Investing strategies

Funds are an excellent starting point for investors as they can remove the need to research dozens of potential investments.

Behavioural economics, behavioural finance and neuro-economics are now familiar terms in the world of finance, but how can you apply these principles to trading?

Behavioural economics, behavioural finance and neuro-economics are now familiar terms in the world of finance, but how can you apply these principles to trading?

Behavioural economics, behavioural finance and neuro-economics are now familiar terms in the world of finance, but how can you apply these principles to trading?

It is not just the home that can benefit from a spring clean, it makes sense to sharpen up your investment portfolio too to make sure it still aligns with your long-term goals.

At its most basic, having a diversified portfolio is simply the investment version of the phrase ‘don’t put all of your eggs in one basket’.

Investing your money always involves an element of risk but investors have a wide variety of both higher risk and lower risk investments to choose from. At times of economic or market uncertainty ‘defensive’ stocks typically increase in popularity.

Keep more of your return with trackers. In the last two decades it has become possible for the likes of you or I to gain exposure to the markets without facing the hefty charges involved in buying actively managed funds.

Gold, which has limited industrial applications, tends to be in demand during periods of economic or geopolitical strife when inflation threatens paper currencies or there are significant falls in bond and equity markets.

What is the difference? Both active and passive funds allow you to buy a basket of different investments in one single purchase. However, they do have one important difference. An active fund employs a fund manager to invest in stocks that might outperform the stock market as a whole. In contrast, a passive fund simply attempts to replicate the performance of an index, for example the FTSE 100, rather than outperform it. Passive funds are often known as ‘tracker funds’ because their aim is to

With so many exchange trade funds (ETFs) to choose from, sometimes it helps to have the choices narrowed down. In our latest guide investment experts, BlackRock, suggest five ways you can use ETFs to gain access to multiple companies, across multiple countries and regions and across multiple asset classes to help diversify your investments and spread your risk.

The one key thing you need to know about your ISA is the deadline. If you don’t use your 2019-20 allowance by 5 April, you lose it. You can put up to £20,000 in an ISA in the current tax year. If you can afford to do that every year you can work out how much your tax-free fund will be worth after five or 10 years.

A performance horizon of five years is generally accepted as a good barometer for a fund’s overall success. A one-year time scale isn’t long enough to judge whether a fund looks like a good long term bet for your money.

When it comes to dividends, understanding the difference between dividend yield and dividend growth can be a key factor when deciding what companies to invest in. Dividend yield is calculated by dividing the annual dividend paid per individual share by the current share price

When you’re looking for help with investing for later life, having a diverse portfolio can be a great option for managing risk and benefitting from long-term value. Get yourself on the right path for your investment management journey by providing exposure to a diverse range of asset classes in one go.

For many people, the ability to achieve a regular income from investments is important. This may be particularly relevant for people who are retired and no longer have a monthly pay packet to rely on and are looking to achieve financial freedom, while other people require their investment to pay out regularly to cover a regular commitment such as school or university fees.

Impact investing (so-called because the stocks and funds on offer have a positive impact on society, or the environment, or both) is fast gaining followers, not just for its morally virtuous stance, but for the returns, too.

While most funds on the market are what are known as open-end funds, or mutual funds, there is another option that has become exceptionally popular in recent years. Investment trusts have traditionally been less popular than mutual funds, but this is changing. Recent figures from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) show that investments in these trusts reached record levels in the last twelve months.