World pension ages on the rise: when will you retire? December 1, 2017 | City Talk State pension ages are rising around the world. Most countries will increase the point at which people can withdraw payments to 67 in coming decades. Some governments have been more aggressive. The UK and Ireland will increase the age to 68, and the British government has indicated that more even higher ages are inevitable. The [...]
14 years of investment returns: history’s lesson for investors November 30, 2017 | City Talk The stockmarket has provided the best returns among the major asset classes over the last 14 years. But the total profits belie wild fluctuations year by year. Such volatility can cause problems for those who need to draw down money from their investments at certain points of their lives. A sudden drop in the stock [...]
‘100% chance of recession’? … the risks of making investment forecasts November 29, 2017 | City Talk The future is impossible to predict. Okay, there may be a certain irony here in that regular visitors to our blog, The Value Perspective, can be fairly certain they will read a line like that from us every month or so. Yet the only reason we keep saying it is because all sorts of experts [...]
How herd behaviour affects your money November 29, 2017 | City Talk We are not quite the independent thinkers we like to believe we are. People value safety in numbers. And while imitating the actions of others is sometimes a good thing, we should be aware of how making decisions without thoughtful analysis can have a negative impact on our finances. Animals regularly move together as a [...]
Can you compare tulips to Bitcoins? Central banks think so November 28, 2017 | City Talk “Bitcoin is a sort of tulip”. So said European Central Bank (ECB) Vice President Vitor Constancio in September. For many that might sound like an odd statement to make, but those that know their history – and specifically the history of the stock market – will instantly know what Mr Constancio is talking about. For [...]
UK small and mid cap shares: in search of growth November 28, 2017 | City Talk For equity investors seeking exciting growth companies the UK market offers some compelling opportunities. Investors in UK-quoted companies have two key markets from which to choose: the main market of the London Stock Exchange with its well-established FTSE indices and 319-year pedigree (see footnote 1), and relative newcomer the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). For active [...]
Pound devaluation: how the lessons of 1967 apply today November 23, 2017 | City Talk The UK actively devalued its currency in 1967, but the 20 per cent fall in the pound since the Brexit vote continues a long-term trend of devaluation. Since the UK voted to leave the European Union on 23 June 2016 the pound has devalued sharply. It has fallen by as much as 21 per cent [...]
6 key Budget 2017 takeaways November 23, 2017 | City Talk Work in progress and still some way to go – that was my immediate take on the Budget. The good news was that the Chancellor recognised the need to position the UK for the great opportunities and significant challenges ahead. Despite this, far more needs to be done. First, the Chancellor and The Treasury are [...]
Annual portfolio review pointers your adviser ought to embrace November 23, 2017 | City Talk With the holiday season drawing near, the end of 2017 is close at hand. To many investors, this is a sign that it’s time to review portfolios and potentially rejig for the new year. From a professional’s perspective, this is welcome. It is refreshing to have investors engaged in discussing portfolio returns. But to make [...]
The opening shots of ‘Brexodus’? November 22, 2017 | City Talk On Monday came two announcements that Britain was losing two European agencies. Two European agencies plan to relocate post Brexit The first was the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which will relocate to Amsterdam after Britain leaves the European Union (EU) in 2019, with the loss of an estimated 900 jobs. The second was the European [...]