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While 2021 has started not unlike how much of 2020 played out, with Covid-19 infections continuing to spread and many countries reimplementing lockdown measures, the approval and rollout of various vaccines to combat the coronavirus has been an undeniable game-changer for markets. It's provided a clearer road map for a return to some form of normality, although the path ahead is still likely to remain bumpy, with continued uncertainties in the offing.

The unique shape of the Covid-19 crisis and accompanying recession has meant some industries have thrived while others have dived. In caricature, everyone now uses Zoom and Peloton, while offices and gyms were forced to close.

What does the K mean? Online shopping wins, traditional retailing loses. Commercial property such as offices and shops lose, but logistics warehouses thrive. City apartments struggle, suburbs with gardens boom. The digital economy beats everything.

Surrey has been labelled Britain’s inheritance tax capital by a national newspaper, the county southwest of London where the average UK inheritance tax (IHT) bill is £234,000 ($303,000).

With property prices in Surrey and across the UK continuing to rise, and the tax-free threshold (known as the ‘nil rate band’) of £325,000 ($421,000) frozen, family business owners could be forgiven for thinking that IHT is a fact of life.

General lifetime planning opportunities

The most frequently asked question I get from people with a new interest in crypto and blockchain technology is how to get investment exposure to the asset class. In this article, I’m going to tell you what options are out there, what, from my view, the respective pros and cons of each are, and, most importantly, which way may suit you best based on your investment size, risk profile, tech understanding and the amount of effort you want to put in.