An investor visa is a special visa available to overseas persons with more than £1m to invest in the UK.A tier one visa typically lasts 3 years and 4 months during which time the holder may work or study here but may be extended on application at the end of that period. READ MORE
This is essentially a listed firm that buys shares in other companies. It aims to buy shares that do well and boost its own share price in the process. Unlike unit trusts however, investment trusts can borrow money to invest and “gear up”. An investment trust lists its own shares on the stock market which …
This is a facility that preserves your pension lump sum into retirement and allows you to draw off income rather than say converting it into an annuity. The amount of income that can be drawn in this way used to be capped at a percentage of what is known as the GAD (Government Actuary’s Department) …
This is the tax that individuals suffer on income whether earnings or investment related (so it applies to interest on cash and dividends received from companies). The rate varies depending on the level of income earned. There are various ways to reduce the bill including annual allowances and the use of individual savings accounts. READ …
These are specialists who act on behalf of market participants seeking anonymity for certain trades. They will often act for example for market makers who want to buy or sell a large quantity of a security without giving away their identity to other counterparties. An IDB will contact other willing counterparties on their behalf and …
Indices started off as baskets of stocks, carrying a single price, designed to make life easier for investors. So for example the FTSE 100 index represents the market capitalisations of leading UK shares in one number. As such it is a useful way to get a snapshot of what is happening in the stock market …
If a bond is rated investment grade it means that the ratings agencies such as Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s and Fitch do not believe that the risk of default is high. READ MORE
An initial public offering (IPO) is the mechanism by which a company offers its shares for public sale for the first time. Typically this is done either because the existing directors want to cash in and/or the firm in question wants to raise new finance for expansion. IPO shares are often sold directly to institutions …
The tax paid on a UK domiciled (the UK is their legal home) person’s death estate. On death an executor takes responsibility for valuing a deceased person’s assets for inheritance tax purposes. Tax is then levied at a flat rate of 40% on any amount above the exemption limit. There are various ways this tax …
If you have a large mortgage you may have done a comparison between your salary and the interest you pay each month as an affordability check. The same principle applies to firms that borrow money. Interest cover is the number of times profit before interest covers the annual interest expense. The higher the result, the …
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