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 March 2023
Tracker funds dominate ISA seasonThis ISA season has been well and truly owned by tracker funds, which goes to show that the passive fund industry is still advancing onto the turf of active managers. Eight out of the ten most popular funds with AJ Bell’s ISA investors so far this year are passive. Active managers will be hoping ISA investors are just using trackers to gain quick...
11 August 2022
How to invest through a recessionThe Bank of England is now forecasting a long UK recession, beginning at the end of this end of this year, which is expected to last throughout 2023.
The UK economy is heading for recession, but investors can take some consolation from the fact that the Bank of England’s doom-laden forecast barely caused a ripple on the stock market. That’s because...
8 July 2022
Best and worst performing funds, shares and sectors for H1 2022The most notable thing about DIY investors’ behaviour in the last six months is their readiness to buy the market dip using tracker funds. Investors piled into passive funds focusing on the US and Global stockmarkets, areas which have seen some of the sharpest falls in 2022. Eight of the ten most popular funds bought on the AJ Bell Youinvest...
13 April 2022
How to navigate the ESG mazeThe performance tide has turned against ESG funds of late, as growth stocks have floundered, and oil and gas companies have profited from rising energy prices. That won’t stop money flowing into responsible investments though. There is genuine consumer demand for these products, and the investment industry has sunk a lot of marketing dollars into...
30 March 2022
Early bird vs last minute ISA investorsStocks and shares ISA savers can broadly be split into three groups – regular savers, early birds, and last minute investors. Right now, last minute ISA investors will be contemplating what to do with this year’s ISA allowance, while at the same time, early birds will be waiting for 6th April to roll around, so they can fill up next year’s ISA...
30 March 2022
Most popular investments for last minute ISAsAs we hurtle towards the end of the tax year, last minute ISA investors have been demonstrating their devotion to a global investment strategy. Of the ten most popular funds with AJ Bell Youinvest ISA customers in March, eight were funds with a broad global remit.
Only one of the top ten invests predominantly in UK equities, which highlights the...
25 March 2022
ISA performance since 1999 provides reassurance for investors todayThere can’t have been many worse times to invest than when the ISA was first launched in 1999, just before the dot com crash prompted a deep and prolonged bear market. Indeed, the FTSE 100 took fifteen years to regain the level it stood at just before the turn of the century. However, early ISA investors have experienced the healing power of time...
9 March 2022
Most popular ISA investments of 2022 so farISA investors are keeping the faith with Fundsmith Equity and Scottish Mortgage, despite some lower performance in the first two months of this year. Scottish Mortgage fell by 25% and Fundsmith Equity fell by 13%, which compares to a 7% fall in the MSCI World Index over January and February. All active approaches will go through periods of...
7 March 2022
The funds and trusts that have made an ISA millionBecoming an ISA millionaire requires a steadfast commitment to making the most of your ISA allowance each year, but you also need to invest your money wisely. Only 14 funds and 22 investment trusts would have made you an ISA millionaire if you had invested your full ISA allowance year in, year out, since 1999. That equates to just 4% of funds and...
7 March 2022
Almost half of crypto investors don’t have an ISANew consumer research from AJ Bell* suggests that a high proportion of crypto investors are jumping in at the deep end of the risk spectrum, and bypassing the basic building blocks of a financial plan. ISAs and pensions are valuable tools that consumers can use to grow their wealth, but these are being ignored by a large swathe of the crypto...
