August, 2020 | Ascot Wealth Management

August 31, 2020January 26, 2022

Stamp Duty Holiday – Not just an under £500k thing!

As you may have already heard, the government has temporarily increased the stamp duty threshold to £500,000 for property purchases in England and Northern Ireland, until 31 March 2021. In other words, there will be no stamp duty charged on properties costing up to £500,000.

Some good news – statistics show that the average stamp duty bill will fall by £4,500 and nearly 90% of people will benefit by paying no stamp duty at all as a result of the stamp duty holiday. This holiday is not just applicable for purchases under £500,000. If you, for example, purchase a property for £600,000 you will only pay stamp duty on the portion above £500,000, so in this scenario £100,000.

Not only that, but those looking to purchase a buy-to-let or second home/investment property will also benefit from this payment holiday. Only 3% stamp duty is due for properties up to £500,000 (previously £125,000). So with depressed price levels vs last year, record-low borrowing costs, ability to use retirement income and a stamp duty holiday, has there been a better time for a long term property investment with a mortgage?

We have 2 in-house brokers who together with your financial adviser will help you decide if this is a good option for you. Contact us today for an obligation-free quote.

This is only for purchases that complete before 31st March 2021.

The full table is shown below.

Explore your options

Ascot Wealth Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority reference 551744. Our registered office: Scotch Corner, London Road, Sunningdale, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 0ER. Registered in England No. 7428363. www.old.ascotwm.com Unless otherwise stated, the information in this document was valid on 3rd February 2017. Not all the services and investments described are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Tax, trust and company administration services are not authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The services described may not be suitable for all and you should seek appropriate advice. This document is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purpose or sale of any financial instrument by Ascot Wealth Management Limited. The information and opinions expressed herein are considered valid at publication, but are subject to change without notice and their accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. No part of this document may be reproduced in any manner without prior permission. © 2017 Ascot Wealth Management Ltd. Please note: This website uses cookies. To continue to use this website, you are giving consent to cookies being used.

August 31, 2020January 26, 2022

Meet the new faces

Meet the new faces!

We would like to introduce you to the AWM new starters. Every year we have placement students join us for the year to get experience in the industry by taking them through AWM’s proven training whilst learning the ropes in all aspects of business and how we as a company operate. Claire, Matt and even our compliance manager, Maddie, have all started their careers at AWM through the placement program. We also have people joining us in both the UK office and the SA support office which hold a more permanent role and we are delighted to welcome them to the team.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new starters. It has certainly been a strange introduction to the company given the current global circumstances but the adjustment has set in and they are well on our way in learning more about the AWM. We wish them all the best in their new roles and we look forward to them growing personally and of course within Ascot Wealth Management.

August 31, 2020January 26, 2022

Have you claimed for the second self-employed support grant?

For those whose trade has been affected by the Coronavirus can now apply for the second wave of support from the government. The new Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will pay up to £6,750 and will be the final hand-out for those whose business has been affected due to the Coronavirus.

Businesses that have traded for all three years with profits no more than £50,000 are eligible for the scheme.

The claims window is initially open for a four-day period but anyone who thinks they may be eligible and hasn’t been contacted by HMRC has until October to make a claim.
The first grant in May saw £7.8billion in taxable grants claimed by 2.7million people.

To apply, this time around you will need to confirm your business has been affected by the virus since July 14. If you think you are eligible and have not been contacted by the HMRC, you can go online which will tell you if you are eligible. Click the button below to be redirected to the website.

Am I Eligible?

August 28, 2020January 26, 2022

Catriona’s foster dog makes her a better Financial Adviser

How Catriona’s foster dog makes her a better Financial Adviser

Today, we dive into the life of one of our superwomen Advisers, Catriona aka Cat. Cat has been a part of AWM for over 5 years now (Insert Applause) and is an important asset to the AWM Team. She is an AWM Superstar and now dog foster mum, read her article on how her Dog, Datsun, enriches her ‘work from home’ life.

Did you spot this article on the citywire website earlier this month?

Owner: Catriona McCarron, wealth manager at Ascot Wealth Management

Name of pet: Datsun

Breed: He’s a rescued Mastin cross (no idea what he’s crossed with!)

Age: 15 months

Funniest thing he’s done? We have family in Whitstable, which is along the Kent coast. We took Datsun there when the lockdown began to ease, and it was his first time seeing the sea. At first, he was really unsure about whether he should go in, but with a bit of persuasion and following us in he eventually did. When he did get in however, he decided all of the seaweed in the water needed to be back on the beach. He spent a good twenty minutes pulling it all out and dredged this small part of the Kentish coast! It was fun, until we had the job of throwing it back in…

How has your pet made you a better wealth manager? Datsun has kept me company since working from home became my norm in March. He’s made me a better wealth manager by encouraging me away from my desk at lunchtime and getting out for walks. Taking time to reflect on the day is so important, and some of my best ideas have been thought up on a lunchtime dog walk. Additionally he’s been a great tool for combating loneliness. My partner works for the NHS, so it has been business as normal since lockdown. It’s easy to find yourself talking to appliances when working alone, so at least I can talk to Datsun instead!

source: citywire.co.uk

August 19, 2020January 26, 2022

Ascot WM – Performance Monitor July 2020

AWM Performance Monitor – July 2020

Note From The Managing Director.

The month saw a rebalance to the CBAM portfolio positions and the maintenance of a gold overweight in those portfolios has, in particular, helped spur the positive July returns vs other parts of the world. In addition after pain on the way down the Active US equity fund that the portfolios hold has both protected from the close to 6% rally in the £ vs the $ after being a missed opportunity cost in March.

We see this continuing so expect no change in this fund and its positioning for the rest of 2020. We get great data as an investment team in running our lean and efficient passive driven funds but still maintaining active managers in many parts of the world.

The last 3 months has really been one where active managers have earned their fees and we will keep an open mind as to whether we bring this back to the closer 50/50 historic split. This will increase portfolio cost but if you look at July all 5 top performers were actively management positions.

Year to date we are really happy to have portfolios back to where they are given the market challenges we have faced.

AWM Portfolio Performance

These tables simply indicate AWM’s portfolio’s over the stated time periods up to 31/07/2020.

Market Update

It has been yet another encouraging month with all portfolios showing a solid performance (on average +1.29% over the month). This is rather impressive when consideration is paid to the fact that the “big three” indices of the FTSE 100 & EUROSTOXX50 & S&P500 (covering UK, Eurozone & USA) finished down 4.01%, 1.19% & 0.27% respectively. Since the portfolio low of 23rd March, the portfolio has returned between 11.22% (AWM1) & 26.49% (AWM5).

The rebalance of July 2020 has so far performed in line with expectation, which gives us confidence in the positioning of our portfolios for the remainder of Q3 2020.

Click through to the performance graphs for longer-term overviews and versus world indices.

Best and Worst Performing Funds

This table simply indicates a portion of the AWM’s chosen invested funds, which are either the best performing or worst performing, over the stated time periods up to 31/07/2020.

This information is correct and up to date as of 09/07/2020.

This Performance Monitor has been created from multiple sources as well as our own views and this should not be taken as investment advice. If you require financial advice then please contact us by email or phone so that you can speak to a qualified financial adviser. Any information provided/gathered will be subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You may be assured that we and any company associated with Ascot Wealth Management will treat all personal data and sensitive personal data and will not process it other than for a legitimate purpose.