What a dramatic conservative victory. The markets have breathed a sigh of relief. UK voter’s said no to Labour and ultimately I think that people voted for an aspirational environment where they have the ability to prosper and their hard work be rewarded. That wasn’t Labour’s message; Labour spoke about taking control and taxing capital prosperity.
Voters have highlighted their belief that the conservative government will continue to focus on the UKs growth and improve our finances. There is the issue of the referendum on Europe but I believe that the European heavy weight powers will do their best to accommodate UK needs. I believe they will be open to negotiations with Cameron because they need the UK to stay in; one could argue that their need is possibly greater than ours.
So, where now and what do we need to think about in terms of our investments and our own longer term prosperity. Well, I believe the consistency in leadership will allow us to focus on protecting and/or growing our assets. Depending where we are in our lives, our objectives will be somewhere on the spectrum between these two goals.
In addition to the uncertainty that will probably arise surrounding the referendum, the other common concern facing savers and investors today is that of interest rates. They are very low and have been for some time now; we are not receiving interest from our bank cash balances and, for those if you’re considering retirement, annuity rates are unattractive.
2015 is a year where patience is required because there is a strong possibility that interest rates will rise here and in the US. When you might ask? Well, it’s hard to say, most market professionals expected them to rise last year – and were surprised when they didn’t. Inflation is now starting to creep back up and wages are showing green shoots of growth so, for me, these are the seeds for interest rates to rise in the foreseeable future.
In the coming months, our aim is to provide our customers with ideas, solutions and information to help them on a non-personal basis, especially if markets wobble. Also we’ll increasingly provide more information on how to invest– whether it’s through an ISA, SIPP or a trading account. I have a request for the Chancellor – now that there is clear five years ahead, where the conservatives are at the reigns, please help your people by simplifying the pension and tax structure and rules.
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