Worldwide Financial Planning

President Trump’s whirlwind Asia tour has seen a series of high-stakes summits, with markets closely watching his interactions. The much-anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping produced a one-year truce on trade tensions.

After World War Two, the world was exhausted and searching for structure. Ration cards and rubble gave way to grand visions. In 1944, at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, delegates from 44 nations built a bold new architecture.

Britain’s mood has been positive as UK gilts joined the equity rally. Better consumer inflation raised hopes of more aggressive rate cuts from the Bank of England. Retail spending picked up, consumer confidence is rising (from a low level) and services and manufacturing output accelerated.

Not for the first time in 37 years, I’m being asked about the ‘next biggest thing’. In this instance, it’s gold. On each occasion, the fear of missing out (FOMO) takes over, as our brains are redirected by what’s called an Amygdala Hijack, which I’ve covered in the past in detail.

Markets have ignored tariffs over the last few months, with sentiment being driven by the growth of AI/tech stocks, despite growing concerns over valuations in this sector. However, a deterioration in US/China relations is a real possibility, with potential adverse effects for the global economy.

Following last week’s column on whether or not to panic into taking tax free cash because of scaremongering budget changes, I thought I would cover the reasonably complicated subject of - just taking your tax-free cash.