Having highlighted the ascent of the FTSE 100 to a record high in the last edition of Prospects, we’ve since seen a drop towards the 7,300 mark and then a bounce back of more than 600 points, only to be swiftly followed by another fall to 7,444.
The much written about causes remain the same; that is uncertainty about inflation and whether the UK falls into a recession, and whilst this translates to an unsettling ride for investors it does serve as a salient reminder that stock market movements, like all free markets, are symptoms of emotion. Ensuring that the most basic human emotions, fear and greed, do not get in the way of the in-depth research that we do on our portfolio holdings, is key to successful portfolio management.
As we move into summer we hope that current inflation concerns can be controlled and subsequent interest rate rises can cease, providing a little more comfort for markets. Economists and investors alike are watching the various indicators to determine whether or not the UK economy avoids recession, as suggested by the IMF recently. The Economic Focus article suggests a recession cannot be ruled out, but the expectation is that we will only witness a minor contraction.
Another area covered in this edition of Prospects, is the impact of the changes to pensions announced as part of the Spring Budget, particularly the news that the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) is to be abolished from the 2024/25 tax year. We have reviewed and simplified the main points that might affect your pensions, but I suspect many readers will agree it’s not a straightforward topic. We would suggest that if there are concerns as to how these issues might impact your specific circumstances, to seek professional advice. Our growing wealth planning team specialises in offering pension advice, with consolidation of pension pots the most common area of advice given in recent months and they would be willing to assist our clients on this.
One of our overriding goals at JM Finn is to ensure that our clients are fully aware and understand what we do and why, and we place a significant emphasis on our communication with clients. In our previous surveys we have tested satisfaction with both the timeliness and quality of our communications, both written and digital, and we have been very grateful for the feedback. You will note that we have included, with this issue of Prospects, a survey to probe more specifically into our readers’ opinions of our quarterly periodical and especially our avoidance or explanation of jargon, which is so prevalent within our industry.
We would love to hear your thoughts and as ever hope that our client proposition, which is predicated on a personalised and individual level of service, gives our clients the opportunity to feed back on all aspects of our services.
Hugo Bedford CEO
