Magenta’s Generation Guide to 50!

Magenta’s Generation Guide to 50!

As you step into the later stages of your career, you might notice a significant change in your family dynamics: your children are likely leaving home, marking the beginning of a new chapter in your life. Realistically, this phase could signal your final working...
Inheritance Tax: A Guide to Effective Planning

Inheritance Tax: A Guide to Effective Planning

Inheritance tax (IHT) can be a daunting prospect for many individuals and families. With the potential to significantly impact the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next, understanding the rules and implementing effective planning strategies is crucial....
The Budget 2024

The Budget 2024

Last Wednesday, Jeremy Hunt unveiled his Budget. This budget was highly anticipated as it’s widely expected to be the final budget before the upcoming general election. However, there were no major surprises, as most of the key announcements had been widely expected....
Magenta’s Generation Guide to 40!

Magenta’s Generation Guide to 40!

Entering your 40s brings about financial changes. You may notice an increase in your salary, but also a rise in expenses. This period often involves significant life events such as relocating to a bigger house, considering second home acquisitions, managing...
Gretchen’s February Vlog

Gretchen’s February Vlog

Welcome to my February Vlog! Tax year-end is just around the corner, so let’s make the most of those allowances! Listen in to see how best to do this, it’s all a bit technical, but we can help to make the best sense out of it. Don’t forget that ISAs &...
The Removal of the Lifetime Allowance

The Removal of the Lifetime Allowance

The Lifetime Allowance (LTA) is a limit on how much you can build up in pension benefits without paying tax. It’s currently set at £1,073,100 and benefits above this were subject to a tax charge. To the surprise of many, it was announced in the 2023 Spring Budget that...
Introducing our Generation Guides!

Introducing our Generation Guides!

At Magenta we firmly believe that financial planning and money education should happen at every age—whether it’s learning at school about cash versus credit, playing with your budgeting app at university, or teaching your Grandchildren how to save, give and spend...
Gretchen’s January Vlog

Gretchen’s January Vlog

It’s back! Gretchen’s first VLOG of 2024! First off, a huge congratulations to our Trainees, Holly and Mollie, who both took and PASSED exams before Christmas. Clap emoji Last week we held our annual strategy off-site. We spent time as a team talking about our goals...
October Vlog

October Vlog

Gretchen’s VLOG this month focuses on the State Pension, a top topic this year in the press. Specifically covering the following areas: Triple Lock Change to State Pension Top-Ups Women – Under-Paid State Pension entitlement As with many financial topics, State...
Investment Update Webinar

Investment Update Webinar

Gretchen recently had a discussion with Tertius Bonin, Assistant Portfolio Manager from EQ Investors, and Laurentius van den Worm, Investment Strategist from Timeline about the markets over the past 12 months, how Bonds and Equities are behaving, inflation, and what...
Magenta Team Update!

Magenta Team Update!

Autumn is upon us and we are starting to see the lovely warm weather and light evenings turn to colder and darker skies. We know change is not always a bad thing, and just like the change of seasons, Magenta has seen some changes recently – we’re keen to embrace...
It’s Good Money Week!

It’s Good Money Week!

This is the week when those in our profession and the investment industry focus on money that’s good for people, the planet, and your pocket. This is a national campaign to help grow and raise awareness of sustainable, responsible, and ethical finance. It’s not...
September Vlog 2023

September Vlog 2023

Gretchen’s Vlog in September discusses Magenta celebrating turning 7 years old this month with a new branding photo shoot to introduce new members joining the team! In October Gretchen is recording an Investment Summary with Timeline and EQ Investors, the Investment...
Happy Birthday Magenta! – by Gretchen Betts

Happy Birthday Magenta! – by Gretchen Betts

Celebrating 7 Years of Success and Growth! This month Magenta turns 7 years old! I write something on every anniversary, and I can’t believe how quickly these years have flown by.  If you’d asked me 15 years ago when I first started advising clients, where I...
July Vlog 2023

July Vlog 2023

Gretchen’s Vlog in July discusses Magenta’s ‘Inheritance Tax’ Webinar, which was live on 6th July, and is available to watch on our YouTube channel – see links in bio. It’s also the holiday season, and Magenta will look a feel a little different during the month of...
5 Financial Planning Tips for Women

5 Financial Planning Tips for Women

Financial advice is financial advice regardless of whether you are male or female. It’s not gender specific, but what may be different is the approach women want and things we need to consider for them. In our experience at Magenta. women come to us when they have...
5 Ways to be Financially Confident

5 Ways to be Financially Confident

The world of personal finance is complex, financial education is sadly lacking and media reporting is confusing and frightening. In addition, you will have questions: Is it too late to save for retirement?  Should I invest in the stock market? When can I stop...
June Vlog 2023

June Vlog 2023

Gretchen’s Vlog in June discusses Artificial Intelligence (AI) including the minute-taking AI tech that Magenta have been trialling. AI is a hot topic globally and we explore the pros and cons, specifically around AI for Financial and Client Services. Watch Gretchen’s...
May Vlog 2023

May Vlog 2023

May has been a busy month for Magenta, with working hours compressed due to Bank Holidays, and missing Mandy in the office (who is now back and easing her way back into a routine, recovering well!) Jamie attended the CityWire Impact Retreat, learning about...
Count down to Retirement – a 5-year plan

Count down to Retirement – a 5-year plan

It’s never too early to think about retirement planning! For most of your working life, it wasn’t exactly a pressing concern. You might have pondered it for a few minutes as you skimmed your company’s annual pension statement, but retirement was more like a vague,...
April Vlog 2023

April Vlog 2023

Gretchen’s vlog this month covers the new tax year and flurry of activity surrounding finalising pension top-ups and making the best use of ISA allowances for last year, then looking to the new year, and ensuring all best planning is in place. In May Magenta will...
Hello lovely people

Hello lovely people

Gretchen has asked me to tell you what I’ve been up to since retiring.  Having decided to retire in the middle of the Covid epidemic, I will admit to a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out) as all the items on my bucket list were virtually impossible and...
March Vlog 2023

March Vlog 2023

Gretchen’s vlog this month covers the recent budget delivered from Jeremy Hunt, focussing on the Pension changes, especially relating to lifetime allowances. You can read more about the budget in our blog by Jamie here Gretchen then discusses the recent collapse of...
Six years of Magenta and why smaller is better

Six years of Magenta and why smaller is better

Almost 6 years ago I wrote a Blog ‘why smaller is better’. This month, Gretchen asked me to revisit this and update it with my experiences and thoughts over the period that has since elapsed and share this with you… so here goes! I have worked with some of Magenta’s...
The importance of having a Will

The importance of having a Will

Even though having a Will in place is the most effective way to leave details to your family about how you would like your money and assets to be split, or make special bequests to charity, the number of people who don’t have one in place is remarkably high....
How can a Financial Planner help me?

How can a Financial Planner help me?

As we enter the new year, many of you are setting your financial and life goals for 2023. You might also be in the middle of some major life changes and turning points – getting engaged or married, having a baby, or thinking about starting your own business. Or maybe...
New Year New Goals

New Year New Goals

Another year has come and gone and if you are anything like me you start off the new year with a list of all the things you want to achieve in the year.  Invariably when I look back over the year, I can guarantee I have only managed to complete a handful of these...
December Vlog from Gretchen

December Vlog from Gretchen

Gretchen’s monthly Vlog is shorter this month, and covers the following topics: Magenta’s Economic Update Webinar Local Food Banks Christmas Update Please feel free to share this content if you think this could be of interest to someone you know, or your social...
November Vlog from Gretchen

November Vlog from Gretchen

Gretchen’s monthly Vlog discusses the latest financial topics from Magenta Financial Planning in November 2022 The topics this month include: The Autumn Statement – by Jeremy Hunt Inflation Staff News and Charity Commitments up to Christmas You can watch the full...
The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

Like us, you’re probably struggling to keep up with the current pace of changes the current government have made in the last 9 months, but yet again, last week we saw the new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, deliver the Autumn Statement and it included a number of tax...
October Vlog from Gretchen

October Vlog from Gretchen

Gretchen’s monthly Vlog discusses the latest financial topics from Magenta Financial Planning in October 2022 The topics this month include: The Revised Mini Budget – by Jeremy Hunt The Prime Minister’s Resignation – Liz Truss New Model Advisor Top 100 You can watch...
Continuing to Support our Magenta Forest!

Continuing to Support our Magenta Forest!

Climate change is an ever-increasing concern, not just for individuals but for businesses too. As most of our clients know, Magenta has always been committed to doing what we can to reduce the impact we have on the environment. In 2021 we signed up with a company...
Magenta’s Top 3 Ethical Money Tips

Magenta’s Top 3 Ethical Money Tips

What are the top 3 changes you can make with your money to be better for the world and people? Almost all of us want to make responsible choices in life and we are now, more than ever, aware of the global challenges we face in the world. Environmental issues, human...
September Vlog from Gretchen

September Vlog from Gretchen

This month Gretchen discusses what we have learnt from Queen Elizabeth II – the longest reigning Monarch in British history. Visit Magenta’s You Tube Channel to watch the full video https://youtu.be/3_9NO7ZaXVQ The topics this month include: What can we learn...
Mini-Budget Update 2022

Mini-Budget Update 2022

Budget updates used to be every year, but now it seems it can be up to 3 times a year! So here we go again… The Government’s Growth Plan 2022 In last weeks mini-Budget, the Chancellor announced the government’s Growth Plan 2022 which included a raft of tax reductions...
Magenta is 6!

Magenta is 6!

Another year has flown by, and this week, Magenta is celebrating 6 years in business! As you can imagine, a lot has happened over six years, and the business has certainly changed from those early first days, with new technology, new faces and a new office! Firstly,...
Recommendations make the world go around!

Recommendations make the world go around!

We all rely to some extent on other peoples’ experience and recommendations – this is why Trip Advisor and the like are so successful! Think about how many times in (say) the last month you have asked for someone’s advice or guidance on something. Even something...
What I learnt from Divorce by Allyson Hopkins

What I learnt from Divorce by Allyson Hopkins

As with any marriage, the plan is to as the vow states ‘until death us do part’. Unfortunately, this is not the case for every marriage. Over the past 50 years, exactly one-third of marriages have ended in divorce. According to the Office for National...
Magenta’s April Vlog – from Gretchen Betts

Magenta’s April Vlog – from Gretchen Betts

Gretchen’s Monthly Vlog will detail the 3 Top Topics which Magenta have been discussing with their clients. In April the following topics were discussed Inflation and Cash Flow Assumptions Gift Aid Why Women? To view the Vlog for April click here...
March Vlog – by Gretchen Betts

March Vlog – by Gretchen Betts

Gretchen’s Monthly Vlog will detail the 3 Top Topics which Magenta have been discussing with their clients. In March the following topics were discussed Tax Year End Planning Dementia Awareness Women and Finance To view the Vlog for March click here (409)...
2022 Spring Statement Update

2022 Spring Statement Update

Last week Chancellor Rishi Sunak provided an update on the state of the UK’s finances and also announced a few policy changes, so this was more low-key than the annual budget, which will take place in the autumn of this year. Inflation Inflation is already affecting...
February Vlog – by Gretchen Betts

February Vlog – by Gretchen Betts

For 2022 Gretchen set herself a resolution to create more video content for Magenta Clients. Each month, Gretchen’s Vlog will detail the 3 Top Topics which Magenta has been discussing with their clients. In February the following topics were discussed Volatile Stock...
Planning for Life After Redundancy

Planning for Life After Redundancy

At Magenta we know one thing for certain – that life doesn’t follow a linear path and that change, whether for good or bad, is always around the corner. Life is full of changes and events – some will bring joy and others sorrow. Our experience encompasses all possible...
Call for your Help and Recommendations!

Call for your Help and Recommendations!

Every small business like ours is reliant on word of mouth, recommendations and reviews for new clients and business. Over the past 5 years, thanks to many of you, we’ve received over 65% of our new clients via referral! We’re so very proud that so many of our clients...
Happy New Year! From Team Magenta!

Happy New Year! From Team Magenta!

What a year it’s been, with highs and lows for all of us. Who’d have thought we’d become to accustomed to seeing people in masks, no hand shaking and distanced hellos! Here’s to a happier and healthier 2022, with fun, travel, family, and friends. See you in the New...
A Greener New Year – By Jessica Geere

A Greener New Year – By Jessica Geere

At Magenta we have always made a conscious effort to be a greener company and offered clients ethical and sustainable investment choices. This past year we have been actively making our office space greener by reducing our paper use drastically, using sustainable...
The Free Magenta Guide to Green Investing

The Free Magenta Guide to Green Investing

If you’ve visited our website recently you may have noticed that we have added a new page under the ‘who we help’ section of the website, entitled ‘Positive Impact’. You can visit this page HERE. If you visit the page you’ll see that we’ve created a free guide to...
Magenta is 5!   By Gretchen Betts

Magenta is 5! By Gretchen Betts

On 1st September it’ll be 5 years since we launched Magenta. I can’t believe it’s gone so quickly, and it only seems like yesterday that Julie and I were calling many of you to let you know about the change and our plans for our new brand. In the last 5 years we’ve...
Awards Season for the Financial Services Profession!

Awards Season for the Financial Services Profession!

In Financial Services we are entering awards season! 2020 was a washout for awards, but this year, adapting to the new normal, most awards are running and at Magenta we’ve been shortlisted for a number of awards. We’re always proud to showcase being shortlisted or...
Exploring the Concept of Risk

Exploring the Concept of Risk

In dealing with many different clients over many years, we have always found it fascinating to discover how different people view the world and especially how they define risk in the context of their own lives. We all take risks every day – at the moment, just...
Anti-Goals for 2021!

Anti-Goals for 2021!

We’re sure we are all glad that 2020 is now behind us and we can look forward to things getting back to normal – at least as far as seeing family and friends is concerned. Usually at the start of a new year, people make resolutions and promises about how they...
Help to Buy ISAs – Now or never?

Help to Buy ISAs – Now or never?

Help to Buy ISAs – Now or never? We have received a few queries recently about whether or not clients should set up Help to Buy ISAs for their children, before they are withdrawn at the end of this month (30th November). The short answer is, no! (or at least,...