In recent weeks, most of us have been deluged by a flood of emails asking if we’d like to stay in touch with a certain company or charity. That’s because on 25 May, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect. The basic idea is to create one set of rules to modernise data privacy laws across European member states, currently including … Continue reading Money Observer: GDPR – what investors need to know
Following the recent introduction of Morningstar’s carbon risk rating by Morningstar, we reveal how carbon-heavy the most popular investment funds are An increasing number of investors look to environmentally friendlier and more ethical ways of growing their money, and choosing the right funds is part of that process. When choosing a fund, investors can invest in funds that are specifically ‘ethical’ or ‘responsible’. Alternatively, they can … Continue reading Money Observer: How carbon-heavy are the most popular funds?
Among millennials who don’t invest in the stock market one common objection is: ‘It’s too much of an effort for something I’d only get a few hundred quid out of it.’ But is this sentiment justified? To begin with, there are two glaring reasons for why millennials shy away from investing. For one, millennials mistrust financial markets, given that they – or we – came … Continue reading Money Observer: Here’s why it is worth investing small amounts
‘The lack of change is one of the more remarkable characteristics of the Finsbury Growth and Income investment trust,’ Nick Train said at a Frostrow Capital investment seminar today. Indeed, the highly regarded fund manager is known for the very low turnover of his portfolios, which keeps his trading costs down. Since 2011, Train has created just three new positions in this trust. ‘I’ve had … Continue reading Money Observer: Nick Train on the virtues of doing nothing
Last week saw the deadline for companies with over 250 employees in the UK to report their gender pay gap. The figures revealed that HSBC has a gender pay gap of 59 per cent, Lloyds has a 32.8 per cent gap, Legal & General have a 30.5 per cent and Aviva has 28.5 per cent. While the gender pay gap in the UK was at … Continue reading Money Observer: How to close the gender pay gap in finance
A new report by the Work & Pensions Select Committee is proposing the creation of a ‘default decumulation pathway’; in other words a default investment fund for those who do not make their own investment choices. The idea is to echo the success of auto enrolment – which ‘nudges’ people into saving for retirement by doing nothing. Similarly, these pathways would create a kind of … Continue reading Money Observer: Parliamentary committee calls for ‘default fund’ at retirement
A grandparent who looks after a grandchild, so that the child’s parent can go back to work, can boost the amount of state pension they receive. By applying for a national insurance credit, a grandparent looking after their grandchild for one year could add £230 per year to their state pension, or £4,500 over a typical 20-year retirement, according to Royal London. The credit would … Continue reading Money Observer: Grandparents can claim pension boost for looking after grandchildren
Yet more unhelpful advice for millennials: Barclays has joined the admonishing chorus by announcing that millennial couples need to stop spending an average £3,500 on annual cruises or £5,946 a year on eating out twice a week. First, it’s unlikely that many millennials go on cruises, a distinctly octogenarian activity. Secondly, if we drill down into the cost of eating out calculated, we get to … Continue reading Marina’s Monetary Musings: The avocado cruise
The average amount in a woman’s workplace pension scheme is less than half that of their male colleagues (£53,000 compared to £120,000), according to a new report by Close Brothers Asset Management. Similarly, research by AJ Bell found the average annual withdrawal made by women using the pension freedoms is less than half those made by men (£4,100 compared to £8,500). The straightforward reason why … Continue reading Money Observer: Why women have less than half the pension of their male colleagues
Over the last two years a chorus of wealth experts have urged millennials to save money instead of eating out. But such advice doesn’t solve the systemic intergenerational inequality in the UK. Now Barclays has joined the group, by saying that habits such as annual holidays (planned by 86 per cent of millennials) and nights eating out (54 per cent) could ‘de-rail millennial retirement ambitions’. … Continue reading Money Observer: Yet more unhelpful advice for millennials
