Irregular Roundup, 23rd March 2026

We begin today’s Irregular Roundup with the Spring Statement

Spring Statement

For once, Rachel Reeves got up to speak, and there were no new taxes.

• Of course,  there are plenty of old announcements that have yet to come into force, and the dreaded fiscal drag never sleeps.

The overall tax burden is predicted to rise to an unprecedented 38% in 2030/31, some six points higher than pre-Covid.

The Spring Statement as a whole was a bit of a non-event, and was overshadowed by the US attack on Iran, and its implications for oil prices and hence inflation.

• The expected interest rate cut in March also looked to be off the table.

The OBR lowered the growth forecast for 2026 but shovelled the growth into 2027 and 2028.

• Public sector borrowing was also set to fall (before the attacks).
• And unemployment would rise this year, then fall later in this parliament.

Things we didn’t hear included:

1. Plans to cut taxes and government spending
2. An end to Net Zero and a plan for UK energy security:
   • New North Sea Oil exploration
   • The legalisation of fracking
   • No more solar panels and wind turbines
   • More nuclear power
   • More energy storage capacity (particularly gas)
   • Repeal of the future ban on petrol cars
   • A cut in fuel duty
3. Cuts to the minimum wage, NICs and the abandonment of the new Employment Rights Act
4. Cancellation of the Renters Rights Act and abandonment of affordable housing requirements

We won’t get any of this, so I’m bracing for further tax rises in the Autumn budget and a recession before the next election.

Salary Sacrifice Cap

The proposed cap on salary sacrifice contributions into pensions (due to be implemented in 2029) has been increased by the Lords from £2K to £5K – still inadequate in my opinion, but obviously better.

• People should be saving at least 15% of their income for retirement, and with the basic rate of tax topping out at £50K, that implies pension contributions of at least £7.5K should be encouraged.

Brewdog

Those misguided souls who invested their cash in BrewDog’s “Equity for Punks” (EfP) scheme have lost all of their money in a deal to sell the firm to US cannabis firm Tilray, who now also sell drinks.

• Tilray bought the UK brewing operations for just £33M, but the company’s pubs have shut.

Since the EfP deal was not government-backed, investors received no tax breaks and are now unable to claim loss relief.

Long-Term Asset Funds

FT Adviser reported that advice firms are not keen on Long-Term Asset Funds (LTAFs – the new private market / illiquid asset funds aimed at wealthy investors.

• LTAFs offer monthly redemptions with a 90-day notice period, and offer no tax relief in exchange for this illiquidity (in contrast to VCT and EIS).

Objections included high fees, valuations (funds are by definition not marked to market), illiquidity (duh!), lack of transparency and doubts about whether the funds will provide all of the benefits of private markets.

• There are also issues around the idea that funds would be capitalised with cash before finding investments to buy (like the SPACs of yesteryear).
• Firms also reported that they are not receiving client inquiries about the funds, but only contacts from providers.

LTAFs are classified as Restricted Mass Market Instruments, which means that they can’t make up more than 10% of an ISA.

• As far as I can tell, this rule is implemented on an account basis (there’s no easy way to consolidate the holdings of people with many ISAs), which is a bit of a pain.

I can’t see the point of LTAFs – investment trusts seem perfectly capable of holding the same underlying assets.

IHT on Pensions

According to former pensions minister Steve Webb (now of LCP), the inclusion of pension pots within a deceased person’s estate for inheritance tax is starting to have an effect.

Webb said:

For many years, one of the attractions of DC pensions has been their favourable treatment under IHT, especially for those with larger pots. But the Budget 2024 announcement has changed things, and people with larger pots are now exploring a range of strategies to reduce any potential IHT bill for their heirs.

DC pension providers can expect to see changing behaviour among savers with the largest pots, with more interest in drawing down more rapidly for gifting or purchase of a whole-of-life policy, or even using the whole pot for annuity purchase. Providers may find that the largest pots disappear the quickest post-retirement.

Savers can use an annuity to convert pension balances to income, and then make regular gifts from income, which would be free of IHT.

• With a joint life annuity, this can continue after the death of the first partner in a relationship (even if not married).

Alternatively, the income can be used to pay premiums on life insurance, which will pay out on death.

• If the insurance is within a trust, the payout will be free of IHT.
• The payout can also be used to fund the IHT bill.

This can also be arranged to payout on the second death for a couple.

Interesting ETFs

A few interesting ETFs have been released while I was taking a break from the blog:

1. WisdomTree’s US Efficient Core (WTEF – 90% US stocks, 60% US bonds) has been joined by Global and European versions (WGEC and WEEC respectively).
2. LWLD is a 2x leveraged World ETF, unfortunately listed in Paris.
3. We finally have a trend following (managed futures) ETF in the UK – DBMG
4. ILS is a Catastrophe Bonds ETF
5. UKIT from Saba is an active ETF investing in investment trusts that trade at a big discount
6. And BOLD is a systematic fund investing a mixture of Gold and Bitcoin, depending on their volatilities.
   • Unfortunately, it’s also listed in Paris.

I have started buying DBMG and previously bought some WGEC, but the rest can wait for an upturn in markets.

Crypto ETNs

The government is sticking to its plan to restrict crypto ETNs to Innovative Finance ISAs (we all have one of those, don’t we?) from April 6th, just six 

months after the FCA lifted its ban on retail investors holding the products.

A HMRC spokesman said:

The government will keep the inclusion of cETNs in tax-advantaged accounts under review with a view to including them in the stocks and shares ISA at a later date as the market matures and as consumer understanding deepens.

The government remains supportive of the UK’s growing cryptoasset sector and continues to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework that fosters innovation while protecting consumers.

Don’t hold your breath.

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That’s it for today.

• Until next time.