New Talent

Ivan has joined the Morgans Wealth Management team and adds a wealth of experience to our firm. He has provided some photos, but I’m not sure if I should put them on for fear of frightening our clients away…..and should we really tell people that he supports Brighton, I’m sure they had a famous player, once….

Anyhow, Ivan will fit in well here and we wish him all the best.

Johnny



Ivan Lyons, Marathon Man – Blog
Gender: Male
Occupation: Wealth Management Adviser
Location: Mayfair, London,UK


About Me

After 14 years as an Independent Financial Adviser, I joined Morgans within their Wealth Management Division in June 2007. My role covers the promotion of Tax efficient investments to our introducers and higher net worth clients, alongside more traditional financial planning such as Pension Retirement Options, Pension Planning, Investments & Estate Planning.

Married to my patient running widow wife, Nina and son Daniel aged 11. Both Nina & I were born in Brighton and having lived all our lives within the city are now wondering as to whether our days will end there!

Interests

Supporting the underdog…………..well you have to, if you are a Brighton & Hove Albion fan and Sussex County Cricket Club follower. Saying that Sussex CCC are finally challenging for trophies!

To keep me fit and healthy, I took up long distance running 10 years ago (because I cannot sprint!) and have now completed close to 200 races, raising many thousands of pounds for local and national charities. Ambition is to complete 100 full marathons (26.2 miles). Some way to go, having ran 16 marathons to date. Currently training for New Forest Marathon in September and Beachy Head Marathon in October. Please don’t show my picture to my grandmother, who doesn’t think that I eat enough (she remembers me as a podgy 15 year old!)

New Talent

Gina G – wasn’t she a singer?

Gina Garman joins us having worked with Barclays International, Coutts & Co and Clydesdale Bank, concentrating on wealth management for non UK domiciled clients who were both resident in the UK and overseas. I love travel, and the opportunity this gives me to learn more about the countries and cultures of my clients. Closer to home, I enjoy cookery and visiting good restaurants.

Gina joins our Wealth Management team.

Best of luck to her!

Johnny

Equitable members to get pay out…..hhmmmm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6767747.stm

European Parliament has voted in favour of a report calling for the UK government to provide compensation to members. Probably time for another enquiry or review of how it all went wrong…that should take another 10 years….

Still, maybe this does mean that there is light at the end of the tunnel for many of the individuals that suffered financially through this unfortunate episode.

Johnny

Phizackerley v HMRC

Another area of tax planning (estate planning) looks like it is being squeezed.

I will post below details from Simon Shaffer of Moerans, a lawyer friend of mine that specialises in Estate Planning and Inheritance Tax planning with me. It’s clear that it is early days and in reality I would guess that this case although important surely must have some exceptional circumstances for the revenue to take this stance on this particular case.

I’ll post follow ups as and when they occur.

Dear John,

You may have recently seen press reports about the decision in Phizackerley v HMRC. I thought that it may be useful for me to give you some further information on the case and its implications for IHT planning via Nil Rate Band Trust schemes.

The case revolves around the application of section 103 of the Finance Act. This basically says that you cannot make a gift to your spouse during your lifetime and then use the value of that gift to create a debt. Thus if Mr A owns a house and gifts 50% of it to his wife, and she dies first, the value of the gift cannot be deducted from his estate (on his subsequent death) if he borrows the value of the gift back. This only arises in the context of the nil rate band “DEBT” scheme. Up to this time this is an area that the Revenue have not actively pursued, however this may well be changing now, in which case some estates might be caught; but only if the sole breadwinner survives i.e. if MRS or MR dies first and only if the Revenue challenge the deduction on the second death.

In Phiz the family home was purchased jointly but the wife had not worked. The Special Commissioners determined that in effect MR had paid all the money for the property and therefore when they severed the tenancy it was a gift of 50% of the property from him to her, even though she was already a joint owner according to the Land Register. S103 then kicked in when he died having borrowed back the value of the gift thus the debt was non-deductible from his estate for IHT purposes. Unfortunately they did not have any other assets to use in the scheme except the family home.

The profession has a number of questions and also a serious doubt about the validity of the decision and it is hoped that the case will be appealed to the High Court.

Amongst the questions are: When is a wife a non-working spouse? Why is her contribution of running the family home and bring up children not considered to be “working” towards the increase in family assets in this area of law as it is in divorce law?

There are ways of avoiding Section 103 but as always each case needs to be looked at on its own merits and the clients advised accordingly. As with all press reporting the implications of a particular decision can be blown out of proportion. Certainly the case has drawn a line in the sand but I suspect that the line will be moved back in the taxpayers’ favour in the future as the repercussions of the decision are discovered.

Currently nothing needs to be done. When these schemes come to be implemented, i.e. on the first death, we will determine whether to proceed via a charge (rather than debt) or whether we need to vary the Will to provide the survivor with a life interest rather than an absolute interest in the residue which are ways of proceeding which are not caught by section 103. However if, as is more common, the main breadwinner (MR) dies first there is no problem at all.

Nil rate band planning in Wills still offers a highly flexible and tax efficient option for those clients with a joint estate of more that £400,000 and we will certainly still be recommending this type of planning. We will however now take much more note of life time gifts made between spouses and their relative health.

If you need any further information do not hesitate to contact either Geoff or I.

Simon J. Shaffer
MOERANS solicitors
123 Station Road, Edgware, Middlesex, HA8 7JR

There was also an article in the Sunday Times which covers what Simon mentions above.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/tax/article1660233.ece

Johnny

Portman Building Society

It was announced last week, that if you were a member of the Portman Building Society on the date that they announced a potential merger with Nationwide Building Society, then you maybe eligible for a windfall.

The likely windfall is expected to be somewhere between £200 & £1,000.

The Portman members will vote on the 23 April as to whether or not to approve the society’s proposed merger.

Johnny

The Equitable Life debacle nearing an end?

Don’t bank on it!

Leaked detail from Ann Abraham’s report, which is expected in the summer (hmmm, of 2007), is suggesting that there might possibly be compensation for members of the suffering With Profit’s fund.

The report has previously been delayed twice and it has taken nearly 3 years to compile. Details surfaced last October that vital information was missing from the evidence given to the government.

It is also suggested that the Treasury, the FSA and the FOS have all been criticised in this investigation and the report will highlight this.

The report is due early summer and whether or not this will pave the way for members to become eligible for compensation isn’t yet clear, but in my opinion, it’s still a very long way from being resolved, if at all.

Johnny

The Three Morganteers

The boys enjoy a little soiree and enter some entertaining discourse on matters such as football and work. Phil & Lloyd were pretty happy that their team (Spurs) won last night and they seem to think it’s funny to suggest that I look like Martin Jol.

Johnny

Rates Unchanged

It’s what we predicted and pretty much everybody else out there!

However, we still believe that there will be a further rise this year.

According to the Office of National Statistics, inflation has fallen from an eleven year high of 3.00% to 2.70% and although that is positive news, it’s still way over the 2.00% target!

Nationwide suggest that house prices are waning, however, house prices are still growing at 10.2% apparently.

Outlook moving forward? Well, it would be worthwhile having a read of Paul Stevens thoughts from the last quarter to give some indication toward the markets, as he thought that there might be a slow down this year.

http://www.1stportasset.com/pdf/quarterly_review_december_2006.pdf

Johnny

Getting Started

The younger you are the better, well at least in terms of joining a pension scheme and in particular your employer’s scheme.

Have a look at the link and talk to your employer’s financial advisers. They are there to help guide youngsters into an important (maybe not the most exciting part of your first job!) part of their working career.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/pensions/article1315680.ece

Johnny

Buy to Let

Read a couple of useful and interesting pieces in the press over the weekend and in particular from the Sunday Times.

I’ve added the link, and if this is an area where you invest or are thinking of diversifying into, then it’s worth having a read.

There are some useful aspects on disposal that are put in a simplistic and clear way.

Anyhow, have a read and see what you think.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/investment/article1400147.ece

Johnny

Stating the obvious?

31st of January, means ‘tax deadline’.

For those completing their own self assessment form this is the last day that the forms and payment can be with Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

There is the strike that has been in the press, but I wouldn’t use that as an angle to get a couple of extra days in, as it could cost you a penalty of £100 and the interest on any tax due.

HMRC will also fine you if the detail is inaccurate, £100.

If you can’t find the paperwork for interest payments over the year, or how much you have paid into pensions, a useful place is to do it on line with the provider. Register with them and you can then access the information quickly. You could call the bank or pension company and you may get the info, it’s 11th hour and they are busy/busting at the seams on the last few days, but always worth a try.

ISA’s don’t go on the forms, I say this as sometimes there can be confusion as individuals take an income/withdrawal from their ISA’s and may think that this has to go on the self assessment form, don’t worry, it doesn’t.

Overpay the revenue? Some say that if you are unsure of the amount of tax, then pay a little more than you think. You can then reclaim the monies from them by requesting a repayment, or if you are feeling liberal you can always designate a charity of your choice for any monies due back.

If in doubt, give your local tax inspector a call.

Johnny

Happy, healthy & prosperous 2007!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed the holiday period and for me, it feels like a long long time ago that we were out on our Christmas do and enjoying the festivities.

Anyway, New Year, new start and all that. So, what should you be looking to do in the run up to the end of the tax year? Below, I have put a few ideas and suggestions that maybe worth considering.

The tax year end is 5th April and in reality, much of the tax planning needs to get under way now. The 5th falls on a Thursday, so for desperate last minute ISA & Pension contributions, we’d like them the week before, but in reality to guarantee we get them in for 2006/07, then Wednesday 4th has to be the last day!

ISAs - £7,000 maxi ISA. Anyone with £7K kicking around (spare) should consider one! Please take advice before you put any money away. There are thousands of different ISAs with risk ratings at every point on the scale. It is obviously vital that you know what you may be getting yourself into.

Pensions – SIPP’s, personal pensions, Stakeholders, whichever model suits your circumstances, they are all still pensions and with the increased possibilities for lump sum contributions post A-Day (06/04/06), pension planning must be near the top of priorities for investors with some spare capital. 40% tax relief (for higher rate tax payers) makes the investment into pensions still a very attractive form of saving for retirement.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) Planning – If you have a potential problem, don’t forget to use your annual gift allowances to reduce your taxable estate wherever this makes financial sense. Don’t forget that you can also use the £3,000 allowance for last year too. It’s basic, but for grandparents looking to move monies on to their grandchildren, it’s sensible. And, with the facility to pay £3,600 into a youngster’s pension each year, they can be combined as part of sensible tax planning. A net contribution of £2,808 gives a grossed up figure of £3,600.

It could also be an opportune time to revisit Wills and estate planning. This may mean the transfer of ownership of properties from joint ownership to tenants in common, using up the Nil Rate Band and many other aspects. Talk to us - if you don’t have a solicitor, we can refer you to an expert that will be able to assist with your queries.

There are also some bespoke tax solutions that we have for investors wishing to pass monies to grandchildren, and, with Accumulation & Maintenance Trusts changing so drastically post budget, we may now have a solution for this that is available to our clients. We have counsel’s opinion and should our clients or introducers wish to view this, please contact me and I can forward this on.

Specialist tax planning – Speak to Michael Coulson-Tabb. There are various planning and tax saving ideas that Michael has available and it would be worth consulting with him for tax planning. Give him an e-mail m.coulson-tabb@morgans.co.uk or call 0207 491 5060. You could also have a look at this weblink :- http://www.morgans.co.uk/financial_solutions.html

Mortgages – they may not be tax sensitive, but it’s crucial that you / we are proactive in ensuring that you get the best rates out there. Jane Robertson can and will help take some of the pain away of the re-mortgage, buy-to-let, overseas mortgage and your home reviews. Speak to her. J.Robertson@morgans.co.uk

Other ideas? – The New Year is a good time, or at least it feels like a good time to get the ‘financial’ house in order. Have a look at the life cover, is it enough? Is the mortgage covered? Review the existing pensions, existing investment portfolios, are they balanced correctly? Overweight or underweight in certain sectors?

Consider a financial review and enjoy 2007.

Best regards,

Johnny