The IFA trade websites are still gearing up for the New Year but there was big news over the break regarding farmers. The Government made a major concession allowing £2.5milion to be sheltered individually. The government document is here on this link.
When combined with the decision to allow reliefs to pass between spouses decided in the Budget, it removed around 85% of farms from a potential IHT liability.
The newwires such as Bloomberg, presented the move as a retreat amid a farmers' backlash. This is Money considers the change in some detail.
Sean McCann, chartered financial planner at NFU Mutual, the financial advisory firm is quoted saying:
"While this is a significant improvement on the previous proposals and will take many smaller farms and businesses out of the inheritance tax net, it will still leave many farming and business owning families facing a large inheritance tax bill.
"Although farm asset values can be high, the returns are often low. In many cases we could still see land and buildings having to be sold on the farmer's death to pay the tax bill, with the next generation inheriting smaller less efficient farms as a result."
It will be interesting to see the implications for other reforms that are yet to come into force.
Elsewhere IFA Magazine notes that the FTSE 100 has broken through the 10,000 barrier. We quote its first two rather bullish paragraphs - "the FTSE 100 has begun 2026 by smashing through the 10,000 mark for the first time, a landmark moment that would have seemed unlikely just a few years ago.
"After long being written off as unloved and ex-growth, the UK’s flagship index has staged a powerful comeback in 2025, buoyed by banks, miners and defence stocks, improving sentiment and still-compelling valuations."
John Spiers the founder of BestInvest and EQ has been awarded an MBE for services to business and charity in the New Year Honours list. Citywire New Model Adviser reports.
The Financial Times also notes that SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing to launch IPOs. It could be an interesting year in markets.
Writing in Money Marketing, Alex Gaita, chartered financial planner director at Schroders Personal Wealth, considers the psychology of money in uncertain times.
This is a neat sentence from his piece - "My advice has been consistent: rather than reacting to headlines, we revisit long-term objectives and adjust the plan like a plane making course corrections mid-flight, always focused on the destination – a strategy tailored to their goals. These conversations help reassure clients that short-term turbulence won’t knock them off course."
Meanwhile Morningstar's Dan Kemp writes that he doesn't understand gold's role in portfolios in FTAdviser.
Mortgage Strategy reports on the housing market in the UK last year with what looks like something of a becalmed market.
IUK house price growth slowed to 0.6% in the year to December 2025, down from 1.8% in the year to November, according to Nationwide’s latest house price index.
The 0.6% figure is the lowest annual rate since April 2024, the lender said. The typical house price is now £271,068, according to Nationwide figures, down from £272,998 in November 2025.
In Corporate Adviser, Zedra's Alastair Meeks urges the sector to make sure expressions of wish are up to date in relation to group risk.
