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.
16 July 2026
Why companies cut dividends – and how to spot the next ones at riskIncome investors should never rule out a dividend cut. There are no guarantees with dividends and sometimes companies have no choice but to lower the amount paid to shareholders.
Dividend cuts are a live issue, and they are happening across the market. For example, we have already seen two FTSE 100 firms cut dividends this year, being drinks group...
15 July 2026
Daily market update: B&M, Paypal, Barratt Redrow, ASMLWeak Chinese economic data has spooked investors in the mining sector, causing a sell-off amid fears that the Asian superpower might scale back commodity purchases.
China’s GDP grew by 4.3% in the second quarter year-on-year, below the 4.5% to 5% target. The data reading took the market by surprise and might stir speculation that the Chinese...
14 July 2026
Daily market update: BP, Debenhams and Watches of SwitzerlandThe FTSE 100 was steady after a renewed surge in oil prices as Donald Trump reinstated a blockade on Iranian ports.
Investors feel like they’ve hit rewind on a movie they didn’t enjoy first time round. The ability to get shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is once again compromised thanks to the renewed tensions between Tehran and Washington.
For...
13 July 2026
Daily market update: EasyJet and PageGroupGlobal stocks may be falling off the back of renewed tensions between the US and Iran, but the FTSE 100 is an exception thanks to its chunky energy sector exposure.
Index heavyweights BP and Shell are beneficiaries of a concerted move higher in oil prices. This upwards shift in crude reflects concern about the fate of the fragile truce between...
10 July 2026
Daily market update: EasyJet, Vodafone, SK Hynix, HaysMarkets were in a calmer frame of mind at the end of the trading week, with gains across much of Asia and Europe, and oil prices easing back.
Vodafone soared after a major shareholder change, taking BT along for the ride. Miners were also in demand as investors regained their risk appetite. Among mid-caps, EasyJet flew higher as a new party entered...
9 July 2026
Daily market update: AstraZeneca's latest updateAstraZeneca’s latest update was more bitter than sweet as it said the drugs don’t work.
A setback for a promising treatment knocked its share price for six and acted as a major drag on the FTSE 100.
It meant the UK market was the only major European index to be in the red as others including the Dax and CAC 40 staged a comeback after yesterday’s...
8 July 2026
Daily market update: Vistry and Jet2The best performing country index year-to-date is now in a bear market. It’s a bizarre situation where investors backing this index could have made huge money in the first six months of the year, yet suffered a big drop in recent weeks.
Someone who bought a fund tracking South Korea’s Kospi index at the start of 2026 would have made a 116% return...
26 June 2026
Where investors won and lost in the first half of 2026Companies on the receiving end of the AI spending boom were the winning investments in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile Bitcoin was a shocker, gold lost its shine, and IT services and consulting shares were among the names eaten alive by AI displacement fears.
There was an IPO boom in the US, with a drone software company proving to be a...
24 June 2026
Daily market update: Markets calm, Segro, Prologis, BerkeleyWhile a red day on Wall Street on Tuesday put investors on edge, it didn’t trigger contagion across global markets.
The Nasdaq fell 2.2% and the Vix measure of volatility jumped 13%, prompting investors to worry if we’re on the cusp of a new market meltdown. Fortunately, Asian and European markets showed resilience on Wednesday and helped to settle...
24 June 2026
Global and country fund winners: standout performers by marketWhile there is significant choice for ways to invest around the world, the number of actively managed funds that have comfortably beaten the market is much smaller.
There is no guarantee this elite group of funds will always outperform, yet it can be useful to explore which ones have shone on a long-term basis. Funds can have a good year, but to...
