Looking Back At 2024

Happy New Year! Having had a break away, I’m back at my desk and before looking forward to the rest of 2025 I wanted to look back at how markets and money did in 2024.

Overall investment markets experienced a ‘Bull’ market, meaning that they ended the year up on where they started. But for anyone who kept an eye on the progress or has been a regular reader of this email, you will know that the path was less than smooth. And, it never will be. The nature of holding investments is that you are betting on growth over the longer term, and in 2024 investment markets did their job and provided better returns than cash.

As we move into 2025, expect the volatility to continue. Globally, we continue to see unrest, political landscapes shifting and Trump round 2 starts on the 20th Jan. At home in the UK, the Labour government started the year contending with a rapidly falling £ and continued backlash from the Autumn Budget.

Remember to check your emails every Friday for a quick update and summary on money matters here, and feel free to spread the love and encourage others to sign up too. https://victorias-newsletter-b3c703.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Key Articles I Have Read This Week:

• BBC have an easy to read article on the current fall of the £ and rising gilt yields and how it might impact individuals: Read it here

• FT looks at the lack of appetite that Brits have for investment risk. With UK savers only investing 8% into stocks compared to 33% for US savers: Read it here

Investment Markets 2024 Summary:

How Did Different Risk Portfolios Do In 2024?

New Year = Time To Plan

The New Year is often a time when we try and get things ‘in order’ - diet, exercise, life, house, money ……. The list of things that we try and ’fix’ in one go can be long and daunting. Speaking with some coaching clients at the end of last year I found myself cautioning against treating budgeting like crash dieting - it can be too tempting limit your spending too much and, like a crash diet, you will see some immediate results but these are hard to maintain and often do not build into long term growth or change.

If you are looking to make meaningful headway in your financial position, you need to start with a proper plan based on realistic goals and focussed on you. This is one of the main areas that working with a financial coach can help if you are struggling to figure out how to get your money working for your life goals. If this sounds like you, or someone you know, why not get a free discovery call booked in with me to find out more? https://calendly.com/fincoco/initial-free-call