30 April 2026
Time for your portfolio’s checkup? Test these vital statsOne of the perks of investing is that it doesn’t require much work to be successful. In fact, an industry adage is to ‘invest and forget’. But doing a check under the bonnet once in a while ensures that your investments are still serving their purpose.
You can view this like a visit to the dentist. Once or twice a year, you head in to identify any...
24 April 2026
Investors have started spring dialling up their defensive investmentsAJ Bell DIY investors have been adding to their more defensive portfolio options over the past few weeks as they responded to the volatility created by conflict in the Middle East.
Looking at net flow data across AJ Bell’s platform since the start of March and the past two weeks in particular, and among its suite of managed funds, net flows into...
23 April 2026
How to avoid doubling up with popular funds from the same providerWe’ve all had the experience of finding the perfect shirt and opting to buy one in every colour, thinking that this eradicates all fashion dilemmas from our lives.
And while it is great to find a style that works for you, often you have to shop around a bit to find other options which are appropriate for other situations. For example, you’re...
22 April 2026
How to pick an ‘all-in-one’ fundNot all of us want, or have time, to become investment gurus. While it’s important to know the basics to understand your own situation, delving into the details of how much you should invest in each part of the market can be time consuming. Fortunately, there are certain types of investments designed to take the stress out of investment research.
A...
21 April 2026
How the AJ Bell funds performed in the first quarter of 2026James Flintoft, Head of Investment Solutions, talks to Danni Hewson about market activity over the first quarter of 2026 and how AJ Bell funds have performed.
21 April 2026
How AJ Bell funds performed in the first quarter of the yearDespite a rocky March for markets due to the war in Iran, six of the nine funds in the AJ Bell range ended the first quarter of the year with a positive return.
Across the past month, we’ve seen the effects of the US-Iran conflict trickle down through the market, most prominently through the rise of energy prices and a shift in interest rate...
11 April 2026
Property funds are coming out of limbo: here's what's changingProperty funds are getting a long-awaited shake up in a bid to keep this shrinking part of the market alive and increase appeal to investors in the long-term.
Most of us are familiar with investing in property through owning a home. Ideally, you’d get on the property ladder and, down the line, sell your house for more than you paid or rent it for...
10 April 2026
Explaining the difference between the most popular global tracker fundsGlobal tracker funds and ETFs are one of the most popular ways for investors to gain access to the market.
These passive instruments track an underlying index. Tracking refers to the strategy of building an investment portfolio designed to mimic rather than beat the performance of a specific market, giving exposure to all the companies in that...
6 April 2026
All-in-one funds are getting creative to maintain diversificationDiversification is one of the cornerstones of investing and multi-asset funds, sometimes called ‘all-in-one' or ‘one-stop-shop' funds, are one of the simplest ways to gain exposure to a broad spread of investments.
But amid a few years of testing market environments, multi-asset fund managers have been expanding their investment horizons to...
25 March 2026
You might not be as diversified as you thinkIf you’ve been keeping an eye on your investments in the past few weeks, you may have experienced a nasty shock. Despite all the work you’ve put into creating a diversified portfolio, the market turmoil of March may have put a dent in your investments.
This isn’t a reason to panic. Even well diversified portfolios aren’t immune to falls in the...
23 March 2026
Why some of the biggest tech investors are moving away from the Mag 7The Magnificent Seven, a collection of the biggest US technology firms, have been a key feature of global equity funds for the better part of the decade. This is in part because their market dominance demanded a place, and high returns made it hard to argue against holding them.
Made up of Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and Apple joined by Microsoft...
20 March 2026
The funds that could help you avoid sleepless nightsThere’s plenty of news to keep investors' brains buzzing right now. The ongoing message from an investment perspective is to ignore the noise and not panic. But there are some funds designed to provide exactly the sort of reassurance and wealth preservation some people will be looking for, not just during a crisis, but against any market backdrop.
...
19 March 2026
How top fund managers are responding to renewed inflation risksThe rise in oil and gas prices has sparked fears of a 2022-style inflation crisis reemerging, with energy costs set to rise as the war in Iran continues.
A repeat of this could be painful for investors because 2022 saw both equities and bonds experience negative returns for the first time since 1977. This meant even portfolios which were...
2 March 2026
The defence sector is booming. Can investors still jump in?The defence sector has been booming the past 18 months, driven by a peak in geopolitical conflicts and governments dedicating higher budgets to military and cyber security resources.
Global military expenditure hit £2.7 trillion in 2024, the highest level on record, according to data from HanETF. Investors who took up holdings in defence off the...
27 February 2026
Europe is back in demand – meet the funds out in frontEurope has captured investors’ attention over the past year, thanks to a strong equity market and people looking for an alternative to sky-high valuations in the long-favoured US tech space.
Since January 2025, European markets in general have delivered better returns than those in the US. Comparing the Stoxx Europe 600 – the broad measure of the...
25 February 2026
The US market might be more promising than it seemsInvestors’ obsession with the US seems to be waning as returns from the country’s flagship S&P 500 index slowed from 24.5% in 2024 to 17.9% in 2025 and made an uncertain start to 2026.
So, it may seem surprising that in our latest rebalance, the AJ Bell investment team chose to increase the proportion of assets we hold in the US. Notably, our...
13 February 2026
Investors are cooling on money market funds: where are they heading now?So far this year, AJ Bell DIY investors are a bit more adventurous than in 2025, with less interest in money market funds than was seen last year, and more interest in UK and global funds.
However, two areas that investors seem to be cooling on are funds focused on tech and North America. Some of this movement is likely due to geopolitical nerves...
20 January 2026
Your investment trust plans a tender offer - what does it mean?If you hold shares in an investment trust, you may have at some point received notice of a ‘tender offer’. But what does this mean, and as a shareholder, what do you need to do?
A tender offer is just that, an offer to shareholders to redeem their shares, usually at a favourable price, either by another significant shareholder or the company...
19 January 2026
What changes have been made to the Favourite funds list?We keep our Favourite funds list under constant review to ensure we have the highest conviction in the funds we’ve selected. Following a recent review, we’ve decided to remove the Premier Miton Tellworth UK Smaller Companies fund.
We continue to hold Paul Marriage, the fund’s lead manager, in high regard and believe his investment approach remains...
15 January 2026
How the AJ Bell funds performed in the forth quarter of 2025James Flintoft, Head of Investment Solutions, talks to Danni Hewson about market activity over the forth quarter of 2025 and how AJ Bell funds have performed.
14 January 2026
Nick Train: why I’m raising a glass to Diageo and the future of RightmoveDan Coatsworth, AJ Bell’s Head of Markets, talks to the Finsbury Growth & Income manager about not selling Diageo as its shares kept falling, and whether AI could be a help or hindrance for Rightmove.
13 January 2026
Can fund manager Nick Train fight back after five years of pain?AJ Bell’s Head of Markets Dan Coatsworth talks to the Finsbury Growth & Income manager about the root cause of underperformance, when an investor should sell, and why he is so patient.
8 January 2026
What changes have been made to the Starter portfolios - January 2026We recently carried out a review of our Starter portfolios. As a result of this review we have made the following changes to the Balanced and Adventurous portfolios.
Balanced Portfolio We have replaced the IFSL Evenlode Global Income fund with the Dodge & Cox Worldwide Global Stock fund. We believe the change improves the overall blend of...
8 January 2026
What changes have been made to the Favourite funds list - January 2026We keep our Favourite funds list under constant review to ensure we have the highest conviction in the funds we’ve selected. Following a recent review, in the Global sector we have taken the decision to add the Dodge & Cox Worldwide Global Stock fund to the list. To accommodate the fund, we have taken the decision to remove the Schroder Global...
31 December 2025
The most popular funds and trusts among retail investors in 2025Interest in passive products tracking certain parts of the market soared in 2025, judging by what’s been in favour with AJ Bell DIY investors.
Tracker funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds) featured heavily on the list of most popular funds as investors sought out convenience and lower costs. Rather than pay more for active management in the hope...
