Laith Khalaf is AJ Bell's Head of Investment Analysis. He joined the company in 2020 and continues to explore the world of personal investing, providing research and analysis to both AJ Bell customers and the media. He has a degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge.
Laith is a leading industry commentator with over 20 years’ experience. As well as being a regular contributor to the financial pages of the national press, he’s a frequent guest on TV and radio, and for several years provided daily business bulletins on LBC.
He started his career in 2001 on the customer helpdesk of Hargreaves Lansdown, where he gained invaluable experience understanding what DIY investors wanted, and the range of investments and tax shelters they held. This was in the early days of DIY SIPPs and ISAs, and coincided with the tech crash, the split cap investment trust scandal and the aftermath of the Equitable Life collapse. Suffice to say there was no shortage of drama!
In 2007, Laith began to focus on research and analysis, initially within the pensions market, and quickly built a reputation for providing commentary and data for everyday investors and financial journalists. He then moved on to investment analysis, looking particularly at multi-asset funds, and selecting default funds for group pension schemes. You can find his comments in the national papers most weekends, and he is a frequent guest on AJ Bell’s Money & Markets podcast.
Outside of work, he likes to eat pistachio nuts and has become addicted to padel tennis.
30 October 2020
Fundsmith - simply the best?Fundsmith has been a tremendous success story both in terms of popularity and performance. Terry Smith has become the poster boy for active management and has broadened the appeal of selective investing at a time when low cost index trackers have bitten off a huge chunk of the funds market.
Fundsmith Equity’s quality growth approach has been in...
26 October 2020
Buffettology pulls investment trust IPO The Buffett name and the excellent performance record of Sanford DeLand simply hasn’t put enough bums on seats to get its UK smaller companies launch off the ground. Sentiment towards the UK market is at a low ebb and a resurgence of virus cases has further undermined confidence.Smaller companies tend to beat their big blue chip rivals over the...
22 October 2020
UK sustainable fund returns show performance doesn’t have to cost the earthGood Money Week kicks off on Saturday 24 October, in the midst of a bumper year for ethical fund sales and a snowballing spotlight on investing sustainably. But does investing according to your principles mean accepting a lower financial return?
To address this question AJ Bell has analysed funds with a 10 year performance record in the IA UK All...
14 October 2020
How to invest in a greener future like BoJoThere are broadly three ways in which people can push for a greener future without gluing themselves to the floor outside Downing Street - through who they vote for, what they consume and where they invest.
There is now a good range of sustainable funds available to UK investors and while still relatively small, the amount of money invested in...
13 October 2020
Unemployment hits three year highUnemployment isn’t high by historical standards, but the picture is clearly deteriorating. We’re beginning to see what the economic wound looks like as the bandage of furlough is gradually removed.
August was the month where employers started to pay towards the cost of furloughed employers - only employer National Insurance payments and pension...
