Outlook 2018: Another good year for investors? December 14, 2017 | City Talk As investors look ahead to a new year, they could be forgiven for wondering whether they will be as pleasantly surprised in 2018 as they were in 2017. A number of political worries on the horizon this time last year signally failed to materialise, including the likely shape of President Trump’s trade policies, the rise [...]
Should you hold Bitcoin as part of a diversified portfolio? December 13, 2017 | City Talk Amid the hoopla over the recent meteoric Bitcoin price rise – from $968 at the end of 2016 to over $16,500 on 11 December 2017 – some are now questioning whether the cryptocurrency should be taken more seriously. While we don’t agree that you should hold Bitcoin as part of a diversified portfolio, we believe [...]
The investment lesson from Nike’s humble start – and the ‘$35’ swoosh logo December 13, 2017 | City Talk Most books about successful businesses or entrepreneur’s autobiographies follow a pattern. There will be stumbles along the way but there is almost always a sense of inevitability, the feeling that everything is going to turn out fine. Read Shoe Dog, however, and you will be continually amazed that, most days, entrepreneur Phil Knight was able [...]
Finally, all UK banks pass the stress tests: is now the time to invest? December 8, 2017 Imagine you emerged blinking from your bunker in the wake of this: interest rates up to 4 per cent the value of the pound down more than a quarter unemployment up almost 10 per cent residential property prices down by a third commercial real estate prices down by two-fifths world and UK GDP down 2.4 [...]
The problem with bitcoin’s own ‘P/E’-style valuation measure December 8, 2017 | City Talk As the perceived worth of a single bitcoin criss-crossed its way around the $10,000 (£7,455) mark for much of last week, on The Value Perspective blog, we revisited articles from 20 June 2017 and 20 October 2017, when one bitcoin respectively bought you $2,779 and very nearly $6,000. Each time our primary concern was there [...]
A short history of investing in gold – and what to expect for 2017 December 8, 2017 | City Talk Gold is coveted by investors for its rarity. As a precious metal with limited supply, it is seen as a store of value when the real value of other assets, and currencies, can be manipulated. But fundamentally, its high worth is underpinned by its usefulness and attractiveness. Not only is it highly malleable but [...]
How the UK’s regulatory framework protects P2P investors December 7, 2017 | Sponsored The peer-to-peer (P2P) lending market was established in 2005, when Zopa became the first platform to connect individual lenders directly with borrowers. Since then, the market has evolved rapidly, as have the regulations underpinning investor protection – and this looks set to continue. In the UK, the sector has been overseen by the [...]
Four investment myths on the rise December 7, 2017 | City Talk The world of investing constantly changes and that means yesterday’s wisdom can soon become today’s myths. Or in some cases, the story moves along and some investors haven’t quite kept up. Your own biases and assumption can pose a danger to wealth generation (you can test this at Schroders Income IQ). So here we [...]
Are millennials on target to retire at age 58? December 6, 2017 | City Talk Millennials (18-35 year olds) are investing 11.2 per cent of their salary for retirement and are relying less on state contributions than older generations (over 35 years olds), a major study has found. The report, which covers 30 countries, also found millennials were hoping to retire with an average age of 58.2 years old. Schroders [...]
What if markets take a downturn? December 6, 2017 | City Talk Market conditions have been favourable this year. Volatility has been low and returns have generally been positive for investors. Throughout 2017 we have detailed our positive outlook for the global economy and asset markets alike. While we continue to maintain this stance, here we share our thoughts on being prepared, and what to do should [...]