Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: Here we go again
England will soon plunge back into lockdown. It shouldn’t be as economically painful as the first time around, says chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth. But it won’t be good.
8 mins
Review of the week: The spooky season
Halloween is stuffed full of potential frights this year and a bit light on the fun. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth tiptoes around Brexit, US elections and earnings season.
6 mins
Review of the week: Sliced and diced
We all try to structure our financial affairs as efficiently as possible, so we have more money to do what we want with our lives. Yet sometimes our financial affairs start to affect the structure of our lives and our communities, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
8 mins
Review of the week: Predicting the unpredictable
Biden has taken the edge in the polls but previous experience begs the question: do polls really matter? Our chief investment officer, Julian Chillingworth, mulls the possible outcomes of the US election and the effectiveness of the UK government’s spending packages.
6 mins
Review of the week: Computer says no
The government started the fourth quarter with the political equivalent of a kitchen-sinking. Best to focus your attention elsewhere, argues chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth, like better-than expected economic data and the potential for monetary stimulus.
5 mins
Review of the week: Time flies
There’s so much going on that it can seem like nothing in isolation makes any difference. That’s not true, argues chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth. Every decision matters.
6 mins
Review of the week: Post-holiday blues
As winter approaches, the news looks glum. Yet we should take heart from our ability to adapt, argues chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
7 mins
Review of the week: Balancing act
The infectiousness of COVID-19 means economic growth is often bundled with new cases. Governments, people and businesses have to make hard choices, argues chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth, and the conundrum isn’t going away soon.
6 mins
Review of the week: Otherwise fine
As summer winds down and the pandemic persists, governments are finding it hard to taper their support measures. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth is chipper enough, albeit with an umbrella under his arm.
7 mins
Review of the week: White House rescue
Congress failed to seal a benefit extension for unemployed Americans or figure out how to support cash-strapped states as the summer recess looms. It fell to the President to come up with a contested stopgap.
7 mins
Review of the week: Control the message
Corporate results fared well during lockdowns, yet they are still well below pre-pandemic levels. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth examines why gold has hit record highs and why ‘riskier’ banks have done better than vanilla ones.
7 mins
Review of the week: Foxes and storks
Investors have piled into gold as the reality of US-China diplomacy starts to resemble Aesop’s fabled fox and stork. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth also ponders whether US tech shares are priced for perfection as he looks ahead to some big earnings results this week.
5 mins
Time to shape up
After months of selfie cuts and ad hoc trims, investment specialist Craig Brown’s hair is in chronic need of expert help. As businesses come out of the other side of lockdown, they’re likely to be in a similar situation.
3 mins
A long voyage in search of greener lands
After years of dragging its feet over green gilts, the UK government says it’s ready to take the plunge. Our Ethical Bond Fund manager Bryn Jones welcomes the talk, but awaits the action.
5 mins
The price of everything, the value of nothing in fund management
Sparring with travel providers over COVID kerfuffles brings home the importance of customer service for head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. For him, it’s worth paying for.
4 mins
Beware passively seeking yield
Helping clients find income has been a tough gig for many years now, yet pandemic-induced dividend cuts have made that task even harder. Business development executive Julianne Smith explains why chasing yield in ETFs could be painful.
3 mins
Running hot on climate change
The thermometers are popping all over the country, so our mad head of fixed income decides to do a marathon. Bryn Jones takes action on climate change and assesses the US.
3 mins
When a habit becomes a trend
His heart is in Santorini, his head is in rural Wiltshire and his cash is in the freezer. Head of multi-asset investments David Coombs grapples with lockdown realities and the changes they could bring to shopping.
4 mins
A big fat magic marker
Confusion reigns because of the sheer amount of information flying around us. Yet all that activity should bring us comfort as it's helping fight the pandemic and its economic effects, argues head of fixed income Bryn Jones.
3 mins
The case for UK equity income
The pandemic and the global lockdowns to combat its spread have raised havoc with UK dividends. Yet that very disruption could lead to better managed companies and more sustainable dividends, argues Income Fund manager Carl Stick.
4 mins
A central bank fairy tale
Lockdown was much different back in the 1970s – we didn’t even know we were in lockdown. Our head of fixed income Bryn Jones thinks we’ve come a long way over his lifetime.
5 mins
Testing times
A DIY COVID-19 antibody test takes a lot out of our multi-asset portfolios fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte. Cleaning up the mess, he’s reminded of why becoming an armchair expert is dangerous for investors.
4 mins
How technology can improve air quality
When people think about sustainable investing, they often focus on just the narrow topic of how a company itself operates in an environmentally friendly manner. But sustainability is about more than a business’s immediate environmental impact. David Harrison explores the pivotal role tech is playing during the pandemic.
4 mins
Curve goes down, curve goes up
A flattening COVID-19 infection curve is steepening bond yield curves. Head of fixed income Bryn Jones wrestles with the outlook for inflation and the chances of another flare-up of COVID-19.
3 mins