When it comes to investing, there are no shortcuts or magic wands you can wave to generate great returns. Indeed, only recently I looked at why following trends and jumping on the bandwagon can backfire spectacularly. Sensible investing is more about sticking to tried-and-tested strategies. Here are 10 golden rules for investing in 2021. 1. The longer you hold investments, the greater the chances of success Research from Nutmeg has found that, if you had randomly picked one day between January 1971 and May 2020 and chosen to invest in the market for just that day, you would have had a 52.3% chance of making gains. It’s about the same as the toss of a coin. Staying invested for the... Read More

In the decade after the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened nearly two centuries ago, it became a huge commercial success. Of course, Victorian entrepreneurs noticed this. A newly affluent middle class wanted to invest and, with interest rates (and gilt prices) low, they saw an opportunity to profit from the railway boom. In 1843 there were 63 applications to parliament for new railways. In 1844 there were 199; in 1845, 562. When it became clear that not every railway was commercially viable – indeed, many were not – stock prices in railway firms fell sharply. As the railway bubble collapsed, many investors were left empty-handed. Watching the recent shenanigans and news coverage of the US retailer GameStop, and cryptocurrency Bitcoin,... Read More

A year ago, Rishi Sunak delivered his first Budget just as the pandemic began to take hold. While his £30 billion package sounded significant, it’s a sum that has paled into insignificance over the last 12 months as the chancellor has spent £280 billion shoring up the UK economy. As the chancellor acknowledged in his speech: “The damage coronavirus has done to our economy has been acute”. So, who are the winners and losers of the 2021 Budget? Winners Retail, leisure, and hospitality businesses It’s been a tough year for many sectors, and retail, leisure, and hospitality businesses have been particularly hard hit. The chancellor announced £5 billion in government grants to businesses in these sectors. Non-essential retail businesses will... Read More

On Wednesday 3 March, Rishi Sunak delivered his second Budget as chancellor. The Budget outlines the state of the economy and the government’s spending plans. The World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic on 11 March 2020, the same date as the 2020 Budget. Since then, the pandemic has led to lockdowns, restrictions, and an enormous rise in government spending. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates borrowing for the current tax year will be £394 billion, the highest figure seen outside of wartime. So, it’s no surprise that Covid-19 continues to influence Sunak’s decisions. The chancellor noted the economy has been damaged, with GDP shrinking by 10% in 2020, and that the road to recovery would be a long... Read More

A few months ago, I wrote about how budgeting was the cornerstone of financial planning – in essence, that you need to ensure you don’t spend more than you earn, and to put plenty aside so you can enjoy the life you want to in the future. It’s sometimes easy to get caught up in the need to save, save, save. You may think that you should be putting aside as much as you can now to ensure you have “enough” when you retire. But what about today? As the last few months have shown us, we can’t all be completely sure what tomorrow will bring, and not everyone can be sure of a long, healthy life in retirement. And,... Read More