Labour ministers urged to be clearer on small pension pot plans April 29, 2025 The UK government needs to be more coherent and take extra care with pension schemes before it consolidates small pension pots, a leading industry group has warned. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) last week unveiled plans to ease costs by automatically combining small pots holding less than £1,000 into one scheme. Individuals will [...]
AJ Bell investors dodge market turmoil as assets swell April 24, 2025 AJ Bell investors managed to dodge the market turmoil that plagued the first quarter of the year, bringing the platform’s assets up to a record £96.2bn. The direct-to-consumer platform has been the only large investment firm so far during quarterly results season to report that assets under management had risen over the first three months [...]
Exclusive: UK retail investors ‘buy the dip’ amid market collapse April 23, 2025 UK retail investors rushed to ‘buy the dip’ at record rates as they searched for bargains amid a global collapse in stock markets following the reveal of US president Donald Trump’s tariff regime. Buying across investment platforms has been substantially elevated, sometimes outnumbering sell orders by as much as four to one, data provided to [...]
Barclays: FTSE 100 giant’s shares bounce back after volatile trading April 8, 2025 Shares in Barclays rallied on Tuesday morning after a bruising week. The FTSE 100 lender has been caught in the chaos of Trump’s tariff onslaught. The firm was among top banks, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, which led the blue-chip index’s top fallers as markets sunk. Barclays stock was down nearly ten per cent after [...]
How could the government reform ISAs? April 4, 2025 The Labour government confirmed plans to make changes to the ISA system at its recent Spring Statement, in a bid to promote a culture of retail investment in the UK. City figures have welcomed the prospect of ISA reforms, which appear likely to be introduced at the next fiscal statement in the Autumn. It remains [...]
Takeovers outnumber IPOs three to one on London Stock Exchange April 2, 2025 There have only been four IPOs on the London Stock Exchange so far this year, compared to 15 takeover bids, leading analysts to worry that London’s equity markets are being rapidly depleted of strong companies. “It’s now been nine months since the UK general election and the pace of IPOs is nothing more than a [...]
The cheapest Stocks and Shares ISA providers March 28, 2025 According to Kepler Trust Intelligence, AJ Bell is the best 'all-rounder' ISA provider, even though competitor Trading 212 took the label of the cheapest provider.
AJ Bell sells bespoke SIPP and SSAS arm to Investacc March 27, 2025 AJ Bell has sold off its Platinum Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) arm to specialist pension provider Investacc for £18.5m. The bespoke service, designed for co-directors and partners in a business, currently has only 3,600 customers but £3.2bn of assets under administration. Offering a wider range of investment choices than the [...]
Asos shares plunge as investors lose confidence March 17, 2025 Asos shares have slumped more than eight per cent in early deals this morning, extending losses recorded over the past few months as investors have lost confidence in the retailer’s turnaround plan. The e-commerce firm’s share price has dropped by a third in the last month and has fallen by half since the start of [...]
Who is the Lifetime ISA for? February 28, 2025 Lifetime ISAs have been the focus of policymakers’ considerations as they consider how to reform and simplify the UK’s savings landscape. In January, the Treasury Committee called for evidence from industry on whether the Lifetime ISA remains fit for purpose nine years after its creation. It has asked how the product could be reformed or [...]