Since the coronavirus outbreak was labelled a pandemic earlier this year, global financial markets have suffered a sharp downturn and dropped into bear market territory within an incredibly short timeframe. To put the speed of the drop into context, it took 188 trading days during 2008 for financial markets to drop into bear territory and…
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Nothing tends to focus the mind like a pandemic. It puts everything in perspective, and suddenly makes you wonder whether your existing estate planning arrangements are as effective as you originally thought they were? All in all, a review is in order. So, what should you be looking out for? These are the main areas…
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We have come across a fantastic App that enables you to examine your responses to certain situations. BEAM is the product of years of research and based on Nobel prize-winning theories around behaviours and their impact on your money decisions. Through a series of short, simple, but engaging games, BEAM enables you to explore, measure…
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Behavioural finance is the study of how human behaviour, driven by emotions and sentiment as much as rational decision-making, affects how we act in relation to our investments and financial decisions. Whilst there is clearly underlying rationality to financial markets and how assets are priced, the human element must be considered as part of this…
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Ahead of this week’s Budget, delivered by the newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Honourable Rishi Sunak, there was widespread anticipation as to what the contents of his Budget would be. It was expected that he would announce significant increases in public spending and investment in line with the pledges made by the…
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Rishi Sunak will unveil both his and Boris Johnson’s first Budget on Wednesday, 11th March. Sunak was unexpectedly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 13th February 2020, following the sudden resignation of Savid Javid, the previous short-lived incumbent. Sunak was previously Chief Secretary to the Treasury and has had less than a month to prepare…
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The past few weeks have seen heightened market volatility, culminating in a large-scale global correction to equity markets on Monday, 9th March 2020. The falls are amongst the highest seen since the financial crash of 2008, with fear and panic gripping traders, fund managers and investors across the world. The immediate cause of this sell-off…
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The dominant news story of 2020 so far has to be the outbreak of coronavirus. First reported on 31st December 2019 in Wuhan, China, it was subsequently declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30th January 2020. On 11th February the WHO announced the official name for…
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Last year, abbreviating 2019 to 19 was something that most of us took for granted. But shortening 2020 to 20 could put us at major risk of fraud. A recent Facebook post by the East Millinocket Police Department in the United States said, ‘When signing and dating legal documents, do not use 20 as…
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After almost 4 years of negotiations, the UK has formally turned its back on the European Union (EU) and almost half a decade of membership in the world’s largest single market. However, the Jan 31st deadline arrived with more of a fizzle than a bang. Although the UK has officially left the EU, there is…
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