Sound Financial Group Blog

Retirement incomes continue to be squeezed and as those who are members of final salary pension schemes will already know, these benefits are being restricted or stopped all together. So what’s the answer?

It’s that time of the year when the pre-Budget rumour mill starts to churn out the latest scare stories and the headlines scream at us to ‘Act Now!’ before this or that happens. Once again pensions are at the forefront of the speculation…

More Quantitative Easing is another kick in the teeth for those at retirement wishing to secure their pensions. However there are solutions, some little known, some more adventurous…

ah yes the dulcet tones of Ken Dodd. January 16th was ‘Blue Monday’ – identified as the most miserable day of the year in Britain due to factors such as a long cold month, post-Christmas debt levels, payday still two weeks away, divorces on the increase, etc...

In previous blogs I have droned on about the costs to invest and how in the UK they are, in the main, too high. Despite constant press coverage, charges appear to show little signs of reducing and so I make no apologies for starting my 2012 blogs with yet another about investment charges, but this time in relation to ‘advice’.

So roll out the predictions for 2012...

More pension tax charges on the horizon. High earners need to act before April to prevent additional tax charges applying to their pension funds...   

The banks are in trouble again, but this time for poor investment advice. Which? Has found that only 13% of the banks that they investigated gave suitable investment advice...  

Almost certainly as many in the ‘Sandwich Generation’ will confirm, however planning for such eventualities can be daunting...  

That is the question and it has taken on a much greater importance given the current very low yields on inflation linked gilts. 

ISAs to the rescue? “ISA ISA Baby”... The very annoying Halifax ad’ on TV has thankfully long gone, but in terms of retirement planning ISAs have a key role to play...

The Markets like QE2 but Pension investors are being hit by a double whammy. Falling equity values and rising Gilt prices spell bad news for those contemplating retirement...

More column inches in the press last weekend in respect of the worst performing investment funds, or ‘dogs’ as they affectionately known. But what does this mean for investors who hold such funds?

Live Long, Live Poor? The media has been busy telling us recently how many Billions have been wiped off the value of UK shares and how this will be disastrous for pension funds and those soon to retire. But there are much bigger problems out there...

This week’s blog tries to bring a little bit of sanity back into a mad world. The voice of reason reiterates that investors should not panic buy or sell, but have their portfolios managed and maintained based upon an investment objective, the investors risk profile and risk tolerance level

The word ‘absolutely’ is one of those that is used with such annoying frequency that it has lost all sense of its true meaning.

Cost is a vital consideration within fund management and you need to ask yourself how much are you paying in investment charges within your Pensions, ISAs, etc…but it’s not just cost that’s important...

As human beings we are programmed to behave in ways that help us survive, not to make good investment decisions…

Have you considered what you would really like to achieve throughout your retirement? More importantly have you thought about how you will fund your retirement? Pension planning is becoming more essential in this day and age but what are the best options?

Product mis-selling is rife within the financial planning industry so what is the best way for a consumer to find objective advice on their financial position and advice on how they can make best use of their finanical resources to achieve their lifestyle objectives.....without the need for product at all.