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.
21 August 2015
What China’s currency move could mean for your portfolioChina’s move to let its currency, the yuan, slide by some 3% to 4% against the US dollar has potentially huge ramifications for investors’ portfolios, even if the move itself can hardly be described as huge. The yuan has gently appreciated for more than a decade although that process may now have come to a halt.
Chinese’s currency fall against the...
12 August 2015
How to spot a blowing bubbleIt is very rare for this column to be lost for words but it does sometimes happen. A recent presentation at a school in Brighton, given to classes of 14-15 year olds on the subject of “how the stock market works”, came to a crashing halt when confronted by the question: “Since it’s so easy to spot a bubble after the fact, why can’t people do so...
12 August 2015
Why the slump in commodity prices mattersMarkets continue to focus on when the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England will raise interest rates, by how much and for how long. Yet last month’s Federal Open Markets Committee passed by with chair Janet Yellen offering no more clarity than before, as the carefully constructed minutes left all options open to America’s monetary policy...
31 July 2015
Why clients may yearn for Japan despite the yenThe scrapping of a proposed $2 billion design for the 2020 Olympic Stadium in Tokyo and a corporate accounting scandal at the giant Toshiba conglomerate put Japan firmly back in the headlines. Even if this is not the sort of news that Prime Minister Shinzō Abe would rather not be making, his “Three Arrows” reform package continues to chime with...
22 July 2015
What a US rate rise could mean for marketsAccording to Benjamin Franklin “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” but it is another American who currently dominates markets’ attentions, at least when it comes to rates of return. All eyes are on the chair of the US Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen as the central bank’s policy makers prepare themselves for meetings on 28-29 July and...
22 July 2015
What we can all learn from China’s stock market slideYou may well be aware of the extraordinary movement seen over the past month – indeed the past year - in the Chinese equity market. Whether you have any holdings or not, via funds, exchange-traded funds or London-listed Chinese stocks, there are clear lessons which we can all draw from the stunning rise and sudden collapse in the Shanghai and...
10 July 2015
How the Greek crisis could affect portfoliosWhile the result of the Greek referendum (5 July) looks dramatic, particularly given the huge margin of victory recorded by those who campaigned against acceptance of the latest European Union bail-out and reforms proposal, in reality it changes little.
For his part, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is arguing this strengthens his hand when it...
9 July 2015
What the Summer Budget means for your savings and investmentsChancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s Summer Budget is a boon for political commentators, economists and historians alike, as all will have plenty to debate, given his emphasis on hard work, low tax, the Northern Powerhouse and One Nation Toryism. But more practically, there is a lot for savers and investors to digest too after the release...
6 July 2015
Greece is the wordGreece's failure to repay €1.5 billion owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 30 June may have only a limited economic impact on the Eurozone (unless you are Greek) but its wider effect on financial markets and investors' portfolios remains harder to judge.
The uncertainty may help to explain why the FTSE All-Share has just had its...
3 July 2015
Macro and multi-asset funds look to make the headlinesIn a year when we have already seen the Swiss franc rocket, crude oil prices bounce and sovereign bond prices gyrate horribly investors could be forgiven for feeling exhausted as we approach the summer holiday season. Yet the ongoing Greek drama, an abrupt correction in Chinese stocks and debate over the timing and speed of interest rate rises in...
