Now we have had the Budget, I think this may alter my retirement planning strategy. The significant IHT (inheritance tax) pensions advantage has now gone (or will within two years). I am 74, have around £1.5 million in SIPPs largely untouched. I have fixed protection 2014, and my tax-free cash limit is £375,000 less £25,000 taken in 2024.In view of IHT advantages of pension (until the Budget) I

Consolidation is a growing theme across the investment trust sector against a backdrop of stubbornly-wide NAV (net asset value) discounts and increasing pressure on sub-scale funds.2024 is already a record year for M&A (mergers and acquisitions) in a sector which has just seen the eleventh such deal announced, the value-oriented Invesco Asia Trust (IAT) planning to combine with Asia Dragon Trust (

There was a certain degree of investor bemusement last month when shares in US electricity generation company Constellation Energy (CEG:NASDAQ) soared on news technology giant Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) had signed a 20-year power purchase agreement.This was no ordinary deal, however, as it paves the way for the restart of Three Mile Island 1 ? not the reactor which famously melted down in 1979, but a

Paul's very first taste of investing came when his employer, aerospace and defence company Rolls Royce (RR.), introduced an employee share scheme which gave him what seemed to be a low-risk way of getting exposure to its shares.It seemed low risk, explains Paul, because the scheme allowed employees to save a monthly or four weekly amount for five years and at the end of the period the savings and

Brazil's central bank went against the grain by announcing its first interest rate hike in two years in September 2024 on concerns that the more robust than anticipated levels of economic activity might stoke inflationary pressures. The door was left open to further increases.Higher rates are not always taken positively by equity markets and the MSCI Brazil index has taken a step back since rates

Stock prices were mixed in London at Friday midday as investors digested better than expected UK retail sales data, and a deceleration in China's economic growth.The FTSE 100 index was down 20.69 points, or 0.3%, at 8,364.44. The FTSE 250 was up 52.59 points, or 0.3%, at 21,153.51, and the AIM All-Share was flat at 742.40.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 837.57, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 18,7

Despite the strong market reaction to results from the US banks last week, we can't see investors getting quite so excited when the UK's biggest financial institutions unveil their latest earnings over the coming weeks.As usual, the country's largest mortgage lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) gets proceedings under way with its third-quarter trading update on Wednesday 23 October.Although it post

As tobacco firm Imperial Brands (IMB) announced its latest share buyback, there was an extraordinary, albeit logical, observation from broker Panmure Liberum.Analyst Rae Maile noted that, if it continued at its current pace, the company stood a good chance of buying back all of its shares within a decade.'Since October 2022, the company has bought back 106 million shares at an average price of £

There is a huge body of academic work highlighting behavioural biases which consistently trip-up investors' supposedly rational thinking. In this article we look at seven big sins of investing, with some examples and insights on how to avoid them.A lot of the credit for these principles goes to Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky who collaborated in the 1960s to research apparent anomalies and contra

Over the long haul, small-caps have historically outperformed large caps, fuelling the research highlighting the so-called 'small-cap effect' ? the idea that smaller companies offer higher risk-adjusted returns than larger ones. Unfortunately, the higher interest rate environment of recent years has proved tough for the stock market's small fry, who've spent more than a decade lagging more sizeabl

The list of company directors selling more than £1 million worth of shares since Labour got into power three months ago is growing. It's as if they can see the writing on the wall with a potential hike to capital gains tax in the Budget on 30 October.By crystalising value from their investments now they can avoid handing over more of their wealth to the taxman should we see substantial changes to

Stocks in London slipped into the red by the close on Thursday, as worries about escalations in the Middle East conflict sapped risk appetite.London's FTSE 100 was spared the steeper falls seen by its European equivalents, however. This was thanks to some dovish comments from the Bank of England, strong results from Tesco, and the index's general defensive positioning.The FTSE 100 index closed dow

This is the third and final part of our mini-series on portfolio construction where we discuss some key life milestones and how they can impact investment plans and portfolios.Managing a portfolio of investments should be a dynamic process which evolves with changing life circumstances, goals, age, and risk appetite.Your early 20s are often associated with significant changes to financial and pers

Better than expected first halfInventory levels continue to normaliseFull year expectations reiteratedIt is always better to under promise and over deliver and market newbie Raspberry Pi (RPI) seems to have pulled it off after reporting a better-than-expected maiden first half.The shares soared more than 8% to 377p, topping the FTSE 250 leaderboard, taking gains since coming to the market in June

Missed on core profit and marginsStock slumps 8% to six-week lowPreviously faced break-up callsThere is 'panic on the streets of London' as Smiths (SMIN) missed headline profit and margin targets. While there were some pluses in the engineering outfit's annual results to end July, it is difficult to dress up the fact that headline profit was limp.The share price tanked 8% to £16.84, a six-week lo

Third offer from Australian rival madeRevised proposal implies an offer value of 761pYear-to-date Rightmove shares are up 22%Shares in Rightmove (RMV) jumped nearly 2% higher to 683p, as Australian property listing company REA Group (REA:ASX) controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp increased its offer for the online property portal.Rightmove said it had 'received a third unsolicited, non-binding

European equities were on the up, though the FTSE 100 surrendered some of its morning progress after the Bank of England left rates unmoved, despite the US Federal Reserve's bumper 50 basis point cut on Wednesday.The BoE said it will adopt a 'gradual approach' to easing monetary policy.'Monetary policy will need to continue to remain restrictive for sufficiently long until the risks to inflation r

This feature marks two new beginnings. The first is a three-part-series exploring portfolio construction, management and how to adapt for major life milestones. It is also the start of a brand-new section in the magazine. We want to find out how readers approach their own investment portfolios and the methods they use to construct and manage them. You can read more about how to get involved at the

This column is no adherent to 'efficient market hypothesis', not least because there would not be equity booms and busts, or even marked day-to-day volatility, if investors really knew what was coming around the corner ? it simply would not be possible to make a profit if everything was perfectly priced.However, it does have a lot of sympathy with the argument that a security's price is a very fai

It's time to break out the birthday candles as Shares marks 25 years since its first issue hit the newsstands in September 1999.I'm just the latest custodian of this publication, having had the pleasure of editing Shares for a just under a year, and while there has been an enormous amount of change over the last quarter of a century both internally and in the broader financial markets, the one con