RARELY can I recall a day like this…

The new government’s dramatic cuts to higher rate income tax, VAT and corporation tax alongside expensive energy subsidies in the chancellor’s first ‘mini-budget’ immediately spooked the markets.

But that was always likely to happen, given their radical nature.

My interpretation is that that some investors will find the tax cuts and increased public spending concerning

Obviously, the pain didn't quite stop there...

As the afternoon unfolded, the pound fell to a new 37-year low of $1.09.

Ultimately, we’re going to have to wait and see whether the chancellor’s mini-budget proves an abject disaster… Or whether its radical nature ultimately works brilliantly.

And I don’t use the word ‘radical’ lightly because in a long career in financial services, there have been scant occasions when a government has acted so decisively.

While I’ve not had opportunity to scrutinise the finer details of today’s mini-budget yet, there were three key announcements that I believe could prove pivotal to the future success of ‘UK plc’.

First, there was the chancellor’s promise to turbocharge the development of a raft of infrastructure projects by streamlining the planning process for road, rail, nuclear, wind energy, hydrogen, CCS, and oil and gas projects.

Kwasi Kwarteng's planning reforms include a commitment to lift the effective ban on new onshore wind projects in England by putting them on the same footing as other key infrastructure projects.

But the boost for low-carbon infrastructure projects came alongside similar moves designed to accelerate investment in high carbon projects that will undoubtedly face fierce opposition in coming weeks.

Second, there was the announcement that the government will release land to build new homes while simultaneously streamlining the planning system.

Kwarteng said land owned by the government will be freed up for new-build projects ahead of the planning reforms.

Personally, I applaud his pledge to “get out of the way to get Britain building”.

But I hope he delivers on this promise and it materialises in a way that previous, similar pledges have failed to do.

Third – and finally – I was also impressed that he had the guts to implement the stamp duty cuts.

Buyers have previously paid stamp duty after £125,000 of a home’s purchase price but, from today, that threshold was doubled.

This means buyers no longer pay stamp duty tax on the first £250,000 of a property purchase.

It remains to be seen whether this move - in particular - proves sufficient to stave off the housing market downturn predicted by HSBC earlier this month.

To conclude, this was undoubtedly a high-stakes budget…

But it’s my personal impression that the chancellor realises that this approach was borne from necessity.

Kwarteng previously worked as a financial analyst with some of the major investment banks and I strongly suspect that he is clearly aware of the medium to long-term impact of today’s announcements.

As I've written in my blogs before, investment markets can go up as well and down, so ensuring your portfolio is diversified across different asset classes is essential.

If you are concerned about the impact of the evolving economic climate on your investments, please do make time to review how they’re set up, ensure that your financial plan remains robust and meets your current and future needs.

The entire team at Future Life Wealth Management remains at your disposal HERE if you have any concerns about the impact of what’s unravelling - and the impact this will have on your investments.