27 August 2026
Vanguard’s new global ETFs: how do they stack up?The launch of three new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from Vanguard has added to the list of options available to investors looking for diversified exposure to global markets.
The trio encompasses Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF, Vanguard FTSE Global Small-Cap UCITS ETF and Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US UCITS ETF.
But how do these new...
26 August 2026
Investors are loving these tech funds – and they might provide some unexpected diversityInvesting in a tech fund may seem like the last thing that needs more space in your portfolio, considering the sectors’ dominance in the most popular global tracker funds.
Despite this, a group of tech-heavy funds have been bestsellers among AJ Bell DIY investors, with a renewed interest over the past three months. Namely, Polar Capital Global...
22 August 2026
US ETFs head-to-head: Vanguard S&P 500 vs Invesco EQQQ NASDAQ-100The US stock market has more exchange-traded funds (ETFs) covering it than any other and among AJ Bell DIY investors, two of the most popular options are the Vanguard S&P 500 vs Invesco EQQQ NASDAQ-100.
The Vanguard fund is the most widely held ETF among AJ Bell investors, period, meanwhile the Invesco fund is the seventh most popular.
AJ Bell...
20 August 2026
Know these risks before investing in a tracker fundTracker funds and Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are some of the most popular ways to invest in stock markets, and for good reason. They're cheap, provide you with instant exposure to several stocks, and have delivered better return outcomes than most active funds across the past decade.
But like any investment choice, tracker funds are not risk free...
14 August 2026
The fund sectors consistently performing and the names leading them higherCurrent commentary and analysis will often focus on the very best, and worst, performers in stock markets. Which makes sense as people want to know what they might be missing out on or getting caught out by.
What often gets overlooked as a result, are the pockets of the market that aren’t taking that top returns spot, but they are consistently...
11 August 2026
Three funds with emerging managers to watch forStar manager culture is no longer as prominent as it once was in the fund management industry. Companies have generally become more cautious about putting too much emphasis on one individual, preferring instead to talk about the strategy and team behind an actively managed fund.
But fund management remains, at its heart, a people business...
8 August 2026
Discover the fund style that's making a breakthroughThe past decade in stock markets has been an era of growth, but the tables are turning after a resurgence for value over the last 12 months.
Since last summer, the MSCI ACWI Value index has outperformed its Growth equivalent, in a reversal of the 10-year trend.
This has started to feed through into monthly fund performance. Two of the best...
5 August 2026
The UK funds having an even better year than the record-breaking FTSE 100The FTSE 100 is currently on track for its best year since its conception in 1984, defying a downturn in other equity markets which have been burdened by a fall in tech.
Year-to-date, the UK’s premier index is beating both the MSCI All-Country World Index and the S&P 500, with an 11.5% total return versus 11.3% and 9.8%, respectively, according to...
4 August 2026
Where stock pickers are avoiding volatilityFor many investors, total returns are the top priority when it comes to choosing a fund. But this figure doesn’t always tell the whole story.
A lucky few investors might be able to view their investments purely as numbers, and ride out waves of volatility as they come without much worry. But for many of us, these market ups and downs can be a major...
31 July 2026
Inside the best performing active and tracker funds this yearAJ Bell’s latest ‘Manager vs Machine’ report found that in some markets while actively managed funds prevailed, in most sectors they’re still struggling to justify their higher fees.
In further analysis, AJ Bell has gone under the bonnet to see which active fund and passive funds have performed the best, and what pushed them ahead of their peer...
29 July 2026
Should you care if your manager has skin in the game?When you hear fund managers talking about ‘skin in the game’, it’s usually referring to the manager investing their own money in the same fund that they’re running.
It's a fairly common phenomenon. Richard Staveley of Rockwood Strategic trust and Stephen Yiu of the Blue Whale Growth fund both make it well known that they eat their own cooking. In...
28 July 2026
Who should be buying high yield bond fundsThe intense levels of geopolitical volatility have sent bond yields up to some of their highest levels since the 2007/8 crash, and investors have been moving into the space as a result to try and capture them.
Bond funds in general saw their strongest monthly inflows since June 2023, according to Calastone, a fund transaction network.
Indeed, May...
27 July 2026
Where AJ Bell’s bond fund investors are putting their moneyFunds are a helpful way to get exposure to the bond market for those that aren’t prepared to dive into understanding bonds in depth or simply don’t want to. Investing in individual bonds involves making judgements on the creditworthiness of the company or government issuing them and, with corporate debt in particular, can require putting in minimum...
27 July 2026
What should you hold in your portfolio? Four investors, four different answersWhat you should invest in is a big question to answer, and it requires a lot of personal understanding of yourself and an ability to ignore what other people are doing.
This may sound like something you’d hear in a therapist's office, but they’re entirely relevant objectives for investors as well.
A major question you must answer is ‘how much risk...
27 July 2026
Beware of a new concentration risk creeping into your portfolioConcentration risk can happen in a myriad of ways in a portfolio. It occurs when there’s an over-reliance to generate returns built on a single asset class or sector.
It's the opposite to diversification, which encourages spreading the risk of potential losses by having several engine drivers in your portfolio, a classic case being a multi-asset...
23 July 2026
Are active funds keeping up with their tracker counterparts?It’s no wonder passive funds are grabbing investors’ attention. We’ve had yet another six-month period where a large chunk of professional stock pickers failed to outperform the tracker funds in the same sector.
Only 42% of active funds outperformed their tracker alternatives in the first half of 2026, matching the same reading from a year earlier...
20 July 2026
Are the bonds in your portfolio doing their job?Bonds are often used in portfolios to even out risk and provide protection from the whims of the equity market. For a long time, one of the safest places to be within bonds has been US treasuries. These investments have offered a reliable way to make modest returns without taking on too much risk.
But in recent years, US treasuries have experienced...
17 July 2026
How to tell if a fund manager’s process pivot is a red or green flagChange and evolution to an investment process are two sides of the same coin, the former a red flag to investors that something may be awry in the fund and the latter, a mark of true active management to steer a portfolio through changing markets.
It's a conversation which has been stirred up by the high-profile changes to Fundsmith Equity after...
17 July 2026
Why your tracker fund didn’t match the benchmarkPassive funds are designed to replicate a specific part of the market, mimicking the stock weightings and exposure in a cheap, useful package. Why then do some make better returns than the market, and many actually make less?
Tracker funds or ETFs are some of the most popular products for stock market exposure because you can get a lot for your...
16 July 2026
Why this India fund with a research edge has joined AJ Bell’s Favourite funds listWe keep our Favourite funds list under constant review to ensure we have the highest conviction in the funds we’ve selected. Following a review of the list we have added an active Indian equity fund, the Ashoka WhiteOak India Opportunities fund to the list.
The Ashoka WhiteOak India Opportunities Fund offers investors access to one of the fastest...
13 July 2026
Why a fund manager calls it quits on a stockAny fund manager will always be keen to chat about what they’re optimistic about, whether that’s the next AI leader they think everyone else has missed or why they’re backing the market leaders.
Which is great, you want to know why they think that investment is going to deliver sizeable returns. Yet equally as important as knowing why you want to...
9 July 2026
What’s getting ahead of the S&P 500?US equities has been the main market to try and beat over the past decade, and some funds and themes have managed to do so, consistently.
Past performance is no guarantee of future returns, but it can be worth paying attention to what has outperformed through the recent AI-rally, Iran war and long-term volatility.
AJ Bell analysed the major equity...
6 July 2026
Are you a hands-on or hands-off investor?When you look around at your friends or family, most people will likely fall into two camps: those that are ‘hands-on’ and those that are ‘hands-off’.
Stereotypically, this the difference between those who take the lead of planning every single element of their group holiday, mapping out routes to the best bars and restaurants they made...
6 July 2026
Head to head: Fidelity Index World vs the HSBC FTSE All-World IndexThe Fidelity Index World and HSBC FTSE All-World Index tracker funds are two of the most popular investments with AJ Bell’s DIY investors across virtually every age group.
They are the sixth and eighth most popular holdings among all AJ Bell Stocks and Shares ISA holders, coming in behind four of AJ Bell’s own Managed Funds and Scottish Mortgage...
26 June 2026
Why five-year performance is crucial for picking a fund to buyWhen looking at what actively managed fund is right for you a key factor is the long-term performance of the portfolio itself, and the team behind it.
‘Long-term’ is always prescribed as the ‘ideal’ investment time horizon and this usually equals at least five years, because the longer amount of time you give your money to work, the more chance you...
