Now that the summer is here - and we hope you're enjoying some sunshine either at home or abroad - it's a good time to take stock of your investments and this month we would like to share some thoughts on how to make the most of your savings.

Our mission is to share ideas to increase your income for today and your wealth for tomorrow; connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or visit our website and we'll keep you updated.

Lesley Reeves

Best wishes

 

 

It's still difficult to get a reasonable return on your savings, particularly if you would rather avoid any element of risk, however shopping around for the best rates is still time well spent.

 

We saw this article from lovemoney.com that looks at the accounts paying the most interest on your cash.  It covers:

 

• Instant Access Savings Accounts, where the top rate of interest was 1.5% at the time of writing
• Notice Accounts, with up to 1.9% paid if you are willing to lock your cash away for 120 days
• Cash ISAs, and if you haven't used your tax free savings allowance yet then do check these out
• Fixed Rate Bonds, paying from 2% interest over a year to 3.11% over seven years
• Current Accounts. which are good news for smaller balances at the moment, with 5% interest on balances up to £2,000
• Peer-to-peer. Not tax free or covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so not for the risk averse, but there are some higher interest rates to be had here 

The right place to put your cash will depend on all sorts of factors such as how much you have to invest, when you want to access your money, and how much risk you are prepared to take.

We know of some interesting high rate returns on alternative investments so please do contact us on enquiries@slric.com for a free, no-obligation consultation. 

 

 

Buy-to-let can be an attractive income-generating investment, particularly when interest rates are low. As with any investment however, there are no guarantees.  This Is Money have produced an interesting guide to the buy-to-let market.  You can read the full article here.

 

These are their Top 10 Tips:

1. Research the market
2. Choose a promising area
3. Do the maths
4. Shop around for the best mortgage
5. Think about your target tenant
6. Don't be over ambitious
7. Consider looking further afield
8. Haggle over price
9. Know the pitfalls
10. Consider how hands-on you want to be

Contact us today to talk to us about buy-to-let or any other investment opportunity.

 

 

We are delighted to report that one of our long standing investment providers, Dolphin Trust, has teamed up with London-based hedge fund Chenavari Investment Managers. The news follows Dolphin Trust's successful expansion of its business worldwide, and is an endorsement of Dolphin's reputation in the alternative investments sector.

 

You can read more on the development here.