16 April 2026
What next for oil and gas companies after the big energy price shock?At the end of 2025 oil and gas companies were staring down the barrel of declining energy prices and resulting pressure on profits and returns to shareholders.
Despite the fragile ceasefire deal recently brokered by Pakistan, the conflict in Iran has shifted the calculus significantly since the end of February and helped global energy firms to...
16 April 2026
Driving the conversation on money and the marketsWho do you talk to about investing?
Some people may be fortunate enough to have a friend or family member with some knowledge of the markets to help set them on the right path, However, for many of us, including our My Portfolio contributor Aaron, investing can be a lonely furrow to plough at times.
That’s where we come in. Not only through are...
16 April 2026
Move over FTSE 100: the UK’s dividend throne has a new rulerThe UK stock market has just hit a striking milestone – and income investors should take note. Mid-cap stocks are now paying more generous dividends than the blue chip giants, marking the longest stretch since 2001 where the FTSE 250 offers a bigger yield than the FTSE 100.
On average over the past 25 years, the FTSE 100 has yielded 3.6% and the...
16 April 2026
Vodafone is finally dialling up growth after years in the doldrumsAfter more than a decade in the doldrums Vodafone shares have shown a remarkable recovery, delivering more than 70% in total shareholder returns in just the last 12 months, making them one of the top 10 performing shares in the FTSE 100 index.
What has driven the strong performance?The UK’s biggest telecommunications group has cleaned up its once...
20 March 2026
Not panicking, sticking to the plan and thinking about opportunitiesDon’t panic. Stick to your plan. These are words to live by when markets get choppy as they have done since the beginning of March as simmering tensions in the Middle East escalated to armed conflict. There is absolutely no reason to lose faith in investing. It is important to remain optimistic and focus on the long-term potential for your money to...
20 March 2026
Why investment trusts are buying themselves more than everShare buybacks are a commonplace market phenomenon, but it’s a tool that’s used for widely different reasons.
The practice involves a listed firm buying back its own stock so that the total amount of its shares in issue is reduced. The overall aim is to enhance the value of the remaining shares and for standard public trading companies, this is...
19 March 2026
Should I pay off my student loan or invest instead?Ask the experts. Laura Suter is on hand to answer your personal finance questions. If you’d like a question considered for a future edition, send it in now .
I’ve seen lots of stuff in the news about student loans and how much interest some graduates are paying. I left university in 2020 and am still paying off my loan, am I affected by what’s...
19 March 2026
Markets braced for Nike earnings as tariffs weigh on turnaround hopesAhead of its latest earnings Nike is racing to reverse a two-thirds collapse in its market value over the last four-and-a-bit years.
CEO Elliot Hill is pivoting from a struggling direct-to-consumer model back to the brand’s performance roots to outrun mounting tariff pressures and cooling demand in China.
The company is scheduled to release its...
18 March 2026
Are you focusing on the wrong number when picking an income fund?Investors searching for income opportunities often gravitate towards funds with the highest yields. If you had the choice of either 4p or 8p in every pound in dividends, you might choose the bigger reward.
What people often neglect to consider is the importance of looking at total return. This is the money you make from dividends and the increase...
18 March 2026
Last orders for pension top-ups? Boosting contributions before and after retirementMany people in their 50s are in a financial sweet spot. Earnings are often at their peak, mortgages may be shrinking and any children are hopefully proving less expensive. That makes this period a golden opportunity to give your pension a final push, if you know the rules.
Here’s what you need to know about pension contribution limits, carry...
17 March 2026
Why active versus passive investing isn’t so black and white anymoreEqual weighed exchange-traded funds (ETFs for short) have emerged as one of the more popular investment trends in recent months as investors seek new ways to diversify their exposure to major equity markets.
These products are distinct from a ‘typical’ ETF, because rather than the largest companies by market value having the biggest influence on...
17 March 2026
Does the volatility in gold signal the end of the bull market?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 .
I’ve been following the move higher in the gold price and the recent slump – is gold likely to remain under pressure from here?
Ken
Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director, says:Wi...
16 March 2026
How I invest: From trying to cover train fares to being a student of Buffett“Do your reading.” That’s the first step for anyone wanting to take the plunge into the stock market, according to 56-year-old Simone.
For her, what this looked like was six months spent properly getting to grips with the basics before she made her first investment; learning the difference between shares and funds, then passive and actively...
16 March 2026
How do I go about picking an active fund manager?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.
I’m worried about being entirely invested in tracker funds. How should I choose a manager that picks stocks?
Matt
Paul Angell, AJ Bell Head of Investment Research, says:Hi Matt, I...
16 March 2026
How Games Workshop became the best performing UK share of the last two decadesWhile most investors grapple with the potential impacts of generative artificial intelligence, Games Workshop, by contrast is a refreshingly simple business.
In fact, the company recently banned employees from using AI in content or designs. Games Workshop is the world’s largest maker of hobby miniatures with two major brands, Warhammer and...
13 March 2026
Should I defer my retirement or not?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 .
I am approaching 65 years old and find myself enjoying work so much that I don’t want to retire just yet, I’d prefer to continue working, although I may cut my working hours.
I am a widower and receive a...
12 March 2026
Magnum’s meltdown: can Unilever’s ice cream spin-off recover from a bad start?In December 2025 investors in Unilever received free shares in the world’s largest ice cream manufacturer following the demerger of The Magnum Ice Cream Company. Just weeks later, a mixed set of maiden results (12 February) from the new entity, saw its shares melt under the glare of the public markets.
The Unilever spin-off brought inevitable one...
12 March 2026
Data disrupted: How AI is hitting everything from comparison sites to software and analytics firmsIn early February 2026 ChatGPT rival Claude, a large language model owned by Anthropic, released a suite of specialized AI tools which sent a shockwave through certain sectors.
The software space was already under pressure from generative AI which is increasingly writing code. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told listeners on a recent podcast that the...
20 February 2026
Is now the time to shine a light on emerging markets?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 .
Amid all the talk about Trump it feels like emerging markets are being ignored, what is their outlook like in the current market environment?
Michael
Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment...
19 February 2026
What to expect from a Buffett-less Berkshire HathawayFor the first time in six decades Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway will release its fourth quarter results on 27 February without Warren Buffett at the helm, after he stepped down as CEO at the end of 2025.
Under his leadership the company’s value has seen a cumulative gain of over 5,500,000% compared with 39,000% for the S&P 500 index. Incoming...
19 February 2026
The dangers of hopping on the latest hot themeAs I write it feels like the world has gone gold crazy. The precious metal not just taking out all-time highs in nominal terms but also trading way above its ‘real’ or inflation-adjusted highs before turning sharply lower.
This column is not going to attempt a guess at where gold might go next but it is just the latest in countless examples of...
18 February 2026
Out-of-favour stocks with quietly accelerating earningsStock prices can move around quite a lot in the short term, usually driven by emotional factors and popular narratives.
This is one of the reasons why stocks trend, both up and down, with strong/weak price momentum creating a positive feedback loop, leading to further gains/losses.
However, it is always worth remembering investor Terry Smith’s...
18 February 2026
How I invest: taking responsibility for managing the pension potFor the past few decades, Ian’s life has been a whirl of raising two children with his wife and trekking up the corporate ladder to become a chief technology officer, while fitting in a few nice holidays along the way.
But now, he’s taking some well-deserved rest. Ian is in his late 50s and both of his children have flown the nest to start...
17 February 2026
Trainline shares have gone off the rails: can they get back on track?Towards the end of 2024, Trainline was chugging along quite nicely. Finally trading solidly above the 350p at which its 2019 IPO was priced after years of ups and downs. The company having been heavily disrupted by the pandemic and facing undulating concern over competitive threats.
Then, on 4 December 2024, news of the Labour Government’s Great...
17 February 2026
Is it worth chasing the best savings rate or should I just pick and stick?Ask the experts. Laura Suter is on hand to answer your personal finance questions. If you’d like a question considered for a future edition, send it in now .
I know that lots of people will move their savings around each time a new top deal lands, to get the most from their savings, while other people leave it sitting in their current account or...
