Advice for investments
Property investments
More than 20 per cent of the population are now shareholders; 65 per cent of households have mortgages to help them buy their homes; 80 per cent of households have some sort of insurance policy, many of which are investment-type plans.
The new legislation enabling employees to opt out of their company pension scheme and seek the best terms in the wider marketplace brings more people into the investment field.
But is now the right time to invest?
Popular property investment choice 2023
Due to the ever-changing property landscape this year, many investors have been hesitant to invest and for good reason. Investing in typical property mortgages might feel like a bad time. However, not the entire market is crashing. For example, the holiday let industry is booming and growing from quarter to quarter across the UK – making now a great time to buy-to-let.
“We’ve had several prospective investors contact our Airbnb management company to understand this market better and tell us about their plans. They seem to reach out to us first as a feeler to see if buying a property to let is a valuable investment – and it is, especially when you’re comparing it to private renting.” Neil, HelloGuest
For letting hotspots, click here. Or explore buy-to-let opportunities.
There is a need for a greater awareness of personal financial planning
*Investor beware
The wrong choice of investments can cost you thousands of pounds, not just in missed opportunities for a better return elsewhere but possibly even losing your original savings if a company collapses.
So, it is essential to understand some of the choices open to you and to pick the right person if you need financial advice.
Being your own investment adviser
Whether simple or complex, managing your investment affairs successfully can be hard work.
You need to learn enough about tax, insurance, pensions and investments to enable you to work out your needs and match them to appropriate financial products.
You’ll then need to keep abreast of changes affecting your financial decisions.
You’ll need some good basic and unbiased books to cover the groundwork, and you should diligently read the personal finance columns in the press, follow the financial programmes on radio and television, and study the leaflets and documents issued by financial institutions to describe their products.
You could subscribe to one or two specialist money magazines to help narrow your choices from the vast range of products and companies available. Few people have enough time to tackle their finances properly, so that a professional financial adviser could be the answer.