Read the latest news and articles from the Gem & Co team
I recently read an article by a wine expert that resonated with me. The wine expert makes the point that she (a genuine expert with numerous appropriate qualifications and 35 years experience) has to shout louder and louder to be heard in a world inundated with a 24-hour news cycle and endless social media. There
Read moreIntroduction It was famously said that ‘all roads lead to Rome.’ In British politics, all speeches currently lead to the EU Referendum. George Osborne’s Budget speech, delivered on Wednesday March 16th, was no exception. More than ever, the Chancellor was seeking to balance politics and economics as he rose to speak. On the politics front,
Read moreThe new dividend allowance will mean that from 2016/17 the first £5,000 of dividends you receive will be free of any personal income tax liability, regardless of your marginal tax rate. However, once the allowance is exceeded the effective tax rates are generally 7.5% higher than currently apply, as the table below shows. Extra Tax
Read more2015/16 marked the beginning of pension flexibility for money purchase schemes. In the first six months following the reform over 380,000 pension arrangements were accessed under the new rules of which nearly 240,000 were fully encashed, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. The introduction of flexibility, radical though it was, is by no means the
Read moreAs the end of the financial year draws ever closer, it’s important not to forget about any ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) you have and any remaining payments that you’re allowed to make. The maximum allowance for ISAs for the 2015/16 financial year is £15,240, so it’s important that you invest any funds that you have
Read moreFebruary was another month where the problem for this commentary was what to leave out: the world is not short of ‘events’ at the moment. In the Far East, North Korea successfully fired a long range rocket, causing consternation in Tokyo and Seoul. Closer to home, David Cameron returned from Brussels with his deal on
Read moreAnd the proportion of those self-funding is only set to increase in the coming years. The number of people self-funding their residence in a care home is ‘mind-boggling’, according to respected IFA Gareth Rees. Rees, a Chartered Financial Planner working for GEM & Co Financial Services, was speaking in the wake of a Sunday Times
Read moreReported recently across the media, David Cameron has promised an ‘all-out assault on poverty’, with a series of social reforms to include better mental health services and mentoring schemes. The PM said new mothers and teenagers with anorexia were among those who would benefit from improved services. He also promised to flatten ‘sink estates’, help
Read moreTwo books are first and third in the current US Best Sellers list – both by Japanese-American tidying guru, Marie Kondo. Her tidying wisdom has swept the US as a way to feel better about yourself and your home and it’s now heading to the UK. She recently shared her top tips for ‘decluttering’ and
Read moreTwelve green bottles, standing on the wall Twelve green bottles, standing on the wall And if one green bottle, should accidentally fall… Yes, yes, we know the song is really ‘ten green bottles,’ but in January 2016 the world’s leading stock markets resembled nothing more than the row of proverbial bottles. As one fell, so
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