AJ Bell Money & Markets

Finding value among US stocks, bitcoin and gold jump, GameStop’s latest disappointment, and the truth about thematic investing

There is a widely held view that US shares are expensive, yet this isn’t true for everything. Dan Coatsworth talks to Rosanna Burcheri from Fidelity American Special Situations fund about how she is still finding plenty of opportunities in companies priced below what she believes is their true value. She talks about FedEx, Alphabet and more.

Find out why bitcoin and gold have been moving higher and what Dan makes of GameStop’s latest results.

From January 2024, parents in the UK can start applying for 15 hours of free childcare per week. Laura Suter dives into the details and finds it’s not as clear cut as you might think.

Laura explores the rise in foreign ownership of UK shares and why it puts even more pressure on the Government to make the market more appealing to domestic investors.

Steve Wreford from Lazard is also on the show to talk about thematic investing and why he believes a shift in the market environment has major implications on portfolio positioning.

Greenwashing, Rolls Royce, small caps and NS&I rate cuts

On this week’s podcast we’ll be covering markets news, from Rolls Royce and the impact Black Friday had on stocks to inflation in Europe. We’ve got not one but two fund manager interviews: the first is on the challenging but rewarding small caps market with Tellworth small cap fund manager Paul Marriage. And the second covers the recently-volatile bond market, with Ariel Bezalel from Jupiter Strategic Bond Fund.

We’ve also got an update on the energy price cap, as prices will rise again from January, and a warning about potential rate cuts from one of the nation’s favourite providers: NS&I. And we have all the details on the regulator cracking down on so-called greenwashing of funds – where funds purport to have sustainable credentials but fall short of actually having them.

What the Autumn Statement means for consumers, businesses and markets, the Government’s Tell Sid plan to sell its stake in NatWest, plus the latest on Nvidia and OpenAI

This week’s podcast turns the Autumn Statement into plain English, looking at the key announcements and the ones buried in documents published by the Government.

The team talk about how UK economic growth expectations have been downgraded and how it could take longer to hit the Government’s 2% inflation target than previously thought.

Dan Coatsworth explores changes to National Insurance tax and how it could put up to £750 extra in someone’s pocket a year.

Danni Hewson weighs up the good and bad news for businesses in the Autumn Statement including the impact of a higher National Living Wage.

Charlene Young discusses good news for those in retirement and how people might be able to keep the same pension pot when they move job. She also explores efforts to make ISAs more accessible.

The Government has indicated it will hold a ‘Tell Sid’-style campaign to sell its near-40% stake in NatWest – find out how this might work and the history of ‘Tell Sid’.

You can also hear about the market reaction to Nvidia’s latest results and the strange goings-on with ChatGPT.

Good news on inflation, the quest to retire early, and why India is catching investors’ attention

The big news this week is the latest inflation figures which have positive implications for consumers and businesses. The data has already triggered a rally in global stock markets as Dan Coatsworth discusses in this week’s episode.

Tom Selby explores the pros and cons of the FIRE movement – financial independence, retire early. He explains the key things to consider if you want to stop working in your 50s or earlier.

Laura Suter talks about the growing number of people who are behind with their mortgage repayments and how the HMRC is reportedly bracing itself for a deluge of calls as more people find themselves in a higher tax bracket.

Kumar Pandit from the Somerset EM Dividend Growth Fund is on the show to talk about investing in India, while Dan also looks at the cosmetics industry following The Body Shop’s takeover, and why shares in property companies have started to move higher.

Peak interest rates, Christmas spending woes, UK property with AEW and WeWork’s fall from grace

This week Danni and Laura bring you all the implications of that decision from the Bank of England last week to hold interest rates – from the market moves, to what peak interest rates mean for savers and homeowners. They look at how housebuilders are faring and signs of optimism in the UK housing market.

Our interview this week is on the same topic – the UK Property market. Property investment trusts have had a tough time of late, but one vehicle is doing much better than the rest and that’s AEW UK REIT, so Dan Coatsworth talks to them about their success.

And Danni and Laura look at a slew of data that gives insights into all our spending habits – particularly in the run up to Christmas – including delving into the impact that’s having on retailers. And they also cover the big news of office space provider WeWork filing for bankruptcy.

The good, bad and ugly of earnings season plus why October’s been such a bad month for stocks and shares

On this week’s Money and Markets podcast Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth assess why October has been such a bad month for equities.

They discuss the good and bad of recent earnings updates including McDonald’s and Coca-Cola beating expectations and BP disappointing.

Get the lowdown on big names in the retail sector. It might be the “golden quarter” now but it’s not all been shiny for online retailer ASOS. Next has raised its profits outlook once again but what does the sale of Missguided to Shein mean for Frasers?

Buy now, pay later has boomed but there are warnings the facility is sending thousands of people into a spiral of debt. Danni and Dan also talk about the decline in UK mortgage approvals, the rise in company insolvencies and why the future looks bleak for WeWork.

Dan also catches up with a fund manager who is smashing it out of the park – James Rutland explains how he’s managed to deliver more than twice the IA Europe sector over the past three years with the Invesco European Focus fund.

Bond yields, Barclays, property fund closure and more pensioners being taxed

Laura Suter and Tom Selby look at what the latest jobs figures mean for the Bank of England’s next interest rate decision, as well as the latest banks to report their results and what it tells us about the state of the savings market. Tom dives into figures on the number of pensioners that will be pushed into paying more income tax.

They also look at the latest eye-opening figures on scams. And investment director Ryan Hughes covers a bevvy of investment news, from the fallout in the UK property fund world, to the expensive tracker funds costing you over the odds and what the latest UK government bond yields mean for you. Tom continues that bond theme in his pension corner, looking at whether those nearing retirement need to worry about gilt yields and the impact it could have on their portfolio.

Important development with inflation, the impact of frozen tax bands and where next for the state pension?

On this week’s Money and Markets podcast Danni Hewson and Laura Suter dig into a pile of economic data from wage growth numbers to the volatility on markets following the stalled UK inflation print which saw housebuilders including Barratt Development tumble.

Danni checks out earnings updates from big US banks including JP Morgan and Bank of America and a crowd-pleasing turn from Premier Inn-owner Whitbread.

Tom Selby is on hand to explain what the latest wage and inflation numbers mean for the state pension triple lock as well as answering a question about tax relief once you are over 75.

Laura’s been crunching the numbers on how much the income bands tax freeze is costing you and Tom Sieber chats to Jim Strang from HG Capital Trust about investing in privately-owned technology companies.

Fed signals end to rate hikes, luxury goods stocks slump after weak LVMH earnings, and oil higher after Israel attacks

On this week’s Money and Markets podcast Danni Hewson is joined by Tom Sieber from Shares magazine to discuss another volatile week on the markets.  Investors have clearly been shaken by those awful scenes in the Middle East and there are a lot of eyes watching the oil price. 

Comments from Federal Reserve officials suggesting no further rate hikes are likely to be needed in the US saw markets return to the front foot ahead of the third quarter earnings season.  Tom talks through what investors will be looking out for as companies ready their quarterly updates while Danni discusses why the latest numbers from luxury goods maker LVMH disappointed investors.

Danni and Tom consider the Birkenstock IPO and whether the iconic footwear brand can do better in the US than Dr Martens has on the UK market.

Also this week: Dan Coatsworth talks to James Henderson from Law Debenture about what it would take for UK stocks to bounce back, and the fund manager gives his thoughts on ITV and Rolls-Royce.

Big incentives to switch bank accounts, why a sell-off in government bonds have troubled markets, and should you pay for social media networks?

Laura Suter has some money-making tips in this week’s podcast including where to get more than 6% on cash savings and where to find attractive incentives to switch current account provider. She also talks about the pay rise for anyone in a minimum wage job.

Dan Coatsworth explains why global stock markets have taken a wobble following a sell-off in government bonds. He also talks about the latest results from Tesco and why Boohoo is going through a tough patch.

Social media networks could soon be following in the footsteps of streaming platforms by charging users more money if they don’t want to see advertising or have their personal details used for targeted advertising. Dan and Laura debate this matter and what it means for consumers.

This week’s special guest is Richard Sem from Pantheon Infrastructure who talks to Danni Hewson about the opportunities and pitfalls of investing in global digital networks as connectivity becomes more important.