Credit Rating Agency Moody’s have announced downgrades for a number of Euro zone nations. It has also issued a negative outlook for the UK. This could spell problems for the UK’s AAA credit rating.

It’s only Monday and it has been a busy week already. Greece yesterday approved further austerity measures to avoid a default and continue talks with the rest of the euro zone.

Moody’s have confirmed that there is a 30% chance that the UK will lose its triple AAA credit rating if it gets

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The winners and losers

Last year according to citywire only 12% of US Equity funds beat the S and P 500 stock market index last year.

Many UK investors tend to hold a relatively small amount in US Equity funds.  In the past many investors might have been disappointed by the returns achieved, however the US has a reputation for going into and coming out of recession quicker than some other developed countries.

Even through the US have major Budget issues and the unstabilising effect of 2012

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FTSE 100 up on mornings trading

Investor in the United Kingdom were given a boost by the better than expected United States jobs data. Good news lifted the FTSE 100 this morning on opening by 0.2% to 6057 which gave an extra boost to companies offering very good news this morning.

Corporate news and analyst recommendations was first the main price drivers but were supported by the boost to economic sentiment from better than expected private sector job growth. The US jobless figures out

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Is residential property a good investment?

Over the last ten years owners of residential property have benefitted from rental income above the returns available from deposit based investments.

In addition to good rental income levels, landlords have also enjoyed a substantial increase in the value of residential property generally.

According to the Nationwide house price index the average property price has increased by over 99% from the end of 2000 to the first quarter of 2010.

There are

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Investors who have money in Aviva’s property fund are now able to withdraw money from the frozen funds. Nearly 250,000 investors were told in January 2009 that they would have to wait for up to 6 months to withdraw their investments.

Aviva, previously known as Norwich Union said the difficulties in selling the “bricks and mortar” assets have eased since the start of the year.

At the time the withdrawal restriction was put into place, the percentage of cash held by the fund had dropped

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We have recently published our creating wealth publication.

It is available free of charge.

To download a copy, please go to our resources page.

Our latest Article on Recessions busting tips on now available. To view the article go to http://www.squidoo.com/investment-savings

We have launched our first video onto You tube.

Our investment process video shows the stages we go through when making an investment recommendation.

To view the video click Investment Advice

For more information about our services go to the Consilium Asset Management home page

Hundreds of savers and investors could possibly lose millions of pounds as a result of the largest financial scam to hit the UK. It is believed that investors may have lost up to £80million in the Ponzi scheme that was run by Business consulting international.

Investigations by the FSA and the London Metropolitan Police now suspect the company was running a Ponzi scheme similar to other high profile cases in the US.

The term Ponzi scheme was named after one of Americas most well known con

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We have recently started to publish articles of interest and financial planning topics.

The first article is called "Why You Shouldn’t Believe the Man in the Pub!". The aim is to give a lighthearted view on investments taking into account the current economic climate, whilst trying to give an informative viewpoint. If you would like to read the article in full please click Why You Shouldn’t Believe the Man in the Pub!

With the current financial turmoil and the global recession still causing issues for investors, it might not seem to be the best time to review your Individual Savings Account Investments or investments.

However, in some respects this could be ideal time to carry out a review. History has shown that most investors buy investments at the top of the market and tend to sell at the bottom. In reality, investors should be buying at the bottom and hopefully selling at the top of a market. It could

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Investors looking for growth, which includes individuals making plans for retirement can underestimate how important dividends can be. Many investors consider dividends as merely “the icing on the cake”, and they are often overlooked in the pursuit of capital growth.

Investors should pay close attention to dividends as they can add significant additional returns over and above the potential growth in the share price.

Over the long term the compounding effect on receiving dividends could

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One of the positive parts of the UK 2009 Budget was the increase in the Individual Savings Accounts allowances (isa's).

The limit has increased from £7200 to £10,200. Up to half of the allowance can be invested into cash isa's.

The new limit comes into effect from the 6th October for the over fifty's and for everyone else in the next tax year.

Although UK interest rates are at an all time low it is worth shopping around to see how is offering a good return.

Do not however always go for

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Limit any losses to take advantage of the upside

In this current economic downturn, it may be appropriate that you spread your portfolio over several different investments. This may help limit any losses, and conversely, if markets eventually rise, you may be able to take advantage of the upside. Make sure your investments are appropriate for your risk profile and if you have any concerns please contact us.

If your portfolio isn’t balanced, it may be appropriate to consider a

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Striking a balance between principles and making a profit

Many investors are looking for investment vehicles that invest in companies with a social, moral or environmentally responsible agenda.They also require that each fund has its own set of criteria and rules about the types of companies in which it will and won’t invest.

If you are considering this as an option for yourself, firstly you need to determine your attitude to risk. If you’re a low-risk investor, for example, you might

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Due to the current economic conditions, Standard Life has introduced a queuing system for clients wishing to disinvest from the Commercial property fund.

As the fund invests directly into assets such as land and buildings the selling process can be lengthy and there was a concern that the fund manager might have to forcibly sell assets to allow investors to disinvest.

Investors reaching their chosen retirement date or maturity date for investors will not be affected. Also investors that

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Well, its official, the Bank of England announced that the UK is in a deep recession with the prospects of the economy contracting in size over the next twelve months.

The doom and gloom we all see on the TV each day is enough to make us reach for the happy pills, but there are things we can do personally to help combat the recession.

With any form of financial planning, it might help by going back to basics.

Analysing your income versus spending and producing a cash flow projection is a

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The recent dramatic cut in interest rates has left many savers out in the cold. However businesses seem to be getting a very raw deal from banks at the present time.

Not only are business owners finding it hard to get credit to help with cash flow, but they are also getting a miserly return on deposits held with the major banking institutions.

It is not uncommon to get 0.1% p.a on deposits in business savings accounts.

If you are able to do some research you might bee surprised at the rates

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Schroders intends to streamline its UK equity fund range by merging the UK Select Growth fund into its UK Equity fund.

Schroders is in the process of writing to unit holders to outline its proposals. Schroders said it made sense to merge the portfolios given the similarities in their investment process.

Robin Stoakley, managing director of Schroders’ UK retail business, told financial publication Citywire: 'The UK Select Growth fund has not got a great performance record and its investment

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Economists are forecasting a further reduction of interest rates on Thursday as the Bank of England try to combat the current recession. A rate cut of ½% is expected to be announced with the aim of avoiding a long and drawn out slump in the economy.

Experts say that while a further reduction would be a little too late taking into accounts the Bank’s reluctance to lend not only to consumers but also between themselves, action had to be taken to tackle the current recession and also the

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