Seven investment charts that caught our eye in June July 6, 2017 | City Talk Schroders Investment Communications team highlights charts they found interesting this month. Mid-year markets Schroders' team of economists put together a handy summary of how various asset classes and markets have performed as we reach the middle of the year. Looking at broad asset classes, equities have been the best to be invested in, while commodities [...]
The pros and cons of crowdfunding July 6, 2017 People are divided about crowdfunding. While many investors and businesses see it as invaluable, it often comes with a number of caveats which shouldn’t be ignored. Equity and debt-based crowdfunding methods are often used by entrepreneurs looking to start or develop their business. However, they differ in that equity-based lets you swap money for shares [...]
How many of Amazon’s peers from the dotcom boom exist today? July 4, 2017 | City Talk In March 2000, a US financial magazine listed Amazon among 207 unprofitable listed internet businesses, most of whom had worryingly small cash reserves. More than four-fifths no longer exist. “Investors must never forget that for every tech start-up success story, hundreds of other such businesses will have failed.” So we wrote on our Value Perspective [...]
The clock is ticking for traditional wealth managers July 4, 2017 | City Talk We need a new approach to wealth management. With the FCA turning its attention to the sector, pressure is mounting on the traditional culture of high fees and indifferent service. How many of us either enjoy, or are comfortable with, managing our own money? Well, that depends on what we mean. For many of us, [...]
FTSE 100 history: how the index has changed over 33 years July 3, 2017 | City Talk The FTSE 100 index has just seen one of its quarterly changes with security firm G4S and real estate investment trust Segro promoted to the top 100. Although perhaps small in themselves, these regular events have changed the face of the UK’s leading index since it was formed in 1984. For the many investors whose [...]
Are car loans a slow-motion car crash? June 29, 2017 | City Talk The car industry understandably attracts a lot of attention in the financial press. Although the sector is small compared to giant sectors like financials and technology, cars are culturally relevant in a way that banks are not. The auto industry is involved in areas of exciting technological change, such as electric cars and autonomous driving. [...]
The chart that could keep investors in ‘low-risk’ stocks awake at night June 27, 2017 | City Talk For years it has been an undisputed fact of investment that people tend to prefer having big-name brands in their kitchens, bathrooms and elsewhere – yet this could now be changing. Ian Kelly, blogger and fund manager, explains the significance. Among the various qualities we look for in an investment, on The Value Perspective blog, [...]
Don’t underestimate the risks of interest rate hikes to the global economy June 27, 2017 | City Talk In recent months sentiment towards financial markets has been broadly positive in Western economies. But, as the recent UK political situation has demonstrated, sentiment can quickly change. Such swings also happen in financial markets. Here I highlight some of the key current macro-economic issues to watch for. Global recovery gaining traction The world economy is [...]
Brexit one year on: the impact on the pound, FTSE and the economy June 23, 2017 | City Talk When the result of the UK’s EU referendum confirmed that the UK had voted to leave, markets were initially weaker. The FTSE 100 index has since rallied by 17%, while the pound has fallen by 14.5% against the dollar, to $1.27. But what has changed, and what are the prospects for UK investors? A panel [...]
Is South Korea still an investment ‘value trap’? June 23, 2017 | City Talk ‘Value trap’ is a term used by investors to describe an asset that appears to have been under-priced by the market but turns out to be cheap for a reason. This is often because its ability to make profits has in some way been severely and permanently impaired. It tends to be used in relation [...]