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Investment Market Update

By Justin Rourke

7th May 2026

Our Latest Investment Market Update – Interest Rates, Geopolitics and the Limits of Forecasting

This article is by Justin Rourke – Head of Advice at Armstrong Watson Financial Planning & Wealth Management and Richard Cole, Fund Manager at Future Money. We aim to provide you with our commentary on the latest economic and investment developments which are likely to be affecting your investment and pension portfolios.

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man lit up

By Armstrong Watson

9th April 2026

Business confidence in 2026: what 245 UK businesses told us

Armstrong Watson’s Business Confidence Survey, conducted in March 2026, explores how businesses feel about the year ahead, their expectations for trading conditions, and the challenges shaping decisionmaking as the new tax year begins. 

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Man and woman having a meeting

By Emma Copley

30th March 2026

‘If I die’ folder: A complete checklist for bank accounts, insurance, pensions and digital access

The last thing any of us wants is for our family to be left in the dark at a time when they are grieving. While death is never an easy subject to contemplate, preparing for it is one of the most practical and caring things you can do for those you leave behind.

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By Fiona Durham

25th February 2026

The new Wills Bill: What could change and what it means for your estate plan

The current law on wills dates back to the Wills Act 1837, and in today’s world of digital communication, longer life expectancy, and increasingly complex family structures, these long-standing rules can feel a bit out of step.

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By Graham Poles

26th November 2025

Budget 2025: Personal & Inheritance Tax Changes

The freeze continues as widely expected, the Chancellor, faced with a black hole in the public finances, has chosen to freeze income tax thresholds beyond April 2028, when they were due to start to increase. However, she went beyond the expectations of many and has decided that the thresholds should remain frozen for the following three years, meaning there will be no increase until April 2031.

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woman putting money in money bank

By Justin Rourke

26th November 2025

Budget 2025: ISAs, pension salary sacrifice and savings taxes, and the impact on your financial planning

Today’s budget announcement was awaited by many with a degree of trepidation. Once we got past the early release of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) report, the markets stabilised with the FTSE100, bond markets and sterling all being a little positive. As ever, there is more detail to come out in the respective papers, but the overriding feeling is one of complication.

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By Justin Rourke

14th August 2025

Financial planning in a new era: Navigating UK tax changes to IHT, CGT & pensions

For context, this is my 20th year working as a financial planner, the last 12 and a half of them spent here in the team at Armstrong Watson. In my opinion, the current and planned changes in legislation are the most seismic and impactful of my working life.  

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By Scott McIver

6th December 2024

Scottish Budget: Income tax band increases

Among the SNP’s Scottish Budget proposals for the coming tax year, Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced increases to the income tax starter rate and basic rate thresholds, however these small tax savings do very little to ease the pain of fiscal drag for many.

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By Graham Poles

30th October 2024

Autumn Budget 2024: Capital taxes

The Chancellor delivered her long awaited first budget and with it has fundamentally changed the Inheritance Tax (IHT) reliefs that have existed for many years. As well as bringing more value into people’s estates through the inclusion of inherited pensions from April 2027, business and agricultural reliefs have also been reformed, making them less attractive.

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By Karen Thomson

30th October 2024

Autumn Budget 2024: Payroll taxes

The recent budget announcement brought several significant updates to payroll and tax regulations, most notably to Employers’ National Insurance Contributions and the National Minimum Wage – both of which will have a significant impact on employers’ wage bills.

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