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What next for UK interest rates?

Despite August’s interest rate rise to 0.75 per cent, it was not necessarily good news for savers. Nationwide was the first large player to announce its new rates  and decided not to pass on the 0.25% rise in full to savers in the first sign that big financial institutions will use the base rate to increase profit margins. The building society said that while its tracker mortgage customers will see a 0.25% rise in their payments, many of its savers will see only a 0.1% increase in rates. Other banks including RBS and Natwest followed suit. In summary – bad for borrowers and bad for savers.

After 10 years of zero or near zero interest rates, savers can rightly feel aggrieved that when rates do finally rise – not the entire amount is being passed on by the banks. Whilst having a sensible amount held on deposit is essential, looking at alternative savings and investment schemes is advisable to generate a real return to at least move in line with inflation. Anyone who has left their savings in cash for the last 10 years will have seen a likely deterioration in value due to a combination of next to no return and the impact of inflation over the same period. To emphasise this point, the impact of inflation over the last 10 years means that £10,000 held in a bank account in 2008 would have needed to grow to over £13,000 by now to combat the effects of inflation. It is unlikely that your bank interest over the 10 years has amounted to over 30% meaning that the real value of your capital has been eroded.

At Blacktower we offer a wide range of investment schemes tailored to suit your specific needs as we are aware that everyone has unique requirements. In order to avail yourself of this service, one of our qualified advisers can be at hand to discuss your options with you and to help you make the right decisions on what to do with your hard-earned savings.

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.

Other News

New Year resolutions for a fitter financial future

Goals for 2018Well, you have probably already swept away the party poppers and Champagne corks, but now is the time to reflect on 2017 and consider the future.

It’s also, of course, the time to make New Year resolutions. For most people, such ‘resolutions’ are often ambitious, unrealistic and maybe even harmful (I mean, giving up chocolate – that’s never going to happen).

In fact, research from the University of Scranton, USA, in 2013 found that a mere 8% of people achieve their New Year goals, and a ComRes poll from November 2015 revealed that 43% of all the failed resolutions that year hadn’t even lasted a month.

It seems that the typical pledges of eating more healthily, taking up a new hobby and giving up bad habits are really not achievable and it’s becoming increasingly common for resolutions to be financially related.

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Making 2016 financially secure

For so many, the new year brings new resolve to look into long-term financial plans; plans, perhaps, that have been neglected or put to the back of the mind in the year just passed.

It’s a busy old time of year for IFAs (independent financial advisers) because each January we see customers taking stock and seeking advice. This is a good thing, but it takes decisiveness and a certain amount of nerve to finally grasp the nettle and put plans into action.

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