Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Friday 14 November 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Chancellor backs off income tax rise amid manifesto pressure
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has reportedly abandoned plans to break Labour’s manifesto pledge by raising income tax in this month’s Autumn Budget, sending officials back to redraw proposals as the government confronts a significant hole in the public finances.
The chancellor had been widely expected to announce a 2p rise in income tax while cutting national insurance by the same amount, a move that would have breached Labour’s commitment not to raise taxes on “working people”.
Tony Wilkinson: How AI is transforming investment content
The investment industry has always been information-intensive, writes Tony Wilkinson, investment director, quantitative solutions, at Collidr
It requires analysts and advisers to process vast amounts of market data, economic indicators and company reports to keep clients informed.
Today, artificial intelligence is revolutionising how we create and deliver this content — but only when implemented responsibly.
From the archives: The Budget of bad journalism
In the immediate aftermath of chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget in October 2024, chartered financial planner Greg Neall castigated the press for “whipping up a furore” on the basis of inaccurate speculation.
“I do implore all the experts, commentators and journalists to do better research and think more deeply about these issues before you start scaring my clients for clickbait,” he wrote.
How times change…
Quote Of The Day
The Budget somehow has to provide certainty, try to boost consumer and business confidence, and at the same time fill a large fiscal gap
– BBC economics editor Faisal Islam comments on yesterday’s 0.1% growth figures as a backdrop to the upcoming Budget
Stat Attack
UK crypto investors are almost twice as likely to be motivated by long-term wealth creation than by short-term gains, according to new research from investing and trading platform IG.
The survey, of over 500 UK crypto holders, shows:
51%
of UK crypto holders think long term.
27%
However, just over a quarter are motivated by quick gains.
35%
of crypto investors describe themselves as cautious.
7%
This is compared to 7% that describe themselves as risky.
23%
Crypto makes up just under a quarter of an investment portfolio for the average UK holder.
33%
said they were investing to support their retirement.
18%
said they were saving for a house deposit.
46%
Nearly half said crypto is a small part of a diversified portfolio.
6%
Just over one in 20 said they invested solely in crypto.
Source: IG
In Other News
Invest Europe, the association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors, has released its 2025 ESG Reporting Template.
The template is designed to strengthen best practice guidance for data collection and reporting on essential ESG matters to investors.
This new version improves user-friendliness and ensures continued alignment with evolving EU sustainability legislation and leading industry initiatives such as EDCI and PMDR, while focusing on what is truly material for investors regardless of sector.
First introduced in 2022 and now in its third annual revision, the template offers a voluntary industry framework for ESG reporting at portfolio company, fund and manager levels.
Designed as a comprehensive solution for ESG disclosures, the template helps managers and investors improve consistency, streamline processes and enhance comparability across portfolios.
From Elsewhere
US markets struggle amid tech sell-off and economic uncertainty (The Guardian)
Reeves considers major U-turns on Budget tax-raising plans (Bloomberg)
How markets could topple the global economy (The Economist)
Did You See?
Bespoke and discounted pricing continues to shape adviser platform competition, according to Platforum’s latest UK Adviser Platforms: Pricing report.
While platform rate card pricing has remained broadly stable in recent years, more than half of advisers say they secure discounted rates for clients on at least one of their platforms.
Some bespoke deals are priced at less than half of standard rates, as platforms compete to attract new assets in an increasingly competitive market.
The prevalence of these arrangements highlights the broader downward pressure on costs as advisers focus more sharply on total cost of ownership across the value chain.