Organising your ISA’s?

Enables’s IFAs in Bishop’s Stortford remind many of their investors to include ISA’s in their wealth management plans. Every year the Government gives us a tax-free Isa allowance, last year 2014/15 it was £11,880 between April and July, but this has now been boosted to £15,000 under the new Super Isa regime put in place.  You will also be able to move money from an investment ISA into a cash ISA under the new rules or put your whole allowance in a cash ISA. This applies to any money you have invested in previous years. But remember anything you have already put into an ISA for the 2014/15 tax year will already count towards the allowance.



This is where you might have to start thinking about tax. Any gains within an Isa are free from capital gains tax and everyone has a CGT allowance of £10,900 per year. If you have been investing consistently over time you may be surprised at how much these investments have become worth and holding them in a tax-free wrapper would makes sense.

If you opt to sell all or a large amount of your investments at one time and they are not held in an Isa, then they may be over the capital gains tax limit and liable to tax. Whereas, if you hold them in an Isa you will not be liable and will not even need to fill in a tax form if you sell. Income from investments is also treated in a more tax-friendly way in an Isa. Enable’s IFA’s can help you make the most of your ISA allowance.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Should pension providers be forced to scrap exit fees?

Enable’s IFA’s in  Bishop Stortford know much has been made of the impact of exit fees on pension pots and the effect they would have on savers’ability to enjoy the new pensions freedoms come April. George Osborne’s pensions budget was sold around the idea of freedom – savers can finally do what they want with their pots. But exit fees, of up to 35 per cent, would act as a very effective disincentive to transfer savings anywhere else to allow access to the range of new options.

There have been calls for the Government to intervene on savers’ behalf, but Steve Webb The pensions minister recently played down the scale of the problem. Many of these policies were written decades ago when the pensions world was completely different, some policies were designed around the idea that the running costs of the pension – including the commission paid to advisers for selling them ¬– were paid back over the life of the policy. However, some customers chose to pay all their charges up front, meaning they would lose out compared to those who pay them over time if early exit charges were waived.

Rowley Turton director Scott Gallacher says it would be difficult for the Government or the FCA to get rid of the contracts and that, more importantly, such a move would “destroy confidence in anyone investing in the UK pensions industry”. “It makes it hard for anyone to launch in the market if they can’t be sure of fees. We should have seen a flood of European companies coming to the UK, but apart from Now: Pensions I’d struggle to find anyone who has made a success of coming here.”

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Omission of passive funds warns FCA

Enable’s IFA’s in Bishop’s Stortford are glad to see that the FCA is looking into investor complaints that popular fund rating websites are consistently leaving out passive funds from their performance tables, as reported by the Financial Times. “Fund rating websites such as Morningstar OBSR and FE Trustnet sometimes do not include trackers when displaying funds’ performance which could make it hard to determine the best and worst options within a sector” says the FT.

Tracker funds are ideal for those who want to invest but don't want the hassle of picking shares and want to avoid the costs of using active fund managers. These tracker funds do not use the concept of trying to beat the market by cherry-picking a selection of shares instead they are designed to follow a set index, such as the FTSE 100.They can keep costs ultra-low and while they may not beat the market they don’t fall far behind it - the idea is that slow and steady investing wins the race and it is possible to get cheaper better performance by just following an index.

The FCA says regulated firms told the FT it expects “any regulated firm to present information to consumers in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading” and that it will “always consider the information we receive” in response to investor complaints. Enable's Independent Financial Advisors in Bishop’s Stortford and available to talk you though the best way to make the most of your wealth management options.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Proper risk assessments

Any reputable IFA, like Enable of Bishop’s Stortford will want to be sure that any investment or wealth management clients have fully addressed their attitude to risk. Where genuine financial planning is involved a box-ticking ‘regulation-lite’ solution is not appropriate.

The FCA has also made it abundantly clear that assessment of the client’s capacity for loss is the crucial element in the investment advice process. Chris Gilchrist, a contributing author to Taxbriefs Advantage and edits The IRS Report says- “ It is intuitively obvious that ‘How much can you afford to lose?’ Or something like it, ought to be the starting point for professional investment advice. How someone feels about a loss is a secondary question, which most people will not be able to answer accurately until it happens.”

For this reason, he has never been too keen on attitude to risk questionnaires. “The appearance of academic objectivity vanishes when you understand that for a psychometric questionnaire to be valid, it must be completed independently (no interaction with adviser or spouse) and must include only attitudinal questions.”

Gilchrist suggests; “One of the best ways of improving investment outcomes is to get people to talk freely about their aims and expectations. I am sure most professional advisers treat a risk questionnaire as a jumping-off point for what can often be deep and meaningful discussions.


A questionnaire that prompts such a discussion may meet the test of improving advice and investment outcomes. But it can still fail the iceberg test: the risk of challenges to investment suitability and recommendations several years after the advice was given.” If you want to find out how Enable’s Independent Financial Advisors risk assess for genuine financial planning the best way is to talk to us.

Upsizing Downsizing?

Enable's Independent Financial Advisors know moving house is not always all about downsizing.  It is  interesting to note that last year 45,000 upsizers moved from the priciest London boroughs to ten other areas that include the likes of Hackney, Lambeth and Ealing, trading in their central location for bigger places on the periphery of zone one or into zones two and three - according to new research from property group, Savills.

It would also seem that the likes of Brighton, Bristol, St Albans and the Cambridgeshire areas that include Bishop’s Stortford are more likely to attract London migrants looking to change lifestyle and leave the capital, taking with them their property-related equity. The cities in the Midlands and the North are less likely to attract such migration. 

The study throws up some interesting migration patterns as the average price of a house in Kensington and Chelsea was £1.7m in 2013, this drops to £767,000 just a few miles down the road in Hammersmith and Fulham, and moves to £649,358 in Elmbridge.  The odds are that those who currently reside in Hackney will move to Haringey, then Brighton.  Those selling up in Tower Hamlets, where the average price was £382,951 last year, are most likely to move to Newham (£232,551) within the M25, and Birmingham if relocating completely (£160,662).

These results Savills suggests indicate that the capital flow leaving London positively impacts on the housing market recovery in other parts of the country. Whether you are upsizing or downsizing Enable's IFA’s in Bishop’s Stortford are here to help.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Remortgage boom over the next 12-24 months

Experienced IFA’s Enable in Bishop’s Stortford can see why many mortgage brokers have predicted a bit of a remortgage boom over the next couple of years as the first rise in base rate in over five years looms on the horizon.

A report published by the Mortgage Advice Bureau recently predicted “a rise in remortgage lending from £55bn in 2013 - across owner-occupier and buy-to-let remortgages - to a predicted £58.2bn in 2014, £69bn in 2015 and £80bn in 2016, as rising house prices and an increase to base rate attracts more borrowers back to the market.”  The report says “4.8 million “silent prisoners” have been stuck on their current deal due to negative equity or have lacked an incentive to move as they have been stuck on a low tracker deal or SVR.”

Mortgage Advice Bureau head of lending Brian Murphy says: “Recovering house prices mean many homeowners will finally be in a position to re-enter the market for the first time in years with the equity needed to access new loans.  “Many more borrowers will want to position themselves on the most favourable deals before losing the advantages they have enjoyed in an era of exceptionally low interest rates.”

Perception Finance managing director David Sheppard thinks a boom in remortgages is likely sooner than 2016 as a result of continuing uncertainty around interest rates. He said: “We will undoubtedly see a boom in remortgages I think over the next 12 months, let alone by 2016. I don’t think this will be led by the actual interest rate hike, but more so by continued uncertainty around when that will come.  If you want to secure yourselves against uncertainty about what will come Enables IFA’s are here to talk.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

A demonstration of true grit from Small business

For investments to flourish economies need to flourish and Enable's independent Financial advisors were pleased to see that according to this year’s Hiscox (their 6th) DNA of and Entrepreneur report,  businesses owners across the UK, US and parts of Europe are more optimistic than they have been for some time.

Entrepreneurs are apparently optimists -glass half full people -hardly surprising as with such optimism it is perhaps so much easier to take risk and work through challenges.  Clearly many entrepreneurs run small businesses and make a real difference to economies. Several studies in the US and UK have shown that the small business sector is “responsible for creating four out of every five new jobs and more than half of all commercial innovations..”

In Hiscox’s sixth international ‘DNA of an Entrepreneur’ study of small businesses, they are seeking to try and gauge the health of small businesses, and understanding the key issues they face. The study spans six countries and the results are far from even. But, overall, they say “there are renewed signs of growth, while optimism levels have rebounded.”

The report also says that “Nowhere is that better demonstrated than in the performance of small businesses set up during the recession. Our study reveals the dogged entrepreneurs behind these businesses are more likely than others to have increased revenues, launched new products or services and hired new staff in the past year. They are also more likely to say the economic environment has made them more determined to succeed. This is true grit.”

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Online or Face to Face Advice?

Sometimes Enables IFA’s like to take a look at the advice other Financial Advisors are dishing out and one that has caught our attention recently is worth a mention. George Critchley is the chairman and founder of Lancashire -  IFA firm True Bearing Chartered and managing director of Bread and Butter Advice – an online advice firm that he founded in 2013 – and senior partner of discretionary fund manager Pennine Wealth Solutions, established in 2011.

He offers lots of online advise so it is surprisingly that he is so wary of relying on technology to cater for the bigger mass market. “Technology is the way to fill the advice gap but it worries me to death,” he says.  “I believe in authorised financial advice. I’m not wedded to it being face-to-face but you should speak to a qualified person with knowledge. Automated online types of service worry me – it’s not financial advice. There’s such an opportunity for people to buy the wrong thing without protection from the regulator,”

For many maybe a compromise is the way to go but Enable’s IFA’s really believe in the value of face to face advice, it really helps to be able to explain things. For example recently with the new  pension flexibility following the last Budget, fewer annuities have been arranged across the board than normal since the Chancellor’s announcement, says but Enable has found like many other IFA’s that  most people will still opt for an annuity once they understand more fully the tax implications of choosing any of the alternatives.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Pension Plans for the next election

Enable’s IFA’s in Bishops Stortford know that good financial management keeps abreast of polictical changes and changes in the law. Back at the beginning of the year Prime Minister David Cameron promised to keep the triple lock on state pensions until 2020 if he is re-elected in 2015. Cameron said: “People who have worked hard, who have done the right thing, who have provided for their families, they should then know they will get a decent state pension and they don’t have to worry about it lagging behind prices or earnings and I think that’s the right choice for the country.”

The triple lock, which was part of the last Liberal Democrat manifesto and introduced in 2010, guarantees pension rises in line with inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest.

Labour says it is “committed” to the triple lock but will set out its plans closer to the general election.

Just recently the Liberal Democrats published the party’s manifesto, it will consider introducing a single rate of pensions tax relief of above 20 per cent if they win next May’s general election.

It also says: ”[We will] establish a review to consider the case for, and practical implications of, introducing a single rate of tax relief for pensions, which would be designed to be simpler and fairer and which would be set more generously than the current 20 per cent basic rate relief.” Predicting the future is impossible but making sensible informed choices to provide for your retirement is something Enable's IFA’s are here to do.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

UNEMPLOYMENT CONTINUES TO FALL

In the three months to end June, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), unemployment in the UK fell by 132,000 to 2.08 million.

This represents a rate of 6.4% in the quarter, which is the lowest level recorded since 2008 – a near six-year low. Those people claiming the Jobseeker’s Allowance also fell for the 21st consecutive month, dropping by 33,600 to 1.01 million.

More importantly, the number of young people, those aged between 16-24 years old, also dropped by 102,000 to 767,000. This is a decline of 200,000 from the same period last year and represents the biggest fall since records began in 1992.

Interestingly, 40% of the increase in employment overall came from people who were not born in the UK. Whilst the number of people employed and born in the UK, rose by 502,000. 326,000 people not born in the UK enhanced those figures.

Many of these 326,000 came from what are known as the A8 countries, those from the former Soviet bloc; states such as Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland, who represent the newer members of the EU since 2004.

Commenting on these latest encouraging figures Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary said: “In the past, many people in our society were written off and trapped in unemployment and welfare dependency. “But through our welfare reforms, we are helping people to break that
cycle and get back into work.”

Good as this news is, average wage growth remains stunted. The ONS recorded that average wages, excluding bonuses, rose by only 0.6% in the year to June, registering the slowest increase since records began in 2001. Even worse, including bonuses, wages actually fell 0.2%. There is an argument here that employees are accepting nominal wage increases under the fear of losing their jobs and not wishing to ‘rock the boat’.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

FIRST-TIME BUYER NUMBERS HIGHEST SINCE 2007

Thanks in part to the Government’s ‘Help to Buy’ initiative, mortgages offered to first-time buyers rose to 28,600 in June, with an accumulative value of £4.2 billion, an increase of 7% over the previous month and the highest number seen in any one month since 2007. This was also an increase of 19% over the same period last year by volume. By value, the figures were up 11% on May’s figure and 27% up on June last year. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which represents 95% of all residential mortgage lenders, reported that the typical loan size for these borrowers was £123,865 and that, given a typical gross annual income of approximately £37,000 in June; this represents an average of 3.47 times their income. The average age of these borrowers also fell from 30 to 29 years.

With interest rates remaining at their historic low of 0.5% the Bank of England (BoE) appears sanguine about the affordability of these mortgages moving forward, as it calculates that 19.3% of their gross income will be spent on servicing the capital and interest payments on such mortgages.

On the wider front, overall gross mortgage lending across the market in June grew by 6% from the May figures and by 20% on the year to £17.9 billion. There were 66,279 house purchase approvals in July, against 61,651 in the same month last year. This represents a 7.5% increase year-on-year and is the highest monthly figure since 2007.

Whilst the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) had slowed the approval process initially, as there was a slight dip in lending volumes seen in April and May, it appears that the bottleneck in those approvals has now been cleared and the mortgage lending recovery is now in place.

MARKETS: (Data supplied by The Outsourced Marketing Department)

Given the continuing geopolitical and military unrest in the Ukraine,Gaza, Syria and Iraq, the equity markets remained remarkably sanguine in August, with most indices managing modest gains.

Here in the UK the FTSE100, benefiting from confirmation of economic progress, saw a gain of 1.33% on the month to close August at 6,819.8 and the wider FTSE250 moving up 2.52% to 15,885.72. The junior AIM market followed suit closing at 778.97 to record a gain of 1.35%.

Across the pond the Dow Jones index continued to power ahead, closing the month out at 17,098.45, a rise in the month of 3.23%, with the Nasdaq likewise gaining 4.82% to finish at 4,580.27. Confounding many market analysts, the broader S&P500 index closed at 2,003.37; above the
important 2,000 level for the first time ever.

The eurozone also saw gains, despite reports that GDP has fallen again in Germany and France and with the whole zone teetering on a deflationary spiral. All eyes are therefore on the European Central Bank as to how they will address the crisis. However, the Eurostoxx50 index still managed to
gain 1.82% in August, to close at 3,172.11.

Unfortunately, Japan spoilt the party as the Nikkei 225 lost 196 points (or 1.26%) closing out at 15,424.59 Foreign Exchange dealers followed the deliberations of Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England carefully, trying to gauge the timing of any UK interest rate rise and deciding it will be later than previously expected, and therefore Sterling fell against the US Dollar by 1.19% to $1.66, but still managed to gain a little against the Euro to €1.27. The greenback itself also improved against the Euro, to finish August at $1.31

As last month, despite the global unrest, the price of oil remained subdued; with the benchmark Brent Crude price falling 3.36% lower to $102.46 a barrel. Likewise gold, the usual safe-haven asset in times of unrest, remained pretty flat, gaining only a modest 0.55% to $1,292.9 a troy ounce.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

SERVICE SECTOR SOARS

The latest Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reports strong growth in the UK services sector, which currently represents 70% of the UK economy and which has driven the recent improvement in sentiment.

 Their July index was recorded at 59.1, up from the 57.7 recorded in June. Given that any score above 50 represents expansion, this is very good news for the economy as a whole.

Further encouraging news also came from the construction sector where, driven by an increase in home building to its highest level for 11 years, their index was recorded at 62.4.

At these levels, it is encouraging for the July-September quarter, where its is expected that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will match the 0.8% growth achieved in both the first and the second quarter of 2014, should this positive tr end continue.

Commenting on these findings, Chris Williamson, Markit’s Chief Economist, said: “The July PMI showed the sector expanding at the fastest pace since November, as demand for services continued to increase at a rate rarely seen in the survey’s 18-year history.”

UK INFLATION DIPS TO 1.6%

More encouraging news came from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in mid August, as they announced that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) had dropped to 1.6% in July from the 1.9% recorded in the previous month. This continues the trend of below 2% inflation throughout 2014, much to the pleasur e of the Bank of England (BoE).

The ONS cited a fall in the price of clothing, probably as a result of retailers extending their sales period to attract consumers, and both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, particularly spirits and New
World wines. There was also a reported drop in the prices of financial services, with some major banks dropping their overdraft rates. Food sales also saw a price fall overall. Food is now 0.4% cheaper than in the same month last year including syrups, jam, sugar, chocolate and confectionery.

Finally, petrol and diesel fuel also saw a decline in price. Currently the average price of a litre of petrol is £1.31, against a price of £1.35 seen at the same time last year.

Whilst good news for the economy, it is not such good news for savers, as they will now need to find a home for their non-ISA savings paying at least 2% (or 2.67% for higher-rate tax payers) to counter the effects of both tax and inflation on their savings.

Meanwhile, the wider Retail Prices Index (RPI) remained static at 2.5%. This is a more closely followed statistic, as many other prices are measured against it, including train fares. The Government has stated that the train operating companies can increase next year’s prices by the RPI rate calculated in July of each year, plus an average of 1%, with flexibility within that for some fares to rise a further 2%. Therefore, some commuters could see their tickets rise by up to 5.5%; well above
the current inflation rate.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

Women Financial Advisors

Last year the number of women training to be advisers doubled over the years financial advice has traditionally been a male-dominated profession but Enable of Bishop's Stortford are pleased to see the number of women training to become advisers has increased sharply since 2011.

The ifs School of Finance reported that in 2010 women made up only 12 per cent of the total number of people studying for its diploma for financial advisers but by 2013 women account for 22 per cent of the number of people enrolled in the course. The ifs says it expects the proportion of women registering for the course to continue to increase and says this is evidence that financial advice is starting to appeal to people outside its traditional areas of recruitment.

Chief executive Anne Kiem says: “These figures show that the sector is becoming more appealing to people from different backgrounds. In the long term, an increasingly diverse and highly qualified workforce will ultimately be to the benefit of both the industry and the consumer seeking advice.”
AM Mortgage & Financial Services financial planning consultant Angela Melanophy says: “Having set up my own independent financial adviser practice nearly 15 years ago, with the specific service proposition of catering for female retail customers, it is especially pleasing to see these figures showing the increasing diversity of the sector.”

Enables IFA’s in Bishop’s Stortford know that the provision of independent financial advice in the UK is still dominated by men and that is surprising when it is obvious that around 50% of clients of financial advice firms are women but we aim to make sure women and men clients feel listened to rather than be talked at when they seek our clear, understandable financial advice.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

What about pension options for women?

Enable’s Independent Financial Advisors inBishop’s Stortford have been surprised by a recent survey that suggests that, “Women are less likely to make informed decisions about their retirement due to a lack of understanding and disinterest in seeking advice”. One of the big retirement solutions organisations MGM who specialises in income retirement solutions and offer a flexible income annuity and an enhanced annuity, with these products holding a 16.58 per cent and 4.29 per cent market share respectively recently published their study. The research, which was collected from the views of over 2,000 men and women over 55, suggests that only 40 per cent of unretired women aged 55 and over said they would value expert financial advice at retirement, compared to 52 per cent of men. The study also reveals that women are worse at predicting how long they will live. Women approaching retirement age underestimated their life expectancy by 10 years, compared to 5 years for men.

 Shockingly “Nearly half of the women surveyed also admitted to having no knowledge of retirement products and services, while just 34 per cent of men said they were unaware of their options”.

As a result the study concludes that women will be “hardest hit” by the Budget reforms, which place a greater onus on individuals in making decisions about their retirement options. Andrew Tully a pensions specialist said in response: “The recent reforms have given retirees more freedom and increased their choices, but this means decisions are more complex so understanding the options available is more important than ever.” Enables IFA’s are more than happy to talk to women about their financial options before during and after retirement.

 Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE 

Is Help to Buy Helping?

Enable’s IFA’s in Bishop’s Stortford wonder where the Help to Buy scheme will lead as it is having more and more of an influence on the housing market. Recent treasury figures reveal that the scheme has been responsible for 6.6 per cent of all house purchase transactions since April 2013 - up from 4 per cent in May.

Some 29,829 new-build homes have been bought through the equity loan scheme and a further 18,564 properties have been acquired by a mortgage guarantee through Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which launched last October. First-time buyers make up the vast majority of transactions through Help to Buy, with 85 per cent of Help to Buy 1 and 85 per cent of Help to Buy 2 borrowers purchasing their first home using the schemes.

Help to Buy was the flagship policy of last year’s Budget and aims to boost the availability of 95 per cent loan to value mortgages. The scheme works in two parts; the first part came into effect in April as a shared equity scheme for new build homes. The second part, a £12bn mortgage indemnity scheme with the potential to support up to £130bn of lending, which was launched by Mortgage Strategy in February last year, came into force in October for all properties worth up to £600,000.

Chancellor George Osborne says: “It’s great to see that nearly 40,000 first-time buyers have been helped onto the housing ladder by the Help to Buy scheme. Importantly, Help to Buy is also driving a big increase in house building in Britain, boosting the construction industry and increasing housing supply.” Enable’s IFA’s are always pleased to see schemes that help first time buyers to get their feet on the housing ladder but what is the scheme overall doing to house prices?

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