AJ Bell Money & Markets

Alphabet’s split, Rio Tinto’s incendiary report and round the world ends in Asia

On this week’s money and markets podcast Danni Hewson is joined by Tom Sieber from shares magazine to discuss what was almost the worst January ever for the tech heavy Nasdaq.   Whilst many tech mega caps have fallen foul of market volatility Alphabet’s managed to escape largely unscathed after a seriously upbeat trading statement and the announcement of a 20:1 stock split that could make the tech giant’s shares affordable for retail investors.

Mining giant Rio Tinto gave a master class in delivering bad news, Danni and Tom discuss how the report into toxic working practices was received by investors and how other miners might use it as a blueprint for delivering change as more focus is placed on ESG. Dan Coatsworth delivers our final round the world master class chatting to the manager of the Crux Asia ex-Japan Fund Ewan Markson Brown about the opportunities in Asia. 

Tom Selby tackles the thorny issue of how to find missing pensions and if you should consolidate them once you’ve tracked them down, plus Laith Khalaf and AJ Bell’s Chief Investment Officer Kevin Doran about the future of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies.

What the great rotation in markets means for Scottish Mortgage and Fundsmith, and a surprising first-time buyer boom

This week’s Money & Markets looks at the big rotation that’s happening in markets, as the tech giants fall out of favour and banking stocks are back in vogue. We talk to AJ Bell’s Ryan Hughes about what this means for big funds like Scottish Mortgage and Fundsmith, and how investors should react. We also hear from Temple Bar’s Ian Lance about the stocks that have been benefitting from this switch.

Dan Coatsworth and Tom Sieber are back with the European edition of their Round the World investing series, talking to Sam Morse from Fidelity about the region’s prospects. Elsewhere Laura Suter looks at some surprising figures on how many first-time buyers have been getting on the property ladder.

And the team have a very exciting announcement and competition for the listeners. So make sure you don’t miss that.

Inflation soars, takeover deals galore and the latest crypto crackdown

Inflation is dominating the headlines, so this week Laura Suter and Danni Hewson look at what the latest figures tell us and how they match up with wage figures. We also delve into the markets – this week saw deals galore, featuring the likes of Microsoft, Unilever and Boots. 

Pensions guru Tom Selby sifts through the latest pension announcements, including plans to make us all get more help deciphering pensions, and the eye-watering tax bills many pensioners are facing.

Also this week, Dan Coatsworth and Tom Sieber are back with our Round the World investing series. This time they stay closer to home and look at the UK – speaking to NinetyOne fund manager Simon Glazier to get his hot tips on the market. And Jenny Owen is back to tell us what the nation’s ideal job looks like, and we also look at the latest crackdown on the cryptocurrency market.

Discover why tech stocks had a bad start to 2022 and why value investing is now back in fashion.

Dan Coatsworth and Tom Sieber kick off a new series looking at ways to invest around the world. This week’s episode focuses on the US market, and features Artemis US Select Fund manager Cormac Weldon with his view on the region and outlook for 2022.

Elsewhere, Danni Hewson looks at the latest inflation figures. She also explores the share price recovery in travel companies, and she talks to Jenny Owen about car prices.

Finally, Dan dives into the latest annual shareholder letter from Fundsmith Equity manager Terry Smith, who has a few choice words to say about Unilever.

Big finance changes in 2022, fund manager mistakes and Apple’s $3 trillion valuation

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.

Investment review of the year: what did well and what bombed? And what will 2022 bring?

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.

Retailer joy, Evergrande update, Lifetime ISA special and bridging the investing gap

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.

Black Friday turns red as markets get spooked by Omicron

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.

Britcoin, cheapest cost of borrowing, US renewable energy and Einstein’s record auction

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.

Diageo’s drinks dominance, Shell shifts to UK shores, eco banking options, and Buy Now Pay Later aims to get clean

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.