Worldwide Financial Planning

Should you save into an ISA or a pension? Both offer tax advantages, but with very different rules on access, contributions, and inheritance tax. In this column, Peter McGahan explains the real differences between ISAs and pensions, what the 2027 pension tax changes mean, and how to choose the right mix for your financial future.

This week was a time for re-evaluating lofty expectations. Tech stocks have been climbing since the April Orange Crash pulling the rest of the market with them. It has been a game of high investor expectations, with performance surpassing predictions from AI related companies as they invest heavily to get ahead.

The US government is taking a 15% cut of the revenues from Nvidia and AMD’s chip sales to China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also floated the idea of expanding this “revenue sharing” model to other goods. If markets are at record highs with sky-high import tariffs why not try export taxes? That may be the logic but there are godfather vibes here.

I'm disappointed…in a ‘seriously-you-thought-this-was-OK’ sort of way. The Treasury has decided to go ahead with the ‘pull a rabbit from the hat’ for April 2027. Not a fluffy nice bunny type. More like a fatal attraction style.

Tariffs are clearly having an effect. The US is raking in far more customs revenue than it was just a few months ago, and companies, which this week include Caterpillar and Toyota, have warned of the cost of dealing with them.

This isn’t just about tax. It’s about keeping more of what you’ve worked for in the hands of the people you love, rather than writing a cheque to HMRC because of missing paperwork or missed opportunities.