The benefits of a stocks and shares ISA are best measured over the long term. Investors should look to get rich slowly through the power of compounding.Compounding describes the process whereby investment returns themselves generate future gains. The value of an investment can increase exponentially because growth is earned on both the initial sum of money plus the accumulated wealth.Imagine...

Record full year profit for 202422nd consecutive dividend hikeSeeing lower freight rates and asset valuesGlobal shipbroking leader Clarkson (CKN) sailed in with another year of record profits and proposed a 7% hike in the annual payout, giving rise to a 22nd consecutive year of dividend growth.However, shares in the world's biggest shipping services firm plunged 17% to £36.50 after the FTSE...

With Saba Capital having turned the spotlight on a handful of underperforming investment trusts, there is now a wave of activity as other trusts look for ways to reduce the persistent discount to NAV (net asset value) which has dogged the asset class.Some have introduced 'discount control' mechanisms, others have launched share buybacks, and some have announced they will hold a 'continuation...

Investors now have a flavour of how unpredictable life could be under a Trump administration as tariffs on neighbours Mexico and Canada were announced and then subsequently delayed in the space of 24 hours. Quite what this means for global markets is still up for debate and there remains an air of real uncertainty over what comes next.In this week's news section, Martin Gamble picks over what...

With a sense of anticipation Shares scurried along to Finsbury Growth & Income Trust's (FGT) latest AGM (annual general meeting) at London's Guildhall on a wet and windy day (28 January), where shareholders turned up in droves and one or two left the assembled board members squirming in their seats.While the total return-focused trust's long-run record under star manager Nick Train remains...

Fourth year of underperformanceConsumer brand exposure reducedTrain optimistic for better future returnsVeteran fund manager Nick Train, manager of the well-followed Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT), insisted he is more enthused by the company's prospects than at 'any time this century', despite the company reporting a fourth consecutive year of underperformance versus the...

Diageo(DGE) £25.12Market cap: £55.9 billionInvestors seeking a high-quality consumer staple that is currently on sale should consider buying Diageo (DGE), the world's largest premium spirits company which is growing its market share around the globe. Shares in the premium drinks maker behind iconic brands Johnnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka and Guinness stout are down 20% over one year....

Investors in spirits giant Diageo (DGE) could probably use a stiff drink after analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to sell and cut their target price from £31.50 to £24.50.The shares have already lost more than 10% this year, against a 7% rise in the FTSE 100, due to concerns over sales in the US and the Caribbean and a less than resounding welcome for the new chief...

Funds can often be in vogue with investors thanks to a big-name manager or a past reputation, but just how well-earned is the popularity of the UK's most popular funds and investment trusts?In this article we've taken a look at the performance of a select group of funds which regularly feature among the most bought and most widely-held in the market to judge whether they are truly delivering...

A feature of the recent recovery in stock markets has been the leadership role played by large-caps. This represents a reversal of a longer-term trend, particularly in the UK, of medium-sized businesses setting the pace.As the charts show, year-to-date the FTSE 250 has lagged behind the FTSE 100 while in the US the Russell 2000 (made up of the 2000 smallest companies in the broad-based Russell...

Trust lags FTSE All ShareBurberry and Diageo dragNAV down 3.2% in AprilNick Train, manager of the popular Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT), has apologised to shareholders for the trust's 'poor investment performance' not only over the past six months but over three years.The manager also acknowledged the 'growing impatience' from the shareholders.Train's apology comes after the trust...

One of the chocolate industry?s seasonal peaks, Easter is upon us with eggs from the world?s major brands adorning retailer?s shelves.Chocolates are tough for consumers to resist at this time of year, but is this an opportune time to put money to work with purveyors of one of the world?s most popular little luxuries?SWEET CONSUMER CATEGORYAccording to MarkNtel Advisors, the global chocolate...

Investors are increasingly turning to passive investment products such as tracker funds and exchange-traded funds as they seek a low-cost, uncomplicated way to get exposure to the markets.There are numerous reasons why trackers and ETFs are filling more portfolios. Underperformance by active managers is one of them ? just 36% of active manages beat the average passive alternative in 2023...

Former publishing industry professional John is in his 50s and has been investing for decades, starting at a very early age.John became an investor in his late teens and has started devoting more time to it over the last 20 years. He has always had an interest in markets, even when he was a young boy of seven or eight.A CHILDHOOD INTEREST IN STOCK MARKET SUCCESSES AND FAILURESHe says: ?I read...

By his own admission, Nick Train, manager of Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT), isn?t one for nostalgia, whether that is reflecting on past glories or the ?melancholy fact? as he puts it that the popular investment trust has underperformed the FTSE All-Share index for the last three years.Moving into 2024, the trust has again lagged the benchmark with a share price return of -1.9% in January...

Following on from our coverage of Fundsmith Equity (B41YBW7) and the fact it has lagged its benchmark for three years running, another popular fund with retail investors, the Nick Train-run Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT), has also failed to outperform over the last three years.As the manager says in his December factsheet: ?This is disappointing to me and all my colleagues, because we work...

Equity income trusts in demandCity of London most boughtScottish Mortgage, Finsbury Growth & Income divide opinionWith conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine creating uncertainty, and investors grappling with cost-of-living pressures as falling inflation is expected to be a drawn-out process, dependable income trusts have proved popular on the AJ Bell platform over the past month.At the same...

An upbeat trading update and revised financial targets from the UK's leading property portal Rightmove (RMV) proved a hit with investors on 27 November, but it hasn't been all plain sailing for the FTSE firm of late.At the end of October, the group's share price took a battering after US real estate giant CoStar (CSGP:NYSE) announced a £99 million all-cash offer for Rightmove's UK rival...

Software firm beats estimatesShare buyback an added positiveStock tops FTSE 100 gainersFinance and payroll software firm Sage (SGE) pleased investors not just with its better-than-expected annual results but with a surprise share buyback on top of the raised dividend.Sage shares topped the FTSE 100 leader board with an advance of 8% to a new lifetime high of £10.76. STRONG ORGANIC...

Shares fall pre-market after Qataris pull-out of biddingGlazer family asking price a key sticking pointSir Jim Ratcliffe now only bidder but for 25% stakePre-market trading in Manchester United (MANU:NYSE) indicates the shares could drop over 10% after Sky News reported Jassim bin Hamal al-Thani has withdrawn his interest following months of negotiations.As of Friday's close, Manchester United...