Laura Suter is AJ Bell's Director of Personal Finance. She joined the company in 2018 and is the go-to spokesperson on all things personal finance - from cash savings rates to saving for children and how to invest for the first time. Laura has a degree in Journalism Studies from the University of Sheffield.
Since joining the company, Laura has co-founded AJ Bell’s Money Matters campaign, which aims to help more women start their investing journey and close the gender investment gap. She writes articles for the campaign and co-hosts the Money Matters podcast.
Laura also co-hosts AJ Bell's weekly Money & Markets podcast, giving an update on all the investing and personal finance news of the week. She's regularly quoted in the national and trade press, as well as appearing on TV and radio. She speaks and presents at live events, ranging from AJ Bell roadshows to the company’s flagship investment conference, Investival, and Money Matters events.
Laura is a multi-award winning former financial journalist, having worked in this role for 10 years before joining AJ Bell. She was previously at the Daily Telegraph as an Investment Editor. During her time at the Telegraph, she was crowned the Headlinemoney Investment Journalist of the Year. She also worked for financial adviser publications Money Marketing and Money Management, as well as an investment publication in New York focusing on the hedge fund and private equity world.
3 February 2022
Five ways a rate hike will hit your financesThe Bank of England is expected to increase rates once again at its meeting this week, with the markets expecting interest rates to rise to 0.5%. What’s more, they expect three more increases this year, meaning that by Christmas 2022 we’ll have a base rate of 1.25%, if the expectations are to be believed.
Even a 25 percentage point increase to 0.5...
22 December 2021
New year, new finances: Five money resolutions for 2022January is a month where most people stay in, shun socialising and have a bit of spare time on their hands, so it’s the ideal time to tackle some of that boring life admin that you’ve been putting off. The bonus is that you could make a decent amount of money from tackling some of these tasks, which is often much-needed at the start of the year.
So...
18 November 2021
Inflation soars but what items have risen the most (and least) this year?Inflation has soared to a 10-year high and everyone is feeling the pinch, whether it’s in their weekly shop, their energy bills or when they’re heading out to buy a new car. But not everything has risen in price and some areas of our lives are getting pricier than others.
The single biggest price rise of the year will dismay DIY fans or anyone...
3 November 2021
Interest rate rise looms: 5 ways to beat the hikeThe Bank of England could raise rates this week and banks and mortgage companies have already been quick to pass on increases to customers, even before a rise has hit. As we face a cost of living squeeze, with inflation set to go higher and taxes increasing from next year, many households can ill afford any increase in their costs. But by taking...
27 October 2021
Junior ISA turns 10 – what could you have made and where are parents investing?As the Junior ISA approaches its tenth anniversary on 1 November, Laura Suter, Head of Personal Finance at AJ Bell, looks at how much investors could have made for their children and which funds are most popular:
“Many things haven’t changed in the past 10 years since the Junior ISA was launched – back in 2011 Adele was topping the charts, Kim...
29 September 2021
Men are more likely to have a secret savings pot - here's why that mattersMore men in a relationship have got secret savings from their partner than women – and they’ve put...
6 August 2021
CPI to hit 4% - How can savers beat inflationInflation is now the biggest monster that both savers and investors have to tackle, with 4% being a very lofty hurdle to reach before you make any positive returns. If the Bank of England soothsayers are correct we’ll see cash savers face further clobbers to their returns and a scramble to inflation-beating assets.
Cash savers have already been...
8 October 2020
First Child Trust Funds come of age – what are the options for those turning 18?From September 2020, anyone celebrating their 18th birthday could get a bonus birthday present as the first tranche of child trust funds mature. Child Trust Funds were available to children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, so the first ones mature this year, and it’s estimated that around 800,000 of the accounts will mature each...
20 August 2020
Woodford investors to receive a further £183mInvestors in the shuttered Woodford Equity Income fund will get their next tranche of money before the end of this month. Link has revealed that it will pay out just over £183m of cash to investors next week, following the sale of a number of assets. This payout adds to the £142m distribution made in March and the £2.1bn paid out in January and...
19 August 2020
UK house prices rose 2.6% in the year to AprilHouse prices rose in the year to April despite the mass shutdown of the housing market during the month. Prices rose by 2.6% in April, which was a slower pace than the previous month when they rose by 3.5%. The price rise is based on properties that completed in April, so many of the prices would have been agreed before the Covid-19 pandemic hit...
