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Lower Your Investment Taxes

Taxes Halifax Investments

Almost all things we do are taxed these days. We at Halifax Investments wonder whether breathing oxygen will soon be taxed…

But seriously, from driving, to eating to saving, there is always something going towards the taxman.

When it comes to money you are able to minimise what you have to pay the taxman, even without using unscrupulous tax avoidance schemes.

All UK residents have an Isa allowance of £11,520, up to £5,760 of which can go into a cash Isa and the rest in a stocks and shares Isa. The interest on money in their cash Isa is earned tax free. With an investing Isa you will still have to pay 10 per cent tax on dividend income, but won’t have to worry about paying any more than that amount, you can also avoid any capital gains tax liabilities when you sell your hard earned assets. Conveniently, an Isa also slashes paperwork by keeping your investments off your tax return.

You can also benefit from the tax system by contributing to your pension. This can easily generate extra free money as your employer will often match contributions in a workplace scheme and the government will give you tax relief on what you put in to a retirement fund.

This calculates that a basic-rate taxpayer gets an investment for 20 per cent less, a higher-rate payer 40 per cent, and a top-rate payer 45 per cent.

Therefore, for every £80 you pay into a pension, you get £100 into your pension fund as a basic-rate taxpayer.

There will be costs for managing investments within the pension fund, but there will be no tax until you come to take your pension out at retirement.

You can put up to £50,000 a year into a pension tax free. From April 2014 this has been reduced to £40,000.

There are numerous of other tax reliefs you should make sure you are using.

Example, you are also allowed to make a profit up to £10,900 on investments in this tax year before having to pay capital gains tax. Every year you get a new CGT allowance, so try to keep any asset sales within this bracket if you can and if you have a very big profit consider selling portions of the investment.

Also, don´t forget that if you are a married couple you can combine your CGT allowances and pass assets between yourselves as a couple, entirely free of tax.


Child Investments | Halifax Investments

Child Investments

In this category we analyse Child investments. The main question is, what investment will provide your children with a lump sum in ten to twenty plus year’s time? it’s vital to look at where you are investing the money. You may wish to consider investments that provide a mix of income and capital growth, or focus on one more than the other. Over long periods of time, growth assets tend to outperform income assets.

Mutual Funds | Halifax Investments

Mutual Funds

A mutual fund is an investment portfolio that is made up of a pool of fund from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments like foreign exchange and similar intangible assets. There are some mutual funds which also cater to tangible assets like property but they are less common. Money managers generally operate Mutual funds, they then invest the fund’s capital and try to produce capital gains and income for the fund’s individual investors. The portfolio of a Mutual fund is ordered and maintained to secure the investment objectives stated in its specific prospectus. This allows Mutual fund investors to seek out funds specifically focused on sectors where the investor has an inherent interest.

The main benefits of mutual funds is that they give regular investors access to the professionally managed and diversified portfolios of bonds, equities and other specific securities, which would be quite complicated to piece together with such a small amount of capital and initial investment. Each shareholder participates proportionally in the benefits or losses of the whole fund. Mutual fund can be acquired in units, shares or percentages of the whole fund that has been issued and can typically be bought or redeemed as required at the fund’s current asset value per unit or share owned, which is sometimes expressed as a financial amount, currency or percentage of the whole.

Wealth Management | Halifax Investments

Halifax Investments wealth management

Halifax Investments know that pension income is likely to be your major source of income when it comes to retirement, which means that more and more people are recognising the importance of preemptive pension planning in order to secure their futures after the working life ends.

Important advice concerning planning your pension is that you need to consider some big issues like:

The standard of living you wish to enjoy or maintain in retirement.

The income you will need to provide this level of security

Halifax Investments believes that you should seek advice so that you know how your pensions fit in with your other financial plans. Also which other investments could be the right ones for you based upon your retirement goals.

Seeking out an experienced pension investment firm is crucial in making the right choices, which means that you should consider issues such as your current pension plans, what these are predict to provide and the requirement to make extra contributions to give you the retirement income you have always dreamed of. Then use your knowledge of the pensions income to identify schemes that guarantee your financial requirements and desires in retirement.

Beyond your standard pension, whether state or state and private, you could be looking at other investment opportunities, outside the conventional options such as building societies or high street banks.

Finding a team of qualified Independent Financial Advisers is therefore paramount to your long term goals. Someone who can advise you on a broad range of financial products specifically designed for the later life and retirement. These could include life assurance and other security policies, group investments or mortgages.

Take a proactive approach to your retirement and begin to search for advice now so that when the day comes, your investments and income meet your retirement needs.

Stock Brokers | Halifax Investments

 Stock broker

Your stockbroker or financial advisor is a regulated professional individual, usually associated with a brokerage firm or broker-dealer, who buys and sells shares and other securities for both retail and institutional clients. Most Stockbrokers do not provide advice on the suitability of investments. The majority are execution only stockbrokers who simply implement the purchase or sale or shares. Whenever you are unsure about the suitability of investments, seek independent advice. There are lots investment choices, education and tools for consumers who are able to make their own investment decisions. You should remember that investments can fall in value as well as rise and you may get back less than you initially invested in certain shares. Stockbrokers in the UK operate through a stock exchange or over the counter at the brokerage, in return for a fee or commission. Stockbrokers are known by numerous professional designations, depending on the license they hold, the type of securities they sell, or the services they provide. In the UK, brokers are required to pass the XII Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment Certificate in Securities, this qualification is achieved by passing two exams. In most English speaking venues, the two word term stock broker, like stock brokerage, normally applies to the brokerage firm, rather than to the individual.

Professional titles similar to that of stockbroker include investment advisor, and financial advisor. A “financial advisor” may or may not be a stockbroker, since some licensed individuals who are forbidden from selling stock go by a similar title. An “investment advisor”, brokerage registered investment advisor, or investment advisor representatives have preparation and capability comparable to that of a stockbroker, but special licensing and different regulatory supervision. Many professionals in the sector hold several licenses to better suit market and client needs, and might often manage commission derived accounts as stockbrokers or fee related accounts.

There are many stockbrokers and stockbrokerages in the United Kingdom. There are also online stockbrokers available for seasoned stock dealers.

Child Investments Advice | Halifax Investments

Child Investments Halifax

It is important for you have to consider the tax implications of an investment for a children and parents are taxed in different ways. It can affect the returns on a child investment, by maintaining the investment under the wrong person’s name, the income from the investment can adversely affect family tax expenditure, push them into a higher tax bracket, or hamper eligibility for the superannuation co-contribution, just to name a few implications. Therefore, it is important to seek advice from a qualified financial planner before making any of these decisions.

Government Bonds | Child Investment

Childrens government bonds

Government bonds as a tax-paid investment, these government issued bonds are taxed at the corporate tax rate and income does not need to be reported on an investor’s tax return. If you are working and have a tax rate of 30% or higher, an investment bond would be quite an attractive option for a child investment. Usually they have investment options much like managed fund and they will have ongoing fees for management and administration, adding to them each year but only up to 130% of the previous year’s contribution, so if you miss a year, then you cannot contribute the next year. Accessing them is easy providing its within the 10 year period but then tax would be calculated at the time and a credit provided for tax already paid. A great option for families wanting to save for their children for a child investment.

Buying Shares | Child Investment

Buying shares for children

You can buy direct shares for your children as a form of investment savings. Although there is no minimum (apart from the value of a particular share) it is often more risky to invest into just one particular company. Nevertheless, direct shares have no ongoing fees and if you take the time to understand the company, doing research first and keep a watch on things so you know how your shares are performing, they can be a great investment option for your children. Most shares pay a yearly dividend that can be employed to simply buy more shares.

Child Investment | Managed Investments

Managed Investment

If you want a pooled they range from very conservative to aggressive and some even include internal borrowings to provide greater exposure to investments. This can help to increase returns but it can also magnify losses. Providing diversification across different assets such as shares, property or cash. They are available at any time and there are often no exit penalties. They provide a good option for families looking to invest for a child investment