The stock market could reach an all-time high in 2014 - and so could house prices

What now for your personal finances in 2014?

Will interest rates rise, or mortgages fall? And what about our pensions and energy bills? Telegraph Money gazes into the crystal ball...

Investments

The average UK fund investor gained 23pc this year, so it's right to query whether such a boom can be sustained. But the vast majority of investment analysts questioned by The Daily Telegraph remained positive. Some even predicted that the FTSE 100, a little above 6,600 earlier this week, will hit a new all-time high in 2014, surpassing the 6,930 it achieved during the tech boom in December 1999. ......

...... Other "bulls" include economic forecasters Capital Economics, which predicted the FTSE 100 would hit 7,500 next year. An even bolder call has been made by analysts at Citigroup, who expect the index to reach 8,000.

But not all experts share the optimism. Richard Jeffrey, chief investment officer at Cazenove Capital Management, said the performance of UK shares has been abnormal in 2013, so he does not expect it to be repeated in the next 12 months. Alan Steel, founder of Alan Steel Asset Management, said next year could be "disappointing", with rises held back by a strong pound.