Worldwide Financial Planning

If there was a financial boom in 2015, it was undoubtedly in the world of scamming!

Fraudsters are traditionally one step ahead of the game; by the time the victims alert the authorities, they are long gone. By the time these scams become headlines, these criminals are well into their next “con”.

We live in turbulent times – at all levels. 2015 has been a very turbulent year - socially, economically, politically, and even sportingly!

At the start of 2015, few would have envisaged a Conservative prime minister governing the UK with a majority, without the need of another party for support in parliament.

Expert analysis and comment on the markets this week.

The early months of 2016 are going to be a busy time for those seeking financial advice.

So many changes, potential and speculative, are in the chancellor’s thoughts and Treasury’s pipeline – regarding pensions (annuity sales, tax relief, pension ISA) buy-to-let (landlords are clearly in the firing line) and your tax affairs (individual on-line accounts and quarterly up-dating).

Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) are bracing themselves for this onslaught, as well as evaluating what the changes will actually mean for the investor in the coming months and years.

Don’t expect definitive answers on every topic, especially pensions, from your Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) over the next few months.

They are not being vague or non-committal; it’s just that George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has many changes in the pipeline.

While those areas have been highlighted recently, especially in the autumn statement, it is impossible to make a valued judgment until the “small print” has been studied carefully.

Osborne is not the first chancellor whose deliberations are really determined by the “devil in the detail”!