This week’s AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast takes a closer look at the key items from Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Spring Statement.

There were big changes to economic and inflation forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility. However, the Chancellor insisted her longer-term plans were still intact – namely, to bring public finances under control and drive growth in the economy.

Laura Suter, Charlene Young and Dan Coatsworth analyse the major announcements in the Spring Statement and how they will impact your money. They also chat about key areas that were missing from the Spring Statement and whether they might be coming later on – or not at all, given what the Chancellor has just announced.

The team talk savings, investments, pensions, ISAs, mortgages and how markets reacted to the news.

In the second instalment of our Deep Dive series, AJ Bell Money & Markets explores Artificial Intelligence, one of the biggest technological advancements of our era which threatens to change the world we live in, and which has already created a huge amount of value in financial markets. 

(01:16) Steve Frazer, technology writer for Shares magazine introduces us to the basics of AI and explains what the recent arrival of the Chatbot DeepSeek means for other AI players. 

(12:45) Next up we speak to Stephen Yiu, fund manager of the Blue Whale Growth fund, who has made a lot of money from his investment in Nvidia, the poster child for AI, and from technology stocks more broadly. But now he’s selling down his stake in Microsoft, we find out why. 

(34:51) Of course, some people think the stock market is in a bubble. Rob Arnott of Research Affiliates, is in that camp. Commonly referred to as the Godfather of Smart Beta, Rob gives his view on market developments and tells us why he thinks US stocks are overvalued 

(51:40) Finally we catch up with Chris Ford, fund manager of the Sanlam Global Artificial Intelligence fund, who tells us why 60% of his fund is invested outside the tech sector. 

In the second instalment of our Deep Dive series, AJ Bell Money & Markets explores Artificial Intelligence, one of the biggest technological advancements of our era which threatens to change the world we live in, and which has already created a huge amount of value in financial markets. 

(01:16) Steve Frazer, technology writer for Shares magazine introduces us to the basics of AI and explains what the recent arrival of the Chatbot DeepSeek means for other AI players. 

(12:45) Next up we speak to Stephen Yiu, fund manager of the Blue Whale Growth fund, who has made a lot of money from his investment in Nvidia, the poster child for AI, and from technology stocks more broadly. But now he’s selling down his stake in Microsoft, we find out why. 

(34:51) Of course, some people think the stock market is in a bubble. Rob Arnott of Research Affiliates, is in that camp. Commonly referred to as the Godfather of Smart Beta, Rob gives his view on market developments and tells us why he thinks US stocks are overvalued 

(51:40) Finally we catch up with Chris Ford, fund manager of the Sanlam Global Artificial Intelligence fund, who tells us why 60% of his fund is invested outside the tech sector. 

In this week's episode we bring you up to date on the latest US and UK interest rate decisions.(00:14)

Danni Hewson and Charlene Young discuss why the gold price has reached another record high, why possible price wars are taking a bite out of the value of UK-listed supermarkets, and the latest updates from tech firm Trustpilot and defence group Qinetic.(03:19)

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould joins the team to debate the choppy US markets and give his views the Trump slump and the not-so Magnificent Seven.(17:21)

Tom Sieber from Shares Magazine talks about stock splits – what they are, and why they matter to investors.(30:03)

Charlene also rifles through the latest ONS inflation basket – VR headsets and yoga mats are in but gammon joints and cafeteria lunches are out.(35:14)

If you’re trying to understand the turmoil on the markets, don’t miss this week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast. Dan Coatsworth explains what’s going on, what might happen next, and how to keep your cool. [01:13]

This podcast is our ISA special: we’ve gone all out on explaining the pros and cons of Individual Savings Accounts.

Laura Suter and Charlene Young join Dan in weighing up the range of ISAs currently available and whether they are still fit for purpose. They talk Stocks & Shares ISAs, Cash ISAs, Junior ISAs, Innovative Finance ISAs and Lifetime ISAs. [04:24]

Tom Selby reclaims his crown as the podcast taskmaster and brings back the legendary ISA quiz. [14:27]

Want to know where other investors have been putting their ISA money this year? Dan reveals the top selections and talks through some interesting trends. [24:06]

Everyone would love to be an ISA millionaire, but how hard is it to hit the goal? Laura does the maths. [28:15]

We’ve had loads of listener questions come in, so the team tackle three burning ISA issues: which is better: an ISA or a pension? [31:31]; what is a Bed & ISA and should I bother with it? [34:50]; and how does the taxman know if I’m over the £20,000 ISA allowance? [36:52]

Finally, our special guest this week is Craig Baker from the team behind the £4.7 billion Alliance Witan investment trust. Its first results since the merger have just come out and Dan talks to Craig about performance and what Alliance Witan is trying to achieve longer term. [39:27]

On this episode of the AJ Bell money and markets podcast Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson assess the impact on markets after Donald Trump brought in 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Is a global trade war inevitable and have investors been caught on the hop because of the President’s unpredictability or is it a storm set to fizzle out. [02:10]  As the global order shifts European countries are expected to spend more on defence which helped lift the FTSE 100 to a record high earlier in the week, the team from Shares magazine deliver a deep dive into company making gains, BAE Systems. [13:30]

Pasty purveyor Greggs was flavour of the month with investors, but growth has slowed significantly, can the company’s focus on healthy options and evening grub help it get its mojo back? [22:20) Changes to listing rules are in the offing with the FTSE Russell accepting companies with a Euro or Dollar share price from September so what might that mean for London markets. [28:30] AJ Bell’s Head of Public Policy Rachel Vahey joins us to talk about the fast-approaching deadline if you need to top up your qualifying National Insurance contributions [32:36] and the sub 4% mortgage is back with 5 major lenders cutting mortgage deals. [39:20]