Alan Steel
01506 842365
MENU
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Close
    • About Us
    • What We Do
      • Close
      • What We Do
      • Our Services
      • Our Philosophy
      • Our Awards
      • Our Reputation
    • Who We Are
      • Close
      • Who We Are
      • Meet the team
    • Our Approach
    • Financial Planning
  • Testimonials
  • Investments
    • Close
    • Investments
    • Investment Advice
    • Portfolio Building
  • Pensions
    • Close
    • Pensions
    • Retirement Planning
    • Early Retirement
    • Pensions as simple as...
  • Tax
    • Close
    • Tax
    • Tax Advice
    • Tax Planning
    • When I'm Dead and Gone
    • Inheritance Tax
    • HMRC Digital Accounts
  • Insights & Media
    • Close
    • Insights & Media
    • Letters from Linlithgow
    • Informing You
    • Letter from America
    • See us in the Press
    • Master Investor
    • Points of Few
  • Contact Us
Independent financial advisers founded in 1975
Over £1.4 billion client funds under management
17 industry awards for advice since 1989

By Steve Forbes, ASAM Managing Director

Alan Steel Asset Management Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice.

This letter is the personal view of Steve Forbes. Please check the appropriateness to your individual position with your adviser before taking or refraining from any action.

Informing You

Musings From House Arrest

By Steve Forbes | Monday, 26 October, 2020

Firstly, I trust you are all keeping your spirits up, although of course in Scotland, spirits of the liquid kind can only be consumed in your own home – without any friends.  However, last week our National Clinical Director used all of his bedside manner to boost morale by telling us we can forget about having a normal Christmas and that it would be digital instead.  If the people I have been speaking to are anything to go by this will result in most people giving the Government a different kind of digit in response!

Yes, strange times indeed.

Whilst it is easy to wallow in self pity you have to look forward although the media focus on Covid, Brexit and the Trump v Biden spectacle, means it is sometimes difficult to do so.

We all know the crisis has been devastating to some sectors of the economy, mainly anything that involves human interaction such as hospitality, travel and high street retail.  However, as technology will never be able to replace a meal in a restaurant, a holiday abroad (or Christmas with the family, Prof. Leitch) it is not unreasonable to expect these sectors to come back strongly post-Covid.  However the high street retail sector is likely to find the effects of Covid more far reaching.  

Whilst we can mourn its death the reality is this sector was in decline well before Covid and all that has happened is its demise has been accelerated.  The news that John Lewis is considering converting some of its stores into residential property shows that they appreciate the game, as they played it, is up and it will take similar creative thinking amongst the rest if they are to have any business in the future.  

However, one businesses disaster is another’s opportunity.  Much has been made of the performance of the ferocious sounding FAANG stocks - Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (as an aside I wonder if we would have used the same acronym if Yahoo rather than Google had become the dominant search engine?).  There is no doubt that for these companies the crisis has been no hindrance to performance and on the contrary they have all enjoyed increases in revenue which has been reflected in their share prices.  For some of these I doubt this will be reversed once we can get out of our homes.

Another sector that is booming in many parts of the country is estate agency.  This has probably been fuelled by a combination of wanting a nicer prison cell, sorry, I mean home, and the reduction in Stamp Duty, which outside of Scotland is nil on the first £500,000 but only £250,000 here.  If this has encouraged you to sell any second properties you should be aware that any Capital Gains Tax due on the sale of a second property MUST now be paid within 30 days of the sale being completed.  

HMRC planned to bring this in at the start of this tax year but delayed it because of the Covid crisis. I haven’t seen it reported much, but this became law from 1st August which seems five minutes ago, but is nearly three months.  This means that had you sold a second home on the 31st July you would have had until January 2022 to pay the tax but if you sold it a day later you would have to pay it 17 months sooner.

I am not sure how good lawyers have been at telling their clients about this but ignorance is not bliss in the eyes of HMRC and fines and interest will accrue on outstanding bills from their due date so please be aware if this applies to you.

Although a lot of our lives are on hiatus, technological advances are powering on and there was a huge announcement from Airbus stating they expect to have us flying in zero emission planes powered by hydrogen within fifteen years which is astonishing and fantastic news.  Who knows in the years to come the oil industry may go the way of the high street.  Fingers crossed we are able to leave our homes by then to enjoy this guilt free travel.

©2023 Alan Steel Asset Management Limited is authorised & regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority. Please note that the Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate some forms of tax advice. Company Registration: SC58014

You should remember that the value of an investment and the income from it could go down as well as up. The return at the end of the investment period is not guaranteed and you may get back less than you originally invested.

The investment services and/or investments referred to in this website may not be suitable for you. If you are unsure we suggest you contact us to discuss matters further. If we believe our services are not right for you we will tell you.

When investing money, whether for income or growth, you are placing your capital at risk as the value of investments may vary, so you could get back less than you started with.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Tax Advice, Trusts or wills. Alan Steel Asset Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The guidance contained in this website is subject to the regulatory regime of the UK.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an agency for arbitrating on unresolved complaints between regulated firms and their clients.

FOS details can be found at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Alan Steel Asset Management Limited are not responsible for the content of external sites.

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Website terms and conditions
  • Tax Services Privacy Notice
  • Contact Us

This site uses cookies. By using this site you agree to the use of cookies. Read our Cookie Policy