Lower Interest Rates For Longer

If you are offered something that seems too good to be true, it probably is!

If you are offered something that seems too good to be true, it probably is!

With the UK economy performing relatively well, there has been much speculation over when interest rates will finally rise. Even the Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, said in June that the economic recovery may mean the time is nearing. However, it now looks like savers will have to wait until mid to late 2015 for an increase.

The Bank of England (BoE) base interest rate has been at 0.5% since March 2009, and looks set to enter a sixth year at this record low. Six years of negligible interest rates has caused considerable damage to savers. In March last year the UK action group Save our Savers calculated that British savers had lost around £220 billion over four years, largely due to the level of inflation being higher than interest rates. More has been lost since.

Earlier this year there was talk of a rate rise this November, but minutes of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) October meeting and dovish comments made by members now suggest savers will need to wait longer.

How much of your savings do you keep in a bank account? If you have the long-term goal of maintaining your standard of living through retirement, then you need to maintain your buying power over the period – and it may be longer than you expect. You need to aim to earn real returns after inflation and taxation. That is very hard to do with interest and tax rates today.

Many people are therefore taking a risk by leaving their money in the bank, even though they think of it as a safe place.

On the other hand, do not be tempted by investments offering double digit returns, even if they imply that they are low risk or that the returns are guaranteed. Remember, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. Do not risk your wealth.

What you need is a considered and strategic investment plan, designed around your personal circumstances, aims, time horizon and risk tolerance. Using professional guidance, obtain a clear, objective assessment of your attitude to risk to establish the investment strategy that suits you best.

Having a professional manage your investments also means that you do not need to worry about what changes to interest rate expectation mean, or how the markets react, or economic developments. If you use an advisory service, you will have a professional looking out for you, to advise you when you do need to make changes. With a discretionary service, you leave it to the experts to make portfolio switches as needed in fast response to events. Seek advice on what would work best for you.

Blevins Franks provide both advisory and discretionary investment management services using highly rated organisations such as Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild Europe, as well as sophisticated psychometric analysis of your appetite for risk. We then design strategic asset allocation matched to your risk profile. We recommend tax efficient arrangements for your investments, to limit your tax liabilities as much as possible in Spain.

We specialise in looking for ways of reducing the tax you need to pay on invested capital, pensions, wealth and inheritance. Our services include tax and estate planning, pension planning and asset protection.