AJ Bell Money & Markets

Have you ever thought about delaying the point at which you start collecting the state pension? If so, don’t miss this episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast as Rachel Vahey chats about the pros and cons of going down this route. Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth discuss a plethora of good news from the retail sector including updates from Zara-owner Inditex and discounter B&M. They also explore why WH Smith has revived the Toys R Us brand in its UK stores. The nation continues to pile into Cash ISAs, as Dan discusses on this week’s podcast. He also explores why the oil price suddenly dropped. Tune into a fascinating interview with Rockwood Strategic fund manager Richard Staveley who talks about investing in small cap stocks and why he is supportive of a new UK ISA. Finally, Ross Driver explains why Foresight Solar shareholders are voting on whether to keep the investment trust going or wind it up.

In this episode of the AJ Bell Investment Trust show, Dan Coatsworth talks to Emma Bird from Winterflood about why certain investment trusts trade below their value of their assets.  Martin Gamble and Ian Conway conduct a deep dive into City of London Investment Trust and why it is so popular with investors. Tom Sieber explores Scottish Mortgage’s latest financial results and chats about the best and worst performing trusts year-to-date.  Ever wondered what’s the difference between an investment trust and an open-ended fund? Laith Khalaf has all the answers in our educational slot.

Dan Coatsworth and Charlene Young bring you this week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast. We’re covering the latest takeover news, ask whether the pressure is piling on Nick Train at the Finsbury Growth and Income Trust and what is happening with the NatWest share deal. Dan discusses how and why markets have taken a step back this week and gives us an insight into the upcoming FTSE quarterly reshuffle. Charlene Young has the latest on the takeover situation for Royal Mail’s parent company and how markets aren’t quite as confident how it’ll clear the next hurdle of government approval. Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, discusses the triple-lock-plus pledge from the Conservatives and some worrying research highlighting the confusion around when exactly you might be able to claim your state pension. Charlene asks Wealth Wizards’ chief executive Ben Hampton about joint FCA and Treasury proposals to get more people investing, namely what help do people want, when should they consider advice and what changes could consumers see as part of effort to close the so-called “advice gap”. Martin Gamble and Tom Sieber also join us from Shares magazine to discuss big growth plans from AstraZeneca.

Join Danni Hewson and Laura Suter for the latest episode of the AJ Bell Money and Markets podcast. This week, we look at market reaction to the shock news of a General Election and dive into the latest UK inflation figures that prompted it. We also discuss Nvidia's stellar performance and BHP and Anglo American entering takeover talks. The duo also get insights on why European markets are capturing investor attention once again from Stefan Gries, co-manager of BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust. Laura brings you the latest on the FCA's crackdown on finfluencers and the troubling rise in UK fraud figures. Plus, don't miss our conversation with AJ Bell chief executive Michael Summersgill, who shares his candid thoughts on the proposed UK ISA and its potential impact on the market.

It’s happened again: GameStop, AMC and other titans of the pandemic meme stock craze have soared on the stock market. Dan Coatsworth explains why we’re seeing the phenomenon play out once more, and how it was triggered by a single picture of a person sitting in a chair. The ban on UK energy firms offering cheaper deals to new customers could be scrapped from October as the regulator is eager to revive competition between suppliers. That means people will be soon be able to shop around for better gas and electricity deals – something that is also good news for a certain stock on the London market, as Dan reveals on the podcast. Danni Hewson explores the rise of ultra-long mortgages and why many people might still be paying off their home loan as they enter retirement. AJ Bell’s Rachel Vahey is on the show to explain why some people have to pay emergency tax on an ad-hoc lump sum pension withdrawals. You can also hear a great interview with Situl Jobanputra from London’s West End property giant Shaftesbury Capital, and sparkling chat between Danni and Dan about diamonds, scandals in the mining industry and why Burberry is firmly out of fashion.

On this week’s podcast we’ll be bringing you all the latest market news, from Disney to Wetherspoons through to Apple, as well as an update on the housing market – and the outlook for house prices for the rest of the year. We’ve also had figures this week that showed that 300,000 people filed their tax return early – and we’ll look at why you might want to join those eager beavers. There are three fund manager interviews this week. First up is AJ Bell’s head of investments solutions James Flintoft, who talks about what’s going on in certain geographies and how AJ Bell’s funds performed in the first quarter of the year. Next is Paul Angell, AJ Bell’s head of investment research, talking about the outlook for bonds. The final interview is with Rob Crayfourd and Keith Watson, who co-manage three funds: CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income, Geiger Counter, and Golden Prospect, to explain three of the key commodities produced by miners on the stock market.

It’s bonus podcast time: welcome to episode four of the AJ Bell investment trust show. We discuss a range of topics with investment experts and fund managers. Each episode debates some of the most popular trusts with retail investors, the big topics that matter, and a little bit of educational material to get listeners up to speed. This episode focuses on governance, finding bargains and private equity. One of the differences between traditional funds and investment trusts is the latter have a board of directors. They’re meant to keep a check on what the manager is doing and uphold high levels of corporate governance but that doesn’t always happen. Laith Khalaf talks to James Carthew from research group QuotedData about what the board should really be doing. We’ve had some requests to look at Ruffer Investment Company so Tom Sieber and Martin Gamble from Shares magazine join us on the podcast to talk about this investment trust and the broader capital preservation space. Migo Opportunities Trust knows a thing or two about how to find bargains among investment trusts so we invited co-manager Charlotte Cuthbertson to explain what trends and opportunities she’s seeing at the moment. To round things off, we take a look at the world of private equity because the UK financial regulator has got a bee in its bonnet about a few things in the industry. Joining Dan Coatsworth to talk about what the FCA is reviewing is Alan Gauld from Patria Private Equity Trust.

On this week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Danni Hewson and Charlene Young deliver a jam-packed episode for you peppered with that optimism after the FTSE 100 smashed new records and ended the month up once again while Wall Street struggled against rate cut blues. They discuss reaction to the latest Fed decision, the big consumer names like Starbucks and Yum! Brands feeling the inflation blowback, and AI-charged stocks Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft. Dan Coatsworth has done a very timely interview with JP Morgan Claverhouse fund manager Callum Abbot on the good and the bad of the UK stock market. With mortgage approvals hitting an 18-month high last month, Danni quizzes David Hollingworth from L&C Mortgages about what he’s seeing in the market.

We’ve got some good news from the UK stock market. Danni Hewson chats about how the FTSE 100 has hit a new record high and the drivers behind it. She also talks with Dan Coatsworth about the latest developments from key companies both sides of the Atlantic. The pair discuss Tesla’s surprise announcement, Pepsi’s trading-down problem, JD Sports aiming to generate 40% of sales from the US, and an activist investor snapping up bonds in troubled utility company Thames Water. You can hear about an alarming number of adults still living with their parents in their 30s and what the property industry wants the government to do to help first-time buyers get on the property ladder. Dan discusses the disappearance of generous cash incentives to switch bank account and the surge in people switching credit card deals. Finally, Tom Sieber and Ian Conway from Shares magazine get under the bonnet of Associated British Foods and how there is a lot more to the business than its retail arm, Primark.

On this week’s AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Charlene Young and Dan Coatsworth look at cooling inflation and how markets reacted to the latest numbers on UK jobs. The rise in scams is the hot topic of the week, with over £1 million reportedly lost this year already by ‘Swifties’ – Taylor Swift fans desperate to get their hands on tour tickets. Our guest is Ayush Abhijeet from Ashoka India Equity Trust, who chats to Danni Hewson about where he sees the potential value in what’s likely to be the G20’s fastest growing economy once again this year. Charlene has an update on the enquiry into the collapse of the Woodford Equity Fund and how the regulator was going to give one of parties involved a £50 million fine but then chose not to. Dan covers upbeat news on IPOs, a takeover approach for Royal Mail and a deal involving 90s food favourite TGI Friday’s. We wrap things up with figures on charity gifting and Charlene explains how gift aid rules give UK charities a 25% boost on donations received but also possible tax relief for those making the donations.