Welcome to the latest edition of IFA Magazine. It has become clear here in the UK that the Bank of England does not intend for UK base rates to come down from current levels any time soon. As a result, all of us, whether we’re savers, borrowers, businesses or investors, will have to readjust to a world where the cost of borrowing is higher and where interest rates will remain higher for longer. That raises considerable problems for millions across the UK – and beyond – as the cost of living crisis continues to bite and all of us feel the impact on our household budgets as well as business costs.
Of course, for the housing market, it’s causing particular problems not just for borrowers but for those looking to rent homes too as costs rise and availability of properties is severely reduced. Our Mortgage and Property coverage has become increasingly popular in recent months as advisers and mortgage brokers look for insight not only into what’s happening by way of product changes but also in terms of economic trends and the implications for clients too. At the tail end of this edition of IFA Magazine, you’ll see just a sample of some of the thought leadership pieces in the latest Mortgage and Property Investment section. We run relevant stories online on a daily basis on https://ifamagazine.com/category/mortgage-and-property/ so if this is an area of interest, then please do make a point of checking in.
Geopolitical risks – the grim reality of war
Of the multiple crises which are facing the world just now, the Middle East conflict in Gaza, reignited by the horrendous Hamas Terror attacks of October 7th, has been a grim reminder of the reality of war and its impact on innocent civilians. With Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and China’s threats over Taiwan, the geopolitical risks which exist around the globe have rarely been as high for more years than I care to remember.
Risk management
As we look ahead to 2024, the cost of living crisis, high inflation as well as these considerable geopolitical risks are combining to cause many headaches for advisers looking to help clients to steer the best path to meeting their goals. Risk management becomes key in the face of so many challenges and so much uncertainty.
Helping you to help your clients
As always, we hope that IFA Magazine, with our focus on bringing you, our readers, insight, analysis and detailed thought leadership articles to help you to steer a path through these challenges. We also hope that we can help to support the many business and investment decisions you have to make in the light of such a changing world.
The business of advice
Within this edition, there’s plenty of insight into the world of investment – from PIMCO’s navigation of the post pandemic global economy, to our Q&As with M&G’s David Perrett about investing in Asia and with Aviva’s Smera Ashraf about Multi-Asset. Also on the agenda are Income Protection, MPS and With Profits as well as a host of business development ideas which we hope you’ll find useful.
With the Budget and its implications for advisers likely to be on all our radar in November, we look forward to bringing you the key points as well as updates on the latest developments in the world of advice in our final edition of 2023 – the December/January edition.
Sue Whitbread
Editor, IFA Magazine
