Why do people give up on investing? Wild markets, losses and jargon

Why do a fifth of savers quit investing? Wild markets, financial losses and jargon blamed by those who give up Some 55% of savers are not confident about understanding jargon  Market volatility and underperforming investments deter savers A third of people have tried investing and stuck with it  Making mistakes is inevitable, but you can … Read more

My investing mistakes and the lessons I learnt along the way

After the recent GameStop-fuelled market frenzy there will be more than a few investors nursing paper losses this week. The Reddit-fuelled surge that saw GameStop’s price rocket, as small traders battled short sellers, was not just a US phenomenon – the UK’s major investing platforms and apps also reported a rush to buy. Some who … Read more

How to invest a £100K for income to supplement a pension with low risk

My wife’s grandmother has a spare £100,000 that she wants to earn some income from to supplement her state pension. She has no private pension and is fed up with terrible savings rates. She does have more cash savings that will be kept separate, but she wants to get this money working harder, earning at least 3-to-5 … Read more

Gamestonk!! Caveat emptor: The Gamestop saga and the FOMO bubble

‘Gamestonk!!’ Everything you need to know about the astonishing GameStop shares saga – and the stock market state of play in early 2021 – is wrapped up in that one nonsense tweet from the world’s probably richest man. That word tweeted by Elon Musk on Tuesday night, with a link to the Reddit thread r/wallstreetbets, … Read more

Is it time to add bitcoin to your portfolio now that City investors are?

What do you do about bitcoin? Nothing, has been the default stance of most institutional and private investors – until recently. The growing interest of adventurous individuals – both lucky and unlucky – has been well documented over the last few years. More significant is the increasing interest from institutional investors. The most striking example … Read more

A tale of two investment trusts: Ruffer, Scottish Mortgage and conviction

Which is the better investment to hold, one that returned 17 per cent last year or one that returned 110 per cent? That’s a no brainer, isn’t it? Of course, you’d take the one that more than doubled your money. It’s not a theoretical question though; it’s one based on the 2020 tale of two … Read more

Confessions of an Impulsive Investor: My magpie Isa of trusts and ETFs is up 20%

My father used to ‘play the stock market’.  He folded the profits from his small business in the 1970s into company shares, some of which came as recommendations from his stockbroker, over the bakelite telephone with a twisted brown cord. He added to this substantially with the big privatisations of the 1980s, and left a … Read more

Should you buy UK shares for the Brexit and Covid recovery trade?

We’ve been here before: the country goes into lockdown and the stock market shoots up. The start of the first national lockdown in late March marked the bottom of the coronavirus crash, England’s November lockdown played host to the vaccine rally, and yesterday the FTSE 100 added to its week’s gains with a 3.5 per … Read more

MR MONEY MAKER: Being a Boxing Day sloth makes for long-term wealth

MR MONEY MAKER: Being a Boxing Day sloth and leaving investments alone can make for long-term wealth, says Justin Urquhart Stewart By Justin Urquhart Stewart For The Daily Mail Published: 10:18 GMT, 26 December 2020 | Updated: 10:18 GMT, 26 December 2020 Boxing Day used to be the day for long walks, for some, watching … Read more