With a General Election fast approaching, the economy in a mess and no credible plan in place to tackle the budget deficit for fear of losing votes, I thought that now would be an appropriate time to mention some tax year end planning opportunities that you may wish to consider.

Eminent Manchester barrister Alex Kloss will be speaking at our next private client discussion seminar this Thursday at Manchester’s St James’s Club.

Today we would like to introduce Andrew Morris. Andrew has over 25 years experience in stock broking and for the past 15 has been a senior fund manager with Rowan Dartington Portfolio Management now known as Signature. We’ve invited Andrew to give us his take on the economic trials and tribulations we’re all likely to face in the year ahead.”

I’ve just returned from a fantastic week away skiing in Les Arcs. The conditions were some of the best I’ve ever experienced; clear blue skies and the most amazing powder snow. It gave us the opportunity to try our skis ‘off piste’. Skiing in powder up to your knees looks easy from afar, but it was quite a challenge to stay upright.

We are often asked by clients to recommend investments for children and grandchildren. The starting point when considering investments for children is the Child Trust Fund (CTF), which is a tax efficient long term savings plan. CTFs have been available since 6 April 2005 and apply to all children resident in the UK born from 1 September 2002.

“More pain is yet to come” was the damning prediction given by Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis who gave a rousing speech at the RAW2010 event which I attended last week.

As my role as financial planner within Xentum I thought it would be interesting to give you a brief insight into some of my current projects:

At last we’re ensconced in our new offices, the snow finally seems to be abating and we’re getting back to normal. My abstinence from chocolate for the month of January is going well and I find it’s one new year rule I do tend to stick to!

Happy New Year - and to welcome 2010 in with a flurry we have been busy moving offices over the festive period. Our new address details are Bridgewater Court, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 0ER. Please note that all contact numbers remain the same.

We would like to wish you all the very best for Christmas and the New Year from all the team at Xentum.

Our offices will be closed from noon on Wednesday 23 December and we will reopen on Monday 04 January 2010.