SFY

Brandon Carty | Chartered Investment Manager | Financial Education For Young People | Start young, Start Early |

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Do you know what a Lifetime ISA is?

- Designed for those saving for first home
- £4,000 annual allowance
- Government bonus of 25%
- Ability to invest the cash
- Tax free growth

By opening one today, you could contribute £8,000 over the next 4 weeks…

No brainer?

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Reports suggest that SpaceX are filing for an IPO in June

For those looking for exposure to SpaceX now, have you considered Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust?

They have a 15.4% portfolio weighting to SpaceX, which is currently their largest holding $SMT

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Governments Bonds have become very attractive.

They are considered a cash-equivalent investment that can offer better returns than holding cash in a bank.

They trade on the secondary market so can re rate based on current events...which can be a positive

Current Example:

The January 2028 Gilt is yielding close to 4% after tax.

From a bank, you would need the following to match this return;

A 20% taxpayer would need 5% gross
A 40% taxpayer would need 6.6% gross
A 45% taxpayer would need 7.2% gross

As far as I am aware, these rates would be very hard to achieve in an easy access bank account.

Consider government bonds!

#StartYoungStartEarly

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Diversification - ‘the practice of spreading investments across different assets to reduce risk if one performs poorly’

Here are some asset classes you can use to diversify your investment portfolio:

Stocks (MSCI World Tracker, S&P500, FTSE100 etc)
Fixed Income (Bonds)
Commodities (Gold, Silver etc)
Property (REITs)
Cash

You would expect younger investors, with a longer investment horizon, to have a larger weighting to Stocks.

#StartYoungStartEarly

[SFY @SFYinvests]

WEEKLY FINANCIAL MARKETS ROUNDUP

- Oil remains volatile, ending the week over $100 a barrel. Russia has benefited from the Middle East conflict, as demand for its oil supply has increased. $BP $SHEL

- Stock Markets are turbulent as economic worries rise. Will inflation rocket following the increase in energy prices? Will central banks be forced to hold or raise rates? These are answers that investors want.

- Bitcoin $BTC back in the headlines with it continuing to test $75k… will it break through?

#StartYoungStartEarly

[SFY @SFYinvests]

I’ve had a few messages about is it the ‘right time’ to start investing now.

In honesty the ‘right time’ doesn’t exist, as the markets are an unpredictable machine.

People get caught up in trying to perfect it and just end up wasting time.

Put a sensible plan together with your spare cash and start today.

#StartYoungStartEarly

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Notable allowances to utilise before 6 April:

Cash/Stocks & Shares ISA allowance – £20,000
Lifetime ISA allowance – £4,000*
Junior ISA allowance - £9,000
Capital Gains Tax Allowance – £3,000

*Using a LISA reduces the remaining ISA allowance to £16,000

#StartYoungStartEarly

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Furthermore to my LISA tweet

Assuming you meet the criteria and are happy with the rules & restrictions of a LISA…

…you could contribute £8,000 over the next 4 weeks and receive £2,000 in government contributions for free.

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Do you know what a Lifetime ISA is?

- Designed for those saving for first home
- £4,000 annual allowance
- Government bonus of 25%
- Ability to invest the cash
- Tax free growth

By opening one today, you could contribute £8,000 over the next 4 weeks…

No brainer?

[SFY @SFYinvests]

@AshyCompounds So the 25% bonus is added after you contribute to the LISA.

You can then access the LISA once you are making your first house deposit, or at age 60.

So in theory, you could also use it as a tax-efficient retirement account.

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Do you know what a Lifetime ISA is?

- Designed for those saving for first home
- £4,000 annual allowance
- Government bonus of 25%
- Ability to invest the cash
- Tax free growth

By opening one today, you could contribute £8,000 over the next 4 weeks…

No brainer?

[SFY @SFYinvests]

@AshyCompounds Not for a couple years I believe!

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Find out more here: https://t.co/j7cokujrsb

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Stock Markets have become extremely sensitive to headlines.

Where social media was not as prominent decades ago, the environment has changed.

Trillions of $ can be wiped or added to the market on the back of a single tweet.

Accept volatility, don’t fight it.

Put a sensible long-term plan together and stick with it.

#StartYoungStartEarly

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Today we’ve seen a bounce in markets, with a large number of sectors green.

This is typically known as a ‘relief rally’ and normally follows a day where stocks have come under significant selling pressure.

It feels very premature to say we are in the clear, but today is an example why we should avoid panic-selling or over trading.

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Impact of War on the Stock Market

Despite what you may think, the stock market is fairly resilient to war and historically, the long term impact tends to be limited.

Yes, you should expect volatility in the short term. But assuming a US–Iran conflict is short-lived, history suggests markets can recover surprisingly quickly.

For long-term investors, the key is to avoid ‘panic-selling’ or trying to trade every headline. The next few weeks are highly unpredictable so don’t be too clever.

The Bloomberg chart below shows how markets have behaved during wars over the last 25-years:

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Impact of War on the Stock Market

Despite what you may think, the stock market is fairly resilient to war and historically, the long term impact tends to be limited.

Yes, you should expect volatility in the short term. But assuming a US–Iran conflict is short-lived, history suggests markets can recover surprisingly quickly.

For long-term investors, the key is to avoid ‘panic-selling’ or trying to trade every headline. The next few weeks are highly unpredictable so don’t be too clever.

The Bloomberg chart below shows how markets have behaved during wars over the last 25-years:

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Young people have something that money cannot buy, which is TIME

Compound growth will do all the work for you, you just need to take the first step!

#StartYoungStartEarly

[SFY @SFYinvests]

2025 Investment Returns

S&P 500 = 17.9%
FTSE 100 = 21%
Gold = 64%
Silver = 148%

Avg return on savings account = ~3%

#StartYoungStartEarly

[SFY @SFYinvests]

@RSMorison You can say that again…😭😂

Hope you’re well!

[SFY @SFYinvests]

The Magnificent Seven

$NVDA
$GOOG
$MSFT
$TSLA
$NFLX
$AMZN
$META

These 7 companies make up over 34% of the S&P 500 and have been under pressure recently, falling ~10% since Nov highs.

This volatility highlights the need for a diverse portfolio.

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Stocks & Shares ISAs are one of the best wealth building tools available.

They shelter all of your investment growth from tax.

You can contribute up to £20,000 into an ISA every tax year. You have until 5th April 2026 to use this years.

#StartYoungStartEarly

[SFY @SFYinvests]

Oil rose over 5% this week due to concerns that Trump may order an attack on Iran

Oil prices are highly sensitive to geopolitical risk because even the threat of conflict can disrupt global supply

Around 20% of global oil supply flows through the Middle East

$SHEL $BP $XOM

[SFY @SFYinvests]

@Mariusz_Invest They are definitely considered the best companies in the world! I saw a stat somewhere that said the total Mag 7 mkcap is bigger than the entire UK, France and Japan stock market combined…