Russ Mould is AJ Bell's Investment Director. He has a Master's degree in Modern History from the University of Oxford and more than 30 years' experience of the capital markets.
He started out at Scottish Equitable in 1991 as a fund manager, where he had responsibility for the Nordic and Swiss equity markets. In 1993, Russ joined SG Warburg, now part of UBS investment bank, and worked there as an equity analyst covering the technology sectors for 12 years. He has also worked on IPOs and M&A deals. Russ was voted best analyst in the semiconductor sector in 2001 by Institutional Investor and reached the level of Managing Director in 2003 when he became head of UBS' global semiconductor research effort.
A member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (MSCI), Russ is responsible for providing written and video content for customers and clients. He also helps to build the company’s profile in print and broadcast media as part of AJ Bell's wider PR and brand team, working alongside the Investment Committee.
Russ joined Shares Magazine as technology correspondent in 2005 and took on the post of Editor in 2008. He was appointed as AJ Bell's Investment Director in 2013 following the company's acquisition of Shares' parent company, MSM Media. Russ regularly creates content across the AJ Bell website, including the Daily Market Update and Chart of the Week, and he hosts his own 'Breaking the Mould' weekly video series.
Outside of work, Russ is a qualified cricket coach, Italian speaker and avid fan of Doctor Who and NFL.
15 April 2025
FTSE 100, luxury brands, Halfords, B&M“The FTSE 100 made a strong start to proceedings on Tuesday after comments from US Vice President JD Vance that there’s a ‘good chance’ of a UK-US trade deal,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Suggestions there might also be a softening of tariffs on the motoring sector also helped lift the mood – with names which have sold off most...
14 April 2025
Gold, Goldman Sachs, Wood Group“An announcement slipped out quietly late on Friday exempting smartphones and other electronic goods and components from reciprocal tariffs is making a big noise in the markets on Monday,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Asian stocks made meaningful advances on the show of flexibility and European markets opened firmly higher too...
10 April 2025
Daily market update: Trump tariffs, European stocks, China trade war, Tesco“If you felt a bit of a breeze around 6.30pm UK time last night it was probably the cumulative effect of countless global investors breathing a massive sigh of relief,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“News that the particularly punishing ‘reciprocal’ tariffs introduced by the Trump administration would be put on hold saw substantial...
9 April 2025
US shares touch ‘bear market’ territory: What this meansThe thirteenth modern-day ‘bull market’ in America’s S&P 500 may give way to the thirteenth ‘bear market,’ although the benchmark has started to try and return to safety.
Bear markets occur when a market drops over 20% from its peak price, while a bull market is the rising counterpart. The good news is that bear markets tend to be much shorter than...
9 April 2025
Daily market update: European stocks, Saga, Assura“Yesterday’s fragile recovery in stocks has been shattered by renewed selling as reciprocal tariffs on what the Trump administration regards as the ‘worst offenders’ comes into effect,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Investors had initially taken some positives from a willingness in the White House to negotiate with Japan and Israel...
1 April 2025
FTSE 100 dividend growth expected to resume after nearly flat 2024Even after a wobbly start to March, the FTSE 100 continues to confound both the doubters and those who think that stock markets start and end in New York.
The index has, thus far, added to its 6% capital return and double-digit percentage total return, as the US has started to lag on the global stage.
Whether this trend continues or not remains to...
21 March 2025
Daily market update: JD Sports, Nike, ASOS, Wetherspoons“The FTSE 100 fell after more selling on Wall Street overnight and weakness in Asia as the Bank of China kept rates unchanged. This put pressure on the mining space given heavy Chinese consumption of commodities,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“Among the fallers was JD Sports Fashion as the retailer reacted to weak results from Nike...
14 February 2025
Gold hits a new all-time highThis year’s record highs in the US, UK and German stock markets continue to make headlines, but another, much more unsung asset is also breaking new ground and that is gold, which hit $2,942 an ounce on 11 February.
The metal’s 44% surge in the past year has even outpaced the 31% increase in the combined valuation of the so-called ‘Magnificent...
13 February 2025
Daily market update: British American Tobacco, Barclays, Unilever“A surprise uptick in the UK economy gave a glimmer of hope to consumer-facing stocks, with JD Sports, EasyJet, Howden Joinery and Taylor Wimpey all moving higher,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“A 0.4% positive reading in December is better than the 0.1% growth forecast by economists, but it’s hardly cause for major celebration...
24 January 2025
Trump’s second term: will it be the same or different for markets?Financial markets seem to be looking back fondly upon Donald J. Trump's first four-year term in the White House and hoping for more of the same. Trump's victory in the 2016 election was initially greeted with trepidation, and the US government bond market feels less enthusiastic this time around. On the flip side equities, the dollar and Bitcoin...
