AJ Bell Money & Markets

In the first podcast of 2022, we look at the big changes coming for your wallet this year, including tax tweaks, certain £50 notes becoming obsolete, and rising train fares. Laith Khalaf is on to discuss what happened with the markets over the Christmas period, and he also discusses the world’s first $3 TRILLION company. Tom Selby joins us to talk potential changes to when we can collect our old-age pension. And although fund managers are always keen to talk about their success stories, Tom Sieber talks to some about the investments that didn’t go to plan for them in 2021, including James Henderson and Murray Income manager Charles Luke.

In the final podcast of the year, Laura Suter, Dan Coatsworth and Tom Sieber discuss how investors fared in 2021, and pick out the year's best and worst performing investment trusts. Looking forward to 2022, we also round up leading fund managers – including Blue Whale’s Stephen Yiu and Michael O’Brien from Fundsmith – to talk about the stocks they’re putting their money behind. Jenny Owen is back with Mad Money, looking at the millions you could have made investing in mad trends this year. And Dan and Tom get misty-eyed looking back at the great investment stories of the year, including Dan’s favourite clothes shop soaring and Elon Musk’s ridiculous antics.

On this week’s episode, Danni Hewson talks about the impact Omicron is still having on markets – in particular, what it means for a potential interest rate rise next week – but has some positive news for us from retailers. We also look at the ongoing Evergrande saga, and how China is managing the issue. Laura Suter talks about how rising house prices are particularly hitting Lifetime ISA savers, and may leave them with a hefty bill, while Tom Selby assesses how LISAs stack up against a pension as a retirement savings option, in Pension Corner. As Christmas gets closer, we also look at the monetary gifts people are planning to give this year, and who is keeping gift cards alive. And Laura speaks to Prakash Chandramohan from TISA about how more younger people can get into investing.

This week’s Money & Markets podcast is almost all about Omicron – the covid variant that’s put quite a fear up global markets, especially on last week’s ‘Red Friday’. Danni Hewson, Dan Coatsworth and Tom Sieber discuss how concerns about the new strain sparked a massive sell off, and the aftershocks which have kept on coming. Unsurprisingly, airlines and travel companies were among the biggest fallers, and there’s been massive volatility in the oil price too, as investors weigh up how demand might be affected over the next few months. We also look at what’s going on with vaccine makers as they suss out exactly how efficacious their drugs will be against this new variant. Plus, all the drama surrounding BT which looks to be in the middle of a takeover battle, and some big news from big tech – Twitter has a new boss and Facebook’s parent company Meta has been ordered to sell off the newly acquired Giphy by the UK’s competitions regulator.  And with inflation expected to keep rising next year, some investors are starting to wonder if they really need to take the risk of being in the market to get an income. To discuss this, and to get the latest on dividends from the stock market, Dan talks to James Harries who manages the Troy Global Income Fund.

In this week’s podcast, Laith Khalaf explains the Bank of England’s plan to introduce a digital currency dubbed ‘Britcoin’ by the media, while Laura Suter gives some helpful hints on how to cut the cost of borrowing. She also explains what to do if you’re a customer of failed energy provider Bulb, and chats about a new 3.5% savings bond – what are the pros and cons of putting your money into such a product? Dan Coatsworth explains why Royal Mail is exciting shareholders and annoying customers. He also considers why AO has gone from stock market hero to zero, and why certain countries are dipping into their strategic oil reserves. You’ll also find out which companies might soon be entering or leaving the FTSE 100 index, and why Amazon has decided to stop accepting payment via Visa credit cards in the UK. Elsewhere, Danni Hewson talks to Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust about investing in windfarms, as well as COP26 and how the US is transitioning to clean energy. Finally, Jenny Owen has been watching a record-breaking auction in Paris, involving manuscripts from Albert Einstein which have just sold for big bucks.

This week we’re delving into the latest shockingly good jobs figures, and what they might mean for the Bank of England’s hotly anticipated decision on interest rates next month. Elsewhere in markets news, Danni Hewson looks at drinks giant Diageo’s bid for global dominance, Shell’s shift to UK shores, and whether markets really cared about a meeting between US president Joe Biden and China president Xi Jinping.  Laura Suter is on, and gives an update on the latest Government wrangling over pensioner pay, and how the controversial Buy Now Pay Later market has been changing ahead of tougher regulation. Following on from COP 26, we’ve an interview with green bank Triodos. You’ll hear their thoughts on the rise in green banking, and how exactly you can have an environmentally friendly current account. And if that’s not enough, Jenny Owen makes an appearance, with news of popstars making millions from virtual money in video games.

On this week’s Money & Markets podcast, Dan Coatsworth looks at market reaction to a new Covid treatment pill from Pfizer, and weighs the latest winners and losers from the week’s slew of earnings updates. Danni Hewson examines the sparkle that’s back at Marks and Spencer, as well as a return to form for Primark. And what’s with Elon Musk’s social survey? We dig into the Tesla boss’s poll that sent the electric car maker’s share price tumbling. Dan catches up with Bill Ackman – the man who made a fortune betting on the stock market. His latest gamble is on Universal Music, and we’ve been finding out why. Plus, Tom Selby is back with another pensions’ corner: assessing the latest government U-turn on the national minimum pension age changes and what it means for you.

On the 10th anniversary of Junior ISAs, the podcast looks at the most popular investments held inside these accounts including Tesla and Scottish Mortgage. There is an odd one out: and Dan Coatsworth thinks he knows why. Laura Suter looks at how mortgages are getting more expensive, and what homeowners can do to avoid their bills getting too big. Dan runs through the latest market news, including Terry Smith’s decision to finally invest in Amazon, and why THG and Darktrace have gone off the boil. He also chats about the forthcoming stock market listing of electric vehicle group Rivian and why two FTSE 100 chief executives have just resigned. Michael Topham from Biffa is on the show to explain the acquisition of the Company Shop, which helps household goods manufacturers to sell mislabelled products that might have otherwise gone in the bin. The venture also gives something back to the community and has special shops for key workers. Finally, Jenny Owen discusses things that go bang in the dark – namely fireworks and how we’re spending big on them.

On this week’s podcast we’ve delved into the finer details of the Budget and picked apart the Government’s documents so you don’t have to. We reveal all the things you need to know and how the Budget will impact your finances. Tom Sieber looks at how markets reacted to the news and the impact on businesses, while Laith Khalaf digs into the big economic numbers and looks at how the economy is doing as we emerge from the pandemic. Tom Selby looks at how pensioners fared in the Budget, and finds a small nugget that might help those on lower pay who are contributing to their pension, while Laura Suter looks at how reforms to the alcohol taxes might make us all a bit merrier this winter. We also look at the big announcements on Universal Credit, the rise to the minimum wage and whether people will actually be better off.

On this week’s edition of the Money & Markets podcast, Danni Hewson and Tom Sieber asses the winners and losers of earnings season to date and consider whether UK banks will perform as well as their cousins in the US.  AJ Bell’s Head of Investment Analysis, Laith Khalaf looks at the latest inflation figures which might have bought the Bank of England some breathing space despite odds of an interest rate rise next month now being actively priced in by investors.  The team look ahead to next week’s budget with much of the detail already in the public domain, what else might the Chancellor have up his sleeve?  Laura Suter chats to Robin Powell who is a big fan of passive investing and has just written a book called Invest Your Way to Financial Freedom: A Simple Guide to Everything You Need to Know, which aims to get more young people into investing. Plus, how a Korean cult TV programme called “Squid Game” helped put Netflix back on track when it comes to subscriber numbers.