It is time for the Government to send out a clear signal that saving for the future is the right thing to do, says JEFF PRESTRIDGE

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For the past seven years, the financially prudent have been punished unmercifully. By the foibles of the bankers. By governments of all hues and persuasions.

While the bankers, bar the odd exception, have escaped punishment for bringing this splendid country to its knees, it is hard-working families that have had to pay for their greed – through creeping taxes, direct and indirect, and record low savings rates. An unacceptable state of affairs.

Plunging interest rates have wreaked havoc with the finances of the prudent – making saving an almost worthless exercise.

Signal: Prudence still goes unrewarded, says Jeff Prestridge

Admittedly, mortgage rates have come down, helping trim household bills, but we live in a country which seems not to have learnt the lessons of the past.

Prudence still goes unrewarded. Imprudence – borrowing – continues to be encouraged. Binging on debt is acceptable, saving for our future is almost passé. Mad and bad. 

How ironic it is that one of the banking organisations we rescued in the teeth of the financial crisis – Royal Bank of Scotland – is now rewarding customers with the most pitiful savings rates in memory. It makes me question why we ever rescued this wretched group – or didn’t demand more from its management to keep it afloat.

A greater focus on the customer rather than relentless cost cutting and branch closures would have made us feel a bit better about the billions of pounds we have poured down its throat. A fairer deal for savers would have been a bonus.

It is now time for the Government to stand up for the prudent and send out a clear signal that saving for the future is the right thing to do. That it will encourage savers every step along the way to a future where financial freedom reigns. These are personal finance tenets that should lie at the heart of Conservative Government policy.

Today, The Mail on Sunday launches its manifesto to give savers a fairer deal. It’s not pie-in-the-sky stuff like most policy coming out of the Labour Party.

It’s not expensive. It’s all doable and it sits with everything that Conservatism stands for – self-help and freedom of the individual. Let’s start rewarding thrift. Let’s wave the flag for prudence. Let’s re-energise the savings habit. As soon as possible.

Investment trusts reward investors with a mix of capital growth and a growing income

The People's Trust is an idea worth a shot

Investment trusts have been helping people build wealth since the late 19th Century. Conservatively – while upholding Conservative principles.

It is testimony to their success that many of the trusts which were founded at that time are still chugging along. The likes of Alliance, Bankers, British Empire, Edinburgh, Foreign & Colonial, Mercantile, Merchants and Scottish.

Splendid names reflective of a past when the country led the world in trade and commerce. But also trusts which are as relevant today as they were more than 100 years ago. Rewarding investors with an enticing mix of capital growth and a growing income – without taking them to the proverbial cleaners when it comes to charges.

Old is good in the investment trust world but there is always room for new trusts built on the same principles that drove the industry’s founders – value for money, simplicity and a quest to create wealth for shareholders.

Daniel Godfrey, former boss of investment trust lobby group the Association of Investment Companies, certainly thinks so.

He has just embarked upon an ambitious project that should result early next year in the launch of The People’s Trust, an investment fund that Godfrey says will be focused 100 per cent on serving the best long-term interests of investors.

The trust will have a strong ethical bent. It will only invest in companies which treat their employees well, pay their fair share of taxes and are environmentally-friendly.

Also, the fund’s managers will receive no bonuses. Instead, part of their salary will be paid in shares, so aligning their interests with those of shareholders.

Investors will be able to squirrel away as little as £10 a week and the charges which reduce their returns will be made crystal clear.

Godfrey has backing from a number of reputable firms in the City which will play key roles in helping run the trust – First State Investments, Orbis and Willis Towers Watson. To get the show on the road, he is looking for 5,000 ‘founders’ who are willing to donate at least £20 (£10 for under-35s) to help his idea come to fruition.

When – and if – the trust gets off the ground, these founders will then be offered shares at a discounted price.

Nice idea. Further details at website thepeoplestrust.