16 April 2020
Which capital preservation funds delivered in the market falls?In very rocky markets capital preservation funds will aim to reduce investors’ losses and while they don’t guarantee to keep your money growing, you’d expect them to lose less than the market. During the recent market turmoil most funds and trusts have managed to achieve this goal, although there’s a wide spread in returns. Investors who fear...
16 April 2020
Has the FTSE 100 failed a key technical test?“In the long run, share prices and company valuations are dictated by profits and cash flow, but sentiment and narrative can dominate in the short term. And one way that investors can judge sentiment is to look at a price chart, as that is the perfect summary of market opinion at any one given time,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“...
16 April 2020
Stockpiling and streaming soar, but consumer spending plummets in MarchAccording to the latest consumer spending figures from Barclaycard, in March Brits spent the month stockpiling toilet roll and pasta, and sitting on their sofa watching TV. Consumer spending fell by 6% in the month, but the figures paint a picture of two halves, with soaring spending at supermarkets as people stocked up on food ahead of and during...
16 April 2020
Half of UK adults expect finances to get worse due to COVID-19According to the latest ONS figures on the impact of Coronavirus on household finances, almost half of the working age population have seen their work affected, with many seeing their hours cut, their workplace closed, being furloughed or losing their jobs. The knock-on effect is that almost a quarter of the population have already seen an impact...
16 April 2020
EasyJet looks to build cash buffer and Informa goes cap in hand to investors“European markets appeared to have shaken off the negative economic data which has piled up in recent days, starting Thursday on the front foot,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“The FTSE 100 has still not clawed back all its losses from yesterday, with weak commodity prices keeping the index in check, but some comfort can be taken...
15 April 2020
Just ten firms now forecast to pay two-thirds of FTSE 100's 2020 dividendsAs Smurfit Kappa and Ferguson decide to withhold their next scheduled dividend payments, no fewer than 32 members of the FTSE 100 have now moved to cut, suspend, defer or cancel a shareholder distribution and income investors are no doubt bracing themselves for further bad news.
But as income-seekers do their research as to what the yield on the...
15 April 2020
FTSE slips on oil stocks, and Ferguson puts dividends and buybacks on hold“Despite the damage done to their respective share prices in recent weeks, BP and Royal Dutch Shell still command a big weighting in the FTSE 100 and weakness in their respective share prices helps put index on the back foot,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Plumbing products outfit Ferguson and packaging firm Smurfit Kappa didn’t...
14 April 2020
Stocks are rallying but gold is still leaving them in the dustAfter a huge rally, America’s S&P 500 index is up 23% from its lows and therefore back in bull market territory but it is those investors who have faith in gold (and gold miners) who are really starting to coin it. The precious metal has gone back above the $1,700-an-ounce mark, to recapture all of the ground it lost during the initial broad market...
14 April 2020
Earnings season eyed nervously and Next gets back to work (slowly)“The Easter break was very different this year and despite gains for Asian stocks overnight the FTSE 100 didn’t seem too refreshed on Tuesday, erasing gains achieved first thing to trade modestly lower,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“While other European markets did put their best foot forward amid signs coronavirus cases in...
9 April 2020
Markets in good mood ahead of Easter, Diageo still paying dividends, and breathing space for Restaurant Group“Investors have been treated to a decent pick-up in markets just as the nation prepares to start what might be the most frustrating Easter weekend ever. Clear skies and nowhere to go,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Leisure stocks continue to rally as the market seemingly takes the view they’ve been oversold. Interestingly, banks...
8 April 2020
Insurers follow the banks by toeing the regulators’ line on dividendsThe FTSE 100’s Big Five banks dutifully cancelled £7.5 billion in dividend payments to shareholders last week as pressure from regulators to keep more capital on their balance sheets and now the insurance industry is following suit, after calls from the Prudential Regulatory Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority...
8 April 2020
Tesco counts costs of sales surge, and insurers bow to pressure on dividends“After a decent little run the FTSE 100 is lower today although this looks more of a slight stumble compared with the some of the big trips we have seen since the coronavirus outbreak took hold,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“The mood wasn’t helped by the fact that US stocks couldn’t hold on to gains. The markets do seem to want to...
7 April 2020
Coronavirus hopes buoy markets, and Cineworld and the cinema industry face battle for survival“UK and European stocks started Tuesday very much on the front foot, following gains in the US and Asia overnight, and despite the shock of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s admission to intensive care,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Investors are reacting to indications that lockdown measures in the UK, US and Europe are beginning to...
6 April 2020
Barnett removed from Perpetual Income and Growth Trust"News that Mark Barnett and Invesco have been served notice on their management of the Perpetual Income & Growth Investment Trust does not come as too much of a surprise given the scale of the underperformance of the trust against the FTSE All Share over the past few years, however it will be a blow to Invesco having also lost the Edinburgh...
6 April 2020
WH Smith seeks cash injection and engineers look to rise to the coronavirus challenge“Stocks in the UK, Europe and Asia rallied on Monday as investors became more optimistic about life getting back to normal later this year. Signs that coronavirus may be peaking in parts of mainland Europe have given some hope that the economic hit will be short-lived,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The FTSE 100 advanced 2.3% to...
3 April 2020
FTSE slips back, and the latest trend after dividend suspension and fund raisings is cutting director pay“It’s a quiet end to the week with ‘only’ a 1% decline in the FTSE 100 to 5,424. Companies are continuing to adapt to the crisis and find ways to cut costs and strengthen their balance sheets as they shift to survival mode,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Oil producers Royal Dutch Shell and BP gave back some of yesterday’s gains...
2 April 2020
Carnival’s fundraising shows desperate times, and Pets at Home and Gear4Music bring positive news“UK and European markets were much calmer on Thursday with small gains seen across most of the major indices. Asia was a bit more volatile, but on the whole there wasn’t a repeat of Wall Street’s 4%+ troublesome losses seen last night,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The big story of the day was a sharp rebound in the oil price...
1 April 2020
Markets sink again, banks cancel dividends and Auto Trader unveils shrewd cash move“Just when people were starting to believe we were seeing a sustained rebound, markets go straight back into reverse. The FTSE 100 fell 4% on Wednesday morning to 5,445 and European markets pulled back by approximately 3%. Asian markets were also flashing red and the oil price retreated 3.3% to $25.48 per barrel,” says Russ Mould, Investment...
1 April 2020
Changes to the AJ Bell Favourite funds and Ready-made portfoliosPart of my role as Head of Active Portfolios here at AJ Bell is to ensure that funds on the Favourite fund list are kept under constant review, and to make any changes we deem necessary. Below are the recent changes we’ve made.
Funds removed
On Friday, Nick Clay, manager of the BNY Global Income fund, announced he was leaving BNY, along with the...
31 March 2020
Shell shows dividend determinationDividend cancellations from WPP and Smiths Group mean that thirteen FTSE 100 members have now decided to withhold £2.7 billion of payments for either 2019 or 2020 but Royal Dutch Shell seems determined that it will not add to the list.
Even though Brent crude oil is stuck near 17-year lows at $27 a barrel, the oil major’s trading statement provides...
31 March 2020
James Halstead’s proud dividend growth record is (temporarily?) floored“Given how well the company is run and how solidly it is financed, it was always going to take something extraordinary to break James Halstead’s phenomenal run of increases in its dividend and the viral outbreak has just proved it,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“The floorings expert has trimmed back its interim payment to 2.125p a...
31 March 2020
Market rebound continues, stacks of important data points released, and Smiths has all the key issues on its plate China, Italy, UK, GDP, Smiths, Dividends and Supermarkets“Every little step forward for the markets will help to repair investor confidence following the catastrophic start to the year for equities,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Tuesday’s 1.8% gain for the FTSE 100 puts the index at 5,662 and follows a decent showing on Wall...
30 March 2020
Milder declines for the FTSE and transport operators in the slow lane“The FTSE 100 saw milder declines on Monday relative to how markets have performed over the past month. A 1.8% dip to 5,415 arguably brought some signs of stability to equities. Futures prices imply the US is set to behave in the same way when its markets open later today,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Investors need some sense...
27 March 2020
The one chart that explains why global equities have tried to rally this week“No-one knows for sure whether this week’s spectacular rally is a sign that the bottom is in or the first of a series of vicious traps during a prolonged bear market but one chart makes it easy to understand why investors are looking at financial assets once more,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“Thanks to its latest interventions...
27 March 2020
Housing market enters hibernation, and Domino’s sees surge in demand“Asian markets followed Wall Street’s very impressive rally last night with a strong showing to the end of the trading week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped by 3.9%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced by 0.6% and Shanghai’s SSE Composite moved 0.3% higher,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Unfortunately the joy did not spread to...