News:

Over the seventy years of her reign, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second personified permanence against a rapidly changing backdrop. To those of us who served in her Armed Forces she represented an enduring bulwark against fleeting trends and the latest fads. It was without the slightest regret that we all took the oath to be faithful and bear true allegiance to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law, because we knew that she would stand by us. This is not something we expect of politicians, of whatever hue, though on occasion they can surprise us all. Your Majesty, you will be sorely missed, and we are truly and humbly grateful for the enormous amount you have…[more]

Markets had already been falling since the start of the year on inflationary concerns and the ongoing impact of Covid on global supply chains as Omicron heads East.  The situation in Ukraine has significantly increased this uncertainty. Whilst investment matters are perhaps less important than the humanitarian crisis unfolding so close to home, we wanted to share with you our thoughts on the impact of recent events on markets and portfolio values. Unsurprisingly, the last month has been difficult for both equity and bond markets, with expectations for an increasing number of interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank prompting concern that efforts to get inflation under control may dampen…[more]

Thankfully the Omicron variant has proven far less severe, and the number of people in intensive care continues to decline.  We’re not out of the woods yet, but the Government has now been able to claim Plan B a success, allowing us to return to work in greater numbers.  It is difficult at this stage to know exactly how work patterns will evolve. Greater flexibility is certainly being demanded by employees in the big cities, and one must assume a hybrid of home and office hours will remain the norm for many of us.  For now though I am pleased to say that the Maunby team is back in the office, and happy to see to clients should they wish…[more]

On the 30th November the UK Treasury wrote to the office of Tax Simplification in response to the OTS suggestion of raising the rate of CGT and lowering the annual allowances. In the letter (a link can be found here) the Treasury passed over the suggestion, implying that the recommendations are off the table for the short to medium term. The Treasury also rejected making any changes to inheritance tax, which means that the two significant IhT reliefs of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) remain, as does the seven-year period for gifts and transfers to drop out of a donors or settlors estate. This means that our inhouse IhT portfolios will remain as tax-efficient as before,…[more]

During the festive period the London markets close early on the last working day before Christmas and New Year.  We will therefore be closed from 1pm on 24th and 31st December, although on all other business days we will be available as usual.  We hope you have a merry Christmas and wish you a prosperous 2022.

Following on from the recent appointments of Martin Tyson & Alison Pickup, we are pleased to welcome Rupert Fenton to Maunby as an Investment Manager. With over 30 years’ experience in the personal investment management industry, Rupert has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in investment management and stockbroking and is looking forward to joining the team at Maunby.