Investment
Scary investment times – again.
At the time of writing this the FTSE 100 Index is back below 6000, Covid-19 cases are rising and more redundancies seem inevitable regardless of help from the Chancellor. So, what do I think you should do? There are some basic principles which have stood the test of time for both me and my clients […]
Hargreaves Lansdown. Wealth Shortlist – Update
When the Wealth 50 list was replaced by the Wealth Shortlist approx 20 new funds were introduced. Many of those were in Sectors not popular with my clients but some of the new funds are worthy of serious consideration. In some cases, my research indicates that the new fund(s) may be a better alternative to […]
Introducing the Hargreaves Lansdown Wealth Shortlist
The new Wealth Shortlist builds on the previous Wealth 50 list with more funds, increased transparency and improved fund updates. This change was essential after the debacle of leaving the Woodford Funds on the Wealth 150 list long after they should have been removed. All of the evidence is that Hargreaves Lansdown has learned the […]
Pocket Money Apps – what are they and which is the best?
For many families, it now seems old fashioned to hand over some shiny coins to your child each week to be deposited into a piggy bank. These days many parents have turned to apps to pay their children pocket money and keep track of where they are spending it. In the UK the most popular […]
Brilliant May but what does June have in store.
Wall to wall sunshine, Covid-19 cases falling, lockdown easing, world stock markets posting a good recovery, live sport returning. No wonder we are all feeling better. So why do I feel so nervous about what June has in store? World stock markets have been incredibly resilient over the last couple of months with the USA […]
Short term trading – Just for fun
Regular readers of my blog will know that I am a supporter of medium/long term investing, building a diversified portfolio, and not being influenced by today’s events. You may, therefore, be surprised to learn that over the past few months I have enjoyed seeing if I can make some money from the extreme stock-market volatility. […]
£19.4 billion unclaimed pension pots. Is any of it yours?
Yet another reason why reviewing your pension arrangements should be close to the top of your “to-do” list. But where do you start? Only 9% of UK adults use a Financial Adviser. Finding one prepared to help if you only have modest funds is virtually impossible and your pension provider will probably not be […]
Lloyds customers beware the new Schroder’s financial planning offer.
During my 30 years as a financial planner, the High Street Banks had many a foray into financial planning only to withdraw and try again. This latest Lloyds Bank/Schroders venture doesn’t look to be any better. They claim to be able to undercut the fees charged by St. James Place but still come up with […]
Stock- market recovery? Don’t bank on it.
At the time of writing this the FTSE 100 Index is back above 6000, a gain of over 20% from the March 23rd low, with the Dow Jones recording an even better recovery. So why am I concerned and feel the need to sound some notes of caution? I have over 30 years of experience […]
Coronavirus: Just how scared are you of losing even more money?
If you are scared you are certainly not alone. A single day FTSE 100 fall of 10.87% is enough to scare the most resilient of us. At the moment we are all fighting against millions of years of evolution. Our brains are hardwired to look for and spot danger (and our investments falling in value […]