Investment Options


Did you know that during 2020, the FTSE100 fell 14.3%, marking its worst performance since the financial crisis in 2008 when it slumped 31.3%? Indeed, the FTSE100 remains some 15% below its May 2018 peak. Conversely, 2020 proved a solid year for the US and Japanese markets, the latter at a five year high and the Dow at an all-time high swollen by the tech heavy and over inflated stocks. Consequently, we have far more interest in the excellent value offered by the UK market and the continuing (albeit less attractive) discounts within the Investment Trust sector (which remain conspicuous by their absence within the portfolios constructed by so many other investment professionals).  These discounts have narrowed and our clients have gained as a consequence!

Incredibly, savers currently have £1.5trillion in cash stashed away in bank accounts in the UK, the biggest cash pile on record, according to findings from Janus Henderson Investors. The asset manager said that £1.2trn of this cash is not needed to meet household contingencies, suggesting it is “sitting unproductively” in cash accounts earning minimal interest. After inflation much of this cash pile is losing value over time. The research revealed that the vast cash pile is equal in size to the UK’s collective mortgage debt, and the group suggested that savers are missing out on the opportunity to earn “billions of pounds extra return” on their savings. We agree! Unfortunately, despite the much-coined phrase “buy low, sell high”, far too often our irrational fears, driven inevitably by emotion of the moment, prevent us from doing just that and instead we wait for conditions to appear more “comfortable” before investing, by which time much of the recovery has already occurred.

If you do want to reallocate some of your surplus cash in a bid to achieve a better return over the longer term and do not anticipate needing access to it, have you considered using your tax-free stocks and shares ISA allowance of £20,000 for 2020/21 and again for 2021/22 (after 6 April)? Neither income or capital gains achieved are taxable. Of course, these comments are generic and not specific to you as we are unaware of your specific circumstances. The value of shares will go up and down and past performance cannot be guaranteed in the future. For more details, please contact the office.