After three years of three Conservative prime ministers from 2022 to 2024, the election of the first Labour PM in 14 years was intended to mark a decisive turn towards stability and consistency. Not quite two years later Keir Starner’s resignation as Prime Minister, and the apparent elevation of Andy Burnham, make that firm course decidedly less certain. The leader in waiting has just a few weeks to map out his economic and social plans and start the work of gaining the confidence of the country and the global financial markets.
As the group stages of the World Cup come to a close, and the third-placed teams anxiously await their fate, pundits and fans are enjoying the unexpected results of the tournament. Switzerland 1–1 Qatar was a demonstration of surprising resolve from the lower ranked team but was not enough to secure Qatar a position above fourth spot. While football tournaments produce some twists and turns, inevitably the less experienced teams are eventually dispatched. The financial markets are not quite so predictable but can also throw up surprising short term wins. Our feature for this edition of our newsletter takes a sideways look at what investors might learn from the beautiful game.
One significant legacy of the Starmer government will be the Pension Schemes Act 2026. Its focus is on pension fund management, with an intention to significantly grow workplace pension funds by forcing smaller schemes not meeting targets to merge, improving retirement incomes for individuals. The potential impact of the act is being compared to the introduction of pension flexibility 11 years ago.
Our other stories in this edition include:
- Inflation makes a stealthy return
- Investment scams on the rise
- Charitable donations for IHT planning
