News, Blog & Ethics

In January 2014, there was much excitement as websites crashed in the demand to invest in the new NS&I Pensioner Growth Bonds. These bonds, a “rabbit pulled out of the hat” by Chancellor Osborne in the 2013 Budget offered market busting rates at 2.8% for a one-year bond and 4% for a three-year bond.

Fitness trackers are set to become one of the gadgets of Christmas 2015. For those of you who are delighted with this gift, hopefully it’ll inspire you to greater health and fitness – but, have you considered what other impacts it could potentially have, especially on your finances?

Many of us will enjoy a tasty treat with a cup of tea and what could exemplify this more than the iconic Scottish brand of the Tunnocks teacake? However, Tunnocks is one of the latest firms to come under pressure for the use of unsustainable palm oil in their products. An online petition, via the website 38degree.com is currently calling for Tunnocks to stop the use of palm oil in their confectionery production.

ISO 22222 is an internationally recognised standard which defines the personal financial planning process and specifies ethical behaviour, competences and experience requirements for personal financial planners. Practitioners who hold this award are subject to a rigorous annual review of policy and practice by independent assessors. Ethical Futures are pleased to advise that Julian Parrott has recently completed his annual assessment and his ISO 22222 accreditation has been renewed.

The management team of Rathbone Ethical Bond fund visited Ethical Futures last week. As part of our process of ongoing due diligence, we were keen to meet with Fund Manager, Bryn Jones and Senior Credit Analyst Noelle Cazalis, to discuss both performance and ethical aspects of the fund.

Article written by Catherine Parrott
Ethical Futures are always interested in human rights issues and recently found out about a international artist’s spat with an international toy manufacturer. Delving further the issues are never clear cut and transparent, raising a myriad of complexities and more questions than answers. Read for yourself

Julian Parrott was invited by Social Investment Scotland to attend the Scottish Business Awards at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Thursday, 12th November.

Over the past couple of years, HM Treasury have gradually reduced tax relief available for renewable energy projects. Until 2014, smaller scale renewable energy projects were eligible for valuable tax relief in the form of enterprise investment scheme (EIS) relief. This gave income tax relief of up to 30% of the initial investment together with tax-free status for gains and the ability to roll over previous capital gains.

This November, you can ask a Will Aid subscribed solicitor to write or update your will in return for a voluntary donation helping nine associated charities (click here for details). Regardless of how much wealth you consider yourself to have, or at what stage of life you are at it is vital to make a will then keep it up to date as circumstances change.

Not so long ago, we used to think that banks were safe and you couldn’t lose you money. The financial crisis of 2008 and experience of capital loss with Icelandic and other offshore banks, brought the issue of protection into sharp focus for many. As a result of this, we have seen much greater adherence to limiting your deposit investments to below the maximum £85,000 compensation available under the Financial Services Compensations Scheme (FSCS).

Pensioners can now top up their State Pensions by an extra £1 to £25 a week in exchange for a lump sum payment under a new government scheme.

My how time flies…….on September 19th, Ethical Futures celebrated its 10th year in business. We have come a long way in that time, growing organically and helping well over 1,000 people make their money change their worlds. We would like to thank all of the staff and clients for their support.