Dan Coatsworth is AJ Bell's Head of Markets. Dan has been with the company since December 2012 and has more than 18 years' experience in the industry, following the markets and all things investing. He has a degree in Corporate Communications from Southampton Solent University.
Dan is involved in a lot of the content published by AJ Bell, which includes; providing market commentary, starring in our educational videos, writing for Shares Magazine and co-presenting our Money and Markets podcast, as well as hosting and presenting at events for customers – both in person and online.
Dan’s passion lies with educating customers all about investing and staying informed about market events. He previously worked for Teletext on the business and personal finance desks which taught him the importance of telling a story in as few words as possible. He has also appeared as a business commentator on Times Radio and LBC News and written investment-related articles for The Telegraph, Evening Standard, Mail on Sunday and The Week.
A fun fact Dan learned about investing early on was to not get caught up on the hype around certain stocks. He found this out himself when the first share he bought was a company trying to recover copper from a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean… this sounded exciting but sadly didn’t make him any money! Outside of work, Dan enjoys swimming and going to live gigs.
26 June 2025
BP bid: is takeover talk credible and how might it rank against other FTSE 100 bids?Shell buying BP is second only to a bid for ITV as the perennial takeover talk that won’t go away. The fact rumours keep circulating might suggest there is some truth in the matter, be it Shell or someone else looking to buy the UK oil and gas producer.
This is a difficult one to call. All big companies will look hard at any acquisition...
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...
23 June 2025
What’s shaped markets in the first half of 2025?Tariffs, downgrades to earnings and economic forecasts and geopolitical conflict were the defining factors for markets in the first half of 2025. They’ve caused considerable uncertainty which has affected asset prices, as well as business and consumer confidence.
It’s led to one of the biggest shifts in investor preferences for years, with certain...
20 June 2025
Daily market update: markets recover, Berkeley, retail stocks“Markets recovered some ground as the US appeared to temporarily pull back from the prospect of intervening directly in the Israel-Iran conflict,” says AJ Bell Investment Analyst Dan Coatsworth.
“Trading in Asia was mixed as China kept interest rates unchanged, while the US market was closed yesterday for the Juneteenth federal holiday. Early on...
19 June 2025
Revealed: the original AIM stocks that are still on the market 30 years laterWhile AIM’s 30th anniversary has been clouded by talk of how the market is shrinking fast, there are still reasons to celebrate its achievements. A good chunk of AIM’s original members have gone on to score a winning goal for investors’ portfolios.
Eleven companies that joined AIM in its first six months of existence are still on the UK stock...
18 June 2025
Watch out: inheritance tax benefits on AIM stocks to change in AprilInvesting in shares on London’s AIM market is a way to pass down wealth at death without losing money to the taxman. Certain AIM stocks qualify for 100% inheritance tax relief, yet the rules will change from April 2026. Now is an ideal time to understand how the system currently works and what will change in the future.
How the AIM system currently...
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...
11 June 2025
More companies queue up to transfer from AIM to London’s Main Market as junior market approaches 30th birthdayAIM turns 30 on 19 June and its celebrations have been overshadowed by the shrinking number of companies on the market. While it is natural to see the tail end disappear as tiny companies cannot justify the cost of being listed, and takeovers across the market continue with pace, there is an underappreciated trend elsewhere.
The number of AIM...
30 May 2025
What are the different types of investment fees?Discover the different types of investment charges you may encounter, including custody, dealing and foreign exchange fees, and how they work.
21 May 2025
Marks & Spencer outlines £300 million hit to profit and reveals plan to bring forward infrastructure upgradeThe £300 million expected impact of Marks & Spencer’s cyber-attack on profits shows the severity of the situation. It suggests hackers have caused considerable damage to the company from a financial and reputational perspective.
Marks & Spencer has lost a significant number of sales after temporarily halting online orders. Disruption to supplies...
20 May 2025
Four ways to build a pension and keep your retirement savings strategy on trackIt’s never too early to plan for the cost of retirement and the amount of money you need to save. Even if you’re 20 or 30 years away from giving up work, the sooner you get your strategy in place, the easier it might be to squirrel away money so you can enjoy your golden years without financial stress.
In the future you’ll look back and be thankful...
16 May 2025
One third of adults have less than £10,000 in their pensionA large chunk of the UK population is setting themselves up for a nasty shock later in life by not putting enough money away for the future.
The newly published Financial Lives survey by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a financial regulator, implies that certain people will be too reliant on the state pension to pay the bills and support...
12 May 2025
The parts of the UK stock market left behind from market reboundOil producers, pharmaceutical companies and Vietnam-focused investment trusts have been left behind on the UK stock market as shares rebound across the world following the Liberation Day-triggered sell-off.
Most of the major indices globally have clawed back all the lost territory since Trump’s 2 April speech sent shockwaves across the investment...
29 April 2025
How to become an ISA millionnaireDo you ever dream of being a millionaire? Learn a step-by-step process to become an ISA millionaire and start saving and investing today.
29 April 2025
Which countries' markets have recovered from Liberation Day?The recovery in global markets since the crash caused by Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcement is gathering pace.
Brazil, India, Japan and UK mid-caps have fully recovered and Germany is within a whisker of doing the same. Anyone who held their nerve and didn’t panic sell when markets started to crash on 3 April will now be reaping the...
29 April 2025
How AJ Bell DIY investors navigated the Liberation Day sell-off and recoveryThe way individuals responded to the market sell-off depended on their own personal circumstances. However, there were clear trends among AJ Bell’s DIY investors who felt confident enough to buy in the week after Trump’s big speech despite stock markets falling by a considerable amount in the first three trading days after the event.
With so much...
23 April 2025
Why Tesla shares remain popular with AJ Bell customers despite disappointing financial resultsTesla’s first-quarter delivery and production numbers on 2 April were as ugly as its Cybertruck design. That meant expectations were rock-bottom in the run-up to its financial results and it’s why the shares didn’t tank upon release of the Q1 earnings on 23 April.
The shares moved higher following the financial results, predominantly driven by the...
9 April 2025
Six factors that could cause markets to rebound or fall furtherMarkets are acting like a yo-yo, slumping on the Liberation Day announcement for three trading days in a row, then jumping back and forth.
Given Trump’s unpredictability, it’s impossible to know where markets will go next. However, there are three potential factors that could trigger a rebound, and three more that could take markets even lower.
If...
4 April 2025
Reasons why markets fell on Trump’s tariff plan and what could happen nextFinancial markets fell around the world in response to Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” on 2 April where he imposed sweeping tariffs on countries that sell goods to the US. The tariffs range from 10% (as seen in the UK) to as high as 50%.
Markets were already weak in the run-up to Trump’s announcement in anticipation of new tariffs, yet it...
2 April 2025
How to set your Lifetime ISA investment goalsThe Lifetime ISA is a clever way of saving, as the government gives you free money when you pay into the account.
How to invest the money inside the Lifetime ISA depends on how you intend to use proceeds later – namely do you want to buy a house, fund retirement or something else? The goals can require different saving and investment strategies, so...
2 April 2025
Where investors made and lost money in the first quarter of 2025While the headlines were full of doom and gloom around a potential trade war and economic slowdown, investors could have still made decent money in the stock market during the first quarter of 2025.
Investing in European defence, construction and banking firms and Chinese tech stocks were the winning trades in the first three months of the year. In...
26 March 2025
Five ways to generate an income from your investmentsOne of the key attractions of investments is the potential to earn a regular income, and for many people it’s the number one priority.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach for income investing and product innovation in the asset management industry has increased the choices available to investors.
It’s important to understand the various...
12 March 2025
$1.57 trillion wiped off value of the Magnificent Seven so far this year while Meta becomes the Lone RangerAn astonishing $1.57 trillion has been wiped off the value of the Magnificent Seven year-to-date. Six of the seven stocks have fallen in value, with Meta the only one to produce a positive return. Meta has become the Lone Ranger, representing a significant turning point for the tech collective.
Other labels slapped on popular stocks including...
11 March 2025
What investors are buying in their ISAs: the most popular funds, trusts and sharesAJ Bell DIY investors have been busy filling their Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) ahead of the tax year-end on 5 April. ISAs are a great way to build up wealth and shelter your gains and income from the taxman.
Exposure to global and US markets and generous dividend payers were key themes, as you might expect from ISA users. However, there were...
7 March 2025
Why you should open an ISA today (and get investing in a jiffy)There is nothing worse than receiving your salary or bonus and finding the taxman has taken a chunk of it. You’ve worked hard and want to keep all the rewards. This is where an Individual Savings Account (ISA) comes in handy, as it is one of the few places you can grow your money and shelter the gains from the taxman.
There is no income tax to pay...
6 March 2025
Cracks in the AI story: worst performing shares this year include semiconductor firms and cloud computing providersAssociation with AI was the ticket to share price success in 2023 and 2024 as investors got excited about the technology revolution. The opposite is now playing out, with AI association being more of a hindrance than a help.
Cracks are appearing in the AI story as expectations are reined in. As with all ‘next big thing’ events, people expect the...
27 February 2025
Nvidia revenues jump, but what are the risks ahead?Nvidia’s results have once again shown a company riding a wave of demand linked to artificial intelligence (AI). In the fourth quarter of 2024 it grew revenue by 78% year-on-year to $39.3 billion and earnings per share went up 71% to $0.89.
Chief executive Jensen Huang even said AI is “advancing at light speed” and that Nvidia is seeing “amazing”...
27 February 2025
The 20% ISA challenge: can you increase your ISA contributions by 20% each month?Everyone loves a good challenge, whether that’s running a certain distance or being able to lift heavy weights after a few months in the gym.
Why not extend that mantra to money where your efforts pay off handsomely, making you healthy and wealthy? Your challenge is to increase your ISA contributions by 20% each month.
The 20% ISA challenge Monthly...
18 February 2025
First-time buyers could be priced out of using Lifetime ISA in 62 UK regions by 2029It’s vital that Chancellor Rachel Reeves increases the maximum property value that people can buy using money held in a Lifetime ISA.
The limit has been kept at £450,000 since Lifetime ISAs were launched in April 2017 yet the average UK property price has increased by 27.9% since that date*. One solution is to increase the maximum property value in...
13 February 2025
Covid market crash five years on: the UK and US stocks left behind Untitled DocumentThe impact of the covid-19 pandemic is still being felt on the stock market five years after shares, bonds and currencies crashed.
21 February 2025 marks five years since stock markets were on the eve of crashing thanks to the global pandemic. When markets closed on the Friday (21/02/20), investors were nervous about what was...
12 February 2025
Short sellers are targeting UK stocks at risk from Rachel Reeves’ Budget decisionsShort sellers are circling a group of UK consumer-facing stocks with the goal of profiting from falling share prices, potentially caused by Rachel Reeves’ Budget decisions.
Business and consumer sentiment is already weakening amid concerns that the new government doesn’t have an effective plan to accelerate economic growth. On 6 February, the Bank...
6 February 2025
Most popular ISA investments among AJ Bell DIY investor customers in JanuaryDIY investors were in risk-on mode during January 2025 judging by the most popular ISA investment choices on the AJ Bell platform.
Exposure to global markets and the tech sector topped the list of places investors deployed money, suggesting they started the new year hoping for broad-based gains on equity markets or a third year in a row for tech...
31 January 2025
Bank of England poised to cut rates on 6 February despite inflationary pressures in the bagging areaThe Bank of England will make its first interest rate decision of 2025 on Thursday 6 February, and there is a high chance it will cut the cost of borrowing.
Economic signals have been weak and services inflation has fallen back substantially since the last meeting in December, at which point three members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee...
31 January 2025
What we learned from Apple, Microsoft and Tesla’s latest resultsApple is selling products and services by the bucketload. It has set new records for revenue and earnings and has declared the final three months of 2024 to have been its best quarter ever.
The company has now beat earnings expectations for eight quarters in a row and these factors helped to drive up the share price. So far, so good – but there is...
30 January 2025
Four UK stocks which could join Diageo and WH Smith with talk of selling brands or businessesSpeculation that Diageo might sell its Guinness brand and confirmation that WH Smith is thinking about offloading its UK high street business have got tongues wagging about which other stocks might be ready to put assets on the block.
What’s driving asset sales?Selling assets to focus on what companies do best is a logical strategy. ‘Shrink to...
27 January 2025
Why investors have fallen out of love with the retail sectorIt is too early to truly quantify the full impact of the Budget-related cost pressures on the retail sector. Putting a number on the extra costs is one thing; the ways in which retailers offset the extra costs and how that affects consumer spending patterns is another.
Some retailers have adopted a cautious tone, others implied it was business as...
23 January 2025
Four ways to get children interested in saving and investingWhether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or a close friend to someone who is a mum or dad, there are many ways you can get children interested in investing.
The more money built up for a child in their early years, the easier it should be financially for them to deal with some of life’s big milestones when they become an adult.
Whether...
22 January 2025
Netflix shares soar after blockbuster results and big plans to boost advertising incomeNetflix is the talk of Tinseltown after serving up a blockbuster quarter. Earnings smashed expectations and it delivered strong subscriber growth. It’s no wonder the shares soared on the news.
It grew fourth quarter revenue by 16% to $10.2 billion and paid memberships increased by the same percentage to 301.6 million.
Netflix has proved its success...
16 January 2025
Donald Trump’s return to the White House: the impact on money and markets and what to consider nextDonald Trump’s return to the White House next week has major implications for people’s money. Whether that’s investments in the stock market, government bonds, cash in the bank and even holiday money, his policies have far-reaching consequences.
Trump’s election victory has already had an impact on stocks, bonds and currencies and we’re likely to...
15 January 2025
Why gilts have been popular investments so far in 2025There are two sides to every story and while the headlines are awash with news of a bond market sell-off, retail investors’ appetite for gilts is picking up.
The UK Treasury last week sold £4.25 billion of five-year gilts (aka UK government bonds) at an average yield of 4.49%, with £12.74 billion worth of bids received. AJ Bell saw strong demand...
10 January 2025
Retail investors urged to decide on the future of seven investment trustsInvestors have an important say in the future of seven investment trusts being targeted by hedge fund Saba Capital. These are Baillie Gifford US Growth, CQS Natural Resources Growth & Income, Edinburgh Worldwide, European Smaller Companies, Henderson Opportunities, Herald Investment Trust and Keystone Positive Change.
Saba’s proposals have been put...
8 January 2025
Number of AIM companies worth more than £1 billion at nine-year lowThe number of companies on London’s AIM market worth more than £1 billion has hit a nine-year low. A mere six stocks were worth more than £1 billion at the end of 2024* compared with 30 at the end of 2021.
From those 30 companies and excluding those still worth more than £1 billion, seven have disappeared through takeovers, three have moved to the...
2 January 2025
The most popular funds with AJ Bell customers over the past yearIs the era of the star fund manager confined to the history books? The star is no longer shining bright, according to the investment choices of AJ Bell DIY investors over the past year.
There is only one product in the top 10 most popular open-ended equity funds actively managed by an individual or individuals picking stocks, and only three names...
19 December 2024
What happens to a Junior ISA at age 18?When your child turns 18, their Junior ISA will become a Stocks and shares ISA. Learn more about what happens to a Junior ISA at 18 here.
19 December 2024
Accumulation vs Income fundsFor most funds, you can choose to buy income or accumulation units. The difference is how they handle income (dividends or interest) generated by the fund.
18 December 2024
Four tips for investors in volatile timesMarket volatility can be a tricky time for investors, but there are things that can help to keep you on track with your plan. Learn about investing in volatile markets.
18 December 2024
Five steps to avoid pension fraudWith a rise in fraud over the past decade, it’s good to make sure your pension is as protected as possible. Here’s how to avoid being a victim of pension fraud.
18 December 2024
A guide to Sharesave schemesLearn about company SAYE/Sharesave schemes and what you might need to do once your scheme matures, such as transferring the shares into a tax-free Stocks and shares ISA.
16 December 2024
How increasing your ISA contributions by £25 a year could turbocharge your returnsPutting a little bit more into your ISA each year can provide a major boost to your wealth over time. We’re not talking about giving up all of life’s luxuries to free up money to invest, merely finding a tiny bit more each year
Someone who invests £5,000 as a lump sum and makes no further contributions would have a pot worth £16,931 after 25 years...
