The Economy

The Private Asset Managers (PAM) Awards are some of the most sought-after honours in the UK wealth management sector, covering the consistency of both investment performance and client service levels. And we’re incredibly proud to have been honoured with two accolades from PAM this month.

While market volatility came back to the fore in February, the issue of ever tangled global trade webs is likely to be front and centre in March.

At the start of November, the Bank of England is tipped to raise interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis. We look at the case for doing so, what this means for savers and the economy, and how we’ve positioned portfolios for the long term.

On 20 June, the MSCI announced the results of its annual market classification review. As expected, mainland China has been reclassified and will enter the emerging markets indices in 2018. We look at what this decision means, both for investors and the global financial ecosystem.

After a period of relative calm for global stock markets, last week was more turbulent. But, as James McManus explains, volatility is a natural part of investing – which is why it’s important to focus on your long-term goals, not short-term news headlines.

The next general election is now a mere seven weeks away. We believe the election pushes the balance of probability towards a smoother and perhaps even softer Brexit than before. Ironically, this is somewhat negative both for the FTSE 100 and UK government bonds.

Article 50 has been triggered and negotiations over Britain’s EU exit are set to start in earnest. Now that European officials will begin to openly discuss their bargaining positions, the pound is likely to be a lot more volatile.

With the Bank of England having released its latest forecasts yesterday, Brad Holland, our senior investment manager, gives his views on the announcement and what it means for UK households.

A weaker pound and rising costs across transport, housing, utilities and food are pushing inflation up, and forecasts suggest that the rate will continue to rise this year and next. But what does this mean for you, and what should you do about it?

Buy-to-let tax relief is changing from 2017 – how will this affect higher-rate taxpaying owners?

In his guest blog for Nutmegonomics Jeremy Cook, chief economist at WorldFirst, gives us his view on currency risk surrounding the US election and beyond.

Should we worry about a weak pound? We look at the winners and losers from the post-Brexit currency drop.