Insight

The practice of diversifying investment portfolios is almost as old as investing itself.  Not placing all of your financial eggs in one basket is diversification in a nutshell. It makes perfect, logical sense: spreading your money over numerous equities or securities, spreads the risk. If certa

Neil Francis, interim managing director of Scottish Enterprise, explains how Scotland’s commitment to inclusivity and net-zero can be shared via our trading relationships. As March begins and with spring on the horizon, it has been a very busy start to the year for international trade and

Andy Todd, business coach and facilitator of the new Edinburgh group of The Alternative Board (TAB), discusses the benefits of communication between businesses. The maxim 'a problem shared is a problem halved' is one of our defining principles at TAB.

Jason Cozens, founder & CEO of fintech Glint, discusses the role banks will play in the future of alternative global currencies.  For centuries, consumers have had no choice but to trust in the banking system. Anyone looking to secure their financial future was encouraged to entrust their s

Roger Mayor, director, Advisory Corporate Finance at Deloitte, discusses the key trends driving spring optimism within the Scottish M&A market. At the start of 2020, M&A activity looked like it would continue to meet the high levels achieved in 2019. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to an

Stuart MacPherson, senior business services manager at Aberdeen-based chartered accountancy firm Meston Reid & Co, gives advice on VAT changes in the construction industry. A change to VAT collection arrangements is finally heading the way of the UK construction industry.

Harry Nimmo, investment leader, smaller companies at Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), discusses why active investing outperforms passive. There are 172 actively managed funds with a track record over a 10 year period with combined assets under management (AUM) of around £156 billion. 73 (4

Chern-Yeh Kwok, manager of the Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust, which is run by Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), discusses the real value in Japanese markets, but how it is often overlooked by investors. In the rush to capitalise on China’s rapid growth, investors have often neglected Asia

Rachel Henry considers the importance of words and their meaning in insurance contracts. Words matter. The meaning of words and the way they are interpreted matter. The wording used in insurance contracts can be crucial to the outcome of legal cases, as we saw on 8 February 2021 when the United King

Iain Young considers the year ahead in tax. One of the most hackneyed phrases found in articles written by lawyers is that in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. 

Jason Cozens, founder & CEO of fintech Glint, discusses the rise of alternative global currencies such as Bitcoin. The idea that became Glint began life almost 15 years ago as I watched desperate consumers struggle to recover their funds from the collapsing Northern Rock. It was the first time t

Gordon Dean, partner at law firm Balfour+Manson, discusses the impact of an increase in authorised push payment (APP) fraud in recent years. There has been a huge rise in “authorised push payment” or “APP” fraud over recent years. The amounts involved in these scams can be si

Suzanne Sosna, interim director for global trade at Scottish Enterprise, outlines how the organisation is supporting Scottish companies following the end of the EU transition period. COVID-19 has changed everything; how we work, how and what we buy, who we spend time with, how we communicate, how we

Aileen Scott, head of tax in Scotland with Azets, discusses why the forthcoming Budget must further relax business taxes and minimise the growing risk of closures and redundancies across the SME community. Businesses are being starved of cash and the Chancellor must use tax relief to help businesses

With exactly four weeks to the day until the Chancellor delivers his Budget speech, Chris Sanger, EY's head of tax policy, has set out his predictions. While it’s been nearly a year since last Budget, the Chancellor has arguably spent more time delivering the series of mini ‘Covid-19 cri