AJ Bell Money & Markets

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]

The latest from the US market as big names like Microsoft and Alphabet post earnings. Plus, US interest rates cut, Elon Musk’s pay package and the Royal Mint on gold

In this week’s episode, Tom Sieber and Danni Hewson digest the latest market developments from both sides of the Atlantic, with AJ Bell shares and markets writer Martin Gamble also on hand to cover the US earnings season, the newest member of the $4 trillion club and the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut rates [01:04].  

Tom discusses the record highs for the FTSE 100 and there's chat about results from Next and UK banks and the little-known company which is among the top risers on the UK’s flagship index this year. Plus, a look at shop price inflation and the Renters’ Rights Bill. [09:33]

Elon Musk’s pay package and how the job cuts at Amazon connect to the AI story are also on the agenda this week. [24:11] 

Danni Hewson speaks to Stuart O’Reilly at the Royal Mint on gold prices, whether it might be too late to get exposure, what’s driven the precious metal higher in 2025 and the different investment options. [32:57] 

Inflation joy: good news for pensioners and borrowers

The AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast team give you the latest insights on issues affecting your personal finances, investments and pensions.

 Dan Coatsworth explains why there has just been a brief shock on the markets around fears of a new banking crisis. [2:10]. You can also hear why Unilever won’t be splitting off its ice cream arm in mid-November as previously planned. [4:05]

Dan and Charlene dissect the latest UK inflation data and explain why it was treated with widespread celebration. The inflation figure strengthens the argument for interest rate cuts and gives people in retirement clarity on how much the state pension will pay from next April, as September’s inflation result is used in the calculation. [8:25]

The government has issued a white paper that points to changes around the costs of going to university, and the funding methods available. [14:02]

Tom Sieber talks about the latest property market trends [17:14], while Dan tunes into the latest results from Netflix [26:10 ].

Charlene has some worrying statistics about pensioners being hit by tax on savings accounts. [21:05]

To round things off, we conclude our conversations with various experts on what could happen if there is an AI bubble and that bubble bursts. Danni Hewson caught up with Julian Bishop from Brunner Investment Trust [32:02] while Dan talks to Marcel Stötzel from Fidelity European. [40:54]

AI boom – a bubble or just the beginning? UK growth and inflation forecasts and pensioner scam warning

In this week’s episode, Charlene Young and Laith Khalaf discuss the latest global economic forecasts from the IMF. The UK growth forecast has been increased slightly, but inflation looks like it will remain stubborn. Laith breaks down what this means for investors, plus the latest on US–China trade tensions and gold hitting another record high. [01:00]

With warnings about a potential AI bubble, Dan Coatsworth speaks to Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director, about why markets keep rising despite correction fears [12:24] — and Ben Rogoff from Polar Capital Technology Trust shares why he still believes the AI revolution has room to run. [26:13]

Charlene explains the worrying 150% rise in scams targeting pensioners and the simple steps to stay safe ahead of this winter’s payments and tax return season. [36:45]

Danni Hewson catches up with James Flintoft, head of investment solutions at AJ Bell, for a look back at another volatile quarter and how the AJ Bell funds have been performing. [40:09]