Economic and market insight
Review of the week
Review of the week: The king of viruses?
An aggressive flu has disrupted the Chinese New Year and put the world on high alert. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth thinks it’s a bit early to panic, but that could soon be overtaken by a fast-moving virus.
6 mins
Review of the week: America first
China and the US have signed a one-sided trade deal that has got investors excited about the year ahead. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth notes recession concerns have been well and truly supplanted.
6 mins
Review of the week: Sky rockets in flight
Stock markets went bananas last year as China and the US appeared to finally agree on trade. But then the killing of a top Iranian general set off geopolitical fireworks. Chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth mulls the consequences.
7 mins
Review of the week : A Christmas Carol
Boris Johnson has won a strong mandate to get on with his Brexit deal, sending sterling shooting higher. But there’s something unusual going on with UK stocks, notes chief investment officer Julian Chillingworth.
5 mins
Crunch time (again)
We don’t know about you, but over the past year or so we got into the habit of buying our travel money extremely far in advance of holidays.
7 mins
2020: the year ahead. Maybe?
Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, consults the tea leaves as he prepares for a new decade.
2 mins
Boris gets it done
This election result – a vote for Brexit and against socialism – is just as seismic as the referendum, argues head of multi-asset investments David Coombs. But CEOS can’t relax, capitalism has to change to survive.
2 mins
The origins of capitalism: a privilege with a purpose
The idea of responsible capitalism is topical, and its merits widely debated today, but it isn’t a new concept. Taking a look back at the origins of capitalism shows us that it has roots in a social contract with a sense of purpose. With roots like these, there’s great opportunity for advisers to help their clients embrace healthy and responsible capitalism to address today’s urgent challenges.
4 mins
Sleepless in Harwich
Two times a dad, our multi-asset investment specialist Craig Brown is finding it hard to learn old lessons. Like with investments, sometimes it’s painful when you just can’t leave things be…
2 mins
Do turkeys vote for Christmas?
Misinformation is rampant ahead of the UK election, as if things weren’t chaotic enough. Multi-Asset Portfolio Fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte worries about what plans the politicians may be hiding and how markets will react to the eventual result.
4 mins
What responsible investment looks like
Rathbones’ stewardship director Matt Crossman explains the Principles for Responsible Investing and how we’ve been putting them into practice over the past 10 years.
3 mins
Making a better world, and a profit
Rathbones’ head of asset allocation Edward Smith explains why he believes that responsible capitalism is in every long-term investor’s self-interest – even if they don’t care about the societal benefits.
3 mins
FAANGs for the memory
A jokey present from Christmas past comes back to haunt David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. As the nights lengthen, he spooks himself by pondering the meaning of ‘tech’.
3 mins
Be clear, be trustworthy
Brits are on board with investing sustainably to make the world a better place, but impenetrable jargon and complicated processes are preventing them from doing so. We need to try harder to speak their language, says Rathbone Global Sustainability Fund manager David Harrison.
3 mins
Time to buckle up
New threats require new defences. Our head of multi-asset investments David Coombs explains how he’s filling the sandbags to protect his funds against a populist storm.
4 mins
No-deal panic in Purton
As Brexit uncertainty descends into the ridiculous, head of multi-asset investments David Coombs finds himself in the strange position of hoping for a no-deal to bring some clarity.
2 mins
Roadkill II
It can be hard to spot the time flowing by as the days roll into weeks and months into years, laments multi-asset fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte. And you’d better be careful, he warns, because inflation works just the same way.
3 mins