Martin Gamble is Shares and Markets writer at AJ Bell. He was previously the Education Editor of Shares Magazine. He has been with the business since 2019.
Martin graduated from the University of Kent in 1984 with an accounting degree.
He has extensive financial markets experience gained through managing UK and European equity portfolios for institutions including Hermes Investment Management, Manulife Financial and Royal Bank of Canada.
While at Manulife Financial the funds Martin managed were consistently in the top quartile which was recognised with a ‘Stars of Excellence’ award.
Martin subsequently headed up the fund management business for Royal Bank of Canada in London.
Outside of work, Martin likes long distance hiking and playing Backgammon.
17 April 2026
Building a rounded portfolioWhen an investor is first setting up their portfolio, they are usually asking themselves some basic questions, like how much risk they are comfortable taking and what goal they are trying to achieve.
For example, if you are uncomfortable seeing the value of your investments move up and down a lot, then you are probably on the risk averse part of...
17 April 2026
Martin Gamble on US markets: US stocks hit record highs, Netflix slumpsUS markets continued their march upwards led by renewed enthusiasm for AI stocks and supported by growing optimism over a peaceful solution in the Middle East.
The S&P 500 breached 7,000 points for the first time with new all-time highs also seen in the Nasdaq Composite and Russell 2000 indices.
The S&P 500 has now gained 10% in just over 11...
16 April 2026
Vodafone is finally dialling up growth after years in the doldrumsAfter more than a decade in the doldrums Vodafone shares have shown a remarkable recovery, delivering more than 70% in total shareholder returns in just the last 12 months, making them one of the top 10 performing shares in the FTSE 100 index.
What has driven the strong performance?The UK’s biggest telecommunications group has cleaned up its once...
15 April 2026
UK stocks delivering good news you may have missedIt has been easy to miss UK companies delivering better than expected earnings and upgrading full-year outlooks in the last month of volatile market trading.
Yet despite the turmoil, in some cases, these positive bits of news led to double-digit share price increases and prompted analysts to upgrade their earnings estimates.
This is interesting...
10 April 2026
Martin Gamble on US markets: Ceasefire bounce and Netflix previewWall Street enjoyed a healthy bounce following the announcement of a temporary ceasefire in the Middle East. The technology-led Nasdaq Composite and smaller companies-focused Russell 2000 index led the gains.
These interest rate sensitive parts are of the market were buoyed by a fall in 10-year government bond yields.
The odds of interest rate...
9 April 2026
Discover the UK market’s inflation-busting dividend growersDividends play a crucial role in wealth creation. A study by Hartford Funds showed they contribute almost half of shareholder total returns (share price gains plus dividends) over the long run.
Some of the best shareholder returns are generated by companies that can consistently grow dividends ahead of inflation. These tend to be high-quality...
9 April 2026
Five years from retirement: What you need to consider nowIt can be equally exciting and unnerving to think about your retirement day, but it is more of a process than a finish line.
After spending decades thinking about how to grow your pension pot, you reach a point where you might want to switch gears, instead putting more weight on preserving your wealth and generating income to support retirement...
8 April 2026
Lottery spending versus investingIf you are one of the millions of people who spend regularly on lotteries or prize draws, you might have wondered at some point what that money could have grown to if it was invested instead.
By our calculations, after 20 years, you might have enough cash to put down a deposit on a house, pay for student fees or accumulate a significant supplement...
3 April 2026
Marks & Spencer is the latest UK firm to take on the US market challengeThe story of well-known British brands looking to expand into the US is a chequered one, to say the least, which is why it is often referred to as a ‘graveyard of British dreams’.
The appeal is obvious; the US is the world’s largest economy and consumer market by a distance.
But, from Sainsbury’s New-England-based store chain Shaw’s in the late...
1 April 2026
Why have bonds not protected investors during the Middle East crisis?Bonds have historically provided shelter and ballast to portfolios during times of market uncertainty because of their stable fixed income.
That has not happened over the last month because the shock to stock markets has come from rising energy prices. Something which is likely to lead to higher inflation.
The worry is that central banks might be...
