TWM Financial Planning

08/10/2026

08/10/2026

The Value of Psychological Safety in Financial Planning - our first blog post from Jo Patterson-Gow, is now up on our website. First of many more to come.

You’re not alone. And honestly? It’s not your fault. Financial planning can feel overwhelming, jargon-heavy and, at times, a little intimidating. But it really doesn’t have to be that way, and I know that more than most.

06/10/2026

Last week’s Labour party conference gave the new prime minister a platform to set out his vision for the country, including some ambitious changes to housing and social care. However, the details of how this will be paid for won’t be revealed until the Budget at the end of the month, at the earliest.

Questions around this are likely to grow louder in the coming weeks, as pressures mount on government finances. Rising energy prices and the resultant inflationary pressures are causing issues for most developed markets. This has also led to borrowing costs rising.

There was some good recent news, however, as GDP figures for Q2 were revised up slightly to 0.5%.

According to Hetal Mehta, Chief Economist at SJP: “Improved growth momentum and renewed inflation concerns are pushing up inflation expectations as well Bank of England hike predictions (markets are pricing in two hikes by the end of the year, and a further two to three in the first half of 2027). The Budget is a key focus for the UK in the coming weeks. The chancellor is keeping his cards close to his chest but tax increases are likely if funding for defence spending and social care is required without breaching the fiscal rules.”

Read more: https://www.twmfinancialplanning.co.uk/article/detail/sjpp/weekwatch-05-10-2026

This content is for information only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. The value of investments may fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested.

14/09/2026

There’s been plenty happening across markets and the wider economy recently.

Government bond yields have continued to rise across a number of developed markets, while inflation and higher energy prices remain areas of focus for investors.

In the UK, there was some more positive economic news, with the economy growing by 0.4% in July, according to the Office for National Statistics. The information and communications sector was among those contributing to growth, including businesses involved in areas such as AI and cloud computing.

Closer to home, mortgage pressures also remain in focus. FCA data showed that 15,200 mortgages were switched from capital repayment to interest-only in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 14,578 in the previous quarter.

The wider property market has also shown signs of cooling, with average UK house prices falling by 0.2% in August and sitting 0.4% lower than a year earlier, according to Lloyds Banking Group.

It’s another reminder of how quickly economic conditions can change and why keeping up to date with the wider picture can be important when considering your financial plans.

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested.

Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

This content is for information only and does not constitute financial advice.

Read more: https://www.twmfinancialplanning.co.uk/article/detail/sjpp/weekwatch-14-09-2026%23Stock-Take

07/09/2026

In John Healey's major speech since becoming chancellor, and ahead of his first Budget, he sought to create a sense of optimism. However, rumours about thousands of job losses at Jaguar Land Rover (later confirmed) swirled before his speech, highlighting the challenges still faced.

Read more: https://www.twmfinancialplanning.co.uk/article/detail/sjpp/weekwatch-07-09-2026

This content is for information only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. The value of investments may fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested.

01/09/2026

Peter Jenkins and Tom Smith are running the Oxford Half Marathon on behalf of Be Free Young Carers in October and are now on the campaign trail to raise funds and to also get their training going.

Please sponsor the guys and help raise funds for the children being supported by Be Free Young Carers.

Help Peter Jenkins raise money to support Be Free Young Carers

01/09/2026

Fed chair Warsh tees up rate hikes to ease inflation pressures

Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh voiced concerns over stubborn inflation in the US economy during his keynote speech at last week’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.

Warsh was “impressed by the overall performance of the economy”. He pointed to the resilience of Main Street and Wall Street. This included rapidly rising business investment – largely into AI-related technologies – and 20% higher profitability across S&P 500-listed companies in the last year alone. But with inflation running above its 2% target for 65 months, he was clear the Fed’s primary focus should be on stabilising prices.

Nearly half the goods and services in the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) basket showed price increases of more than 3%. Recent commodity price increases due to tensions around supply chains, investment flow and geopolitics remained worrisome.

What does it mean? While stressing his remarks were not forward guidance, responsibility for price stability sits squarely with the central bank. And if underlying inflation did not come closer to target soon, he said the Fed had “work to do”. For some, this could imply a teeing-up of future rate hikes.

According to CME Group's FedWatch, the likelihood of a rate hike at the Fed's next meeting (15-16 September) increased to 66.1% – nearly double where it was before Friday's speech.

The US dollar index rose 0.46% to 99.57 on Friday afternoon. US equity markets were largely unmoved and short-term Treasury yields ticked higher, from around 4.23% before the speech to 4.32% shortly afterwards.

Read more: https://www.twmfinancialplanning.co.uk/article/detail/sjpp/weekwatch-01-09-2026

This content is for information only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. The value of investments may fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested.

25/08/2026

What happens when AI gets a body?

Unitree Robotics, a Chinese maker of humanoid robots, staged a successful listing in Shanghai last week, with its share price rising 460% on its first day of trading. The company recently unveiled “Superman”, able to jump two metres and run at over twelve metres per second. While profitable, traditional metrics reveal Unitree to be highly valued, trading on a historic price-earnings ratio of 900x and a price-to-sales ratio of 147x. Despite this, the company’s $50 billion-plus value reflects high expectations as investor attention in AI widens beyond software-based large language models (LLMs), semiconductors and cloud storage to physical applications.

Read more: https://www.twmfinancialplanning.co.uk/article/detail/sjpp/weekwatch-24-08-2026

17/08/2026

AI earnings help fuel record S&P 500

The S&P 500 reached a record high this week buoyed by low US producer and consumer inflation readings in July indicating inflationary pressures are being contained. A stream of strong AI earnings releases reinforced bullish sentiment.

Although markets are indicating a near 70% chance that the US central bank will keep interest rates at their current level next month, SJP’s Chief Economist Hetal Mehta notes the recent inflation breakdown shows “quite a big jump in the price of computers and other AI-related equipment. This AI buildout isn’t necessarily all positive for the economy.” A further cloud was that US retail sales data for July was weaker than expected but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq still managed to end the week in positive territory on receding rate hike expectations.

Read more: https://www.twmfinancialplanning.co.uk/article/detail/sjpp/weekwatch-17-08-2026

This content is for information only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. The value of investments may fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested.

11/08/2026

Weathering the drought

While opinions may vary on whether the current hot, dry summer is nicer than Britain’s typical grey and drizzly experience, its effects on farming are less up for debate.

According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), the heat has encouraged the spread of Bluetongue (a disease that particularly affects sheep) across southwest England. At the same time, several crops – such as winter wheat – are experiencing notably poor yields. Lower food production are likely to translate to inflationary pressures, though the extent of this may take time to fully materialise.

The weather situation is equally tough on mainland Europe. As well as the humanitarian costs, the wildfires that spread through France and Spain are estimated to have cost billions of euros in damages. Meanwhile, low water levels in rivers such as the Rhine have meant commercial shipping vessels have had to lighten their cargo.

So far, however, the weather hasn’t put too much of a dampener on equities. Both UK and EU markets are trading at, or near, all-time highs on the back of strong company results and optimism around a potential deal with Iran.

Read more: https://www.twmfinancialplanning.co.uk/article/detail/sjpp/weekwatch-10-08-2026

This content is for information only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. The value of investments may fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested.