22 May 2020
M&G property fund remains suspended as property market stallsWith lockdown life continuing in the UK and the property market having all but ground to a halt, investors won’t be surprised that all physical commercial property funds remain closed. With potential buyers unable to view properties or survey them the commercial property market isn’t going anywhere, which means the valuers of the underlying assets...
22 May 2020
Trio of China issues sparks new global markets sell-off and United Utilities sets the stage for dividend review“Global markets took a dive after China withdrew its GDP growth target, heightened tensions between the US and the Asian country, and Beijing planning to impose security law on Hong Kong,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“These three factors combined have created a new wave of fear among investors. China ditching its GDP growth...
21 May 2020
Airlines buck wider market sell-offs, Whitbread goes cap in hand to shareholders and Pets at Home warns on profit“A strong showing on Wall Street last night failed to provide a tailwind for equities on Thursday as markets across most of Asia and Europe slipped back. “The FTSE 100 dropped 0.7% to 6,022 with weakness in consumer cyclicals, financials, utilities, healthcare and technology. “Bucking the trend were airlines with Lufthansa up 7% on advanced talks...
20 May 2020
Dividend cuts by UK companies this year exceed £30 billionDividend cuts and deferrals have now topped £30bn leaving income investors with a large hole in their portfolios. While some investors might be hoping the end is in sight for these cuts, they could actually increase now the Government has bought in stricter measures banning firms using its loan scheme from paying out dividends to investors.
Half...
20 May 2020
What is a stop loss?Dan Coatsworth, Editor of Shares magazine, explains how stop losses work and what they can mean for your investments.
This information is provided by Shares magazine which is published by AJ Bell Media, a part of AJ Bell. Shares is not written by AJ Bell. Shares is provided for your general information and use and is not a personal recommendation...
20 May 2020
Rolls-Royce to cut jobs and focus more on defence market, and Marks & Spencer readies next stage in turnaround plan“After a flurry of optimism in recent sessions, investors were struggling to keep their hopes up about a rapid return to normal life,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Wednesday saw stocks fall across many markets including a 0.6% decline in the FTSE 100 to 5,964, weighed down by weakness in banking, insurance and consumer cyclical...
20 May 2020
Inflation plummets as impacts of lockdown kick inApril saw a dramatic fall in inflation, down to 0.8% from the 1.5% in March. This marks the lowest rate for CPI inflation since August 2016.
Oil prices have dragged inflation lower again, as the price of the black stuff plummeted and petrol forecourts stood empty during lockdown. The drop in oil saw petrol prices fall to a four-year low, with...
19 May 2020
Three steps to prepare your portfolio for market fallsA survey of AJ Bell Youinvest customers has shown that, despite a rebound in markets since March, investors still have a very gloomy outlook for the UK economy and think the worst is yet to come for stock markets. When asked if the worst of the current downturn is over, 51% of people think that there is more bad news to come and that markets will...
19 May 2020
Fingers burned as Imperial Brands cuts dividend for first time ever“And another one bites the dust. Imperial Brands' decision to cut its interim and full-year dividends by a third – the first time that the tobacco giant has even failed to increase its pay-out since it was spun out of the Hanson conglomerate in 1996, let alone cut it – takes the total of FTSE 100 firms to reduce, defer, suspend or cancel cash...
19 May 2020
Imperial Brands cuts dividend by a third and Compass taps shareholders for £2bn“The FTSE 100 was firmly above 6,000 on Tuesday as a combination of lockdown easing, vaccine progress and central bank support helped give equities a big boost,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The index built on its substantial gains yesterday, repeated in markets worldwide, when early results from a vaccine trial carried out by...
18 May 2020
Federal Reserve chair’s comments and lockdown easing lift stocks“A large market rally has been fuelled by positive data on death and infection rates in countries which are easing lockdown conditions, helping alleviate some of the concerns over a second wave in the pandemic,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Equities also got boost as US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told US television the Fed...
15 May 2020
Mark Barnett leaves Invesco“News that Mark Barnett has left Invesco will perhaps come as little surprise after the last couple years with performance suffering and questions being asked over the positions taken in the portfolios, particularly around illiquid small caps and unquoted companies," says Ryan Hughes, Head of Active Portfolios at AJ Bell.
"While Invesco would have...
15 May 2020
Rico Back out the door at Royal Mail and BooHoo and Keywords raise funds for expansion“It took multiple attempts to scale Everest and the FTSE 100 appears to have left base camp on another attempt to plant its flag above the 6,000 mark,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“And after two down days for the markets, the week is ending on a more positive note for equities worldwide as fears of a second wave in the current...
15 May 2020
AJ Bell funds – update to underlying holdingsOne of our most important tasks, when managing the AJ Bell funds, is staying on top of the marketplace. We're always looking for investments that can help deliver the AJ Bell funds' objectives and risk outcomes, while satisfying the team's mantra of 'simple, low cost and transparent'.
With that in mind, we wanted to tell you about two changes we...
14 May 2020
Investors growing fearful again and WH Smith’s travel sales almost obliterated“Two bad days in a row for the markets doesn’t bode well for investors hoping we were on a sustained path for rebuilding February and March’s portfolio destruction. The market now seems to be growing more cautious about the pace of economic recovery,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The FTSE 100 slipped another 1.3% to 5,828 with...
13 May 2020
TUI declares greatest ever crisis for the business and housebuilders pick up tools“The pound jumped 0.2% against both the euro and US dollar after the latest UK GDP figures weren’t as bad as expected. The economy fell by 5.8% in March versus expectations for a 7.9% decline; unfortunately April is likely to show a much worse decline as it represents the first full month of lockdown,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ...
12 May 2020
Land Securities shares crumble as rents and asset values slideLand Securities’ shares are on the slide after its results and it is hard to work out what is upsetting investors more – the cancellation of the fourth quarter dividend; a £23 million provision against next year’s rental income; a drop in net tangible value per share that wipes out most of the increases seen in the previous five years or...
12 May 2020
50 days of lockdown – how have investors fared?We’re now 50 days into lockdown in the UK, and although for many of us it will feel like day 500, there has been some more positive news for investors during that time. Following the bloodbath during the early part of March, markets have recovered some of the ground they lost, the vast majority of funds have delivered positive returns for investors...
12 May 2020
Vodafone offers investors welcome income relief“It is all a far cry from last May, when Vodafone CEO Nick Read sanctioned the first dividend cut in Vodafone’s history, as the telco’s shares are rallying on an unchanged full-year payment of €0.09 a share,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“Such is investors’ thirst for income after dividend cuts, suspensions, deferrals or...
12 May 2020
Morrisons battling higher costs and sales surge at B&Q owner Kingfisher“Following a mixed session on Wall Street last night, markets in the UK, Europe and Asia struggled to make any significant progress on Tuesday. Stocks in Hong Kong fell 1.6% while Germany’s Dax index was flat,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The FTSE 100 fared slightly better in relative terms, nudging ahead 0.4% to 5,960 in...
11 May 2020
FTSE tries to smash 6,000 again“Investors started the week in a positive mood with the FTSE 100 making another attempt at the 6,000 mark as the world looks to emerge from lockdown and get back to work,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“ BT was among the risers, amid hopes the withdrawal of dividends announced before the long weekend will be a price worth paying...
7 May 2020
BT shares back to 1984 levels as £3.3 billion in dividends blown awayA third dividend cut in its history means that BT is finally finding the combination of hefty debts, big pension deficit, tight regulation and stiff competition on multiple fronts, as chief executive Philip Jansen looks to prioritise the company’s spending on where it is most needed, including super-fast broadband to the home and fifth-generation...
7 May 2020
Bank of England paints a gloomy picture of UK economy as it holds interest rates at 0.1%“The bank paints a very gloomy picture of the UK economy, with a halving in business investment, a near halving in business sales, a sharp rise in unemployment and households cutting their spending by a third", says Laura Suter, Personal Finance Analyst at AJ Bell.
“The outlook for GDP is also bleak in the short term, with a 30% fall in the second...
7 May 2020
BT makes deeper dividend cuts than expected and scary numbers in International Consolidated Airlines’ update“Better-than-expected data from China took the markets by surprise and helped to stabilise earlier declines in parts of Asia and also gave support to the FTSE 100,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Exports from China rose 3.5% in April year-one-year versus expectations for a sharp decline, thus leading investors to speculate that...
6 May 2020
Ocado shares hit new all-time high, and people switch on to ITV“The FTSE 100 was treading water on Wednesday, floating around the 5,851 level as gains in the healthcare, telecoms and utilities sectors were offset by weakness in energy, technology and consumer cyclicals,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Investors seemed relatively cautious following April’s sharp rebound in global markets...