AJ Bell Money & Markets

Stock market winners and losers of the year, and investing in a market downturn

On this episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, discover problems on the high street for one well-known retailer [01:33], and why the UK cinema industry is hoping for a last-minute flurry of bookings in 2025 [03:15].

Dan Coatsworth considers what the latest UK economic data is telling us [05:11], and Tom Sieber chats about UK property market trends, planning reforms and what could be in store for real estate in 2026 [08:48].

The pod team explore how financial markets behaved in 2025 [14:31]. Dan chats with AJ Bell’s managing director for the investments divisions, Ryan Hughes, about what he thought of the year [17:10].

Dan and Tom run through the winners and losers on the UK and US stock markets over the past 12 months. They chat about Fresnillo, Lloyds, Applovin, WPP, Auto Trader and more.

While markets have generally done well in 2025, the podcast always has its eye on the future and there’s quite a few people approaching 2026 with a sense of dread. With that in mind, the podcast spoke to Charlotte Yonge from the Trojan Fund and Personal Assets Trust about how she runs an investment strategy with protection at the heart of it [45:34].

Finally, Dan talks to AJ Bell chief executive Michael Summersgill about what’s needed to get more people saving and investing for the future [56:08].

Nvidia chips to China, Warner Brothers bidding war, cash ISA shake-up explained and secret spenders revealed

In this week’s AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Charlene Young and Laura Suter are joined by AJ Bell’s markets expert Martin Gamble to unpack the biggest stories affecting investors. First, they look at Nvidia’s latest moves on chip sales to China [01:22] and the escalating bidding war for Warner Brothers [03:10]. Martin also highlights the top stories in this month’s Shares magazine [05:43]. 

Switching to personal finance, Charlene and Laura explain the changes to cash ISAs announced in the Budget [07:28], and Laura dives into new AJ Bell data revealing the nation’s “secret spending” habits [15:17]. 

Finally, we bring you the next batch of Investival interviews: Dan Coatsworth talks to Russ Mould about the good, the bad and the ugly of 2025 markets and what he expects for 2026 [19:28], and Alex Wright from Fidelity Special Values on the UK market’s strong performance, the banking sector, and a surprising investment in a sofa seller [25:22]. 

Why Google has become king of AI, Budget fallout, and major news for UK banks

On this episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson discuss the ongoing fallout from last week’s Budget including the resignation of the head of the OBR. [2:00]

They discuss the OECD’s judgement of the impact tax and spending will have on the UK economy over the next few years. The pair also chat about a new warning about AI and how a bubble bursting could have a significant impact on global growth. [10:55]

The Bank of England has proposed the biggest rule change for UK banks since the financial crash. [17:15]

A zero-tariff deal has been struck between the UK and US on pharmaceuticals but what’s in the small print and what might it mean for companies like GSK and AstraZeneca? [19:30]

Luxury goods maker Prada has bagged itself a Black Friday bargain, picking up Versace at a fraction of what its previous owner paid for it. [25:00]

Plus, the latest on Netflix bid speculation for Warner Bros Discovery [26:45] and not one but two guest interviews: John Lamb from Capital Group with interesting thoughts on where interest rates might go in Europe [31:53] and friend of the pod, Ben Rogoff from Polar Capital Technology Trust on Google’s AI breakthrough. [36:30]

Investment Trust show: outlook for gold and copper, potential safe havens if the stock market falls

We’re back with December’s episode of the investment trust show, an AJ Bell Money & Markets bonus episode. This month, Tom Sieber discuss some interesting manager changes on Murray Income Trust and Crystal Amber. [02:14]

Dan Coatsworth talks to Fundsmith’s Terry Smith about proposed changes to Smithson Investment Trust [09:45] and reveals more names being targeted by activist investor Saba [15:55].

Hannah Williford chats to Ashley Thomas from Winterflood about some potential changes that could hurt the renewable energy sector. [19:05]

The gold has had a brilliant year, so Dan talks to commodities expert Evy Hambro from the BlackRock World Mining Trust about the prospects for the shiny metal in 2026 and why he is so bullish on copper. They also talk about takeover activity involving big mining companies and whether China is still as important as it was for commodities demand. [32:58]

Finally, lots of people are asking what they should think about if financial markets go through a difficult period. Hannah spoke to Nick Britton from the Association of Investment Companies about a particular group of investment trusts that aim to preserve investors’ wealth, and which have historically seen increased investor interest when markets fall. They discuss Capital Gearing Trust, Personal Assets Trust and Ruffer Investment Company. [51:19]

Breaking down the Budget: Cash ISA cuts, Lifetime ISA changes, dividend tax hikes and more

AJ Bell experts Charlene Young and Dan Coatsworth react to Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget in this special edition of the Money & Markets podcast.

Financial markets were initially taken by surprise after the OBR report was leaked ahead of the chancellor’s speech, and Dan explains why gilts and equities moved in a certain way. He also dives into the reasons why banking and gambling shares saw big moves. [31:24]

There was big news for anyone who uses salary sacrifice to make pension contributions. Charlene explains how the system will change from 2029. [07:35]

The taxman is going to take a bigger chunk of your dividends, savings and property income under new rules. Dan also explains how higher property income taxes might lead to higher rent on flats or houses. [10:35]

The podcast team explore the changes in store for Cash ISAs [13:00] and why we might see the Lifetime ISA morph into something else. [14:30]

Are you lucky enough to have a home worth more than £2 million? Brace yourself for higher taxes. [16:45]

Dan argues that a stamp duty holding on shares in newly listed companies doesn’t go far enough. [20:45]. He also explores the extra pressures being piled on small businesses.

Charlene reveals some good news from the Budget around energy bills, rail fares and more. [23:53]. She finishes up with important news on frozen allowances [25:50].

Should you worry about a stock market crash? This is what Terry Smith has to say

Worried about the state of the stock market and the potential for a crash? You’re not alone as Dan Coatsworth discusses in this episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast. He looks at what’s happening in the UK and US markets, and why investors have reacted in a certain way. [01:35]

Fundsmith chief executive Terry Smith is on the show to give his thoughts on the plethora of market worries. [08:04]

Charlene Young explains why the economy and the markets are not the same thing. Especially in the context of recent poor growth figures, the unemployment rate creeping up, yet the FTSE 100 recently hitting new record highs. [11:48]

Dan has good news for people worried if their money is protected in the event of a bank or investment platform going bust. [14:41]

There is a lot of talk about home insurance becoming much more expensive in recent years, so Charlene and Dan explore the reasons why premiums have shot up. [20:23]

Anticipation around the Budget is causing jitters in the UK property market, as the pod team discuss. [25:36]

Finally, we’re debuting a new series celebrating interesting companies on the UK stock market. Our first guest is Ronnie George, chief executive of Volution, a ventilation products group which has made twice as much money for shareholders over the past year than a fund tracking the US stock market. [28:17]

Sign up to the free AJ Bell Budget webinar on 27 November 2025 at 1pm GMT: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6453427819562096725

Deep Dive #6: Are active fund managers a dying breed?

The battle between active and passive managers has been going in earnest for over a decade now, and the passive machines are winning. In this Deep Dive, Laith Khalaf and Dan Coatsworth explore the active and passive fund landscape, and ask if there is a way back for active fund managers.

Dan and Laith discuss why passive funds have become so popular and share some stats on fund flows and figures from AJ Bell’s Manager versus Machine report, which pits active and passive funds against each other. [01:01]

Laith catches up with Craig Baker who chairs the investment committee for Alliance Witan, one of the biggest investment trusts in the UK, to find out why they have chosen a distinctive active investment strategy and how it’s been performing. [22:28]

Paul Angel, Head of Investment Research at AJ Bell joins Dan and Laith to talk about how to pick active and passive funds. [34:05]

Paul, Dan and Laith discuss whether the rise of passive funds is bad for the stockmarket and consider the future of active management. [48:17]

No change to pension tax free cash, the FTSE 100 nears 10,000 and can Tesco’s old boss turn around Diageo?

On this episode of the AJ Bell Money and Markets podcast, Laura Suter delivers some good news on pension tax free cash after it’s reported that the Chancellor won’t alter allowances at the Budget. [2:10] But with a merry-go-round of speculation every year impacting savers’ decisions, AJ Bell is calling for the government to take seriously its calls for a pension tax lock.

As the FTSE 100 breaks more records and edges closer to the psychologically important 10,000 mark, Danni Hewson digs into what’s behind this latest run of good form. Spoiler: it’s not all good news. [4:40]

An anticipated end to the US government shutdown has helped offset renewed nerves about an AI bubble after Softbank sold its entire stake of Nvidia. [9:32] And former Tesco boss Dave Lewis will be hoping every little can help him turn around the fortunes of drinks maker Diageo. [13:30] 

Tom Sieber joins the team to talk about changes to AJ Bell’s Shares magazine [16:30] With talk about potential changes to the cash ISA limit to try and get more of us to move away from cash savings and into investing, Laura’s been crunching the numbers to find out exactly how investing in cash or stocks and shares compares over time [21:30].

Plus HMRC has been clamping down on benefits fraud – but they’ve not always been getting things right. [28:30] And our guest interview this week is a catch up with Ayush Abhijeet, Investment Director at Ashoka India Equity, who explains why returns have been a bit lacklustre over the past year and why that creates an opportunity for investors. [30:30]

Tax hikes, M&S fights back, and why the robots are coming

On this episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson discuss the Chancellor’s unusual pre-Budget speech. They assess how markets reacted to hints, but not confirmation, that taxes could rise. [1:50] The pair also discuss which taxes could go up and what that might mean for your pocket.  [9:35]

How much sparkle did Marks & Spencer lose from this year’ cyberattack? Find out as Danni and Dan unpick its latest results [12:45].

Dan considers why high street retailer Primark might finally be spun out from its parent company. [17:45] He also explains why companies split and talks through some key examples of the past 20 years. [21:25]

Danni considers Kimberly Clark’s bid for under-fire Tylenol maker Kenvue, the consumer goods company spun out from Johnson & Johnson just a few years ago. [25:06]

Plus, Michael Burry, the trader who inspired the film The Big Short is betting on an AI bubble [29:10]. We also take a different look at big tech – not AI but robotics – with Dan chatting to Simon Edelsten, manager of the Goshawk Global fund, about factory automation and why it’s hot news again. [32:55]

Investment Trust Show: can big dividends make up for weak share price performance? The challenges facing renewable energy and infrastructure trusts.

We’re back with November’s episode of the investment trust show, an AJ Bell Money & Markets bonus episode. This month, Dan Coatsworth and Hannah Williford dive into a dilemma facing the Manchester & London Investment Trust. [01:14]

They chat about the pros and cons of portfolio concentration, and whether it is working for names such as Finsbury Growth & Income and Pershing Square Holdings. [04:39]

Renewable energy and infrastructure trusts typically have generous dividends, but their share price performance has been patchy. Hannah talks to QuotedData’s James Carthew about the challenges and whether there’s a brighter future. [16:48]

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust is among the companies trying to bounce back, and Tom Seiber speaks with the trust’s manager David Bird on why it has pivoted to a new strategy. [28:41]

Finally, Hannah speaks with CVC Income and Growth manager Pieter Staelens about an income strategy that’s been a bit more successful in recent years, and why it’s worked. [43:28]