Worldwide Financial Planning

This week US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned financial markets not to challenge his authority as he seeks to support the value of the yen and discourage the Bank of Japan from selling its huge stock of US Treasury bonds. “I am the house now,” he declared.

So, as ever, the headline is simpler than the reality. And the danger is seeing those dramatic headlines of “40 per cent inheritance tax on pensions” and doing something daft.

Inheritance tax planning is one area where life assurance can do something very useful: it can create cash exactly when a family may have a tax bill and very little appetite for selling a house, business or investment at the wrong time – a firesale.

Central banks have been talking tough on inflation, and bond markets see rate hikes coming from the Fed, Bank of England and ECB. Inflation is also rising in Japan as its central bank considers more aggressive hikes.

Badtempered accusations have been exchanged and reciprocal tariffs of up to 50% have now been imposed on a range of goods. Yet the economic effect is limited as the new tariffs cover only a fraction of the volume of trade across the US-Canadian border.

In my final column on passive funds it may be worth reminding readers that for the last 25 years my aim has always to be the financial canary in the mine.