About the expert

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.

Latest articles from Dan Coatsworth

  • 2 August 2023

    Shares magazine’s virtual portfolio returns 23% in seven months

    Although it has been a challenging year for investors, particularly those with UK tracker funds, clever stock picking could have yielded positive returns.

    Shares magazine’s 2023 virtual stock portfolio has delivered a 23.3% return* (not inclusive of platform and trading fees) since inception in late December 2022 versus 0.5% from the FTSE All-Share...

    3 min read
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  • 15 February 2022

    Income vs. accumulation units

    Your choice of share class could affect your overall return.

    Most open-ended investment companies (OEICs) and unit trusts are available in both income and accumulation share classes. The main difference between them is the treatment of income, but there are other less obvious factors that you need to recognise.

    Each fund receives income throughout...

    6 min read
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  • 3 October 2018

    Crunch time approaches for Unilever’s Netherlands move

    On 26 October UK shareholders in consumer goods giant Unilever will vote on a plan which would see the business exit the FTSE 100 index as it abandons a dual UK-Dutch stock market listing and moves its headquarters to Rotterdam.

    This meeting will follow one 24 hours earlier in the Netherlands where Unilever needs 50% approval from its Dutch...

    3 min read
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  • 7 September 2018

    Sky shareholders face deal deadlines

    Nearly two years after an initial £10.75 per share takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, shareholders in pay-TV giant Sky have some very important dates coming up which should finally settle the destiny of the company.

    At 1pm on 12 September the deadline for acceptances on US media conglomerate Comcast’s £14.75 offer, backed by Sky...

    2 min read
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  • 3 February 2017

    Woodford to launch new fund

    Highly respected fund manager Neil Woodford is to launch a new income fund in March initially targeting a 5% dividend yield.

    It will be called CF Woodford Income Focus and will only invest in companies that trade on a stock market.

    How can I invest?

    It is expected investors will be able to apply for units in CF Woodford Income Focus through with...

    4 min read
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  • 28 October 2015

    Stock auction benefits

    Why retail investors should take time to understand specific market mechanics.

    Stock auctions are one of the most important parts of the trading day. Multiple buyers and sellers are brought together to take part in a single trade. These have proven popular with many fund managers as a way of trading larger orders with lower market impact, and also...

    4 min read
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  • 28 May 2015

    Don't ignore idle cash, invest now for long-term growth

    If you have spare cash lying idle in your bank account and were thinking about investing in shares or funds, don't wait until the end of the tax year to put the money to work.

    History suggests that the longer your money is invested, the greater the potential returns. So get a head start by investing now rather than leaving it until the end of the...

    2 min read
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