Warren Buffett is often thought of as a value investor, yet what he actually looks for is companies with 'economic moats' or a sustainable competitive advantage over their competitors.'When you have a wonderful business, it's like having an economic castle, but the nature of capitalism is people want to come in and take your castle, so what you need is a castle with some durable competitive advant

There is a phrase in business ? 'shrink to greatness' ? meaning companies selling or demerging assets and focusing on what they do best.You might call it streamlining, others might say it is an admission that the previous strategy did not work and the company was too bloated.This trend is firmly in motion across the UK stock market with nine companies in the FTSE 100 either in the middle of shrink

Announcing a new share buyback programme has been one way to trigger a share price boost. The ease at which companies have made such capital allocation decisions has naturally caught the attention of politicians, thus buybacks are increasingly a target for tax collectors.Joe Biden has already pushed through a 1% tax on buybacks in the US and wants to raise that level to 4% if he gets a second term

Legal & General selling CalaDeadline for bids next weekPrice seen around £1 billionIn a sign of growing confidence among housebuilders, it has been reported Persimmon (PSN) could bid for smaller rival Cala Group which has been earmarked for sale by owner Legal & General (LGEN).Shares in the York-based homebuilder cheapened 32p or 2% to £14.50 as investors prepared themselves for a potential capi

Big dividend payers in demand last monthTop tech also popular, although not with everyoneResources firms among most sold sharesIncome hunters were out in force during August with Vodafone (VOD), National Grid (NG.) and Legal & General (LGEN) the three most popular buys among investors on the AJ Bell platform last month.These three stocks trade at an average 12-month forward 8.3% dividend yield, le

Headline profit beats forecastsInvestment losses and outflows a concernShares the worst FTSE performerShares in life insurance and asset management giant Legal & General (LGEN) slid to the bottom of the pile in the FTSE 100, losing 3.8% to 224p after the group posted a sharp fall in first-half earnings due to investment losses.Net outflows in the first half compared with net inflows last year, on

Stocks were lower in London on Tuesday as a rise in UK unemployment and more weak data out of China saw financial stocks drop.The FTSE 100 index opened down 75.61 points, 1.0%, at 7,431.51. The FTSE 250 was down 102.94 points, 0.6%, at 18,658.49, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.7 points, 0.2%, at 753.25.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.9% at 741.33, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.6% at 16,374.52, and the C

At 5.75%, the yield on JOHCM UK Equity Income (B8FCHK5) is the second highest it has ever been, according to fund manager Clive Beagles. You have to go back to the global financial crisis in 2008, when stock markets collapsed, to find a higher yield on the fund.'I find that staggering because the balance sheets of our companies are in a miles-better place than in 2008,' he says. 'We only own three

Insurers preferred to banksAirlines out but two-way trade in internet retailHousebuilders get benefit of the doubtIt is always fascinating to see which stocks are the most popular in terms of order flow and value traded, and for anyone who wants to find it this information is freely available on the AJ Bell website, relating to the activities of its customers.BANKS OUT, INSURERS INOver the last mo

- Legal & General CEO Nigel Wilson cashes in his share options- TUI director Burling buys €367,965 worth of shares- 888's Shaked buys shares after sell-offThe CEO of insurance group Legal & General (LGEN) has sold 112,850 shares at 253p at a total cash value of £285,849 to cover 'tax and dealing costs' on 19 April.Nigel Wilson still owns 127,255 shares part of total share options of 240,105

- Top dividend yields offer double current bond yield- Glencore tops list at 9.3% yield- Banks see global sell-off sparked by Silicon Valley Bank troubleWith UK interest rates at 4% compared with close to zero a year ago, and 10-and 2-year bonds yielding around 3.7%, investors have more opportunities for locking in a decent income.Higher rates have made shares less attractive, after all if investo

Many people believe that cash is a safe way of saving, but when it comes to the long term, cash is not king. Over the past two decades average UK savings rates have been going one way - down. Since about 2012, average interest on cash savings have been about 2% a year or less.This decline could be managed during the years of low inflation but emerging from the pandemic has turned all that on its h

- Legal & General CEO Nigel Wilson to retire after more than a decade- Has delivered total return of more than 200% in that time- Wilson to stick around until successor appointedIt is never nice for the head of a business when shares go up when their departure is announced so Legal & General (LGEN) Nigel Wilson will take the negative share price move on news of his retirement as a worthy accolade.

According to fabled US stock market trader Jessie Livermore 'the big swings make the big money'.Livermore was used by Edwin Lefervre as the basis for the character of Larry Livingstone in his investment classic Reminiscences of a Stock Operator. The bestselling book, dedicated to his memory, was published a century ago but this same truth of the importance of the big picture is evident in the domi

David is a 41-year-old IT consultant who first got interested in investing in 2004 after buying shares in his employer when it floated on the Indian stock market.He then started investing in the UK and US markets for his ISA and SIPP (self-invested person pension). The ISA is used to house stocks while the SIPP is comprised of funds and investment trusts.David still owns shares in the Indian compa

It feels like we are once again on the cusp of change in the markets. Whether that's a shift in central bank policy, inflation easing or a major development with the Ukraine war, there are plenty of levers which could put stocks on the move - either up or down. The difficulty is knowing which way they will travel.At this time of year, fund managers are under pressure to set out their stall for the

- Full year financial targets confirmed- Solvency II changes welcomed- Pension risk transfer business boomingShares in insurance and asset management group Legal & General (LGEN) jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 leader board with a gain of 4% to 264p after the company confirmed its full year earnings guidance.The firm also commented in depth on its PRT (pension risk transfer) business, its Solven

-Positive momentum continued into second half-No balance sheet exposure to LDI market-Full year guidance reiteratedFinancial services group Legal & General (LGEN) gave a reassuring update on Tuesday, saying positive momentum had continued into the second half despite prevailing macroeconomic conditions while the group reaffirmed full-year profit guidance.More importantly given recent ructions in t

For investors who want to compound the high yields available on some property funds and trusts by reinvesting their dividends, there are a few differences between the two asset classes which they need to consider before starting out.Open-ended property funds usually give shareholders the option to automatically reinvest their dividends by offering accumulation units.REITs (real estate investment t

Insurer Legal & General (LGEN) is one of the few companies on the stock market which benefits from rising interest rates. The current upward trend in rates has helped to strengthen the company's capital position.The company has also benefited from pension asset managers transferring liability risk from defined benefit pensions to Legal & General.With an 8% dividend yield on offer, it's no wonder t