Weekend press review: how will Brexit affect your finances?

by | Dec 17, 2018

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SPOLIER ALERT>>> Bah humbug. If it’s Christmas cheer you’re looking for then you’d best look away now as there is precious little to give you a warm glow in the money pages of Sunday’s national consumer press.

It won’t surprise IFA Magazine readers one little bit to hear that the main reason for the lack of seasonal cheer is the “B” word. Yes, it’s Brexit – but with a personal finance twist this time. After weeks of avoiding the topic ( probably hoping that the outlook might become clearer) personal finance journalists have finally taken the bull by the horns and attempted to give readers an overview of how it might affect their finances – and what they can do to prepare. Now we have to say that on the surface of it, this is quite brave – considering none of us have the foggiest idea of how this rather important matter of Brexit will all play out in the weeks and months to come.  Also behind the gloom may be the markedly weaker fourth quarter growth figures and problems in the housing market. All in all, the money pages have ignored the festive fun that usually covers the pages at this time of year – and get readers to think more seriously about what might lie ahead in 2019.

So cut to the chase. What exactly are they saying?

 
 

In the Financial Mail on Sunday, Jeff Prestridge and Sally Hamilton combine to tell their readers to “keep calm and carry on”. It’s a detailed piece in which they look at investments, savings, household bills, mortgages, currency – as well as buying and selling houses. There’s nothing h in the article which is likely to shock professional advisers – but the overarching theme is about being prepared and thinking about what might lie ahead and how it might impact an individual’s personal financial situation. You get the drift.

Also in the MoS, a more upbeat story is the fund focus which this week looks at Legal and General Growth fund. It’s a best ideas fund, run by Gavin Launder on the basis that it holds just 25 stocks which he feels represent the best value at any given time. There’s no favouritism shown either, the idea is that each stock will represent approximately 4% of the overall portfolio. Prestridge examines the past performance of the trust in both absolute and relative terms, and talks to Launder about his management style and investment approach – which focuses on companies which are generating above average earnings growth and generating cash.

We mentioned earlier that there are some rather gloomy articles this weekend. Writing in the Sunday Times Business section, Oliver Shah is responsible for one of them – being a prophet of doom.  He’s sticking his neck out with a very strong warning about the prospects for open ended property funds in 2019. The reason why he suggests so strongly that investors in these funds may make a dash for the door isn’t so much Brexit, as the high street crisis currently being experienced – and reported – by so many of the UK’s leading retailers. Although property shares have been marked down recently, Shah quotes experts one of which suggests that retail property valuations could have another 20% to fall. The possible consequence for investment in property funds is obvious – but only time will tell.

 
 

Meanwhile, over at the Sunday Times Money section, things aren’t much more upbeat. The headline tells you everything you need to know. “Five red lights that warn of a crisis ahead.”. Oh dear. The article by James Coney proceeds to look at the housing market ( “at breaking point”) nest eggs (“shrinking”), global jitters putting the brake on the bull run and stretched families racking up debt. Ho ho… honestly, that’s really not very festive. The final shot is at the rich – who Coney says are looking elsewhere at alternative investments such as art, fine wines, whisky, farmland and classic cars. Gloomy indeed – but don’t say we didn’t warn you.

There’s gloom of a different kind in the Sunday Telegraph Money section, with warnings for home owners to get their homes “winter ready or risk losing thousands.” Mostly it’s about the prospect that any cold winter weather might cause burst pipes , something we’ll  not go into detail about here as it’s not the kind of thing we’d expect your clients to ask you about. Suffice to say, if you want to read the article – you know where to go.

 

 
 

 

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