Since the start of 2022, you’ve probably noticed that global markets – and perhaps the value of your pension or investments – have been a little uncertain. Over the last week or two, the ongoing situation in Ukraine has exacerbated this volatility. It’s natural to feel nervous or worried when national or global events have a direct influence on your wealth. In recent weeks, there has been an almost perfect storm of events that have conspired to unnerve markets around the world, including: The Russian invasion of Ukraine Rising inflation across the developed world Steep rises in the cost of energy for both domestic and business customers Ongoing Covid concerns Continuing global supply chain issues. Read on to find out... Read More

The nature of investment markets means that values will rise and fall. Companies, nations, regions, and sectors will all have good times and tough times, and that will impact on share and fund prices. This fact of economic life means that investing is never a smooth journey. If your investment portfolio is suitably diversified, you’ll reduce the risk of a decline in a particular market having an overly negative impact on the value of your holdings. But sometimes there’s a cataclysmic event that affects all markets, not just particular countries or sectors. Read on for what you should do if this happens and there’s a significant investment market downturn. What would you do in a blizzard? Here’s a scenario that... Read More

Every year, leading investment analysts Morningstar publish an important research report entitled “Mind the gap”. This compares the difference between the returns the average investor receives from investment funds and the actual performance of the same funds. According to the latest report, investors earned a 7.7% return over the 10 years ending on 31 December 2020. The actual funds they were investing in produced a 9.4% annual total return over the same period. Thus, investors suffered a 1.7% annual return shortfall, or “gap”, due to mistiming their investments into, and withdrawals from, the same funds. Similar research caried out by Dalbar, Inc , a company that studies investor behaviour and analyses market returns, shows that, for the 20 years ending on... Read More

For an expression that is now in common use, “bucket list” only appeared relatively recently. According to Slate, it originated in 2004, and then reached wider prominence after the release of the film of the same name three years later. A bucket list is simply a list of experiences or achievements that you’d like to accomplish before you die. You might also refer to it as a “wish list”. There are no hard and fast rules over what can be on your bucket list. Items can range from the extravagant to the mundane. Your list is unique to you and very much about your own personal choices or goals. It’s likely that there may be a financial aspect to some... Read More

I’d like to start the new year by looking at something that’s ostensibly very simple – saving money. When you’re saving, there’s a tendency to obsess about investment returns. Often this is driven by media comment and the publicity churned out by investment fund managers. Previous returns, heavily promoted, on a specific fund can lead to a thought process of “this fund went up 20% last year, so if I invest £10,000 it may well be worth £12,000 by the end of the year.” Instead, you should look at saving money differently. The amount you save and when you save it is far more important than investment returns when it comes to your future wealth and prosperity. Saving money is... Read More