AJ Bell Money & Markets

Disney fights off activist investor, everything about the new British Savings Bond, and a stark warning for the UK stock market

Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson debate the big news from Disney. Activist investor Nelson Peltz has been defeated in his attempts to get a seat on the board of directors, so what does this mean going forward?

Gold has hit another record high so Dan dives into the reasons why the precious metal is doing so well.

Danni digests some disappointing news from Tesla and what it means for the electric vehicle space.

Tom Sieber from Shares magazine talks about the state of the UK stock market and a warning from one of the big brokers that we could see hundreds more companies disappear from the London Stock Exchange over the coming years.

Jeremy Hunt promised us a new British Savings Bond when he gave his Budget last month and we’ve now got all the important details. Dan weighs up the pros and cons of the new savings vehicle.

Meanwhile, Danni explores the rise of the billionaire and why it might be worth looking down the back of the sofa for some chocolate coins.

Investment trust show #3. Exploring dividend heroes, the rise of JPMorgan Global Growth & Income, options for investing in the UK, and why the renewable energy sector has been a letdown

Welcome to the third instalment in a new series of bonus podcasts from the AJ Bell Money & Markets team all about investment trusts.

Published at the start of each month, the bonus podcast features a range of topics with investment experts and fund managers, with each episode debating 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 income, growth, the UK and renewable energy.

Laith Khalaf talks to Annabel Brodie-Smith from the Association of Investment Companies about dividend heroes. These are investment trusts that have raised their dividend every year for at least 20 years in a row.

Martin Gamble and Tom Sieber from Shares magazine explore the rise of JPMorgan Global Growth & Income and how it has become one of the most popular trusts with UK investors.

Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff from Kepler Partners is on the show to explain the different ways you can invest in the UK following plans by the Government to launch a British ISA.

Meanwhile, Dan Coatsworth talks to James Smith from Premier Miton Global Renewables Trust about why the renewable energy space has been a disappointing place to invest recently, and what is needed for the sector to deliver better returns.

Natwest sale, Trump’s float, Waspi update and new first-time buyer mortgage

On this week’s podcast we’ve got disappointing updates from both Lululemon and Nike, signalling that perhaps the athleisure trend is coming to an end. We’ve also got news on the Government’s sale of Natwest and a deep-dive on Apple from our friends at Shares magazine.

Trump has been dominating the headlines ahead of the US election, but he’s hit them for a different reason now: his media business has floated on the stock market – we cover how the float went. And our interview this week is with Ewan Markson-Brown from the Crux Asia ex-Japan Fund, who explains why he’s excited about prospects for the electric vehicle sector.

Looking away from markets, we have an update on the Waspi campaign, and whether they are really likely to be in line for £10bn in compensation, and we have details of a new mortgage for first-time buyers that only requires a £5,000 deposit.

Finally, we look at some news on how all our supermarket shopping habits have changed – and why we are opting for pricier brands. And cover another drop in food inflation – which might spell good news for overall inflation figures.

Rate cut optimism, Scottish Mortgage manager speaks, Nvidia’s big move and how to get the most out of ISAs

On this week’s AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Danni Hewson and Charlene Young dig through the latest UK inflation figures and bring you up to date on market reaction to central bank rate decisions.

They also chat about Unilever’s decision to spin off its ice cream empire, Nvidia’s continued moves to dominate the AI sector and the Chancellor’s comments that the pension triple lock will need to be looked at again after the next election.

Dan Coatsworth gives us a sneaky peak into what’s in the baskets of ISA millionaires as well as where investors have been investing their ISA money over the past few months.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust is always a firm favourite in ISAs but it’s had a tricky run of late. Danni chats to deputy manager Laurence Burns about why he feels it has turned a corner. 

Laura Suter gets out her spreadsheet to show how a Lifetime ISA can help first-time buyers shave years off the slog to get a house deposit together.

With some parents about to get a child benefit windfall thanks to the raising of high-income thresholds, Charlene explains how a Junior ISA can help you turn that into a chunky nest egg for your kids.

The rise of Temu, where next for inflation and interest rates, and a probe into pet care costs

On this episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast we explore the rise of Chinese e-commerce platform Temu and how it is taking the retail sector by storm. Dan Coatsworth talks to Ewan Markson-Brown from the Crux Asia ex-Japan Fund about why he invests in Temu’s owner PDD and why Donald Trump’s presidential comeback attempt has weighed on the company’s share price.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould considers the latest inflation figures and what central banks might do next with rates.

Danni Hewson explores the growing cost of vet bills and why concerns by the UK competition watchdog have led to a formal investigation of the sector including whether consumers are being overcharged for medicine and prescriptions.

Dan considers the latest results from Domino’s Pizza and Dollar Tree and what they tell us about the state of the UK and US consumer. He also looks at new figures showing a decline in Cash ISA subscriptions, while Danni explores big changes to the basket of goods used to calculate UK inflation.

Budget special: tax cuts, pros and cons of the new British ISA, and good news for parents

This week’s AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast examines what the UK government’s latest Budget means for you and your money.

Danni Hewson considers the OBR’s new economic forecasts and the market reaction to the Budget.

Dan Coatsworth explores the new British ISA, how it might work and why it is not the perfect solution to getting more people interested in investing and supporting UK businesses.

Pensions news was thin on the ground in the Budget but Charlene Young has found some nuggets worth digesting.

Also on the podcast: good news for parents looking for help meeting the cost of childcare and changes to capital gains tax on the sale of second homes.

The team also discuss how the UK government has confirmed plans to push ahead with the sale of its stake in NatWest by summer at the earliest.

Investment trust show #2. What to do if a fund manager underperforms, getting under the bonnet of Nick Train’s Finsbury Growth & Income, and why so many trusts are merging

Welcome to the second in a new series of bonus podcasts from the AJ Bell Money & Markets team all about investment trusts.

Published at the start of each month, the bonus podcast features a range of topics with investment experts and fund managers, with each episode debating 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 underperforming fund managers and mergers.

Should you pay a fund manager to try and outperform or use a low-cost tracker fund that simply follows the market and doesn’t try to beat it? It’s a key conundrum for investors, particularly as many big-name fund managers have lagged the market in recent years. Dan Coatsworth debates this topic with Stuart Gray, co-portfolio manager at Alliance Trust.

Nick Train-managed Finsbury Growth & Income is among the trusts that have underperformed over the past three years so Ian Conway and Steven Frazer from Shares magazine are on the podcast to discuss what the trust is trying to do and whether there are flaws to its strategy.

Shares magazine’s Tom Sieber also joins the podcast to talk about an investment trust that is shooting for the moon as it hopes to make money from investing in space. So far, Seraphim Space Investment Trust has delivered poor returns for shareholders who invested at its stock market debut in 2021.

Dan chats with James Carthew, head of investment company research at QuotedData, about the growing trend for mergers in the investment trust space. We’ve also got Laith Khalaf to run through what it means if one of the trusts in your portfolio goes through a merger, takeover or decides to be shut down.

Housebuilders under scrutiny of watchdog, tech stocks in focus and why Disney’s in the doldrums

On this week’s AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast Danni is joined by new host, AJ Bell’s pensions and savings expert Charlene Young. The pair discuss the CMA’s announcement that it is investigating whether eight UK housebuilders including Barratt and Taylor Wimpey have been sharing commercially sensitive information that could have affected house prices. 

Danni digs into whether Shein’s consideration of a London listing comes with warning signs and whether a bidding war could be about to start for electrical retailer Currys.

Charlene considers warnings by the IFS that the Chancellor must prove any tax cuts are affordable, and the good news that food price inflation is finally falling.

Dan Coatsworth has been chatting to a couple of people who know tech stocks inside out AND backwards – we’ll hear from Maneesh Bajaj from Brown Advisory’s US Flexible Equity Fund which is invested in most of the Magnificent Seven. Now the dust has settled, we’ve brought back George Dent from BNY Mellon Long-Term Global Equity Fund to talk about semiconductors.

Tom Sieber from Shares magazine also joins the show to consider if Disney has really lost its way.

Nvidia soars, HSBC sinks after China hit, Fundsmith’s Terry Smith talks weight loss drugs, and former Dragon Sarah Willingham on tough time for hospitality

On this week’s AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson dig into Nvidia’s barnstorming results which have put a rocket under stock markets, including new record highs in Japan and Europe.

It was a mixed picture for UK banks with HSBC shares plummeting the most since the pandemic after a cocktail of negative factors in its results. The team also weigh up the key points from Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest from their latest results. 

Dan chats to Fundsmith Equity Fund manager Terry Smith and head of research Julian Robins about why they are excited by a certain stock in the pharmaceutical sector as weight-loss drugs take off.

Danni catches up with former Dragon Sarah Willingham and her husband Michael Toxvaerd about expanding their Nightcap empire at a time that hospitality is struggling.

The podcast team also discuss the potential headroom in the Chancellors’ budget which could give the green light to pre-election tax cuts, why the governor of the Bank of England thinks the UK recession is already behind us, and the new bank notes featuring King Charles coming to a wallet near you in the next few months.

Everything you need to know about Microsoft, the big Nvidia versus Arm challenge, and what the latest inflation and GDP figures mean for interest rate cuts

There is a big tech theme running through this week’s edition of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast. Dan Coatsworth explains how investors have been piling into Arm Holdings as a new way to play the artificial intelligence theme, while Nvidia has leapfrogged Alphabet to become the third largest company on Wall Street by market value.

This week’s special guest is George Dent who is part of the investment team managing the BNY Mellon Long-Term Global Equity Fund. He gives a fascinating interview about everything to do with Microsoft and why it remains so popular with investors.

We’ve had a wealth of new data on inflation and the economy which have significant implications for the direction of interest rates. Laith Khalaf examines the data and what might happen next for savers, borrowers and investors.

Dan considers what The Body Shop’s UK operations going into administration means for shoppers and the retail sector.

Laith talks through the reasons behind Bitcoin rising above the $50,000 level and he also reveals the steps investors are taking to avoid losing more of their gains to the taxman from 6 April.