Are we Right to be optimistic about the UK Economy?

Is the glass half full or half empty? It’s one of the oldest questions (and clichés) there is. But right now you could be forgiven for thinking that as far as the UK economy goes the glass is not just half full, it’s completely full. 

The last few weeks have brought us a steady stream of good news. Post-Brexit the UK has agreed – or is very close to agreeing – trade deals with Norway, Iceland and Australia. According to recent reports International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is aiming to sign a free trade deal with New Zealand ‘by August.’ 

Manufacturing growth is at a 30 year high and even car sales – which were hit so hard by the pandemic – have recovered. The UK “optimism index” is at a six year high, and recent figures showed the average price of a house in the UK rising to record levels. 

Optimistic forecasts abound, with the CBI predicting that the UK economy will grow by 8.2% this year, up from a previous forecast of 6% and taking the economy back to pre-Covid levels. The economy will grow by a further 6.1% in 2022, the CBI forecasts, up from a previous figure of 5.2%. 

Still not convinced? The UK is now officially home to 100 “unicorns” – new tech firms with a valuation of more than $1bn (£721m). Tractable, an artificial intelligence start-up building computer vision tools became the latest, joining companies such as Skyscanner (from Scotland), Durham-based challenger bank Atom Bank and Darktrace, based in Cambridge, which uses AI to develop cyber-security solutions.

There are, of course, areas for concern. All is looking up, apart from the fact that ‘Freedom Day’ – originally scheduled for June 21st – has been pushed back. Apart from the fact that the UK could well face a third wave of the virus as the seemingly more infectious Delta variant holds sway. Apart from the fact that many UK businesses – especially in the hospitality sector – are struggling to re-open because of a shortage of staff.

The simple fact is that there is likely to be a mixture of good and bad news for the foreseeable future. This good and bad news will be reflected in stock markets, not just in the UK but around the world. So the only certainty is that regular contact with your financial advisers will be essential – and that your financial planning will need to be flexible and regularly reviewed. 

Yes, there is an increasing amount of good news but no economy – either in the UK or anywhere else – is out of the woods. We will continue to keep you up to date with developments and keep your financial plans under regular review. 

When Joe Biden was inaugurated as President back in January there was much talk of his proposed stimulus package for the US economy. The figure generally talked about was $1.9tn (£1.36tn), an eye-watering sum of money. To give you a comparison, the National Audit Office in the UK is currently saying that the Government has spent £372bn on Covid-19, with £150bn of that going towards support for businesses. 

By May, however, $1.9tn was looking like small change: when Joe Biden presented his Budget he revealed $6tn (£4.3tn) of spending commitments, largely funded by tax rises for wealthy Americans and business. Unsurprisingly the spending plans were condemned by the Republicans as “insanely expensive,” with claims that they would lead to record levels of debt. 

So what is the President planning to spend the money on? How will he pay for it? And, most importantly, will the huge level of spending work? 

Joe Biden’s budget is aimed at growing the US economy “from the bottom up and the middle out.” It includes more than $800bn for the fight against climate change, free school places for all three and four year olds, two years of community college for all Americans and massive investments in both physical and digital infrastructure. 

As we have noted above the plans have been fiercely criticised, and there is a chance that some members of the President’s own party may side with the Republicans over some of the proposals. The chief criticism, though, has centred on debt, with estimates that the proposals could add $14.5tn of debt over the next decade, taking US Government debt to 117% of GDP by 2031 – a level not even reached during the Second World War. 

Will the plans work? Your opinion on that almost certainly depends on your view of Joe Biden. Republicans are fiercely critical of something they see as taking US debt to a whole new level and – very possibly – driving up inflation. The Biden administration argues that inflation will stabilise at around 2% and that the higher taxes will see the whole programme paid for within 15 years. 

In 1996 Bill Clinton famously said that the “era of big Government is over.” Joe Biden appears to have brought it back. While his plans still have to go through Congress and the Senate, it seems certain that enough of his spending commitments will remain to make the fiscal hawks in both parties wince.

One of the great themes of the past 15 months has been accidental savings: the amount people in the UK have “saved” by the simple expedient of not being able to go out and spend. 

“Thrifty Brits stash the cash in lockdown” has been a typical headline, quickly followed by an estimate of how much cash we might have “stashed” through not going to the pub, eating out or buying new clothes. One estimate put the figure at £160bn, with the Bank of England suggesting that up to 5% of this could be spent, and hence boost the UK recovery, as lockdown eases. Economists at Deutsche Bank went further, suggesting that around 10% could be spent on nights out, holidays, cars and more. 

“Would I be shocked by £20bn of extra spending? No,” said economist Sanjay Raja. Spending on this scale would comfortably add between 0.5% to 1% to UK GDP. 

But however much is spent, that still leaves a huge amount of money that is not spent – a huge amount of money that remains “accidentally saved.” According to Peter Flavel, the CEO of Coutts, however, we are not saving wisely. 

Looking at it from the point of view of an Australian who has lived and worked in several countries, and is now in the UK, Flavel makes a simple point. The UK’s Individual Savings Account (ISA) is “potentially the best medium term savings product globally.” But, he argues, “they are not used very well, [in fact] they are used badly.” 

As you may well know, a couple can invest £40,000 per year into ISAs. Junior ISAs have a limit of £9,000 per year. The products enjoy tax advantages and give immediate access to your cash if it is needed. Small wonder that Flavel describes the ISA as a “World Champion” amongst saving options.

According to recent statistics around 20% of the UK adult population have invested in an ISA – but what concerns Flavel is that the overwhelming majority of these ISAs (76%) are held in cash, meaning that with low interest rates and inflation, the real value of the ISA could actually fall over time. 

We take a balanced approach to financial planning. It’s often a good idea to keep some money in cash, after all none of us know when we will need access to our “emergency fund.” But Peter Flavel makes a very valid point: it is important that we don’t allow a disproportionate amount of our savings to accidentally accumulate in cash. It runs the risk of unbalancing your overall financial planning portfolio, giving you a more cautious approach than you might otherwise want or need, and, with low-interest rates likely to be the norm for some time, it also risks poor returns. Of course, where that balance lies is different from one individual to the next.

If you are interested in finding your own balance then do not hesitate to get in touch with us. While “I’ve accidentally got too much cash” doesn’t sound like a problem, in financial planning terms it very well could be.