Which bank account: Have you got the best bank account?

However you choose to manage your financial planning you need at least one bank account, Enable’s IFAs in Bishop’s Stortford know that many of us manage several bank accounts, so are you getting the best from your account?

Shortly banking in Britain will be changing and when proposed improvements are announced – affecting anyone with a current account. The final report on the banking sector by the Competition and Markets Authority is not due until in April next year but early conclusions will be published soon along with suggestions for how current account banking might be improved.

The investigation into retail banking is likely to show that current accounts paying interest are becoming more popular, while packaged accounts with insurance add-ons are much less popular.
A standard way of charging for overdrafts may also be recommended, making it easier to compare the deals on offer.  There could also be a push towards portable current account numbers – a bit like taking the same mobile number to a new network provider when switching. It could be the end of ‘free’ banking – where no charges are applied provided you stay in credit with your bank.

Andrew Hagger, of financial research company MoneyComms, says: ‘I hope the report will recommend more than a little tinkering around the edges and will give more customers the confidence to switch. ‘For many people their current account is the bedrock on which all their finances depend and it is seen as a big deal to move it.’

Switching current accounts between providers keeps banks in competitive mode and increases choice, which works well for consumers. If you want to keep banks on their toes it might be worth looking around to see what bank account really is best for you.



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   

Using market turmoil to cut capital gains tax

Capital gains tax (CGT) is a problem for investors whose shares are held outside ISA’s, and many older savers fall into that category especially those who have inherited shares from a spouse. But one of the good things about rapidly falling share prices could be the chance to get rid of some of your capital gains tax liability.

Labour overhauled capital gains tax in 2008, when, it scrapped taper relief – which reduced the taxable gain according to the length you’d owned the asset – and, instead, introduced a flat 18pc tax on gains.  This would mean that a widow whose husband bought shares in the Eighties, for instance, would have to pay CGT on the full gain on those shares whenever she sells them so even in the current climate you can see how big the sums might be. the Tories subsequent main change to CGT has been to make it pay more, from the year 2010-11, the capital gains tax rate payable by higher- and additional-rate taxpayers jumped from 18pc to 28pc.

To limit your liability there is no shortcut to the hard work of monitoring your portfolio closely and every year crystallising gains up to the maximum CGT-free limit (£11,100 for this tax year). To achieve this when shares suddenly plunge in value you can sell more while remaining within your annual CGT allowance. This doesn’t mean you can’t continue to own the same investments: you could sell your directly held shares or funds then immediately repurchase them through your ISA at the same or similar price. Or, if you’re married, your spouse could repurchase them in his or her name. Enable’s IFA’s in Bishop’s Stortford can help you work on making the best of your CGT liability.



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 lies ahead for investors?

Enable’s IFA’s in Bishops Stortford know that passive or active investment in the stock market is always a roller-coaster ride and violent movements have to be expected from time to time. In recent weeks investors have experienced share prices lurching back and forth with some dramatic movements, both up and down, over fears of a slowing in growth in China, the world’s second-largest economy but several trusted measures of stock market valuation would be telling long-term investors to buy.

No one can say for certain what  will happen to the market over the next few years but certain valuation measures can be useful in estimating the expected long-term return of the stock market for those who buy at a particular levels. Research Affiliates, an American company specialising in long-term return predictions are forecasting annualised real returns –that means on top of inflation in excess of 5pc over the next decade.

Tom Becket, who buys funds for Psigma, said: “If one assumes that inflation will average 2.5pc over the longer term, then we would be forecasting a long-term real return of 4.5pc, very close to the long historical returns since 1969.”

Simon Murphy, a UK fund manager at Old Mutual, said, “When you look back at history there is a powerful relationship between historical earnings growth and the current market dividend yield. This does not mean it will be a smooth ride, far from it, but on a 10-year view I broadly agree with the assumptions made because UK shares are sensibly priced.”


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   

Will the average pensioner have the income than they need' by 2020

Pensioners and full-time workers will see their living standards improve by 2020 thanks to the measures introduced in this year’s summer Budget according to new analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Families with two parents in full-time work will also be better off by 2020 they say.  Pensioners will have £15 more than they need every week for a "decent standard of living" in 2020, the report found. 

The report – Will the 2015 Summer Budget improve living standards in 2020? – uses the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s "minimum income standard" to track how the living standards of households will change by 2020. The minimum income standard is based on what consumers believe is, “necessary for a minimum standard of living for people to reasonably get by, such as the ability to run a car, have access to the internet and buy a modest birthday present.”

A Treasury spokeswoman said that while living standards are rising, there is more to be done to support families. “That's why we are introducing a new national living wage which the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. "Together with the further increases to the personal allowance next year, this will mean people will keep more of the money they earn by paying less income tax.” If you want to make sure your pension offers you a decent standard of living Enable’s IFAs in Bishops Stortford can help you plan for the future.

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    

Pocket money trends

The end of the summer holidays might find every parent wondering what’s going on with the amount of money the children seem to expect and be able to spend. Enable’s IFAs in Bishop’s Stortford note with interest that the average weekly pocket money has been growing faster than adult wages. Eight year-old children have apparently achieved faster "wage" growth than their parents, a 20-year survey of pocket money suggests, weekly allowances may have fallen in recent years, but children's £6.20-a-week pocket money has beaten adult wage growth since the survey began in 1987.

More than a thousand children are asked to reveal their allowances by the Halifax bank each year, it has carried out the research since 1987. Most of the children surveyed, aged between 8 and 15, said they had to complete household chores before they got their allowances but that figure has not been growing.  Pocket money however is still 5p lower than it was a year ago, and 30p lower per week than in 2013. Some say this means that austerity is affecting children's wages, as well as their parents'. Jasmine Birtles, of Moneymagpie.co.uk, said: "I am rather pleased the pocket money index has fallen. "For many years it significantly outperformed inflation, and outperformed everything, even after the crash in 2008. I hope a bit of reality has finally been injected into pocket money."

Enable’s IFAs in Bishop’s Stortford believe that children are never too young to learn about the benefits of earning their pocket money and the benefits of learning to save early.

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   

Remortgaging?

Enable’s IFA’s in Bishops Stortford have seen that more and more homeowners are borrowing record sums against their properties as ultra-low interest rates and rising house prices mean they can afford to take more money out without overstretching the monthly mortgage repayments.

According to leading brokerage the Mortgage Advice Bureau this combination has pushed the average remortgage value up to £170,094, a rise of 5pc in 2015 so far. The average loan to value ratio on those loans has also risen, from 54.9pc at the start of the year to 56.5pc in July.  Alongside this the average value of a home where the owners are remortgaging has gone up from £296,308 in January to £300,898 in July.

Many property owners have been understandably keen to lock into low interest rates by remortgaging before fears of the Bank of England increasing the base rate, a move which was expected to happen in the next 12 months. Banks approved more remortgage loans in July than at any other point in the past four years, with 24,400 home owners getting a new loan up 29pc on the year, according to the British Bankers’ Association.

The average five-year fixed rate loan is also down. “Mortgage rates have been tumbling since the beginning of the year, and many borrowers have jumped at the chance to secure a low rate deal. However, a few high street lenders increased their pricing recently – suggesting we may fast be approaching the bottom of the curve,” said the Mortgage Advice Bureau’s Brian Murphy.  If you are looking to remortgage Enable’s IFAs in Bishop's Stortford can help.

Your home could be at risk if you do not keep up your mortgage repayments. 


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 it a bear or a bull?

Does the sharp fall in the stock market mark the end of the long bull run or is it just a blip? Stock markets never really go up in a straight line, but even Enables’ IFAs in Bishop’s Stortford were surprised by the suddenness of the setbacks that shares around the world endured this August after concerns over slowing growth in China. But many of British leading fund managers see it as a blip and are fairly optimistic.

Gary Potter, who buys funds for F&C Investments, described the global stock market rout as a “correction rather the start of a bear market”. “Not a great deal has changed of late other than sentiment,” Richard Buxton, who manages the Old Mutual UK Alpha fund, described the stock market falls over the past 10 days as “indiscriminate”. "Markets are caught up in a vortex of fear between China’s growth falling away and a possible US interest rate rise,” Mr Buxton said.

“These fears are understandable but hardly new. China has been weakening for months. It is now front page news and creating a classic spiral reaction.” Mr Buxton also said the slump – which has seen the FTSE 100 fall by 8pc this month –“had created the best buying opportunity he had seen for several years.”

“A bear market normally requires an economic recession and for the moment that seems unlikely in developed markets. It does appear that we are in a period of heightened volatility as investors seek assurance that central bank policies will be effective in supporting growth.” If you want to review your investments Enable’s IFA’s are always happy to help.

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