Archive for the ‘Investments’ Category
Bonds: a safe place for returns?
It’s no secret that pensioners who are already drawing an income from their funds are suffering under the credit crisis.
Anything invested in stocks and shares would likely have seen a terrible bounce over the past year since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, followed by the FTSE 100 reaching a high this October.
Despite that positive news, there are still plenty of concerns that the UK could fall into a deeper recession, so things could possibly get worse.
In the meantime, the normal savings vehicles for pensioners are under pressure, with most savings accounts only marginally over the Bank of England’s base rate.
And offshore accounts, of course, still fall under HMRC tax rules, which means the fall in returns from offshore banking mean the tax savings can be pretty slim.
What is really interesting is the observation that savers have become investors, as savers are pushed into fixed term bonds for 2-5 years.
Does this mean that bonds present a safe haven for returns?
Certainly in the short term, but do be careful – if we really are part-way through a double-dip recession, then rampant inflation in the near future could be a very real danger, which could soon make those fixed-rate bond deals look quite low indeed.
Invest in schools through private finance initiatives
UK local authority pension funds officials are currently looking at the possibility of investing in schools throughout the UK through private finance initiatives, which of course, would be a huge development for the UK Education system.
The legalities are just being drawn up, but there is a good chance that the deals may start to take place throughout 2009.
Invest in schools through private finance initiatives
UK local authority pension funds officials have been in discussions with a quasi-government body about the prospect of investing in the building of UK schools through private finance initiatives (PFIs).
A spokeswoman for Partnerships for Schools, a quasi-government body created to manage the building of schools through PFIs, said it has been approached by local government pension fund advisers to consider whether they would be willing to include pension fund assets as an investment route for the building of schools.
Prepare for a better return on your pension
Again, great news for pensioners investing in these funds, as they are seeing their cash slowly grow rather than slowly decline.
Prepare for a better return on your pension
Pension plans across the U.K. face an “extraordinarily bruising year” and need to prepare for several challenges, according to a report by global consulting and investment services firm Mercer.
The average U.K. pension fund lost 9.8 percent in returns last year, the first time that the country’s pension funds recorded negative yearly returns since a decade ago, according to BNY Mellon Asset Servicing. Long-term performance showed U.K. pension funds returned 6.6 percent over five years and 4.2 percent over 10 year, said the study released late Thursday.