Beware the hunter gatherer inside of you February 11, 2019 | City Talk There is a risk that we behave like Stone Age hunters rather than investors. Moira O’Neill explains how to avoid this common problem and achieve better results. To be a successful investor, you must buy low and sell high. Unfortunately, most people allow their emotions to get the better of them and instead, they buy [...]
How to make your pension last a lifetime February 11, 2019 | City Talk New pension freedoms bring flexibility, but not necessarily peace of mind. Moira O’Neill discusses some amendments to this outdated retirement rule. It’s terrifying to think of running out of money in your later years but it would be devastating to go through retirement scrimping and saving when you could have had a better life. And [...]
What does the year of the pig hold for stocks? History has some clues February 8, 2019 | City Talk Chinese stock markets are currently on holiday, with traders and consumers off celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Pig. But maybe equity markets across the world have something to celebrate, given the past performance of stocks during previous porcine-themed years. Statistically speaking, the Year of the Pig is a good one for stocks. [...]
Three themes for 2019 – and some black swans February 8, 2019 | City Talk 2018 was a challenging year for investors with US equity and government bond markets both returning less than cash. Two factors were instrumental in delivering this outcome: disappointment with global growth and less cash flowing through the global economy (tighter liquidity). These factors will continue to influence markets in the year ahead. We have identified [...]
Net retail sales plummet as investor confidence knocked by political and economic uncertainty February 7, 2019 Investor confidence was knocked by a "perfect storm" of political and economic uncertainty last year sending net retail sales plummeting by 85 per cent. Brexit, US-China trade tensions, the slide in the Turkish Lira and the Italian budget crisis all impacted investor sentiment last year and saw sales drop to £7.2bn in 2018 in comparison to £48.5bn [...]
UK’s assets under management growth to outperform US and EU over next seven years February 6, 2019 The UK asset management industry is expected to outperform both Europe and the US over the next seven years despite Brexit, new research shows. Assets under management in the UK are forecast to grow 22 per cent by 2025, according to a survey by Bloomberg Intelligence and Simmons & Simmons. Read more: Janus Henderson Group's assets [...]
More than £197m lost to investment scams in 2018, Financial Conduct Authority warns February 6, 2019 More than £197m was lost to investment scams last year as more victims were targeted online, the City watchdog has warned. The most common scams that were reported last year involved investments in shares and bonds, and forex and cryptocurrencies, which accounted for 85 per cent of all suspected scams, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. Read [...]
The yield curve explained: is it predicting recession? February 6, 2019 | City Talk The yield curve has been a reliable predictor of US recessions over the last four decades. Each time the yield curve has inverted, the US economy has entered a downturn within 18 months. At the start of 2019, the curve is precipitously close to inverting again. The yield curve is the difference between the interest [...]
Stereotypes won’t close the gender funding gap February 6, 2019 The latest figures from the British Business Bank on venture capital funding do not make for comfortable reading. Female-led startups get just 1p for every £1 of VC investment, all-male teams receive £5bn of funding per year, and having a single woman on the team correlates with lower investment. “Shocking”, in the words of chief [...]
Best and worst performing income funds of 2018 revealed February 5, 2019 Investment firm Sanlam UK has revealed the biggest winners and losers in its annual study ranking income funds. The Troy Trojan Income Fund, run by Francis Brooke jumped 37 positions to take the top position, followed by the Axa Framlington Monthly Income Fund and the Miton UK Multi Cap Income Fund, it was announced today. [...]