11 December 2025
Why the AJ Bell investment team favours the UKInvesting in the UK when the economic environment feels weak might feel counterintuitive. While the perception of the UK economy is turbulent, the stock market has told a very different story.
As of 3 December, the FTSE All Share has returned 21% this year, near double the returns from the S&P 500 for UK investors. So, what is going so right for...
4 December 2025
Where can investors find value in the market?Everyone loves a bargain. But when investing, just like when you’re in a shop, it can be hard to tell if you’re snagging a great deal or if a low price is indicative of the quality on offer.
At a basic level, value investing involves having an eye for a diamond in the rough. Investors are searching for companies that they believe are worth more...
26 November 2025
How to rebalance your portfolioHaving a balanced portfolio is a widely accepted strategy for creating solid returns for your investments without taking too much risk.
The goal of balancing a portfolio is simple: create a diversified portfolio that isn’t overly exposed to any single element, so you can ride out market dips with a little less stress. But how exactly to go about...
21 November 2025
Terry Smith on market worries and Fundsmith underperformanceAJ Bell’s Head of Markets Dan Coatsworth talks the Fundsmith Equity manager about AI, whether he’s concerned about warning signs, and why he believes investors should stick with his fund.
20 November 2025
Terry Smith: what I’ve been buying this year in Fundsmith Equity FundAJ Bell’s Head of Markets Dan Coatsworth talks the Fundsmith manager about why he’s added the maker of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, the world’s largest animal health company, and the return of a business software company to his portfolio.
12 November 2025
Terry Smith: we've listened to the activist and Smithson Investment Trust has to changeDan Coatsworth, AJ Bell’s Head of Markets, talks to Fundsmith’s Terry Smith about being on the receiving end of an activist investor and proposing major changes to his firm’s small cap fund.
7 November 2025
The most popular passive investments this yearPassive investing has grown in popularity in recent years due to its strong performance, ease in diversification and (typically) lower fees than active options.
These funds track a specific stock index, such as the FTSE 100 or S&P 500. You can usually choose to invest in passive funds either through an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or a more...
7 November 2025
What's really in your ETF? Here’s how to find outMost of the time when you buy an exchange traded fund (ETF), you're just looking to match the return from a particular part of the market. They are a type of tracker fund which, as their name suggests, trade on a stock exchange and seek to mirror the returns from a certain index.
Sounds simple and, in practice it usually is, but it’s still...
23 October 2025
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 steadfast way to make modest returns without taking on too much risk.
But earlier this year, there was volatility in the...
17 October 2025
How the AJ Bell funds performed in the third quarter of 2025James Flintoft, Head of Investment Solutions, talks to Danni Hewson about market activity over the third quarter of 2025 and how AJ Bell funds have performed.
15 October 2025
The growing strategy investors are using to manage US riskOver the past 12 months, AJ Bell has seen a sharp increase in its DIY investor customers buying global funds that deliberately exclude US assets, albeit from a small base.
We looked at a sample of products with this investment focus and found a notable uptick in both the number of customers holding them and the amount of money invested. The biggest...
2 October 2025
UK active fund managers bounce back in historic year for the stock marketIn the battle of the manager versus the machine, humans have been punching above their weight with UK funds so far this year. In both the UK All Companies and UK Equity Income categories, the top 10 performers were dominated by actively managed funds.
Fund managers will be jumping for joy given the active fund industry has faced growing criticism...
1 October 2025
The changes we've made to the Favourite funds list - October 2025We have added the FSSA Asia Focus fund to our Favourite funds because of its disciplined investment approach, which has been honed over the years by the fund’s experienced team head, Martin Lau. Martin began his investment career nearly three decades ago when he joined, what was then, First State Investments in 2002, learning under the tutelage of...
22 August 2025
What changes have been made to the Favourite funds list - August 2025We have removed the Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders and Stewart Investors Worldwide All Cap funds from our Favourite funds list following the departure of portfolio managers David Gait and Sashi Reddy, as well as Sujaya Desai, a third member of the team. The departures deprive the team of its most experienced investors in David and Sashi...
31 July 2025
How fund managers have succeeded in beating the market againIt looks like Donald Trump has done what years of toil and sweat have failed to achieve, namely some measure of outperformance from global active funds.
In the first half of 2025, 51% of active funds in the Global sector outperformed a passive alternative. That’s according to our latest Manager versus Machine report, which analyses over 1,000 funds...
24 July 2025
Henderson Far East Income - Sat Duhra, Portfolio ManagerHear more about the Henderson Far East Income investment process and the themes they are excited about in their region.
24 July 2025
Dividend Heroes: the investment trusts with the longest track record of consistent dividend growthCertain investments have a particular advantage over cash in the bank and that’s the ability to provide a growing income stream.
Cash savings rates are often fixed which means your money won’t buy as much if the cost of living goes up. If your dividends go up each year it means you can potentially beat the rate of inflation, and your money goes...
17 July 2025
Different ways to generate an income in retirementInvestments can be someone’s main source of income once they retire, swapping a salary for dividends to pay the bills. This reliance on a pension emphasises the importance of having a good spread of income-generating investments.
There’s lots to choose from, and your selection will depend on your risk appetite and time horizon, among other factors...
17 July 2025
Who are the ‘rising stars’ in fund management?In the past few years, the ‘star’ in star fund managers has diminished somewhat. Many asset management companies have preferred to focus on the strategy and team behind an actively managed fund, rather than riding on the coattails of a standout individual. But that’s not to say there are no longer star managers, or indeed rising stars, within the...
15 July 2025
How the AJ Bell funds performed in the second quarter of 2025James Flintoft, Head of Investment Solutions, talks to Danni Hewson about market activity over the second quarter of 2025, how AJ Bell funds have performed.
9 July 2025
3i Infrastructure plc – James Dawes, CFO3i Infrastructure’s CFO, James Dawes discusses the fund’s investment objectives and the investment process. He also gives us a brief breakdown of what’s in the fund and the overall performance since IPO.
25 June 2025
The 24 investment trusts trading on a premium in 2025The number of London-listed investment trusts trading at a premium to the underlying value of their assets has moved higher this year as investors show greater willingness to pay up for certain strategies.
There are currently 24 investment trusts trading at a premium to net asset value, up from 19 at this time last year but still some way off...
24 June 2025
Takeover frenzy: number of investment trusts shrinks by 17% in three yearsA £175 million bid for Downing Renewables & Infrastructure represents the 10th investment trust to receive a takeover offer this year – and several more have been the target of bidding wars.
With so many trusts trading well below the underlying value of their portfolio, it’s feasible to suggest takeover action will continue for the rest of the year...
13 June 2025
Why are investment trust discounts so high?Some investment trusts are trading at bigger discounts than usual, with the average discount sitting at 14%, according to the AIC. But some trusts trade at discounts of more than 50% - we reveal the trusts on a bigger than normal discount.
A total of 26 investment trusts trade on a discount that is more than five percentage points greater than...
23 April 2025
Why is my investment trust on a ‘discount’?The idea of your investment trading on a ‘discount’ is not necessarily a phrase that instils confidence. But in the world of investment trusts, it’s a regular occurrence.
In fact, the average Global Equity investment trust currently trades on a 7.1% discount, according to Winterflood. And this doesn’t mean that your investment is losing money. So...
