How January goes, so goes the rest of the year?

I am not going to ask you about how your New Year resolutions are shaping up, but the observation above about the tenuous nature of many of them is a not unusual occurrence for many of us. Naturally, the same can happen with financial market predictions. Thoughts that appeared valid and respectful considerations about the upcoming twelve months, can seem by the end of January  tarnished and facile. Such is the nature of financial markets.

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Citywire Asset Allocation Roundtable

An integral part of our investment process is getting the asset allocation right.  Citywire publication, New Model Adviser wanted to look under the bonnet at how 3 firms manage money on behalf of their clients.  Andy Butcher took part in the Asset Allocation roundtable discussion at the end of November.  The transcript can be accessed below.

Asset Allocation Adviser Roundtable

If you would like to speak to us about your investments, please do not hesitate to contact us here.

Investment Strategy Quarterly – Jan 2020

As someone who needs glasses, I know firsthand that 20/20 vision and the ability to experience the beauty and clarity of life is amazing. As we embark on the start of a new year, clarity and foresight is exactly what investors are seeking, especially with the daily dose of unprecedented headlines we receive. In hindsight, the guidance our team of economists, strategists, and portfolio managers gave last year proved prescient as ~90% of our ten themes for 2019 were accurate.

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Welcome to the season of perpetual hope

Judging by the preponderance of retail sales offers throughout November in my email inbox, the rise and rise of ‘Black Friday’ should completely randomise the precise timing of this year’s Christmas retail spending. Similarly for those who think about financial markets, the three percent rise in pan-European indices during the eleventh month of this year – particularly when mated with the very low levels of volatility seen across the prices of many asset classes during the month – appears to have also pulled forward the traditional ‘Santa rally’.

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Rotation should be a beautiful word for investors

October historically has always been a big month for investors. In my formative years back in the 1980s during one October, there was a major market crash (and weirdly simultaneously in the U.K. an extreme weather event in southern England), meanwhile those interested in older historical events will recall the events of October 1929 and the infamous capital market events back then. A lot has happened in the month of October that has just passed and whilst it is unlikely the history books will remember the tenth month of 2019 assertively, for investors thinking about prospects over the next year, it may have been critical.

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Are over complicated rules clogging up the housing market?

The Residential Nil Rate Band was introduced to increase the amount of one’s estate that can passed on free from inheritance tax.  However the rules aren’t as straightforward as the could be.

Andy Butcher spoke to Harry Brennan of The Telegraph about the unnecessarily complicated rules around downsizing and the Residential Nil Rate Band.

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How death taxes are killing the housing market

If you would like to discuss your IHT position and options to reduce your liability, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please note that you are required to register with the Telegraph for free in order to read the full article.  We are not affiliated with The Telegraph and the views and information expressed on their website are their own.