The Financial Conduct Authority has proposed that firms offer a default investment option to non-workplace pension clients. Workplace pension schemes, such as auto-enrolment plans, already have to offer a default fund but non-workplace pensions do not. Canada Life estimate the non-workplace market to be worth around £470bn covering 13m accounts. The new proposals could apply […]
Archives for 2021
How to get your retail business ready for Christmas
After a strange year, full of lockdowns, downturns and business turmoil, there’s finally a few Christmas lights twinkling at the end of the tunnel. Many Australian small businesses will be banking on a bountiful holiday season to fill the till and begin bouncing back. In fact, it may be critical to survival. This means that […]
Best mobile app? U.S. Bancorp, Chase and Merrill Edge top J.D. Power ranking
The complexity of boosting Social Security COLAs for retirees
Top 10 Tax Mistakes: How to Avoid Them, Part 1
It’s that time of year. The time when we all start looking at our pile of receipts and mountain of tax forms with dread. When preparing your tax return, even a little mistake can cause problems. You could end up with a larger tax bill than you should, your refund could be delayed, or ever […]
Top 10 Tax Mistakes: How to Avoid Them, Part 2
Don’t miss Top 10 Tax Mistakes Part 1, here. 6. You’re misclassifying your employees, including your spouse Your tax liability will be different depending on if you use independent contractors, employees, or a mixture of both. Employees must be paid at least minimum wage, and you have to pay them overtime. However, independent contractors don’t […]
2 Planner firms first to sign as Openwork ‘major partners’
Swindon-based Unique Financial Planning Limited and London-based Chartered Financial Planner The Penny Group have become the first two businesses to sign five-year ‘Strategic Partner Firm’ contracts with the Openwork network, one of the UK’s largest advisory firms. The Openwork Partnership has launched new long-term strategic partnership agreements with major firms in its network. The aim […]
SJP exec joins Blackfinch Group as COO
Investment specialist Blackfinch Group has expanded its senior leadership team by hiring former St James’s Place executive director Caroline Hallatt as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Ms Hallatt has more than more than 30 years in the financial services sector. She spent the last four years working as executive director at wealth manager St James’s […]
The Retirement Distribution “Hatchet”: Using Risk-Based Guardrails To Project Sustainable Cash Flows
One of the questions retirees often have is how much they can afford to spend each year over the course of their retirement without depleting their portfolio during their lifetimes, and financial advisors have many tools to aid in this discussion. One classic technique is the use of withdrawal rates; based on asset allocation and […]
