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.
24 June 2021
Liontrust IPO puts investment trusts in the ESG spotlightA couple of high profile investment trust launches failed to get off the ground last year, but Liontrust has a few aces up its sleeve. The vaccine roll-out has delivered a significant boost to investor confidence, and Liontrust is launching this trust in the ESG space, where we know there is a lot of demand right now. Liontrust already has a well...
13 May 2021
How to shelter investments from an inflation stormThe latest US inflation figures for April are worrying, though we need to bear in mind that April 2020 was a weird month, where the first wave of the pandemic was in full swing, and the price of some US oil contracts fell below zero. Nonetheless, markets are rattled by the prospect of rising inflation, and we could be witnessing the start of a new...
14 April 2021
From Pfizer to freedom – the vaccine effect on marketsIt’s now six months since Pfizer announced the success of its vaccine trials, a moment which marked a hugely significant victory in the battle against the coronavirus. Here in the UK, the economy is now beginning to open up, and a strong recovery is expected this year. Looking back, the arrival of vaccines clearly prompted an inflection point in...
9 April 2021
Best performing funds and investment trusts Q1The first quarter of the year saw a resurgence of some areas of the market which have been badly beaten up by the pandemic, as investors look forward to life beyond covid. A number of funds even UK shopping centres posted a decent quarter of performance, though the REITs Drum and Hammerson are still significantly down on their pre-pandemic levels.
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8 April 2021
The most popular investments in Last Minute ISAsBaillie Gifford may be losing James Anderson, but they have won ISA season. They dominate the leader board when it comes to both the most popular funds and investment trusts chosen by last minute ISA investors. The strong performance of many of these funds can be partly attributed to the stellar rise of Tesla, which is included in many Baillie...
24 March 2021
Lockdown cash could deliver a £24,235 Junior ISA boostTaken together, the ISA allowances have never been as generous as they are this year, thanks to the Junior ISA allowance more than doubling to £9,000. This means that in the next month, a family of four could put £116,000 out of the clutches of the taxman, using the allowances for this year and next. Each parent has a £20,000 allowance to use by...
15 March 2021
Are Cash ISA savers holding too much cash?New consumer research* by Opinium for AJ Bell shows Cash ISA savers are holding high levels of cash, and aren’t switching accounts looking for better rates, partly because they think they’re getting more interest than they probably are.
We know that since the start of the pandemic, many savers have been all cashed up with nowhere to go. But our...
8 March 2021
Most popular AJ Bell Youinvest ISA funds, shares and investment trusts in 2021Some fund investors have been going for growth in their AJ Bell Youinvest ISA so far this year, filling their tax shelters with a raft of offerings from Baillie Gifford, and of course, the ubiquitous Fundsmith Equity. Rival growth fund Lindsell Train Global Equity looks to have declined in popularity this year, not making the top ten in January and...
5 March 2021
Who wants to be an ISA millionaire?Today’s ISA millionaires have shown a definite preference for investing in individual shares rather than funds, with 83% of their portfolios sitting in stocks, compared with just 14% held in pooled funds.* Those with larger amounts in their ISA may be better placed to take the higher risks associated with investing in individual equities, and have...
2 March 2021
What does the March Budget hold in store?The tussle between economic stagnation and combustion leaves the Chancellor performing a high wire tight rope act in next week’s Budget. On one side lies spiralling government debt and potentially rampant inflation, on the other side, a faltering economy, and more job losses.
The Budget is likely to remain focused more on providing support for the...
