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.
7 December 2017
World Investment Outlook - Chapter four: AsiaIt is hard to believe that the 19th Communist Party Congress in China, the fall and arrest of a President in Seoul and a hung Parliament in New Zealand could be so comprehensively overshadowed, but North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests managed precisely that in 2017.
The foreign policy of Kim Jong-un will remain front of mind for anyone with...
7 December 2017
World Investment Outlook - Chapter five: Western EuropeWhile by no means conclusive in laying to rest the threat posed by anti-EU parties, the Dutch, French and German elections of 2017 are encouraging leaders in Paris, Brussels and Berlin to press ahead with greater political and economic integration, rather than loosen existing ties. Even as the Brexit negotiations grind slowly on, the next big test...
7 December 2017
World Investment Outlook - Chapter six: Emerging MarketsElections in Mexico and Brazil will help to set the tone in Latin America in 2018, especially if those countries follow Argentina’s political drift to the right and its embrace of the market-friendly policies of President Mauricio Macri.
Politics also remains centre-stage in Eastern Europe, even if the result of March’s Presidential Election in...
30 November 2017
Three quick tests to make sure the US stock market isn’t a turkeyA relentless series of new all-time highs in benchmark stock indices such as the Dow Jones Industrials, S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite mean that America’s financial markets continue to write nearly as many headlines as its President.
Buoyed by hopes for growth-stimulating tax reform and ongoing faith in the US Federal Reserve’s ability to provide...
22 November 2017
How to assess whether infrastructure funds can be a useful portfolio assetThe concrete word “infrastructure” is regularly bandied about in conversations that cover the more nebulous term “productivity,” as economists and analysts alike try to fathom why certain economies and workforces seem to be more efficient than others.
But building new facilities or upgrading old ones can be expensive and time-consuming, so from...
16 November 2017
How to ensure rotation can keep portfolios fertile rather than fallowHe may have been in charge of foreign policy under George I, but eighteenth-century politician Charles Townshend is best known as ‘Turnip’ Townshend for his work in the field of agriculture. He introduced the four-crop field rotation system, as wheat, barley, clover and turnips were grown annually in order in enclosure. The system helped keep the...
9 November 2017
Why investors need to keep an eye on this most taxing of issuesThe kerfuffle caused by the Paradise Papers is unlikely to die down for some time as it shines a light on corporate behaviour that is not entirely flattering.
This column will not go into the ins and outs of the individual cases mentioned for fear of both entering a legal minefield and becoming embroiled in a debate which can be as much about...
26 October 2017
How to make sure portfolios do not get entangled in a web of technology stocksA couple of weeks ago this column mentioned a throwaway comment provided by a shrewd fund manager that: “There is no value in momentum [stocks] and no momentum in value [stocks].”
This issue has reared its head again, as this column has attended events hosted by
Schroders, Fidelity and M&G which have covered a range of topics from emerging...
18 October 2017
How to guard against a market crashMonday 19 October 1987 will live in the memory of investors as the day of Black Monday stock market crash. But this is not the only anniversary of note that has already been marked in 2017.
The Asian currency devaluations and debt crisis happened 20 years ago and we have just passed the tenth anniversary of the failure of Northern Rock.
Each date...
12 October 2017
Enter the DragonAt the start of 2017, India was the hottest topic in town when it came to Asian financial markets. Prime Minister Modi’s reform programme and falling interest rates were supposed to supplement helpful long-term demographics to provide strong corporate earnings and a soaring stock market.
For once, the consensus view was remarkably prescient. Mumbai...
