Why active investing is staging a comeback in 2017 February 1, 2017 Fashions wax and wane in investing as much as in any other field. But one fashion that many commentators believe is much more than a passing fad is passive investing. So much so that some would extrapolate the explosive growth of passive funds in the last few years and predict the demise of active investing [...]
Investors failed to keep calm and carry on in 2016, despite markets hitting new highs January 31, 2017 Investors were spooked by politics in 2016 and, despite markets like the FTSE 100 hitting record highs, fund sales were at their lowest since 2008, new figures show. Total net sales for 2016 were £13bn, according to the Investment Association, down from £22.4bn in 2015. Retail investors proved the most pessimistic, with sales totalling £4.7bn, down [...]
China, Mexico, Japan: Who’s afraid of Trump’s protectionism? January 31, 2017 Anyone hoping that Donald Trump’s campaign promises were just talk can’t have been encouraged by this weekend’s events. Stock markets fell and the dollar was volatile yesterday on the news that the President had signed an executive order banning the entry of people from seven countries. Assumptions that he would row back from his more protectionist [...]
Bonus season: If you’re thinking of spending it on property, here are the top London hotspots you should be looking at January 27, 2017 It’s bonus season in the City and now you’ve got the enviable task of deciding what to spend it on. Historically low interest rates means putting the whole lot into an ISA isn’t quite as appealing as it once was. But house price growth particularly in the outer boroughs – Newham, Havering, Brent and Croydon [...]
Some peace at last? Alliance Trust to buy back activist investor Elliott’s shares January 27, 2017 Relief at last for Alliance Trust’s management team: the company announced this morning it has reached a deal to buy its shares back from activist shareholder Elliott. The US hedge fund became a shareholder in the investment trust in 2011, and has, to put it mildly, shaken things up a little. The drama peaked in [...]
Wealth manager St James’s Place reports strong end to 2016, despite political surprises January 26, 2017 FTSE 100-listed wealth manager St James’s Place reported a net inflow of funds of £2.1bn in the last quarter, despite challenging market conditions. The figures In the three months to 31 December 2016, St James’s Place said its group funds under management total reached £75.3bn, up 28 per cent over the year. Read more: Wealth [...]
Will ‘value investors’ win in 2017? January 24, 2017 | City Talk Value investing, the discipline made famous by the legendary investor Benjamin Graham in the 1930s and 1940s, fell out of favour after the global financial crisis. Investors have instead preferred to pay a premium for more dependable stocks rather than back those unloved by the market. That trend may be turning around. What is value [...]
The year of the stock picker: Which value shares look underpriced in 2017? January 24, 2017 We've heard it before. When there is greater volatility and more dispersion in the market, canny investors should be able to beat the index. The great rotation in equities which markets are anticipating due to looser fiscal policy and higher interest rates under Donald Trump is filling active managers with optimism that they can use [...]
Undercover investigation reveals raft of failings from data-selling firms January 21, 2017 An undercover investigation has revealed the miniscule cost of buying personal information from data-selling firms. Posing as a would-be pension scammer, consumer group Which managed to access details of members of the public for as little as 4p. The investigation also highlighted significant failings by data-selling firms in undertaking sufficient due diligence on who it is [...]
The honeymoon will soon end for Donald Trump and markets’ unbridled optimism will follow it January 20, 2017 American Presidents enjoy a honeymoon period. It begins with their victory speech and ends a few weeks after their inauguration. It is hard to imagine much of a grace period for a personality as incendiary as Donald Trump, who is inaugurated today, or that investors' euphoria towards his economic policies can last. The Trump trade [...]