This will be our last post on this website and on social media for a while. Time is our most precious commodity and COVID and
Unfortunately the Investment & Retirement Solutions Ltd ‘great unlocking’ has had some unintended consequences as 30% of our independent financial advisers and 50% of our
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday 12th July confirming “Freedom Day” and having had the opportunity to review the proposed guidance and rules published
Yesterday the Prime Minister announced the intent for Step 4 of the easing of lockdown restrictions to be decided on 12th July, and if a
The Independent has reported that an individual claiming to represent the Anonymous hacking collective has accused billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk of having liquidated dreams
What is cashflow planning? Cashflow planning is the process of looking at your current financial situation and planning ahead for the future. So whether you’re
Investment & Retirement Solutions are proud of our Armed Forces Covenant and our Defence Employers Bronze Award, but most of all we’re proud to support
Every year, special days expose frayed emotions for families for whom the special day will never be the same. This year, more than most, Father’s
One of our core ethical beliefs is that equality is a fundamental human right that everyone in the world deserves. We interpret the idiom “live and let live”
Clients who hold Old Mutual solutions will notice a change of name today as Old Mutual becomes “Quilter” This name change has been three years
Investment & Retirement Solutions Ltd are delighted to report that every member of our team has now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination
We take advice when we know we lack the experience, competence or knowledge to make wise decisions ourselves. But how do we evaluate the quality
A little over a year ago, the Chancellor COVID loans (fixed rate Bounce Back Loans and variable interest Covid Business Interruption Business Loans) promised competitive
As many of our clients and professional connections know, some of our team have been working very long hours for seven days a week since
We love a play on words, but sadly can’t take all the credit for highlighting our six appeal, our friends at Vanguard Europe provided the
As the Prime Minister’s lockdown road map creeps towards fruition we enter ‘reporting season’ in which the big insurers provide a performance update. The UK’s
As financial planners, it’s important that we have a finely tuned radar that constantly sweeps the horizon for opportunities and threats to our clients financial
It’s nearly that time of the year where our Japanese friends enjoy their “Golden Week” holiday from 30 April until 5th May. Consequently, the Tokyo
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) has published a “Class of 2021” report, based on a survey of 2000 adults who plan to retire within 12 months.
Earth Day is a global annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes
We discovered yesterday that our website image optimisation software (the clever stuff which made our website pages load quickly) had started to conflict with other
M&G has announced today (20th April) the reopening of their property funds after 17 months of suspended trading. The funds are scheduled to become available
Today, Monday 19th April, the government has launched its new mortgage guarantee scheme. The scheme is aimed at getting the one part of the market
What is cashflow planning? Cashflow planning is the process of looking at your current financial situation and planning ahead for the future. So whether you’re
Today, 6th April marks the beginning of the new tax year and a brand new 365 days of tax planning opportunities! But why the 6th
It seems like far longer than one year since we last wished our clients a Happy Easter! Here’s hoping everyone has a Happy Easter and
On Thursday, the UK government approved the first stage of lockdown easing. “Step one” of the government’s lockdown easing schedule will formally begin on Monday
Tax Year End – 5th April 2021 It’s that time of the year again and what a year it’s been. We’re going to skip the
Various digital and cellular services we use are degraded today: Today, 10th March, the following services are degraded: O2 cellular network and the virtual networks
Today was International Women’s Day – the annual global commemoration of the cultural, political, social and economic achievements of women, and, a day of focus
Shortly after 12.30 this afternoon Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered his second budget to parliament. The Chancellor’s delivery of the budget to the
Paul C was trying to set a land-speed record on his bike this evening when a gang of potholes mugged him and threw his mobile
Our article of 14th August 2020 was titled “Negative Interest Rates?” – one of our less ambiguous titles! In that article, we linked back to
It seems to us that the news has only had three main threads this year: LIFE IN A COVID WORLD LIFE IN A POST-BREXIT WORLD
In our article of 30th September, we reminded readers of the 2014 government announcement that the access to schemes such as personal pensions would be
Some of our clients have assets (investments & pensions) held with Old Mutual. Over recent months these clients, like us, have suffered degraded digital access
Self Employed? As it’s self-assessment day, we thought we publish some thoughts focused specifically on the nuances which face those of our clients with self-employment.
We’re delighted to announce that we’ve joined the newly created Financial Vulnerability, another demonstration of our commitment to be a safe pair of hands for
Yesterday, 11th January, the Financial Conduct Authority (the UK’s financial regulator) issued a warning to consumers about the risks of investments which promise high returns
Whilst our outlook for the latter part of 2021 remains very positive, like many readers of this COVID UPDATE we do have a sense of
2019 was dominated by political squabbling about BREXIT culminating in a general election allowing Boris to move into number 10. Most of us hadn’t heard
Many of you let us know how you appreciated us giving some webspace to support the World Health Organisation’s “Mr Bean” public health messaging of
Other than on the three statutory Bank Holidays, most of our team will be working to some extent over the festive period. DATE Monday 21
Please accept our apology, 2020 has been an eventful year and as we approach 2021 we couldn’t resist a glam-rock nostalgic trip back to 1986
We’ve been experiencing a much-degraded email service since 11.22 am Monday 14th December as a consequence of Alphabet Inc’s ongoing global infrastructure problem. If your
Many commentators have spoken of the social and mental pressures of “lockdown”, however, the concept of being in lockdown with someone you’re no longer compatible
Financial confidence can have a hugely positive impact on lives. We wanted to share with you one of the methods we use to give individuals
Green finance is a thing, but what is it all about? We thought we’d share some reflections: Unless you’re a purist, “green finance” can generally be
3rd November is Purple Tuesday 2020! What’s it all about?Purple Tuesday is a change programme for organisations of all sizes from all sectors to get
Following clients of Beaufort Financial Plus Ltd who joined us last year, we’re delighted to welcome the clients of Beaufort Financial Planning (Mansfield) Ltd into
Due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions, we’re not got going to be sat in front of clients and professional associates wearing our poppies this year.
This evening the Prime Minister has announced a national lockdown commencing on Thursday 5th November. At the time of writing our situation is: Head Office
Investment & Retirement Solutions are proud to count a number of former and current Rolls Royce employees among our clients. Whilst our Rolls Royce clients
Lost in last week’s excitement about arguments over the fish around the UK, the developing second coronavirus wave and the political power battle between Manchester
The COVID-19 Job Support Scheme Speaking in the House of Commons, The Chancellor outlined the Job Support Scheme and more financial help for businesses this
It is a sad fact that while most of us are quite happy to insure our car, our house, our travel arrangements – even our
In the mid-1600s, the Dutch enjoyed a period of unmatched wealth and prosperity (the Dutch Golden Age). Newly independent from Spain, Dutch merchants grew rich
We’ve previously highlighted how challenging the Welsh Government’s lockdown travel restrictions proved to be for us to access the Rhos on Sea office, leading to
In 2014 the government announced that the ability to access schemes such as personal pensions would be subject to a general restriction of no earlier
In our post of 23rd June we gave advance notice of our intention to relocate our Registered Office as a consequence of the mismatch in
Spurious correlations? We spend a lot of time looking at numbers and the relationship between different sets of data, that’s part of our job. Sadly
It was back in 1980 when The Vapors released Turning Japanese. This article is not to answer the question “was Kirsten Dunst’s cover of Turning Japanese better?” (work
No one knows what is round the corner, which is why we think protecting yourself and your family against the worst is vitally important. But
Yesterday, 19th August, the Supreme Court handed down a judgement on case known to pension professionals as “Staveley” (HM Revenue & Customs v Parry &
Insurers paid £90m in death claims when coronavirus was at its peak, according to the latest data from the Association of British Insurers. No amount
Today, 18th August 2020, Investment & Retirement Solutions Ltd has published a slightly revised version of our Vulnerable Persons Policy. Our regulator, The Financial Conduct
Over recent months we’ve published a number of articles which explore different aspects of “property”, including “Nothing as safe as bricks and mortar“, “Property fund
Whilst VE Day marked the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, many thousands of Armed Forces personnel were still involved in bitter
In our article of 20th May we commented about how the UK government had sold a bond (government debt) with a negative yield. We went
We have undertaken another COVID Secure review. As part of our COVID Secure review we have noted that service levels from product & investment providers
We often hear people talking about leaving the EU without acknowledging that the UK has already left the EU (31 January 2020) and that we’re
Gilt yields continued their decline during July, driven down by concerns over the prospect of a “second wave” of coronavirus cases. The yield on the
Early in July, investors were buoyed by news of progress in the development of coronavirus vaccines. However, as the month continued, optimism was tempered by
We’re huge advocates for every adult to have Lasting Powers of Attorney covering their property and finances and their health and welfare. Whilst we’re competent
On balance we think we did a pretty good job with our guesses about the content of the summer statement. Read our forecast here In
The second quarter of 2020 could not have been more different from the first. With welcome relief, the UK and the rest of the world
With the last few months, and probably much of the coming months being dominated by the coronavirus we’ve spent some time thinking about other matters.
As lockdown restrictions become more relaxed across the three nations we continue to review our COVID Secure status. We know several of our clients and
We started 2020 predicting a ‘choppy year’ for investors as we left the EU and entered the transitional period; whilst Russia and Saudi Arabia fought
As professional independent financial planners, we’re constantly bombarded with huge quantities of research, some of which is exceptionally robust, some considerably less so. Sometimes we’ll
As Leicester and Leicestershire go into our first large-scale local lockdown, we thought we’d shout “hi” to all our clients and a key member of
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is due to deliver his summer statement next week. Economists from both sides of the political spectrum seem to share a consensus
A handful of technology companies have benefited from coronavirus. Amazon has profited handsomely, as have streaming and video conferencing platforms like Netflix and Zoom. But the
Our bias against direct investment into property funds based on independent financial adviser recommendation, other than for clients who can afford an extended long term
Investment & Retirement Solutions Chartered Financial Planner Paul Corner has moonlighted for many years as an adviser to The Pensions Advisory Service and to The
We wouldn’t usually host material from other organisations on our website, but the World Health Organisation is just “another organisation.” Whilst the following messaging is
The origins of Investment & Retirement Solutions Ltd are found embedded along the North Wales coast. We remain totally committed to our roots, and more
Armed Forces Day 2020 falls on Saturday 27th June. What’s it about? Armed Forces Day is a chance to show your support for the men
Every year, special days expose frayed emotions for families for whom the special day will never be the same. This year, more than most, Father’s
For the first time in 57 years, UK government borrowing (the national debt) exceeds the national gross domestic product (GDP) having reached a high of
In accordance with government guidance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19) we have revised and updated our “COVID Secure” policies. For now, we are continuing our policy of NOT receiving
We’re offline today, but available on the telephone for anything urgent. Back tomorrow as usual
Relations between the US and China deteriorated further during May as the US blamed China and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the pandemic. The
Some of our clients will recall Simon, a Derby based IFA, turned North East Lincolnshire Fire Fighter. We’re delighted to share Simon’s news of the
Today, the UK government has sold a bond (government gilt) with a negative yield. What does this mean? It means that the government is being
Great write up in whatinvestment.co.uk about the Emergency Financial Advice initiative of which we’re proud to be a founder member. Read the article here from
VE DAY +75 To provide greater access during the COVID lockdown, we’re manning our ‘phones and video-chat facilities until late afternoon today, the VE DAY
We presume every UK family will have been touched by the impact of WW2 to some extent. On the 75th anniversary of the cessation of
Many of our clients will know that our own Paul C has moonlighted as a part-time university lecturer for very many years, and in a
Investment & Retirement Solutions Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Registered in England & Wales (6884783) at Ransom Hall, Ransom Wood, Nottinghamshire, NG21 0HJ
