible value out of every financial decision you make. For most people, taking out a mortgage is one of life’s biggest financial decisions so getting the best product for your situation can make a huge difference to your finances. What’s more, getting preapproved for a mortgage not only lets you know exactly how much you can afford but also demonstrates to sellers that you are a serious buyer. This is important at the best of times and right now can make a massive difference to the likelihood of having an offer accepted. Remember, most sellers also have to move. Their ability to move may very well depend on the buyer’s ability to complete. That’s why sellers need to know that they’re dealing with serious buyers. Right now, sellers not only have to deal with the usual upheaval of moving, but they have to do so while adhering to the health-and-safety measures required to keep safe from COVID19. For this reason, sellers are likely to want to do everything they can to make their home-moving process as simple as possible and that includes choosing the right buyer for their current property. Finding a property One of the interesting trends to emerge from COVID19 is that sellers and their agents are now putting even more information online. Given that detailed floor plans and plenty of photographs were already standard before COVID19, that means a lot more emphasis on video. In fact, there is at least one known instance of a property being sold after just a virtual viewing. This might be a bit much for some people, at least for now, but you should expect to see more (and more detailed) video footage of properties on the market. You should also feel comfortable asking for video footage (or more pictures) before deciding whether or not you want to see a property in real life. After all, it’s in everyone’s interests to limit home views to buyers who have a strong interest in it. Viewing a property This is probably the part of the housing market which has struggled the most to adapt to the COVID19 situation. For the time being, you should expect not only to have to social-distance and probably wear a mask but also to adhere to very strict hygiene requirements as set by the seller. Sometimes you may see the sense in these, at other times, you might not. The key point to remember is that none of these are personal. Nobody is making a tacit comment on your standards of hygiene. The seller is just trying to keep themselves and everyone else safe. Try to avoid touching anything unless you absolutely have to and be prepared to see homes in a state which prioritises safety over presentation, for example, covering furniture in plastic coatings. Ignore these distractions. Focus on “the bones” of the house and think about how well it would suit your intended lifestyle. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Powers of attorney come in two forms. Ordinary Power of Attorney is used when you are mentally competent, but still need some level of help (perhaps after an accident). Lasting Power of Attorney (formerly Enduring Power of Attorney) allows people to make decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated. LPAs themselves come in two forms: Health and Welfare and Property and Financial Affairs. All three kinds of PoA are important and need to be drawn up with care. Here are some points you should consider. How many attorneys do you want? You can give Power of Attorney to more than one person and it can be very sensible to do so. This can ensure that no single person becomes over-burdened (given that they will presumably have other commitments). It can also give you access to a wider range of knowledge and expertise. This can all help to ensure that your affairs are managed as capably as possible. At the same time, however, you want to ensure that decisions can still be taken smoothly, especially since some of them may need to be taken quickly. This means that you will need to think carefully about whether or not you always want the attorneys to take action together or if you’re going to allow them to take decisions individually. Either way, you’ll have to set the ground rules on which these decisions are to be taken. How will you choose your attorney(s)? Only you can decide this. When you do, however, there are three key points it's advisable to consider very carefully. Firstly, how well do your attorneys know you? Their job is to make the choices you would have wanted them to make. This means that they have to know you well enough to be able to take at least an educated guess on what you would like them to do in any given situation. While this may seem like stating the obvious, the key point to notes is that your wishes may change over time in line with your life events. This means that your attorneys have to be in regular enough contact with you to know your current views, not the ones you held previously. Secondly, how well do your attorneys know the subject area? They don’t necessarily have to be experts in it. They do, however, have to be able to grasp what could be complex information and process it quickly so that they can make important decisions. It might, therefore, be helpful if they had at least some knowledge of it or, as a minimum, some interest in it. Thirdly, how well do your attorneys know (and get on with) each other? You are, effectively, putting together a work team. This means that, not only do you have to get on at least reasonably well with your employees, they have to get on reasonably well with each other. Remember that any PoA is a living document Like wills, PoAs are not “set and forget” documents. They need to be updated as your circumstances change. They may also need to be updated as other people’s circumstances change. For example, someone who was quite happy to be one of your attorneys before they had children might not be able to manage the responsibility while their family is young. They may, however, be perfectly happy to join your team again when their children are a bit older. It’s advisable to have a PoA drawn up by a lawyer These days, many organizations have to be very careful about making sure that they only act on the wishes of their customer or their customer’s legally-appointed representative(s). It’s therefore highly advisable to have a lawyer draw up your PoA to ensure it meets all relevant requirements.

Estate agents are now open for business and able to conduct home viewings. Property professionals are also able to visit homes for “non-essential work” (such as building surveys). In short, the housing market is now, officially, open for business. Unofficially, it remains to be seen how long it will take to find its feet (or foundations?) in the post-COVID19 environment. Finding a home to buy It will be interesting to see whether the Coronavirus influences the process by which people find homes. Online property portals can already show photos and floorplans and have quite generous space for descriptions. Could the next step be video tours? It’s an open question as to whether or not the property portals would be happy to host bulky video files, but if they’re not then there is nothing to stop estate agents from opening their own YouTube channel and hosting them there. This approach could make it feasible to reduce the number of in-person visits made, ideally limiting them to the most serious buyers. It would, however, have obvious safety implications. These would not, however, necessarily be insurmountable. For example, if estate agents did use YouTube, they could keep the videos unlisted. Alternatively, they could simply store the videos offline and use standard file-transfer applications to send them directly to pre-vetted buyers. Alternatively, an estate agent might live-stream a tour in the same way as they might conduct a regular viewing. The issue of supply and demand Will the Coronavirus deter sellers from moving in order to limit the number of people they let into their home. If people are forced to move, will they increasingly opt to buy a new property and move themselves first to avoid contact with people who are viewing their old one? If either of these scenarios does occur then it could have unexpected ramifications for the overall dynamics of the housing market. Life in the city versus life in the country Working from home is nothing new but the lockdown gave it a whole new impetus. This has raised the question of whether it will become part of the “new normal”. Only time will tell, but if it does, or if it even just becomes more widespread, then existing city and “commuter-belt” properties may be passed over in favour of properties in less commuter-friendly locations. Even if a person still has to go into the office, a commute which would have been unbearable five days out of seven can be tolerable if it’s just one or two days out of seven and the less frequently the person has to go into the office, the more feasible it becomes. If the demand for less urban properties increases, then so may prices. It will, however, be interesting to see if a reduction in demand for city properties causes prices to fall or if there is a standoff between sellers and buyers with the former holding out until they are either forced to sell or receive an offer which meets their minimum expectations. Financing a property purchase Right now, the UK is caught between the aftermath of the Coronavirus and the arrival of Brexit. Both of these are highly unusual situations, which makes it difficult to predict what is going to happen. This could pose a massive challenge for mortgage lenders whose business depends on them being able to assess risk with a reasonable degree of accuracy. In such an uncertain environment, mortgage lenders may opt to err on the side of caution and restrict lending to all but the very safest of borrowers, such as those with stable jobs in recession-proof industries and/or with sizeable deposits. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. ‘The FCA does not regulate Estate agents & Building Surveys’ ‘For Estate Agents & Building surveys we act as introducers only’

Even though there are a lot of jokes made about health and safety, there’s no disputing the fact that modern workplaces are much safer than their historical counterparts. Admittedly, that’s not all due to health and safety, technology has also helped a lot. It does, however, illustrate the importance of keeping health and safety in mind when performing tasks. In the workplace, there are people who insist on this. At home, it’s down to everyone to manage their own self-discipline. DIY can be dangerous Even basic DIY tools can deliver serious injuries. Hammers are heavy, screwdrivers can be sharp, utility knives are very sharp and drills can go through more than just plaster and wood. Power tools can do even more damage. Then add in ladders and you have a further hazard. People of all ages need to take these risks seriously, but older people are particularly at risk. This is because the ageing process makes our bodies more susceptible to injury, for example, our bones become more brittle. We also need longer to recover from injuries. This doesn’t mean that you have to stop doing DIY as you get older. It does, however, mean that you need to take its risks seriously and either address them or pay someone else to do the task for you. Risk number one - inappropriate tools If you’re going to do DIY then you need the right tools for the job. These need to be up to the task but still manageable. The nature of hand tools means that it’s basically impossible for them to go out of control (although you can mishandle them). Power tools, however, are another matter. Even though many of them do have useful safety features, for example making you keep your finger on a power button while you work, it is still very easy to have accidents with them, especially if you don’t really know what you’re doing. Basically, if you don’t have the right tools for the job, then it’s probably a good sign that you should be calling in a professional. If you don’t have them, you probably don’t know how to use them. Unless you’re prepared to learn how to use them and keep using them over the long term, then they’re probably a waste of money anyway, so you’d be better off all round just using a professional. Risk number two - not using appropriate safety equipment You need proper safety goggles (not swimming goggles) and gloves for most DIY jobs and for some safety trousers, boots and/or helmets are also a very good idea (if not essential). Even something as apparently harmless as sawdust can give you serious problems, for example, if it gets in your eyes and/or nose. Risk number three - overestimating your skill level Watching a YouTube video may get you through simple jobs, but it won’t give you the hands-on experience you need for more complex ones. Just call a professional. Risk number four - overestimating your physical abilities In addition to overestimating your physical abilities, there’s also the risk of being complacent, or just plain lazy, about using equipment properly. For example, it may seem easier just to keep stretching from a ladder than to get down, move it, and get up it again. Risk number five - ignoring environmental hazards When doing DIY, you need to be able to see properly and you need adequate hearing (e.g. to pick up on fire alarms). You need to think about whether there is any water present or any power lines (or, worse still, both). You need to check for slipping and tripping hazards. Last but not least, you need to make sure that any people around to help you are actually helping you and not just disturbing your focus.

Hopefully, the worst of the COVID19 pandemic is now over and those who have survived it can now get on with rebuilding their lives and their livelihoods. Part of the transition to the “new normal” will have to involve dealing with the financial consequences of the Coronavirus. The financial-services sector will have a role to play in this and mortgage-lenders in particular will need to think carefully about how they balance flexibility with risk management. The challenge of managing the UK’s flexible workforce Flexibility may be great for many employers and it can work well for many individuals, but it can pose a huge challenge to risk assessors. The basic issue is that flexibility is effectively the opposite of predictability. This makes it much harder for risk assessors to do their job of making educated guesses of what the future might hold for someone. In these situations, the cautious approach is to play safe and either refuse to lend at all or lend on very strict terms. To a certain extent, this protects both lenders and (potential) borrowers. The problem is that lenders need to lend to stay in business and borrowers often need to borrow to buy key assets such as houses. This means that being over cautious can actually wind up harming both parties. The growing number of flexible workers There has been growth both in the number of self-employed workers and in the number of workers on zero-hours contracts. Putting the two together they account for almost a fifth of the UK’s workforce. Additionally, there are occupations where people may earn a baseline salary, but have the opportunity to earn extra money as a part of their job. For example, people in sales roles may earn commission, people in leisure roles may earn tips and people paid on an hourly wage rather than a salary may work overtime. Depending on the nature of the job, these extra payments could be anything from a “nice to have” to a significant source of extra income. While some of these people may be happy to rent, others may want to buy. Mortgage lenders will therefore need to work out a fair way to deal with them. Options for helping flexible workers Possibly the single, biggest step mortgage lenders could take to help flexible workers is to take the time to understand each person’s situation on an individual basis, rather than relying on broad-based rules. One way to implement this could be to have applicants initially go through a standard screening process to see if they can meet the usual acceptance criteria.  If they cannot, however, then applications from flexible workers could be referred to humans for further analysis rather than being rejected outright.  This would not mean that the application would necessarily be accepted.  It would just be a recognition that standardised processes do not always do justice to people in non-standard situations. Another option would be to offer products which had some degree of in-built flexibility, albeit with reasonable safeguards. For example, lenders could look to offer offset mortgages which allowed borrowers to make overpayments during “feast” periods, knowing that they could withdraw some of them money if they needed access to it during the “famine” periods. Lenders could place limits on how much could be withdrawn to ensure that a minimum level of repayment was met. These measures could entail both extra work and some degree of extra risk for lenders. To counterbalance this, lenders could look at insisting on larger deposits and/or charging higher interest rates. Lenders might also want to place restrictions on the type of property which could be bought with these mortgages and focus on properties which have clear potential to be sold on (relatively) quickly and easily, even in slow markets. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The FCA does not regulate some forms of buy to let mortgages

There are basically two reasons to live in a city. The first is because it’s where you want to be and the second is because it’s where you need to be for your work. Similar comments apply to “commuter-belt” areas. For people in the second category, the COVID19 pandemic may have served to push companies into offering home working as standard, at least for part of the time. If this did happen, then it could open the door to a mass “escape to the country”. Will companies offer home-working as standard? Arguably this is the key question and it's harder to answer than it may sound. In the short term, companies may have very little option if they are to manage safety in a post-Coronavirus environment. If workers needing to be socially-distanced becomes part of the "new normal" then economic and practical realities may force companies to use home-working to make that happen. Even if it doesn't, companies might still be interested in promoting home-working to reduce the amount of office space they need and hence reduce their costs. On the other hand, companies have a duty of care towards their employees. This includes providing them with a safe working environment. If/when companies can enforce social-distancing in an on-site environment (or if the social-distancing requirements are removed), they might feel more comfortable having employees on-site. This allows the company to take direct care of all practicalities and provide supervision. If, however, companies start cutting back on their direct employees and making greater use of freelancers, then remote working could basically emerge as, if not a standard, then at least a common practice. What would an upswing in home-working mean for the housing market? An upswing in home-working might not necessarily mean that everyone would immediately rush out and look for a home in the remotest area they could find. It would, however, mean that anyone who worked from home regularly would need to find an appropriate workspace. Some people might be willing and able to make existing rooms do double-duty, especially if they were rooms which were used fairly infrequently (e.g. dining rooms and guest bedrooms). Other people, however, might want or need a dedicated home office. In fact, this might even be a requirement for working from home to meet standards in background noise (or lack thereof) and data security. These requirements might favour moving further out from the city centre. If, however, people also need a robust broadband internet connection, then a truly rural area might not be the best option, at least not yet. The government has committed to improving the availability of high-speed broadband. It is, however, arguably, very hard to predict how quickly improvements will be made, given that the UK is still dealing with the turmoil of the COVID19 pandemic while also heading into what should be the final stages of the Brexit process (assuming the government and the EU stick to the established timetable). What does this mean for the mortgage market? Mortgage lenders need to be able to assess the market value of a property to make an accurate judgement of the risk of a potential loan. If consumer sentiment moves away from prioritizing location with the result that people are less willing to pay a price premium for homes in certain areas, then mortgage lenders may have to rethink their traditional valuation models, at least to some extent. It will be interesting to see if the “remote” trend takes hold and if so to what extent. For example, in addition to home-working, there’s also the prospect of home-schooling right up to university level. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Although the housing market and the mortgage market are related, they are not quite the same. You can buy a house without a mortgage. You can also take out a new mortgage without moving home. There is nothing particularly new about this idea, it will, however, be interesting to see if the remortgage market is impacted by COVID19. Could home-owners feel pressed to beat a market slump? As a rule of thumb, the less you are seeking to borrow relative to the market value of your property, the better a deal you are likely to get on your mortgage. If property prices fall, then the value of the home-owner’s equity will fall with them as will their options for remortgaging. In fact, in a worst-case scenario, the homeowner may find themselves in negative equity. This is not necessarily a catastrophe (as long as you can keep making payments), but it would certainly impact your ability to remortgage and could potentially impact your ability to sell your home if you found yourself in financial difficulty. With the UK only just emerging from the Coronavirus and heading towards Brexit, it may be that some home-owners may want to seal in a good remortgage deal as quickly as possible in case they struggle to do so later. Will low interest-rates spur home-owners into taking action? Right now the base rate is 0.1%. That may not be quite as low as it can go. In principle, the Bank of England could impose negative interest rates. It is, however, a historic low and, at present, nobody can know how long it is going to last. That being so, it could be that some home-owners will look to see if they can secure better deals, especially if they are looking for a fixed-rate product. Having said that, potential borrowers may find that deals available on fixed-rate products may be less generous than they had hoped, especially on longer-term fixes. Mortgage lenders may be wary of discounting too deeply in case interest rates rise again. Will home-owners look to fix their rates? If inflation rises, then the Bank of England may have little option but to raise interest rates. This could come as a nasty shock to mortgage-holders, especially if they are already stretched. Base rates have been below 1% for over a decade now, but over the past five decades, there have been regular periods of double-digit inflation, peaking at 17% in 1979. Even if the aftermath of COVID19 does not lead to higher inflation, the UK still has to navigate its way through Brexit. If the UK’s exit from the EU leads to Borrowers might, therefore, prefer the security of a long-term, fixed-rate deal, even if they have to pay something of a price premium for it. Will home-owners investigate offset mortgages? With an offset mortgage, you essentially bundle your savings and your mortgage together. The basic idea is that the interest you receive on your savings “offsets” the interest you pay on your mortgage. If interest rates go up, then you will pay more interest on your mortgage, but also receive more interest on your savings. If interest rates go down, you will receive less interest on your savings, but also pay less interest on your mortgage. The fact that you will not actually be receiving interest payments on your savings means that you will not need to pay tax on them. This can boost your overall savings even further. Your money remains accessible, although you would need to double-check the provider’s terms and conditions to see if access is instant or if a notice period is required. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

In these troubled times, I know that so many people are concerned with their mortgage. I am still working with my clients over the phone and now have access to lenders and their contact details. The Bank of England has slashed interest rates what does this mean for you? The Bank of England has cut the base rate to 0.1% following the Coronavirus outbreak. This makes the interest rate the lowest ever in the Banks 325-year history. It is hoped that the move by Andrew Bailey would “help to support business and consumer confidence at a difficult time, to bolster the cash flows of businesses and households, and to reduce the cost, and to improve the availability, of finance”. Following this, many lenders have reduced their rates, and I  am seeing some incredible low fixed and discounted rate products. You could now take advantage of the rate cut and potential to re-mortgage, this could mean lower monthly repayments. If you find yourself in financial difficulties because of the impact of Covid-19, and are unable to make your next mortgage payment, please get in touch. We can discuss whether options including a payment holiday on your mortgage might be suitable for you, although this will result in you paying back more interest on your mortgage overall. If you need advice, please do not hesitate to contact me. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

The budget was expected.  The emergency meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, by definition, was not.  Both had meaningful implications for personal finance. Interest rates were cut from 0.75% to 0.25% (and have since been cut again to 0.1%) The initial cut sent interest rates back to where they were in 2016 before the BoE started trying to push them back upwards again.  According to the BoI, the initial decision was taken to “help to support business and consumer confidence at a difficult time, to bolster the cash flows of businesses and households, and to reduce the cost, and to improve the availability of finance”.  It subsequently doubled-down on its policy and cut interest rates again. This means that anyone with a product (savings or loan) which tracks the base rate should see their finance charges going down per their bank’s standard schedule.  People looking to take out new products, especially fixed-rate products, such as some mortgages, should keep an eye on the market and be prepared to act quickly if they see lower-rate products become available. Inflation is forecast to be 1.4% in 2020-2021 and 1.8% in 2021-2022 The inflation forecast is relatively benign, however, the word “forecast” is essentially an alternative term for “guess”, possibly an educated one, but a guess nevertheless.  With interest rates so low, Sterling could potentially weaken against other currencies, thus making imports more expensive. Traditionally, this fact would be counterbalanced by the fact that exports would become more affordable and that inbound tourism would benefit as would domestic investment markets which benefit from international capital, for example, property.  At this point, however, it’s very unclear whether that would continue to hold true.  This means that higher inflation could be a reality (or interest rates will have to go back up to slow it down).  In short, therefore, most people should probably be taking a “watch-this-space” approach to inflation. The National Insurance threshold goes up and the IR35 rule extends to the private sector The threshold for paying National Insurance will go up from £8,632 per annum to £9,500 per annum.  This will take an estimated £500,000 people out of the National Insurance system.  While this has been billed as a move to help those on lower incomes, it may be a double-edged sword since National Insurance contributions may be a factor in determining eligibility for certain benefits including the state pension. At the same time, the infamous IR35 rule will be extended from the public sector to the private sector.  In short, the IR35 rule is a way to determine whether or not a contractor is “genuine” or a “disguised employee” and hence how they should be taxed.  If a contractor is determined to be a disguised employee, they will effectively have to pay tax as though they were on PAYE but they will not receive the corresponding benefits. For completeness, this was announced long before the budget, in fact, it has been in the pipeline for some time, but it comes into effect in April along with the NI change. Changes to pensions and taxation Both the old and new state pensions are going up by 3.9% and at the other end of the scale, there will be changes to the way high-earners are taxed so that pension relief only begins to be reduced when a person earns £200,000.  That means that it will only impact people earning at least £150,000 of actual salary as distinct from pensions contributions. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The FCA does not regulate some forms of tax planning For pensions, investments and tax planning we act as introducers only

Although the UK has both a welfare system and free public health care, illness and injury can impact your finances.  While there’s a limit to what you can do to protect yourself from becoming ill or injured, you can certainly have a think about what poor health would mean to you and what steps you could take to protect yourself against its consequences.  Here are some points to consider. Time off work This will mean different things to different people, but it will probably have some kind of impact on just about everyone.  For example, it may be obvious that if you’re a freelancer, being unable to work, for any reason, can devastate your finances unless you have rock-solid insurance in place to protect you, but it may be less obvious that even being off work with employment benefits can have an adverse effect on your financial health.  Leaving aside the fact that there may be a cap on how long you can claim these benefits, there’s also the impact of being “out of the loop”. It’s also worth noting that in this context, the definition of “work” can extend to any essential task which would still need to be performed if the person who currently does it became ill or was injured.  Possibly the most obvious example of this is caring responsibilities, especially child-caring responsibilities.  Because of this, it can be very wise to ensure that people with such responsibilities are protected by insurance in the same way as the main income-earner. Travel costs Even assuming you can fit your medical appointments around your work, there may well still be costs involved in getting there and back.  If you take your own car, then you will have to think about fuel and parking.  If you take public transport, then you will have to work around schedules and you may have to take two or more individual trips to reach your destination (for example a train and a bus or two or different buses), which can really add to costs.  If you take a taxi, you can have convenience and you won’t necessarily have to pay for parking (although if your taxi driver has to pay to wait for you somewhere, then this will have to be factored into the fare they charge). Then you will need to think about your comfort when you are at your appointments, for example eating and drinking.  In principle, you can stock up on food and drink before you leave but in practice are you really going to be that organized, especially if you’re unwell?  Again, this is an area where having the backing of an insurance company can be invaluable. The actual cost of treatment Although access to the NHS can be considered one of the major benefits of living in the UK, it has its limitations.  To begin with, not everything is provided completely free to everyone.  For example, you may need to pay for prescriptions or to pay at least a contribution to certain types of dental treatment.  You may also find that treatment which would be beneficial but not essential will not be covered on the NHS and/or that there is a lengthy wait to access the treatment you need.  You could potentially avoid all of the above by going private, but this could be expensive.  Depending on your needs and wants, you might be able to pay for treatment by raiding your savings, but if you’d prefer to avoid being in this situation, then it’s advisable to be prepared with good medical and/or dental insurance.  This can save you from having to go to the effort of fundraising for the treatment you need in the timeframe you’d prefer. For Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance, we act as introducers only

Investment portfolios are like teams.  They should all work together harmoniously, with each member bringing their own strengths to balance out the others’ weaknesses so that no matter what happens, you wind up with a good result.  That’s the theory.  The art, science and skill of diversification is building an investment portfolio that makes this work in practice.  Here is a quick guide to some points you may wish to consider. Capital appreciation versus income Capital appreciation will increase the overall value of your portfolio but you will only realize this value when you sell your shares.  Income-producing assets provide cash that you can either reinvest or use for your living expenses.  The extent to which your portfolio is weighted towards one or the other (or perfectly balanced between them both) will depend on a number of factors, such as your investment horizon. For example, if you are at the start of your working life, then you may be quite happy to let the value of your portfolio grow, perhaps so that you can cash (part of) it in to pay for life events such as a house purchase.  If, however, you are heading towards retirement, then you may need to think about replacing your current income, but you may also need to think about continuing to grow your portfolio for the decades which might still lie ahead of you. When considering this point, it’s worth noting that some asset classes can switch between one form and the other.  For example, if you invest in a start-up, you may see the capital value of your shares grow as the company matures but it may be some time before it starts to pay a dividend and when it does its rate of growth may slow as it uses up some of its capital to reward its investors instead of fuelling its expansion. Risk level Risk is an interesting concept and it’s not always as clear-cut as it may appear.  For example, cash deposits and bonds may initially appear very low risk because you are guaranteed to keep your capital intact and see a return from it.  Shares, by contrast, may seem higher risk, because their performance reflects a company’s success and if the company does badly you may start by losing your dividend and end by losing your capital. At the same time, however, the returns from cash deposits and bonds are only guaranteed if the borrower can actually meet their obligations.  If they can’t e.g. they go out of business, then bondholders will simply have a proportionate claim on the borrower’s assets (if any).  Even if the bondholder does make good on their obligation, the returns from bonds may not keep pace with inflation, meaning that your capital will, effectively, be eroded, while the returns from stocks can, in principle, be limitless, at least enough to keep pace with or even outpace inflation. In short, a portfolio that is weighted too heavily towards “safe” assets may wind up not generating sufficient returns to keep pace with inflation whereas a portfolio that is weighted too heavily towards “risky” assets may crash and burn. Younger sectors/locations versus mature sectors/locations In a way, this point reflects both of the previous points.  Young sectors and locations (emerging markets) can have a lot of room to grow, but this means that investors may need to exercise patience when waiting for their returns and they may also need to accept that something may go wrong during the growth period which would reduce (or even cancel out) the returns they expected.  By contrast, mature sectors and locations (developed markets) may have less room to grow, but their established position may give them a greater degree of stability and strength, especially in challenging times. For investments, we act as introducers only

Life is full of challenges and possibly the single biggest challenge of longer life expectancy is working out how to finance it.  There are more options than “just” pensions and even if you do go down the pension route (which is often a very sensible approach), there can be all kinds of considerations involved in choosing exactly the right approach to pension saving.  Here is a quick guide to your main options for retirement saving. Option 1 - Review your view of retirement Although this is presented as an option, it’s debatable just how optional it will be for most people.  The simple fact of the matter is that if you are living longer then you will need more money to see you through your whole life.  This means that you will either have to work longer or save more money during your early life to pay for your later one. In the real world, however, the latter option is only available to people who earn enough to be able to meet all their needs in the present (and ideally at least some of their wants as well) and still be able to save enough to have an extended “full” retirement (i.e. a retirement in which they do not have to work at all). Option 2 - Consider “non-pension” options You can save for your old age/retirement by any means you like, for example by building up savings and by creating an investment portfolio (of shares, property or both).  These days, you may also have the option of opening a Lifetime ISA in which to save towards your retirement.  Like all financial products, Lifetime ISAs have their own unique characteristics, their advantages and disadvantages.  In other words, they may be great products for some people and terrible products for others.  It is therefore strongly recommended to get professional advice before deciding whether or not they’re right for you or at the very least to inform yourself thoroughly about what they are, how they work and what they could mean in practice for you. Option 3 - Pensions If you qualify for the auto-enrolment scheme then it is certainly worth considering as your employer has to make contributions into the scheme and these can provide a meaningful boost to your pension savings.  If you do not qualify for the auto-enrolment scheme, then saving via a recognised pension scheme can still have benefits since, within limits, pensions contributions can be made out of pre-tax income. It is even possible for those earning an income (from employment or self-employment) to make pension contributions on behalf of a spouse/civil partner and claim tax relief on those contributions (again, within limits). Prior to the introduction of “pensions freedoms”, the downside of pension savings was that the majority of any pension pot ultimately had to be used to buy an annuity.  While this was “safe” in the sense that it provided an income for life, that income was not necessarily at the sort of level savers would have liked, especially if they had larger pension pots and were comfortable with the idea of handling investments. Now, however, not only are pensions savers free from the requirement to use the majority of their pension pot to buy an annuity, but they can even pass on their pension pot after they die.  This can open up all kinds of interesting and exciting opportunities, however, it does still need to be remembered that the main purpose of retirement savings is exactly what the name suggests, i.e. to provide an income in retirement, any other considerations (such as the desire to leave a legacy) should be subordinate to that main goal. For pensions, savings and investments we act as introducers only.