'Quality investing' is the style pursued by the world's most famous investor Warren Buffett and Terry Smith, arguably the best-known British fund manager who runs the five-star Morningstar-rated Fundsmith Equity (B41YBW7) and consistently favours quality firms. Quality investing has generated strong long-run returns for its practitioners, including Buffett, but how do the leading fund managers off

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 300

Average prices up by 1.3% for top-of-the-ladderMay typically strong month for price growthShares in UK housebuilders higher on newsThe average price of a property coming to the market for sale in May hit a new record of £375,131 up 0.8% or £2,807 in the month, according to data from online property portal Rightmove (RMV).The reason for the modest upwards price pressure was due to the spring sell

Customer numbers growingFull-year guidance confirmedShares fall on ad revenue forecastInvestors in property portal Rightmove (RMV) must be getting used to the market taking a glass-half-empty view of the business, with today?s trading update a prime example.Despite positive news on users and advertisers, the shares have been knocked to the bottom of the FTSE 100 performance table with a loss of 32

European equities ended higher on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 and DAX 40 achieving record highs, the former boosted by a dovish tilt to the latest Bank of England decision.Across the Atlantic, weaker US labour data hurt the dollar, amid the expectation that a cooler jobs market could presage an eventual rate cut by the BoE?s US counterpart.At its May meeting, the BoE?s Monetary Policy Committee vo

The week started with positive UK economic news as the April Rightmove (RMV) house price survey showed asking prices rising at 1.7% on last year, their biggest jump in 12 months, driven by more top-end properties coming to market.The average price of homes put up for sale reached £372,324, less than £600 short of the record level registered last May, as a revival of activity in the market prompt

London stocks were in the green at midday on Friday, although new data showed a continuing downturn last month for the UK?s manufacturing sector.The FTSE 100 index was up 48.70 points, 0.6%, at 7,678.72. The FTSE 250 was up 158.18 points, 0.8%, at 19,213.05, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.06 of a point at 736.56.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 769.62, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.6% at 16573.29, and th

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 against

Prices are turning positive againLower mortgage rates helpingActivity seen picking up this yearHousebuilders and housing-related stocks got a lift going into the Bank of England?s monetary policy meeting thanks to a positive read on the property market from the latest Nationwide house price survey.Shares in Barratt Developments (BDEV), Crest Nicholson (CRST), Persimmon (PSN), Redrow (RDW), Rightmo

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 hard, w

TRUSTPILOT (TRST) Price: 161pMarket cap: £672 million Investors may think they have missed the Trustpilot (TRST) boat after the shares have doubled in six months. Not so, in our opinion. Shares believes this re-rating story has only just started and the share price could easily surge past 200p this year and far higher over time. To put this into context, when analysts at Berenberg and Peel Hunt b

A big increase in the average takeover premium in 2023 highlights how parts of the UK stock market continue to be undervalued. The average bid premium for UK stocks in 2023 was 51% against 37% in 2022 and 43% in 2021, according to analysis by AJ Bell.Most London-listed takeovers last year involved small-cap firms. Buyers were a mixture of private equity firms or industry players looking to buy riv

London?s blue-chips retreated on Tuesday ahead of key UK inflation data, which could show whether hopes for a spring interest rate cut from the Bank of England are too optimistic.Investors are also re-assessing whether the conviction that US interest rates will be cut in March is realistic, or wide of the mark. US rate cut bets have dwindled, though a cut in March is still the most likely outcome

Rightmove (RMV)Price: 558pMarket cap: £4.4 billionEvery now and then, even well-known FTSE 100 firms can find themselves unloved and unwanted by investors through no fault of their own.One such company is the UK?s biggest property portal Rightmove (RMV), whose shares have been out of favour since late 2022 despite the firm consistently beating market expectations.Two months ago, the firm said sin

As we approach the end of the year it is an opportune moment to shine a light on some of this year's least-loved stocks.Rather than look at the stocks which have lost the most, we have collected together those trading at or near their lows for the year along with those with the fewest friends in the analyst community and those which the hedge fund community thinks are outright shorts.If we first t

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 OnTheMark

Trading ahead of market expectationsShares up 3% year-to-dateExpects revenue growth of 8%-10%Rightmove (RMV) shares jumped over 6% at one point in morning trading as the property listings site reported an upbeat trading statement ahead of market expectations.Year-to-date Rightmove shares are up marginally by 3% at 541p.The FTSE 100 property portal said since reporting its interim results in July r

Persimmon raises completions targetPartnership deals pave the wayAverage house prices turning upA positive third-quarter trading update and evidence of a bounce in house prices helped lift shares in Persimmon (PSN) and other developers from their recent lows.Persimmon added 2.5% to £11.09 while rivals Barratt Developments (BDEV) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.) gained around 1.5% apiece. HIGHER FUL

If you buy Warren Buffett lore that you should only invest in companies that you're happy to own forever, you want to make sure they're up to it. One of the key things that Fundsmith Equity (B41YBW7) founder Terry Smith, and many other top investors, use to evaluate companies is a measure called return on capital employed, or ROCE for short. This looks at a company's profitability compared to how

Shares in property listings site Rightmove (RMV) have taken a battering since US real estate giant CoStar (CSGP:NYSE) announced a £99 million all-cash offer for rival OnTheMarket (OTMP:AIM).The US real estate giant intends to turn OnTheMarket into a 'market leader' which could put pressure on Rightmove's dominant market share in the UK.CoStar already runs US websites Homes.com, LoopNet.com and Ap