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

Got a fixed rate?

There is much speculation at the moment about interest rates and inflation.

Inflation is now at a 10 year high and it is much worse than many of the experts were predicting. The economy is good (so we are told) and wage demands are running high, with high demands expected in the spring.

Who else has noticed the intensity of sales pre Christmas? I’ve never had so many e-mails with discount vouchers and its cost me a fortune! But, does this mean that they’ll get more in before Christmas, or will the punter wait till the sales? Walking out and about in town I can tell you that there are loads of people out there, lets hope there’s enough of them spending money.

So what’s happened to the governments 2 point zero target? Nothing! It’s been running above the target 7 months now and Retail Prices Index (RPI) has been long seen as a measure to target higher wage rises. If you don’t receive inflation or above, in real terms you’re moving backwards! It might be unfair to say nothing has happened, but although good for the saver, rising interest rates suggest something is amiss and maybe worth some thought?

It’s our job to insure clients monies keep ahead of inflation, its target number one for us.

What should you do?

1, Speak to Jane Robertson who heads up our mortgage desk if you are concerned about the type of mortgage you’ve got. Apathy often sees clients stuck in a rut and paying over the odds on a Standard Variable Rate (SVR), maybe it’s time to get on a fixed rate?

2, Investments? Don’t just leave the monies sat in a bank account (often at way below inflation). Leave enough to ensure the direct debit monies can and will be met, then have your savings pot or emergency fund, the other monies should be working harder and smarter. We have other options, we have ideas for lower risk monies and our accountants and solicitors are finding that more and more that clients need to protect their wealth.

3, It’s a good time of year to have a review. A little shake up every now and then can do wonders for the mind. Maybe it’s all tickety boo and no need for change, maybe a little tweak here or there, but at least have a look at it.

4, Don’t just do nothing!

Whoever your adviser is, pester him or her a little and see what’s going on.

Johnny

Benefits of Mutuality?

The Nationwide has announced that they are ending their policy of offering the same rates for every customer.

This is regrettable because they were seen as different and in my opinion their stance with regard to this was perceived as one of the benefits of mutuality. That said, offering different rates depending on the status of the buyer does tend to favour first time buyers, which in difficult times for many of them, can be argued to be a good thing for them at least.

Nationwide often criticised other lenders, particularly in a high profile advertising campaign based on the benefits of mutuality being demonstrated in one rate for all borrowers, and to reverse this stance looks to be a bit hypocritical.

I’ve added a link to read about what was said in the Times; if you are stuck on a standard variable rate or simply want to address your borrowing, discuss rates, look at buy-to-lets or to find out what’s out there, then give Jane a call or e-mail her.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9063-2474919,00.html

Jane Robertson
020 7 491 5060
j.Robertson@morgans.co.uk


Johnny

Target Two Point Zero

You may or may not be aware that the government has a target for inflation, which is 2.0%.

There is also a contest for sixth-formers and the first rounds start shortly. It’s a joint effort run by the Times and the Bank of England.

Have a look.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8209-2450968,00.html

Does actually give some helpful understanding of why interest rates fluctuate, how the economy is driven and the impact of interest rate changes.

Johnny

Interest rates, it was inevitable

The Monetary Policy Committee had their monthly meeting and has announced that interest rates need to go up.

The Bank of England base rate now stands at 5.00%, which is the highest it has been since August 2001.

Johnny

Bank of England Rate Rise?

Well, they keep saying that interest rates are going up, but this time it seems inevitable.

Inflation needs to be kept under control, yet manufacturing needs healthy progress. And, this means there is an argument for both sides.

Mortgages, credit cards, overdrafts, business loans (all debt that isn’t fixed in other words) could all move upward after today’s monthly monetary meeting, which will be announced at midday.

Yet, we need manufacturing to continue to progress and expanding the working force helps the economy to grow at a healthy pace, without this it can weaken our position internationally.

We’ll know later which way the MPC will call it.

Johnny

Equitable Life update

Since the near collapse of the Equitable Life in 2001 there have been unanswered questions, in particular, did the Government fail her policy holders?

The Parliamentary Ombudsman is to write to the Government this week and Ann Abraham is expected to report by the end of the year. Should I be cynical and suggest that there maybe further delay?

Anyhow, yesterday, there was a delegation of MEP’s looking into whether or not the Equitable policy holders were failed and did the UK Government sufficiently implemented European directives on financial regulation.

If you still hold monies within the Equitable, especially With Profit monies, I do advise that these are reviewed and ensure that they are at least monitored. The penalties to exit (Market Value Adjuster) have fallen and if it’s been a while since a review, then maybe it’s time for a check up?

Johnny

National Identity Fraud Prevention Week 16-22nd October

I touched on this subject last week and here is a bit more information. I know of a few clients and friends that have suffered this, even our own staff!

It can happen to anyone, but some simple measures can reduce the chances of it being you. I have attached link below and although much of it is basic stuff, I think it is worth making sure that we are keeping up to date with the latest forms of attacks we might come across.

Prevention is obviously better than cure, but if you have been attacked then you will need repair your credit rating. This can be a difficult task and professionals even suggest consulting with a solicitor if needs be, which will cost!

Have read, be vigilant and this week, have a think why it’s National Identity Fraud Prevention Week!

http://www.stop-idfraud.co.uk/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6047174.stm

Johnny

Dilko Wizard

Martin Dilke-Wing, Director at Morgans, finished 18th in the ‘Times National Crossword Solving Championship’ last week. Out of 172 finalists who were required to solve 3 puzzles in one of 2 qualifying sessions, he qualified 8th out of 83 from the second session (all correct in approximately 30 minutes) to get to the Grand Final of 24 where sadly he made one mistake on one of the 3 puzzles to finish 18th out of 24. His average time per puzzle was 13 minutes. This is still a personal best for Martin and this also means that he gets an automatic exemption from pre qualifying into next year’s finals.

Good stuff Martin!

Jonny

Nike Run London 2006


5 of our guys did the run and here are the times for each of them;

Alun Webster (Big Al) - 46 mins 18

Lloyd French- 46 mins 56

Matthew Leaver - 47 mins 30

Quan Liu- 1 hr 3 mins

Candice Fields - 1 hr 12 mins

They all did well and you can see each of them finish on the Run London website, if you click on ‘watch your finish’ you might just catch a glimpse of them coming in.

https://www.runlondon.com/

Plenty of training and pre-run banter was about prior to yesterday and I’m sure there was probably a little bit of niggle/competition between the lads with Big Al (obviously running for North of the River (that’s the not so dangerous side!)) getting in ahead of his gym/running partners.

Well done guys, great effort!

No I didn’t forget, I’m sure you’ll agree that the advertising for this was fantastic….of course it was, our clients Wieden & Kennedy did it! www.WKLondon.com

Johnny

How to make the best conkers

Ok, so this is really financially related….

You can’t send your kids off to school without giving them the best chance. We help with the schools fees planning, university funding, residency ideas for uni, such as buy-to-lets and in general try and help with ideas.

Anyhow, school is also about having a bit of ‘street cred’ and if little Timmy can smash his way through to a double figure conker that Dad has prepared, then that’ll surely bring you a smile.

Here are two of my methods, but don’t blame me if they bust on the first swing!

Preparations :

Gather plenty of conkers, bigger in this case is often better. Get something out of the garden that has water in it (as opposed to using the tap!) and see if the conkers sink or float. Discard all the sinkers as they will have either fractures or internal damage. Then with the others, put them in a warmish, dry place for next year!

Ok, so you didn’t do that last year and need to crack on with this year…

Method One: soak in vinegar for 15 minutes, then bake on high for 5 minutes. Leave to dry, drill a hole through the middle and it must be the middle and don’t use skewers or such, you need the drill to pull out the debris so as to avoid damage to the conker! Then coat in ‘sneaky marine varnish’, get a couple of coats on there and once dry, get nylon cord probably 4 or 5 mm and get a big knot the other end, cord should be circa 250 to 300 mm.

Method Two: soak in olive oil for a week, then use the same method for the hole.

Both have worked pretty good and should get you up to a ten-er, I do prefer the first one though I have to admit….

Safety Disclaimer…Oooh, don’t forget to wear safety goggles when drilling and playing, get an adult to secure the conker in a vice before drilling, wear gloves and other safety apparel and shin pads, when engaging in conker games….. yeah right, nothing like a bruised shin when you miss!

Johnny

Anti Money Laundering

Every brokerage has a reporting officer and we are no different.

We have to treat this seriously, we have to obtain details of who our clients are and now many of the providers with whom we place business will want to know the origin of the monies, such as inheritance, savings and so on. Failure to comply isn’t an option as advisers face imprisonment for certain breaches and I certainly don’t fancy that!

So we do our bit, but there is another threat that both we and our clients face and it is worth taking a bit of time every now and then to make sure that our own pc’s are protected.

I’ve added a link that I came across on the BBC, it’s worth a read.

Most of it is basic stuff, but as these criminals become more and more sophisticated, it’s worth making sure that you get up to date with your software protection, firewalls and preventative measures to combat data theft.

Have a look at the links below :

Please remember that Morgans is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5414502.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5414696.stm

Johnny

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

For all of you who may of doubted ......

Weekend Press

I’m going to post up articles that I feel are useful for our clients.

In the Sunday Times, there was a good piece on the frightening letters that 10 million people would have received.

It will heap more pressure on employers being forced to consider alternative options for their staff due to the already expensive cost of providing defined benefit schemes and possibly now added pressures from staff and the trustees.

There are of course options and we’d urge our clients to speak to us if they feel their scheme or employer (more importantly) is in trouble. Many final salary or defined benefit schemes has under 100 members and if you are in one of these, you are unlikely to have received one of these letters.

Have a look at the article.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8214-2382453_2,00.html

Johnny

Saw this headline and thought ‘wow’

Slash your tax bill by £10,000 down the pub!

In the Sunday Times it certainly caught my eye and although I initially started drifting off in the thought of a Pint of Pride, I soon realised this wasn’t going to be some form of tax relief for every pint I had down my local. Pity.

Anyhow, we’ve got Michael Coulson-Tabb who is our in house specialist for tax schemes and although this particular one might be a bit late as the deadline is Thursday, it’s worth a read and it could be something that leads onto discussions about the various other options that Michael has in his bag of tricks.

Speak to him.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8214-2382418,00.html