Shares magazine

14 September 2026

For more than a decade, science and technology business Johnson Matthey has flattered to deceive on the stock market. The perceived threat to its catalytic convertors from the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) among the main factors weighing on sentiment.

But the company is now at a big inflexion point. The sale of its Catalyst Technologies business...

14 September 2026

The UK retail sector is enduring its latest challenging period. Modest economic growth and stabilising sales volumes are being offset by increased costs partly due to 2025’s increases to the living wage and employer national insurance contributions. These factors have combined with reductions in business rates relief to squeeze margins.

Shoppers...

10 September 2026

When the US-Iran war started in late February 2026 some of the warnings about the impact on energy markets were dire – with oil prices expected to spike well above $100 per barrel.

Seen through that lens, the actual outcome six months on has been relatively benign. Oil has flirted with the $100 mark at regular intervals but not traded consistently...

10 September 2026

The healthcare and biotechnology sector has undergone a major turnaround in performance in recent months, going from one of the more lacklustre parts of the equity market to delivering some of the highest returns available.

The average open and closed-ended fund returned about 17-20% over five years, with the sector ranking among the bottom half of...

10 September 2026

Memory chip maker Micron Technology has been one of the big beneficiaries of the AI boom but, after a gravity-defying run which saw it become the latest name to hit a $1 trillion valuation, the shares have endured some turbulence of late.

Surging demand for advanced AI data storage chips has pushed the highly cyclical semiconductor industry into a...

10 September 2026

While the abolition of the lifetime allowance for pensions was largely welcomed, it also brought a new collection of jargon. Near the top of that list sits the transitional tax-free amount certificate, or TTFAC.

Most people will not need a TTFAC. But it is worth investigating if you accessed pension benefits before 6 April 2024 and took less tax...

10 September 2026

Sometimes the biggest challenge in investing is having the discipline to continue making contributions, even if other expenses get in the way.

Luke, a just turned 25-year-old intelligence analyst at an educational tech firm, has demonstrated a commitment to adding to his ISA pot through thick and thin.

Luke started investing in his Stocks and...

10 September 2026

Ask the experts. Rachel Vahey is here to answer questions on pensions. If you’d like a question considered for a future edition send it in now .

Or alternatively leave a rating for the article and include your question in the comment box.

I have a question on pensions and inheritance tax (IHT). I have a SIPP with AJ Bell and a work pension with...

10 September 2026

Ask the experts. Russ Mould is on hand to answer your queries about the financial markets. If you'd like a question considered for a future edition, send it in now .

Or alternatively leave a rating for the article and include your question in the comment box.

I’ve noticed some losses in my portfolio as US government bond yields are going up. Why...

10 September 2026

Ask the experts. Sarah Coles is on hand to answer your personal finance questions. If you’d like a question considered for a future edition send it in now .

Or alternatively leave a rating for the article and include your question in the comment box.

My boyfriend earns much more than me and insists we pay 50:50 for household expenses, but I’m...

10 September 2026

The range of income-generating investments has expanded in recent years with the launch of new funds. Some investors may already know about funds labelled ‘income maximiser’, which aim to offer higher yields than standard equity income funds but potentially lower capital growth. Now, a variation of these products has arrived, and they’re all...

10 September 2026

Some parts of the UK stock market trade at a premium price to earnings or PE ratio while others trade at a discount to the market. While there are many factors which can influence the PE ratio, this article explains the most prevalent reasons and reveals the sectors with the highest/lowest PEs.

Before that, it is worth asking what the PE ratio is...

10 September 2026

For many people Amazon is a ubiquitous part of their day-to-day lives. The familiar brown cardboard boxes with their signature black smile logo making their way to doorsteps up and down the country at regular intervals.

But while Amazon is principally known at a consumer level for its e-commerce operations, it is the much higher margin Amazon Web...

20 August 2026

Diversifying your portfolio and transferring it into less risky assets, like bonds, is the usual advice for a 76-year-old starting to look at retirement.

And Joe acknowledges this, aware that typically, you’d opt to spread your risk. “I don’t do it that way. I’ve got just three shares... I couldn’t advise anyone else to do what I do,” he says.

Thi...

19 August 2026

Global equity fund managers will often argue that it doesn’t matter where a company is listed; all that matters is that they are buying the best companies available regardless of where in the world they happen to be.

This has logic. Large companies are often global in nature and generate revenue from both inside and outside of their domestic market...

19 August 2026

Ask the experts. Rachel Vahey is here to answer questions on pensions. If you’d like a question considered for a future edition send it in now .

Or alternatively leave a rating for the article and include your question in the comment box.

I wonder if you could lay out the options for my wife. She has a SIPP worth about £110,000, as well as a...

18 August 2026

Ask the experts. Sarah Coles is on hand to answer your personal finance questions. If you’d like a question considered for a future edition send it in now .

Or alternatively leave a rating for the article and include your question in the comment box.

My father wants to invest for his grandchildren. I want him to pay into a pension for them, so...

18 August 2026

Ask the experts. Russ Mould is on hand to answer your queries about the financial markets. If you'd like a question considered for a future edition, send it in now .

Or alternatively leave a rating for the article and include your question in the comment box.

While there is lots of talk about US stocks being overvalued, earnings growth keeps on...

17 August 2026

More people are thinking about passing wealth on during their lifetime rather than as a legacy in a will. The idea of giving with “warm hands” has gathered pace in recent years and is likely to receive even more attention as we approach April 2027, when unused pension pots are set to become part of an estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes.

Givi...

17 August 2026

Ask the experts. Paul Angell is on hand to answer your questions about investments. If you'd like a question considered for a future edition, send it in now.

Or alternatively leave a rating for the article and include your question in the comment box.

I’m looking to choose some bond funds as I’m heading into retirement. Can I go about it the...

14 August 2026

Shares in UK housebuilders are sensitive to interest rate expectations and economic activity. When sentiment is in their favour, these stocks can deliver robust returns to investors. The opposite applies when there are economic or interest rate headwinds.

The housebuilding sector is in the middle of arguably its most difficult period since the...

14 August 2026

AI chip maker Nvidia is heading into its quarterly results with arguably the most subdued sentiment it has seen since the AI theme got underway – bar perhaps the period around Liberation Day tariffs in April 2025.

As Bank of America (BofA) analysts observe there are four main points of concern for investors. One is the pressure it might face on...

13 August 2026

How long do you persist with an investment that isn’t working out. It’s often one of the hardest questions for investors to answer and a conundrum most of us will have wrestled with at some point.

I’m not talking here about periods of short-term volatility or market corrections when there is a strong argument for holding your nerve in the face of...

13 August 2026

Current Diageo CEO Dave Lewis is known as a specialist in corporate turnarounds and he certainly has a big job on his hands at his current employer.

Headquartered in London’s West End, the company owns several iconic brands including Johnnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka and Guinness as well as Captain Morgan rum, Tanqueray premium gin and Baileys...

13 August 2026

What is SpaceX today and what are its ambitions?

Answering these questions are key to understanding the investment case behind the newly-listed business.

The successful initial public offering of shares in the Elon Musk controlled company SpaceX, means thousands of retail investors now have a financial interest in the company.

Following the end of...