Menu

Archive for March, 2023

Types of Savings Accounts

Posted on: March 28th, 2023 by fwAdmin

Types of Savings Accounts

As interest rates continue to rise, so does the importance of ensuring your savings are in the right place. The savings market is flooded with various types of accounts, which makes it difficult to decide which is best for you.

Factors such as interest rates, access, tax and timing of payments will all influence your decision when selecting the best deals. Below I have covered the various types of accounts and key points to consider when finding the best deal for you.

Easy-access

Notice accounts

Regular savings accounts

Fixed-rate bonds (term accounts)

Cash ISAs

Conclusion

There are many types of savings accounts available on the market. There is not one correct answer to which account you should use, and often people will use a combination of accounts to suit different needs. In the current environment it is especially important to keep an eye on the interest rates on offer, to ensure you are on the best deals. It is also, important to understand the terms of your accounts, to avoid being penalised.

At Five Wealth we offer a cash management service, which allows clients with large cash balances to sign up to one platform and seemly move their cash between various accounts without the need to undergo the application process each time. Saving clients time and effort, whilst ensuring they have the best deals available. If this is of interest please contact one of our advisers to discuss in more detail.

Please note our cash management service, comes with a fee and is only suitable for those that have cash balances in excess of £50,000.

If you would like further information on anything covered in this article, please get in touch via the contact page.

Consumer Duty – What does it mean for clients?

Posted on: March 14th, 2023 by fwAdmin

Consumer Duty – What does it mean for clients?

In the ever-changing world of Financial Regulation, the Consumer Duty is a new standard introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The new standard has been brought in to build upon existing regulations to ensure that financial firms are delivering on products and services they are providing to their clients.

The duty has outlined three rules, which the FCA wants firms to follow, to deliver good outcomes for clients:

To coincide with the rules the following outcomes are expected to be achieved for clients:

In summary the Consumer Duty aims to place a clear onus on firms to show that they are providing a service that matches the needs and objectives of the client. Firms must be able to clearly demonstrate that the service they provide is in line with the fees that a client pays and that they are ultimately providing value for money. No one can ensure that investments will always grow, that’s just not possible, but the intentions should be positive and clear. Clients should be kept well informed and have appropriate levels of communication available to them as per their individual needs.

The points raised in the Consumer Duty Regulation are important but hopefully nothing new to the service we already, and continually strive to, deliver to all clients new or old.