Monevator

Boost for first-time buyers as new 0% deposit mortgage launched Beleaguered first-time buyers have been given yet another boost to take the first step on the property ladder as another lender launches a zero-deposit mortgage.

Stop me if you've heard this one before…

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortga...

Active investors are engaged investors - Monevator Following companies and trying to figure out where the world is going makes for engaged investors with a passion.

Warren Buffett once said: “I am a better investor because I am a businessman and a better businessman because I am an investor”

I’m sure that’s true

Similarly, I believe I’m a better citizen because I’m an active investor too

monevator.com/active-inves...

The ISA allowance: how it works and how to use it - Monevator The annual ISA allowance is £20,000. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year. But there are many quirky rules to know.

If you manage to have any cash leftover these days after all the tax hikes, higher mortgage rates, surging energy bills, pricier lattes, and £7 pints then make sure you shield it from future taxes in an ISA while you can!

monevator.com/annual-isa-a...

Weekend reading: the UK investor's unlisted edge - Monevator The week's best money and investing reads…

We should cherish the particular strengths of investment trusts, especially when it comes to unlisted assets.

Plus all the week's best money and investing reads…

monevator.com/weekend-read...

Returns aren't average - Monevator Most years you won't see average returns from equities, bonds, or even cash. But diversification can get you closer.

The *real* returns earned by UK investors from different asset classes have been anything but smooth…

monevator.com/returns-aren...

Our Weekend Reading logo Platforms are more like lily pads than life rafts these days. Plus all the week's best money and investing reads

Platform customers are voting on fees with their feet.

Plus all the week's best money and investing reads!

monevator.com/weekend-read...

Investing for the next generation: when control trumps taxes - Monevator When you're investing for the next generation you need to balance tax efficiency and returns with the very real risks of handing over control.

Would you risk gifting your kids a windfall when they hit 18?

Is it even fair to expect them to use the money wisely?

monevator.com/investing-fo...

Buffer ETFs: a strange tale of loss aversion - Monevator Buffer ETFs offer stock market upside with limited downside. But are they worth the cost?

My favourite chatbot reckons this is the best explanation of Buffered ETFs around – including proprietary pieces by institutions

But then (a) I would say that and (b) so would an always sycophantic LLM and (c) it's (very cheaply!) paywalled for members

monevator.com/buffer-etfs/

Weekend reading: uncertainty, everywhere, all at once - Monevator Turning and turning on the widening gyre…

Nobody knows what is going on, plus all the week's best money and investing reads…

monevator.com/weekend-read...

FIRE-side chat: actively frugal - Monevator This month an investment manager tells us how he's saved and invested his way to financial freedom by 40…

Sitting in an office, dreaming you were working out at home?

Working at home, dreaming of cycling past your old office?

Inspiration: how one Monevator reader achieved FIRE!

monevator.com/fire-side-ch...

Weekend reading: On the silver scream - Monevator Silver melts faster than an ice cream, plus all the week's good reads…

And you thought equities could crash! Plus the rest of the week's good money and investing reads…

monevator.com/weekend-read...

Don’t tell me your opinion, show me your portfolio [Members] - Monevator The Finumus Family Portfolio is run holistically across multiple generations, asset classes, markets, and mood swings.

Who says you need ten figures and a deep plane facelift to run a family office?

@Finumus1 shows us the inner workings of his multi-generational portfolio!

[Members]

monevator.com/dont-tell-me...

Our updated guide to help you find the best online broker Are you looking to find the best online broker to invest in shares, funds, and other assets? Our guide covers all you need to know.

Including Hargreaves Lansdown's biggest fee revamp for ages!

monevator.com/find-the-bes...

Weekend reading: Sic transit gloria mundi (UK house price edition) - Monevator What caught my eye this week. Were you one of the millions who a few years ago became obsessed with the fall of the Roman Empire? Being stuck inside during the pandemic saw minds of a certain age turn...

The decline and fall of the UK residential property boom, plus all the week's best money and investing reads!

monevator.com/weekend-read...

The anatomy of a platform transfer - Monevator It's easier to do a platform transfer than ever before, but there's still plenty that can and could go wrong.

Moving story!

monevator.com/the-anatomy-...

How can I make the most of my redundancy money? - Monevator Making the best use of your redundancy money is about securing your home and lifestyle before even thinking about investment returns.

Making your pay-off pay!

[Ahem: PAYwalled]

monevator.com/how-can-i-ma...

Weekend reading: Gaga for gilts - Monevator Private investor interest in gilts taxes the big brains at the Bank of England, plus all the best money and investing reads…

Retail investor enthusiasm for low-coupon short-duration revealed by BoE data, plus all the week's best money and investing reads…

monevator.com/weekend-read...

Funding childcare: how to navigate a complex system - Monevator Funding childcare can be a nightmare even for well-off parents, as the intersection with a means-tested system means it can cost to work.

The UK offers support with the crushing costs of under-5s childcare but it's a ridiculously complicated system

Navigate it successfully, and even highly-paid mums and dads can save tens of thousands of pounds a year

monevator.com/funding-chil...

Asset allocation quilt – the winners and losers of the last 10 years - Monevator Our asset allocation quilt shakes down the winners and losers of the last ten years.

How this year's winning asset class becomes next year's odorous also-ran…

monevator.com/asset-alloca...

Weekend reading: Alas Smith and the active investing Joneses - Monevator Terry Smith bemoaning index funds, plus all the week's good reads…

Terry Smith blames his 0.8% return in 2025 on index funds, plus all the week's best money and investing reads…

monevator.com/weekend-read...

The 10 eternally true steps to financial freedom - Monevator The steps to financial freedom are not a secret, but they do take effort and perseverance. Here's how you too can retire rich.

How to get on the path to financial security and eventually out of the race race in 2026 - or any year…

monevator.com/the-10-etern...

The Slow and Steady passive portfolio update: Q4 2025 - Monevator With my brain struggling to admit that it’s 2026, now seems like an ideal time to dive back under the duvet of 2025. (Still warm from the glow of double-digit equity returns or the world being on fire...

Our passive portfolio logs another good year, though not surprisingly it's well behind the S&P wundermarket over the long-term.

No worries! Beating the world's best equity market is not our goal here.

monevator.com/the-slow-and...

Weekend reading: In the busy midwinter - Monevator What TI has been reading when he should have been being festive instead…

Intermission: Weekend Reading

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Weekend reading: AI don't know - Monevator AI in the balance…plus all the week's best money and investing reads

Some thoughts on the intersection of AI and investing, plus a huge wodge of money and investing links to read when you can get away from your seasonal duties…

Merry Christmas everyone!

monevator.com/weekend-read...

The Permanent Portfolio - Monevator With gold on a tear, the Permanent Portfolio is suddenly popular again. But that's not really the point…

Gold on a tear recently isn't reason alone to invest this way, but the yellow metal is key to its long-term success…

monevator.com/the-permanen...

Weekend reading: Redistribution, sooner or later - Monevator What caught my eye this week. There’s a growing sense – I’d argue a reality – of intergenerational inequity in the UK, as with many other developed countries. Whether the old having so much more than ...

If you're going to give your kids another leg-up via a big inheritance then it's better to do it sooner rather than later.

Plus all the week's best money and investing reads!

monevator.com/weekend-read...

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Surviving system meltdowns and cyber attacks - Monevator System meltdowns and cyber attacks could present everything from a catastrophic hit to your wealth to a temporary annoyance.

What if your investment platform hits the rocks?

monevator.com/surviving-sy...

Weekend reading: Monevator Christmas sweatshirt competition - Monevator Intrigue everyone in your office party by wearing a Christmas jumper from a cult investing website they've never heard of!

A competition to win a Monevator Christmas sweater, plus all the week's best money and investing reads…

monevator.com/weekend-read...

When to derisk before retirement Confronting the danger of going down before you're out

Wait for it… but not for too long…

(It's complicated!)

monevator.com/when-to-deri...