Category: News

Retiring should be a milestone you look forward to. It’s a chance to spend your time how you want and do the things you’ve been putting off because work has been in the way. Yet, sadly, research shows UK adults associate spending their retirement savings with negative words, and it could prevent them from enjoying the next chapter of their life.

According to an August 2025 article from Money Marketing, UK adults associate anxiety (26%), fear (18%), and guilt (15%) with spending their pension and other assets they’ve built up for retirement.

Positive emotions, such as excitement (15%), security (17%), and relief (10%), were less commonly associated with depleting assets in retirement.

Anxiety could hold back your retirement plans, even if you have enough to tick off items on your bucket list and live comfortably.

Working with your financial planner to create a cashflow model could help you turn anxiety into excitement.

A cashflow model can help you visualise your wealth

For most retirees, their pension provides their main source of income once they give up work. You’re also likely to benefit from the State Pension and have other assets you might want to draw on, such as savings, investments, or property.

Bringing together the value of all these assets and then calculating what that means for your income and financial security throughout your retirement can seem like a daunting task. This is where a cashflow model can be valuable.

A cashflow model is a powerful tool that lets you see how your wealth might change over your lifetime depending on the decisions you make and factors outside of your control.

You start by adding information about your finances now, such as the value of each asset and your expenditure.

With this foundation, the cashflow model can project how your wealth might change. So, you could see how the value of your pension will change during your working life if it delivers average annual returns of 5%. Or how your outgoings might rise to account for an annual inflation rate of 3%.

It can be particularly useful when you’re planning for retirement, as it can demonstrate if you have “enough” based on your plans, like when you want to retire and your expected income.

It’s important to note that the outcomes of a cashflow model cannot be guaranteed, but it can provide useful information so you’re able to make informed decisions. To ensure your cashflow model continues to reflect your circumstances and long-term goals, it’s also essential that you update it regularly with your financial planner.

Calculating a sustainable income could ease retirement anxiety

It’s understandable why people feel anxiety and fear about spending their retirement savings. After all, if you spend too much too soon, you could find yourself in a financially vulnerable position.

The cashflow model can project how your wealth might change. For instance, you could see:

• If you can maintain your current lifestyle with your pension savings
• Whether you’re in a position to retire before you reach State Pension Age
• Whether you’d potentially run out of money if you increased your annual pension withdrawal by £10,000.

Not only can a cashflow model help you understand the potential effect of your decisions, but it can also be useful when assessing how outside factors might affect your finances.

For example, you might change the assumptions the cashflow model uses to see how:

• You would cope if you faced an unexpected bill in retirement
• A period of high inflation might deplete your assets at a faster rate
• A market downturn would affect your investments and long-term finances.

A cashflow model can help you identify potential gaps in your retirement finances and take steps to bridge them. It could help you feel more positive about taking a step back from work and spending your pension.

Calculating the effect of gifting assets and the value of your estate could ease guilt

Interestingly, the Money Marketing article noted that 15% of UK adults feel guilty about spending their retirement savings.

If you find it difficult to spend money on yourself, a financial plan could help you identify what your priorities are and give you the confidence to pursue them.

For some people, supporting loved ones will be a priority and help ease any feelings of guilt. Again, a cashflow model can be useful.

If you want to gift assets to your loved ones during your lifetime, you can input this into your cashflow model to see how it might affect your long-term financial security. For example, if you want to gift a house deposit to your grandchild, you can use a cashflow model to assess the effect of gifting a lump sum now.

You might also be thinking about what legacy you’ll leave behind for loved ones, and how it could provide financial support when you’re gone. A cashflow model could help you calculate the value of your estate in the future, so you’re able to create an effective estate plan.

Contact us to talk about your cashflow plan

If you’d like to review or create a cashflow plan, please contact us.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts. 

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate cashflow modelling or estate planning.

Everyone is affected by bias when they’re making decisions. However, while some choices will have little effect on your future, financial decisions could significantly affect your long-term security. When it comes to money, you ideally want to focus on logic and long-term goals rather than acting on biases.

Financial bias refers to the unconscious tendencies or emotions that can cloud logical decision-making about money.

While you might know that making investments or other financial decisions based on emotions is often a bad idea, one of the challenges is that it can be difficult to recognise when biases are influencing you. Indeed, you might believe you’re making a rational decision, but when you examine your motives, you realise emotions or social pressure are playing a role.

Being able to objectively look at what’s guiding your decisions could allow you to make the choices that are right for your long-term plans.

So, here are five signs that financial bias might be affecting your choices. Recognising them in your actions could give you a chance to review your decisions from a fresh perspective.

1. You feel the need to act urgently

If you feel like you need to react immediately to news or updates, emotions could be getting in the way of you making a logical decision.

For example, while investing can feel like you need to react immediately to secure the best returns, taking a long-term view is often a better approach for the average investor. Rushed decisions could mean investing in assets that don’t align with your financial goals or reacting based on only a portion of the information available.

Feeling the need to act urgently could be fuelled by fear – you might worry that if you don’t take immediate action, you’ll lose money or miss out on an opportunity – or other emotions.

If you find you’re frequently making reactive decisions, set a cooling-off period. Giving yourself 24 hours to think through the options could let your emotions settle and mean you can come back to the decision with a clear head.

2. You’re focused on short-term performance

How often do you check the performance of your investments?

While it’s natural to want to keep an eye on investment performance, especially during periods of volatility, it can lead to a short-term mindset. If you’re fixating on day-to-day changes in asset values, recency bias could be playing a role.

Recency bias is when you place too much weight on recent events. So, rather than looking at how your investments have performed over the last decade, you’re focused on the short-term market movements. It could lead to you making decisions based on short-term trends and potentially missing out on long-term gains.

You should invest with a long-term time frame, so zoom out when you’re reviewing performance to assess how your portfolio has fared over years, not weeks.

3. You’re distracted by what other people are doing

Going against the crowd can be scary in many situations, including when you’re making financial decisions. If you’re not following what everyone else is doing, it can feel like you must be making a mistake.

If you find yourself distracted by what others are doing, herd mentality could be affecting you.

Remember, even if a financial decision is right for your friend, it doesn’t automatically mean it’s a good idea for you as well. Your goals and financial circumstances could be very different and affect what’s right for each of you.

4. You ignore important market conditions

Being able to review information objectively can help you align decisions with your long-term goals. However, biases like overconfidence could mean you dismiss market conditions and instead rely on your instincts, even if evidence suggests your strategy might not be right for you or the current environment.

While it’s true that you shouldn’t let every headline dictate your decisions, overlooking data could be just as damaging. Regular financial reviews could help you strike the right balance and understand which information is relevant to your investment goals and time frame.

5. You want to “win” when investing

How investing is depicted in the media can make it seem like something you can win or lose at, and it can encourage a “go all in” mindset. That might lead to you investing a large portion of your wealth into a single opportunity or withdrawing all your investments to hold in cash during a downturn.

In reality, most investors benefit from a diversified portfolio that holds a range of assets and investments in different sectors and geographical locations. This means that when one area of your portfolio experiences a dip, it may be balanced by gains in another.

While that might not seem as exciting as putting all your money into a single investment opportunity in the hopes that it becomes the next technology giant, diversification can deliver more stable gains and be tailored to suit your risk profile.

Working with a financial planner could help you identify bias

It can be difficult to assess what’s guiding your own decisions, especially during emotional times. Working with a financial planner means you have someone who understands your situation to discuss your options with and counteract emotional reactions.

Please get in touch to arrange a meeting to talk to us about your financial plan and how to remain on track to reach your long-term goals.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up, and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

This guest blog was written by Chris Budd, who wrote the original Financial Wellbeing Book as well as The Four Cornerstones of Financial Wellbeing. He founded the Institute for Financial Wellbeing and has written more than 100 episodes of the Financial Wellbeing Podcast.

For most people, retiring is a goal. Pick an age, create a financial plan to make sure that age is achievable, and then start dreaming of the day that you don’t have to work.

The trouble with this approach is that it focuses on achieving the goal of not working. As a consequence, many people move into retirement without having given sufficient thought to what they will actually do with all this free time.

Retirement planning isn’t about having enough money so that you don’t have to work. Retirement planning is about designing a life that will bring you wellbeing.

What Kevin Keegan tells us about retirement planning

Kevin Keegan was the greatest footballer of his generation. He retired rich and successful. He went to live in Spain to play golf, the dream of many people in retirement.

After a few years, a realisation dawned on Kevin. He was bored.

He had gone from training all week and scoring goals in front of thousands of adoring fans to hitting a ball around the golf course. He had lost his purpose.

He moved back to the UK and became the football manager for Newcastle United.

Kevin hadn’t planned his retirement. He just did what everybody else did and assumed it would make him happy.

The 3 things you lose when you retire

A person who is old enough to have retirement in their sights is likely to have three things from work:

1. They are probably pretty good at what they do by now. They have competence.
2. They probably have a good understanding of why they do what they do and how it impacts others. They have purpose.
3. And they probably work with a team of people with whom they get on and who respect them. They have a community.

When you leave the world of work, all of these are going to disappear. A happy retirement, therefore, is one which has been planned well in advance for how to replace each of these three things.

Beware the travel trap

If I were to ask every person reading this article, “What do you plan to do in retirement?”, virtually every answer would include the word “travel”.

The world is a huge place, and there is so much variety of culture which most people would like to experience.

Including a budget for travel in your financial plan is a great idea. However, many people don’t go any further in their planning. This can be a mistake. There are two potential drawbacks to having travel as the main, or only, part of your retirement plan.

Firstly, you come back. Once you have ticked one destination off the list, it’s time to come home until it is time for the next trip. This means the majority of your time is spent not travelling.

Secondly, whilst travelling is a very enjoyable experience, it does not give any of those three things that you have just lost from work: competence, purpose and community.

Kindness

If there was one word which sums up the secret to happiness, it is: kindness.

When they reach retirement, many people spend at least some of their time helping others, like working in a charity, being a trustee, mentoring, or helping to run community organisations.

In the words of the late great Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “Joy is your reward for the giving of joy.”

A wellbeing retirement

The trick, then, to a retirement of joy and wellbeing is to look past the finish line.

When you reach the financial position which means you are working because you want to, not because you have to, how will you spend your time?

A week spent with a blend of: doing things you’ve always wanted to do; helping others; doing so in a way that uses your skills; and which gets you involved in a community; is likely to add up to a happy retirement.

It is a good idea to discuss these issues with your financial adviser. They should dare you to dream, to go beyond a list of things to do or places to go, and create a retirement of purpose and wellbeing.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

Trade tariffs continued to affect investment markets in June 2025, though uncertainty did start to ease. However, rising tensions in the Middle East may have affected the performance of your investments. Read on to find out more.

Remember, it’s often wise to take a long-term view of your investments when reviewing returns, rather than focusing on short-term market movements.

In June, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its global growth forecast to 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, down from 3.1% and 3% respectively, on the assumption that tariff rates in mid-May are sustained.

The OECD said: “Substantial increases in barriers to trade, tighter financial conditions, weaker business and consumer confidence and heightened policy uncertainty will all have marked adverse effects on growth prospects if they persist.”

Similarly, the World Bank lowered its growth forecasts for nearly 70% of all economies. It estimates that the 2020s are on course to be the weakest decade for the global economy since the 1960s.

Trade tensions ease, but uncertainty in the Middle East leads to volatility

On 2 June, a European market sell-off started in early trading as investors continued to react to the trade war. Stock indices, which track the largest companies listed on each stock exchange, were down, including Germany’s DAX (-0.25%), France’s CAC (-0.5%), and the UK’s FTSE 100 (-0.27%). Markets in the US also opened lower, including the S&P 500 dropping 0.3%.

However, there was some good news in the UK. Following the announcement of a new defence review, stocks in the sector jumped, with Babcock, one of the largest Ministry of Defence contractors, leading the way with a rise of 3.8%.

Germany’s sluggish economy received a boost on 4 June when a tax relief package worth €46 billion between 2025 and 2029 was unveiled. It led to the DAX rising 0.9%.

After weeks of tit-for-tat tariffs between the US and China, a trade deal was struck on 11 June. The US said a 55% tariff, inclusive of pre-existing levies, would be placed on China. The deal led to Chinese stocks rising. Indeed, the CSI 300 index, which tracks the largest stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets, was up around 0.8%.

Despite poor economic data from the UK, the FTSE 100 closed at a record high on 12 June. Among the top risers were health and safety device maker Halma (2.8%) and Tesco (1.8%).

In contrast, European markets dipped, with the DAX (-1.35%) and CAC (-1%) both falling.

The Iran-Israel crisis led to stock markets falling when they opened on 13 June. In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.56% and almost every blue-chip share was in the red. It was a similar picture in Europe and the US, with indices dipping.

On 24 June, Donald Trump, president of the US, declared there was a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. It led to geopolitical fears easing and markets rallying around the world. However, some fears remain.

UK

UK economic data released in June was weak.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April. This was partly linked to trade tariffs as exports of UK goods to the US fell by around £2 billion.

In addition, the ONS revealed the rate of inflation remained above the 2% target at 3.4% in the 12 months to May. The news led to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voting to hold interest rates.

However, think tank the Institute for Public Policy Committee said the central bank was harming households by not cutting the base interest rate. It also added that GDP was lower than expected because interest rates have been kept too high for too long.

A Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) involves surveying companies to create an economic indicator. A reading above 50 suggests a sector is growing.

In June, PMI readings for May show the manufacturing and construction sectors were contracting, but they had improved when compared to a month earlier, leading to hopes that a corner has been turned. In addition, the composite PMI, which combines service and manufacturing surveys, moved back into growth.

Europe

Eurostat figures show the rate of inflation across the eurozone fell to 1.9% in May, down from 2.2% in April, taking it below the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 2% target for the first time since September 2024.

In response, the ECB lowered its three key interest rates for the eighth time in the last 12 months.

There was also positive news from PMI data. The eurozone continues to hover just above the 50 mark that indicates growth, and German business activity returned to growth in June. As the largest economy in the eurozone, German activity is important to the bloc, and factory orders were also higher than expected.

Ireland is leading the EU in terms of growth. The country had expected its GDP to grow by 3.2% in the first quarter of 2025, but exceeded this with an impressive 9.7% boost. The jump was linked to strong exports in pharmaceuticals and other key sectors as companies tried to get ahead of tariffs.

US

In the 12 months to May 2025, the rate of inflation in the US increased slightly to 2.4% and remains above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

A PMI conducted by the Institute of Supply Management shows the US manufacturing sector is slipping due to tariff uncertainty. Indeed, 57% of the sector’s GDP contracted in May, up from 41% in April.

The data from the service sector was also negative, with figures showing it contracted in May for the first time in June 2024, and new orders fell at the fastest rate since December 2022.

However, separate data suggests that businesses are feeling more optimistic about the future.

The National Federation of Independent Business’s Small Business Optimism Index increased three points in May. It was the first rise since Trump took office at the start of the year thanks to trade talks taking place between the US and China throughout June.

The US economy also added 139,000 jobs in May. The number was slightly higher than forecast and could suggest that businesses feel confident enough to expand their workforce.

Asia

Data from China showed it wasn’t immune to the effects of the trade war.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics data shows inflation was -0.1% in May as prices dropped. Deflation affecting the country highlighted the importance of the US and China reaching a trade deal.

In addition, manufacturing activity in May shrank at the fastest pace in two and a half years. Firms were hit by falls in new orders and weaker export demand. The PMI reading was 48.5, down from 50.4 in April.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up, and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

Do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist?

The “blue dot theory” could suggest that humans are hard-wired to be pessimists, after psychologists discovered that once our brains are primed to see something (such as a blue dot), we see it everywhere, even when it’s not really there.

Read on to learn more about how the blue dot theory could be affecting you and how you can stop it from negatively impacting your life.

The “blue dot” theory

In 2017, Harvard researchers asked participants to identify blue dots among thousands, ranging from very blue to very purple.

During the first 200 trials, the participants could accurately identify the roughly equal proportion of blue and purple dots. However, as the experiment progressed and fewer blue dots appeared, participants began to label more obviously purple dots as blue.

To confirm their findings, the researchers attempted another trial with the same concept where they replaced the blue and purple dots with photos of threatening and non-threatening expressions. Once again, as they reduced the number of threatening photos, participants still identified the same ratio of pictures as threatening.

They concluded that our brains are designed to look for threats and problems regardless of our environment or whether the issues exist.

In practice, this often affects social lives. If your brain is looking for problems, you are more likely to interpret other people’s expressions, comments, or silences as judgments against you.

The blue dot theory also means that when you solve the big problems in your life, instead of being pleased with your progress, the smaller annoyances become more significant to you to fill the space.

How to combat the blue dot effect

If your brain is hard-wired to be pessimistic, you might be thinking there’s nothing you can do to change it – but have a bit of optimism!

The more aware you are of how the blue dot theory impacts your day-to-day life, the easier it is for you to change your mindset and combat the negative effects it can have on your relationships.

1. Stop projecting assumptions

The blue dot theory often leads us to leap to assumptions about other people based on our own thoughts, feelings, or intentions.

For example, you might interpret your colleagues’ neutral behaviour as personal attacks on you based on insecurities. Next time you find yourself wondering if someone you know is displeased with you, stop and consider whether you have concrete evidence to prove this.

Separating facts from assumptions can help you to quash the negative thoughts and remind you that most people are too focused on themselves to analyse your every move.

2. Try to avoid snap judgments

Our ability to make fast decisions is an evolutionary device that has kept humanity alive for centuries, but it can also lead to you making wrong judgments about your loved ones.

For example, if your friend seems quiet, your first assumption might be that they are upset with you. However, this snap judgment is based on limited evidence and might not be true.

Next time, you find yourself making a snap judgment about something important, pause and allow yourself to wonder what else could be the reasoning behind someone’s behaviour. For example, simply asking your friend what is wrong could help you to support them and deepen your friendship, rather than assuming the worst straight off the bat.

3. Practise gratitude

The blue dot effect can make your life seem a lot worse than reality by turning every inconvenience into a monumental problem and every social interaction into an anxiety-inducing spiral.

Although we can’t prevent ourselves from finding problems and seeing the bad parts of life, it’s important to focus on the good things.

Take five minutes out of your day to reflect on all the progress you have made in life and some good things that have happened to you recently. You can even record the things you are grateful for in a journal every morning for a positive start to your day, or every night to help you sleep peacefully.

While it can seem difficult to find the positives at first, practising gratitude can help you weaponise the blue dot theory against your brain. If you prime yourself to focus on the good things in life, you are more likely to see them, helping you to have a more optimistic outlook on life.

4. Be compassionate towards yourself

We are often our own worst critics. When we’re quick to judge ourselves, blue dot theory means we are even faster at interpreting other people’s actions as judgments against us.

Being kinder to yourself will mean you assume other people have good intentions and can help you put a positive spin on any problems you might face.

To start practising self-compassion, try talking to yourself as you would someone you care about. Every time you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, consider whether you would say those things to someone you love, and offer yourself the same kindness.

After more than five decades at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway, legendary investor Warren Buffett has announced he’s retiring at the age of 94. He’s credited with turning the failing textile maker into a successful holding company. In May 2025, the BBC estimated Berkshire Hathaway was worth $1.16 trillion (£870 billion).

Considered by many to be the most successful investor of the 20th century, Buffett has regularly featured on lists of the world’s wealthiest people, despite giving away vast sums.

While Buffett has a huge number of resources at his disposal, many of his idioms may be useful for ordinary investors, including these five.

1. Invest with a long-term view

Throughout his career, Buffett has focused on the potential long-term value of stocks and shares.

Indeed, he said: “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.”

It’s a useful reminder that trying to generate quick returns could lead to investors missing out on long-term gains. With so many different factors influencing the value of investments, it’s impossible to consistently time the market.

While investment markets often experience short-term movements, historically, they have delivered returns over longer time frames. Investors who plan to hold investments over the long term could benefit as a result.

2. Avoid investing FOMO

Buffett earned the moniker “oracle of Omaha” for his ability to make long-term investment decisions, and he did it without following the crowd.

Investing FOMO (fear of missing out) leads some people to invest in a way that doesn’t align with their strategy because they believe investments are “good” or “safer” if others are choosing them. However, making investment decisions based solely on what others are doing may be harmful.

Buffett once said: “When everyone wants in on it, that’s probably not the right time to jump in.”

When everyone is talking about the latest stock that’s sure to deliver big returns, the buzz has often already led to prices rising. As a result, following the latest trends could lead to disappointment.

It’s also important to note that what is a “good” investment for one person may not be right for another. As your circumstances and goals will play a role in your investment strategy, acting based on FOMO might mean you make investment decisions that don’t align with your financial plan.

3. Invest in what you know

Buffett once advised budding investors that they didn’t have to be experts in every company, but only had to evaluate companies within their “circle of competence”. In other words, stick to what you know, even if an opportunity outside of your knowledge sounds enticing.

Recognising when you could benefit from expert advice or support is beneficial too.

Buffett considered this when thinking about his estate plan. He’s instructed the trustee of his estate to invest 90% of his money into a passive fund, so his wife doesn’t need to make investment decisions day-to-day.

As a financial planning firm, we could help you create a balanced investment portfolio that you can have confidence in, including if you want to take a hands-off approach.

4. Don’t be seduced by a “bargain”

Finding a bargain, whether you’re out shopping or assessing investments, can be thrilling – everyone wants to get something for less if they can. However, looking only at the price when you’re weighing up an investment opportunity might mean you make a decision that isn’t right for you.

Instead, look at the bigger picture. How would the investment fit into your wider portfolio, and does it align with your investment goals?

As Buffett said: “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

5. Make investing part of your wider financial plan

When you’re setting out or reviewing an investment strategy, it can be easy to look at it in isolation. Yet, by making it part of your wider financial plan, you could improve the decisions you make.

For example, your financial circumstances and goals will play a role in your investment risk profile. Incorporating these areas when weighing up investments could help you strike a balance that suits your needs. Without this approach, you could find yourself taking more risk than is appropriate.

Buffett once noted: “It is insane to risk what you have and need to obtain what you don’t need.”

Contact us to talk about your investment strategy

An investment strategy that’s been tailored to your needs could lead to returns that help you reach your long-term goals. Please get in touch to talk to us about your investments.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

Opting for a “boring” investment strategy could be the route to returns that allow you to make exciting lifestyle decisions in the future. If you’re looking for excitement in your investments, read on to find out why that approach could lead to disappointments.

The media can make investing seem exciting

When you’re reading financial headlines, they might say things like “stock market soars in best day ever” or “the best companies to invest in right now”. In other media, investing is often dramatic too. For example, in The Wolf of Wall Street, the main character, Jordan Belfort, is shown making a huge fortune through investing and fraud.

Yet, despite the perceived excitement of investing, acting on emotions, even ones that feel positive, could harm your decisions. The excitement of finding a tip that declares a company will be the “next Apple” could lead to you skipping further research, like assessing the risk profile of the firm and whether it fits into your existing portfolio.

Investors might even feel excited about the risks they’re taking – the anticipation of waiting to see if they were “right” can be addictive. So, some investors may take more risk than is appropriate because it adds to the excitement.

As a result, viewing investing as something that should be exciting has the potential to affect the long-term performance and could mean you’re at greater risk of losing your money.

So, what’s the solution? For many, it’s taking a boring approach to investing.

Why boring investments work

First, what does a “boring” approach to investing mean?

Focusing on your long-term goals and building an investment strategy around this and other factors, such as what an appropriate level of risk is and other assets you might hold. You’d try to remove emotions from your investment decisions and, instead, use logic.

If you’ve heard the mantra “buy low, sell high”, this approach might seem like it wouldn’t work. Yet, historically, investing with a long-term outlook, rather than responding to short-term market movements, is a strategy that’s worked for many investors.

March 2023 data from Schroders highlights the challenges of trying to time the market.

If you’d invested £1,000 at the start of 1988 in an index of the largest 100 UK companies and left the investment alone, it would have been worth £15,104 in June 2022 – an annual return of 8.31% on average.

However, if you tried to time the market and missed just the 10 best days, your average annual return would fall to 6.1% and you’d have £7,503 in June 2022, less than half of the amount had you remained invested.

While trying to buy low and sell high might be exciting, even just a few mistakes could mean you miss out on long-term returns.

Of course, it’s important to note that investment returns cannot be guaranteed, and past performance isn’t a reliable indicator of future performance. Yet, it can provide a useful insight into why taking a long-term view when making investment decisions could be beneficial.

Boring investing could lead to exciting lifestyle opportunities

A boring approach to investing doesn’t have to mean the outcomes are dull. In fact, taking a long-term approach could mean you have more opportunities to create the lifestyle you want.

A long-term investment strategy might allow you to tick items off your bucket list like:

• Retiring earlier to travel the world
• Sampling dishes at award-winning restaurants
• Creating a disposable income to attend gigs or the theatre
• Purchasing a holiday home to spend time with your family.

Rather than looking for excitement when investing, finding it in your long-term plans and what investment returns may allow you to do could be far more rewarding.

Contact us to talk about your investments

If you’d like to talk about your current investments, or you have a sum you’d like to invest, please get in touch. We’ll work with you to create a long-term investment strategy that’s aligned with your goals and financial circumstances.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up, and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

Retirement can be a tricky time to manage your finances. Often, it represents a huge change as your regular income might stop and, instead, you start to deplete your assets. So, it’s natural that emotions might influence some of the decisions you make if you let them, but it could be harmful.

Here are three different ways emotions could affect your retirement outlook and how to manage them.

1. Retirement excitement could lead to overspending

Retirement is often an exciting milestone and one you might have been looking forward to for years.

So, if you’re focused on enjoying the moment and ticking off some of those long-awaited dreams, you’re not alone. Perhaps you’ve booked an extravagant holiday now you don’t have to fit it around work, or you’ve finally got around to making the home improvements that have been on your mind for ages.

Celebrating the next chapter of your life is important – you’ve earned it – but it often needs to be balanced with a long-term outlook.

Many retirees have a defined contribution pension, which doesn’t provide a regular income. Instead, you’ll need to manage how and when to access your savings to ensure they provide financial security for the rest of your life. There’s a risk that if you spend too much too soon, you could run out in your later years.

Meeting your financial planner to discuss how much you can sustainably withdraw from your pension could help you strike the right balance. Knowing that your plan considers your long-term financial security could mean you’re able to enjoy those early retirement celebrations even more.

2. Investment market movements could lead to emotional decisions

During your working life, your pension is usually invested with the aim of delivering long-term growth. As modern retirements often span decades, it could make sense to leave your pension or other assets invested when you give up work to potentially generate returns.

One of the emotional challenges of investing is the temptation to react to market news. Whether it’s negative or positive, attention-grabbing headlines can leave you feeling like you need to make adjustments to your investments.

You might be excited about an opportunity or fearful of a potential downturn, and make a knee-jerk decision based on these emotions.

However, as with investing when you’re working, a measured, long-term approach often makes sense for retired investors. While investment returns cannot be guaranteed, markets have, historically, delivered returns over a long-term time frame.

Try to tune out the noise and emotions when you’re reviewing your investments and focus on your goals instead.

Reviewing your investment strategy as you near retirement could help you feel more confident about your long-term finances and identify if adjustments might be necessary, based on your changing circumstances rather than emotions.

3. Fear of overspending may hold back your retirement dreams

While some retirees risk running out of money, the opposite can also be true.

Despite having saved diligently during their working life for a comfortable retirement, some people find that their concerns mean they feel nervous about using their pension or other assets. It could mean that a retirement that promised much is disappointing, even though they have the funds to turn their goals into a reality.

You might think of financial planning as a way to grow your wealth, but that’s not always the case. Financial planning is about helping you use your assets to reach your goals. In retirement, that could mean encouraging you to spend more if you’re in a position to do so.

If you’ve been putting off booking the safari you’ve been looking forward to or simply counting every penny when you go shopping, a meeting with your financial planner might be just what you need.

By understanding your assets and how the value of them might change during your lifetime depending on your spending habits, you can set out a budget that’s right for you and, hopefully, find the confidence to really enjoy this chapter of your life.

A retirement plan could help keep emotions in check

A retirement plan that’s been tailored to your lifestyle goals and financial circumstances could give you the confidence to dismiss potentially harmful emotions and focus on getting the most out of your retirement years. Please contact us to arrange a meeting with our team.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up, and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available.

The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts. 

This guest blog was written by Chris Budd, who wrote the original Financial Wellbeing Book as well as The Four Cornerstones of Financial Wellbeing. He founded the Institute for Financial Wellbeing and has written more than 100 episodes of the Financial Wellbeing Podcast.

Life can be complicated, can’t it? There are so many distractions, sometimes it’s hard to keep focus on the main objectives of life, one of which surely must be to maintain our wellbeing.

Being happy doesn’t come easily. It takes work and nurture. We need to actively ensure that we spend our time and money promoting the things that will bring us joy.

Some of these things are fairly obvious – a roof over our heads, food on the table, good health, love, and kindness.

Some are less obvious. Indeed, some are actually part of the problem, things we think will bring wellbeing that turn out to be false objectives, like a bigger house or an expensive car.

There is one particular piece of research, however, that reveals the secret to a happy life, something that has been shown to be the main contributor to our long-term wellbeing. It is the thing on which we should surely focus our time and money, and, as a result, our financial plan.

The Harvard longitudinal study

Researchers at Harvard University asked a cohort of young people – some of them Harvard students, and some from poor areas of Boston – what they thought would make them happy as they went through life.

Overwhelmingly, these young people reported two anticipated sources of wellbeing: money and fame.

The researchers then went back to those young people every two years. They asked them how happy they were, and what factors were helping or hindering their wellbeing.

They have been doing so ever since, for the last 80 years or so. They brought on new cohorts, and so now have a huge bank of information about the contributory factors to a happy life and long-term wellbeing.

The secret to wellbeing

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those who became famous reported no higher levels of wellbeing than those who did not. What may be more of a surprise, however, is that those who became wealthy also reported no greater levels of wellbeing than those who were not wealthy.

There was, however, one overriding factor that affected the levels of wellbeing – the quality of their social relationships.

Note that it is not the quantity, but the quality.

Those who reported high quality levels of social relationships were happier than those who did not. This even ran so deep that those who reported being lonely often died younger.

The application to financial planning

Buying a luxury item might make us happy for a while. However, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on longer-term wellbeing. If owning bigger and more things is not a source of wellbeing, but quality of social relationships is, how does this impact our relationship with money?

The key question of financial planning is: how much is enough? This Harvard study tells us that we need to extend this question – how much is enough, and for what?

One of the keys to increasing financial wellbeing is having a clear path to identifiable objectives. What are those identifiable objectives that your financial plan aims to make real? Do they include any references to the quality of your social relationships?

In practical terms, this might be a trip to visit friends or loved ones living far away. It could be moving to a four-day week to spend more time supporting a charity or other organisation you are involved with. Or you may change jobs to one that pays a bit less, but allows you to walk the kids to school and tuck them into bed at night. I’m sure you could think of many other examples.

With so many distractions and complications, it is so easy to get distracted from the main contributor to our wellbeing. This is what your financial plan is actually for. To create that clear path to identifiable objectives, and then to review progress regularly. In this way, you can ensure that your financial plan is helping you to focus on the things that are the secret to happiness.

You can read all about the Harvard study on happiness in the book The Good Life by Robert Waldinger and Mark Schulz.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

Trade wars and fears that tariffs could spark recessions meant investment market volatility continued in March 2025 and the start of April 2025. Read on to find out more about some of the factors that may have affected the value of your investments recently.

Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump affected markets negatively and, as other countries react to the measures, there continues to be uncertainty.

While market volatility and periods of downturn can be worrisome, remember it’s part of investing. Historically, markets have delivered returns over long-term time frames, even after periods of downturn, and often sticking to your investment plan makes financial sense. So, if you’re tempted to react to the news, reviewing your long-term plan and goals could be useful.

UK

Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the Spring Statement at the end of March, setting out the government’s spending plans, against a challenging backdrop.

The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in January 2025 when compared to a month earlier following a decline in factory output. In addition, while the rate of inflation is declining, at 2.8% in the 12 months to February 2025, it’s still above the Bank of England’s (BoE) 2% target.

The news prompted the BoE to hold its base interest rate at 4.5%, which will have disappointed households and businesses that were hoping for a cut to ease the cost of borrowing.

Data from Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMI) was pessimistic too.

According to S&P Global, the manufacturing sector continues to face tough conditions. The headline figure was 46.9 in February. It’s the fifth consecutive month that the reading has been below the 50 mark which indicates growth. There were declines in output, new orders, and employment.

The construction data was similar, with the headline figure falling to 46.6, the biggest downturn since 2009 aside from the 2020 pandemic. There were steep declines in housebuilding and civil engineering activity.

Despite speculation that Reeves would increase taxes and reduce tax thresholds or exemptions, the Spring Statement focused on cutting the welfare budget. Indeed, the announcements made in the 2024 Autumn Budget remain intact.

Investment markets were affected by US trade wars and the war in Ukraine.

On 3 March, European leaders met in London for a summit to draw up a Ukraine peace plan. The meeting led to the pound and European stock market soaring as investors hoped for a resolution. Perhaps unsurprisingly, defence stocks saw the biggest gains, including the UK’s BAE Systems, which jumped by more than 14%.

However, the boost was short-lived. On 4 March, trade wars between the US and Canada, Mexico, and China triggered a drop of 1.27% on the FTSE 100 – an index of the 100 biggest companies on the London Stock Exchange.

There was an uptick in optimism towards the end of the month.

On 24 March, investors hoped that President Donald Trump would show flexibility ahead of the unveiling of new global tariffs in April. The FTSE 100 opened 0.5% up, with mining stocks leading the rally – winners included Anglo American (3.9%), Antofagasta (3.3%), Glencore (3%), and Rio Tinto (2.5%).

However, in early April, Trump unveiled tariffs on many countries, including the UK, which led to markets falling.

However, in early April, Trump unveiled tariffs on many countries, including the UK, which led to markets falling.

Europe

Data from the European Central Bank (ECB) shows inflation is moving closer to the 2% target. It was 2.4% in the 12 months to February 2025 across the eurozone.

The news prompted the ECB to cut the base interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25%.

Data suggests the wider European economy is facing similar challenges to the UK.

Indeed, S&P Global PMI figures show a factory downturn. In addition, the headline PMI figure fell from 45.5 in January to 42.7 in February. Worryingly, the two largest economies in the EU, Germany and France, experienced the sharpest downturns.

The Euro Stoxx Volatility index, which tracks investor uncertainty, found stock market volatility hit a seven-month high in February and has more than doubled since mid-December 2024 due to investors feeling nervous about the global outlook.

So, it’s not surprising that there have been ups and downs for investors.

The 3 March summit in London benefited wider European stock markets. Again, defence stocks saw the biggest gains – Germany’s Rheinmetall, France’s Thales, and Italy’s Leonardo all saw an increase of at least 14%.

Expectations that US tariffs will hit the automaker industry led to stocks in the sector falling on 4 March. Among the shares affected were tiremakers Continental, which saw a 9% drop, as well as Daimler Truck (-6.6%), BMW (-5.5%), and Mercedes-Benz (-4.5%).

Similar to the UK, European markets were negatively affected by US tariffs at the start of April.

Similar to the UK, European markets were negatively affected by US tariffs at the start of April.

US

US inflation is nearing the Federal Reserve’s 2% target after a rate of 2.8% was recorded in the 12 months to February 2025.

However, there was negative news from the labour market. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate edged up to 4.1% in February.

PMI readings for the manufacturing sector also reflected this trend. New orders fell in February and companies continued to lay off staff, which may suggest they don’t feel confident in the future. Yet, the sector has grown for two consecutive months.

On 3 March, in contrast to Europe, Wall Street dipped slightly. The technology-focused Nasdaq index was down 0.8% and the broader market indices Dow Jones and S&P 500 both fell 0.3%.

The following day, Trump declared 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on imports from China. The news led to the dollar weakening, and indices tumbling further – the Nasdaq fell 2.6% and S&P 500 was down 1.7% – and the declines continued into the next week.

Technology stocks in particular have been hit hard by the market volatility. AJ Bell warned since the start of 2025, $1.57 trillion (£1.21 trillion) had been wiped off the value of the Magnificent Seven – seven influential and high-performing US technology stocks – as of 4 March.

Carmaker Tesla is among the biggest losers. As of mid-March, its share price had halved since it benefited from a post-election rally at the end of 2024, which has partly been driven by sales in the EU falling by almost 50%.

Once again, the uncertainty caused by trade wars led to volatility in the US markets.

Once again, the uncertainty caused by trade wars led to volatility in the US markets.

Asia

As a country with a trade surplus and a large US market, tariffs are expected to hamper growth in China.

China’s GDP target is 5% for 2025, the same target it hit in 2024. However, economists believe replicating this in 2025 will be difficult. China succeeded in reaching the 2024 target thanks to an export boom at the end of the year – exports increased by 10.7%, as some businesses tried to beat the expected tariffs.

In contrast, between January and February 2025, Chinese imports fell by 8.4% year-on-year after economists had expected growth of 1%. The data might suggest that Chinese manufacturers are cutting back on buying raw materials and parts due to trade concerns.

Tariffs imposed by the US led to China unveiling similarly high tariffs at the start of April. The trade war is likely to affect China’s economy and its ability to reach GDP goals in 2025.

Tariffs imposed by the US led to China unveiling similarly high tariffs at the start of April. The trade war is likely to affect China’s economy and its ability to reach GDP goals in 2025.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.