National Savings & Investments sees record deposit levels

According to a recent report the level of savings being deposited into National Savings & Investments by consumers in the UK has hit record levels, and more and more worried consumers look for a safe place in which to place their hard earned cash. Read more

Tags: National, National Savings, National Savings & Investments, investments, money, savings accounts

Compensation for Standard Life clients

In a recent report it has been revealed that Standard Life will indeed by compensating a number of its policyholders following controversy over its Pension Sterling Fund, which recently hit the headlines after policyholder suffered losses and industry groups claimed that the literature that Standard Life had sent out was misleading. Read more

Tags: policyholder suffered losses, Business Finance, pension sterling fund, Pension, standard life, opportunity, investments, funds

More women responsible for household finances than men

Women are more likely than men to be responsible for financial decisions in UK households, according to new research.

A study by Family Investments, a Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider, found that 59 per cent of women are in charge of decision-making regarding family money.

These findings corroborate research by Norwich & Peterborough Building Society released last month which showed that although 74 per cent of men are still the primary earners within a family, most financial decisions are either made together or by women.

In particular, women were found to take control of day-to-day spending on their children and homes.

“Indeed, this puts the myth of the father as the financial head of the family to rest,” commented Gary Lacey, group product manager at Norwich & Peterborough.

Two-thirds of women prefer to do their banking over the internet, even though only 20 per cent open their online bank account via the internet, according to the study.

Women also seemed more knowledgeable about children’s savings products than men, with over 60 per cent identifying that CTFs are a tax-efficient savings option.

Tags: investments, head, Financial services, online, household finances, month

Cash lump sum still needed for overseas mortgages

First-time buyers looking to invest in property outside of the UK will still need a cash lump sum to get an overseas mortgage approved, a property advisor has warned.

BuyAssociation said that it was “quite possible” for consumers to get a mortgage approved on a property abroad, a tactic which can help build up equity quickly.

However, Paul Collins, property editor for BuyAssociation, said that these forms of purchase arrangements can often make getting a mortgage more time consuming, particularly in emerging markets.

“And you will find in a lot of these markets that you won’t be able to get 100 per cent mortgages, so again there is still the issue that you will need some form of cash deposit to be able to actually do that, ” he explained.

A recent study published by UK National Savings & Investments found that 84 per cent of 18 to 30-year-olds believe buying property abroad is a more viable option than buying in Britain.

Tags: investments, Mortgages, cash, tactic, Subprime mortgage crisis, overseas mortgages

Ethical consumer investment increases by 18% says survey

Up to 85 per cent of consumers expected to put their savings into an individual savings account (Isa) before April will use an ethical investment scheme new research claims

According to a survey from the Co-operative, this figure has increased from the 67 per cent who said they would invest ethically in the same survey last year.

The latest results show that nearly 80 per cent of respondents believe that ‘green’ investments can perform as well, if not better than mainstream markets.

Zack Hocking, head of investments at Co-operative Insurance, said: “While ethical investment still represents a small amount of the overall market, evidence strongly suggests that growth is set to continue.”

Mr Hocking added that the Co-operative expects increasing numbers of consumers to invest ethically as the deadline approaches.

Meanwhile, according to moneyextra.com, a survey from Nationwide estimates that savers in the UK could be paying more than £230 million extra in tax by not taking advantage of their yearly Isa allowance.

Tags: investments, investment, expects increasing numbers, figure, yearly isa allowance

Women put off by financial jargon, IFA says

Women tend to be “put off” by complex finance, an independent financial advisor claimed today.

According to AJS Wealth Management, female consumers prefer the “tangibility” of hard cash rather than the discussion of financial terms and higher-end commercial discussions.

Director at AJS Anna Sofat said: “One of the things [our] research threw up was that women are put off by finance; they like money. I think it comes back to tangibility.

“Money is here and now; finance is a bit high-faluting, full of jargon and complexities that they don’t necessarily want to get their heads around – not that they can’t, they just don’t want to.”

This apparent disparity between the sexes appears to reflect a difference in average wages. According to a recent report by National Savings & Investments, women still make four per cent less than male counterparts in total.

Only a marginal improvement, of three per cent, has been registered over the past seven years, as the statistics show that female salaries still have catching-up to do.

Tags: female salaries, marginal improvement, women, financial terms, National, complexities, investments

Finances are taboo

Most of us are more comfortable talking about health issues with friends and loved ones than we are discussing finances.

That is according to Scottish Widows which carried out research into the subject and found that banking has become a taboo subject.

Two thirds of us apparently do not tell our family members how much we earn and only one third know how much our partners earn.

One in five admit to being uncomfortable talking about salary, savings and investments with out partners, yet we are most comfortable discussing money with our work colleagues.

Men are said to be twice as likely to reveal their salary to a work colleague as they are to their mates.

Scottish Widows’ customer and brand marketing director Mike Hoban is surprised by the trend but says that it also explains why many people’s finances are in a mess.

“As a nation, we’ve become increasingly liberal – we are happy to talk to our loved ones about sex, relationships and health problems, but despite this modern trend in honesty it seems that money is now the topic we avoid,” he said.

“It’s no surprise that the nation is under-saving and under-preparing for the future when money is clearly such an uncomfortable subject.

“If you really can’t face discussing money with people you know, it might be a good idea to seek professional financial advice,” he added.

Tags: hoban, research, family members, salary, scottish widows, investments, Scottish

Brits losing faith in property

Many Brits are losing their faith in the property market as a way of investing.

That is according to the Standard Life Savings & Investment Index which shows that continually rising interest rates are denting people’s confidence.

Since October 2006 confidence in our homes as a savings vehicle has fallen by 19 per cent and Standard Life says that this is down to recent interest rate rises.

In response to the findings, the firm is calling upon all of us to ensure that we do not invest all of our money into a property without sufficient financial backup.

“With interest rate rises having such an immediate impact on investor confidence, I hope that investors will now consider spreading their investments across a wider range of investment categories and vehicles when planning for their financial futures,” said Trevor Matthews, chief executive of Standard Life Assurance.

The index also revealed that over half (51 per cent) of us are saving for a holiday, while retirement, home improvements and buying a car followed.

Tags: investments, executive, October, market, rising interest rates