archiveFT Adviser

The UK economy shrunk by 0.3 per cent in April, latest data from the ONS shows. It was the biggest drop in GDP since October 2023 and follows growth of 0.2 per cent in March. The largest contributor to the fall was a drop in monthly services output of 0.4 per cent. This was mainly driven by a 10 per cent drop in legal activities, linked to a drop in property services and therefore use of conveyancing solicitors. Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at Wealth Club said: “The UK economy is...

Despite tough market conditions lasting longer than expected, it is still a good time for investors to get into real estate investment, according to Custodian Property Income Reit fund manager Richard Shepherd-Cross. Custodian Property Income Reit has a portfolio of 150 properties and returned to profit in the last half of 2024. However, Shepherd-Cross admitted the market was taking longer to recover than expected. He said: “I am feeling reasonably chipper about the prospects at the moment. The window of opportunity for investors to get in at the bottom of...

The overall picture for current UK expats is generally a positive one ahead of new tax rules coming into effect on April 6 2025, according to Helen Clarke, HNW and international partner at Irwin Mitchell.Following the Autumn Budget, Rachel Reeves introduced a new set of rules which included the introduction of the foreign income and gains regime. This will offer 100 per cent relief on foreign income and gains for the first four years of UK tax residence for certain returning expats. Reeves also unveiled a new residence-based system for...

As a global equity investor, there is much to consider from US President Trump’s new tariff regime, particularly in the context of UK equities.The UK and Singapore received the lowest ‘reciprocal tariffs’ in President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ announcement. A tariff rate of 10 per cent, less than that imposed on the Eurozone, is probably a win for the UK economy, but for the UK stock market the picture is a little more nuanced.Compared to Europe, which faces a 20 per cent increased tariff, the changes will be easier for UK business to...

When a UK chancellor announces changes to tax relief in a Budget speech, it does not usually generate big headlines. Nor does it create a lasting impression in the minds of voters. But in her inaugural Autumn Budget last October, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced controversial changes to the UK’s inheritance tax regime — most notably to reliefs and exemptions — that have had an enduring impact, both in the media and in the public consciousness. The principal rationale for changes to IHT reliefs is, of course, to raise funds for the...