Behavioural finance: what the polka dot maxi dress sensation has to do with investing August 23, 2019 | City Talk THE polka dot Zara dress sensation comes to mind when considering recent examples of “herd bias”. The hugely popular dress, which has its own Instagram page dedicated to sightings of it, was initially a sell-out, and it seems herd mentality has been at play. However, this bandwagon effect, where people gravitate towards something because “everybody [...]
Norway considers shifting sovereign wealth fund away from Europe August 21, 2019 Norway is considering shifting the balance of investments in its $1trillion (£824bn) sovereign wealth fund away from Europe to focus more on Asia and the Americas. Investor confidence in Europe has been faltering recently as the region’s economy slows, while North American equity markets are growing faster than European ones. “This (regional weighting) is exactly [...]
Is now the time to invest in gold? August 21, 2019 | City Talk In this short video Schroders fund manager James Luke gives three reasons why he believes now is the right time to think about increasing gold exposure. There are three reasons why we believe that now is the right time to think about increasing gold exposure. The first would be that broadly market valuations are high, [...]
It’s a bittersweet apology from Hargreaves Lansdown August 21, 2019 With a hat-trick of senior figures set to leave Hargreaves Lansdown, one can’t help wondering how the investment company is going to revive its reputation. Prolific analyst and commentator Laith Khalaf started the trend last week, and yesterday saw the firm’s proposition manager and chair of its investment committee reveal that they were also stepping [...]
What do “lower for longer” interest rates mean for value investors? August 19, 2019 | City Talk “Lower for longer” has been one of the rallying cries of this bull market cycle. Indeed, interest rates are not simply staying low; they have recently been cut again by the US Federal Reserve. Why do low rates matter? If interest rates remain low, economic growth is stimulated, defaults are scarce, financing is easy and [...]
‘Dearth of supply’ sees London office vacancies drop to lowest level since 2007 August 19, 2019 A supply starved market and weakened investment has led to vacancy rates in London offices falling to their lowest level since 2007, a new report has found. The amount of available office space in London has fallen 19 per cent over the past year, with vacancies in the City dropping 27 per cent, according to [...]
European funds back to modest inflows amid tough conditions August 19, 2019 The European fund industry has weathered volatile conditions to enjoy estimated net inflows for the first half of 2019, after seeing estimated net outflows for the first time since 2011 last year. Mutual funds in Europe saw estimated net inflows of €41.3bn (£38.1bn) for the first half of the year, according to Refinitiv’s review of [...]
Economy on red alert with yield curve close to inversion August 16, 2019 | City Talk Both the US and UK yield curves are on the verge of inverting. The yield curve has been a reliable predictor of US recessions over the last four decades, less so in the UK. With only one exception, each time the yield curve has inverted, the US economy has entered a downturn within 18 months. [...]
You don’t have to be pale and male to have a career in money August 15, 2019 Today, hearts will be pounding, as young people across the country receive their much anticipated A-level results. Many will be taking up university places, but others will be looking to take their first steps into full-time work. Traineeships can offer school leavers the opportunity to gain paid experience that can lead them, debt-free, into full-time [...]
Beware picking an investment – or a football team – for its glory days August 14, 2019 | City Talk Football being what it is, Liverpool’s triumphant Champions League campaign – with that extraordinary semi-final comeback against Barcelona to the fore – was never going to have every single club fan in the country up on their feet and cheering. Nevertheless, the weeks from the team’s victory over Spurs in June to the start of [...]