magazine archive
magazine archive
Feature
Europe in a world of ‘alternative facts’
Thursday 02 Mar 2017These are interesting times. Suddenly everything is different – populism has become protectionism under the mantra of ‘Make America Great Again’ and Brexit is set to lead the UK to sunnier climes. A few minor details, such as the interconnected nature of global supply chains and the relationships...
Make a decent return via peer-to-peer (P2P) lending
Thursday 23 Feb 2017Interest rates on traditional savings accounts are at record lows and even if you are prepared to tie your money up for five years you would struggle to earn 2%. The poor returns have resulted in thousands of savers switching to peer-to-peer ( P2P ) lending as a more lucrative alternative. P2P...
Take your forex trading to the next level
Thursday 16 Feb 2017You have set up an account and are itching to start trading forex but first it is worth getting some answers to some common questions about the currency markets. What strategy should I use? This is the number one question for new traders and is the most difficult to answer. There is not one ‘silver...
The impact of the pound on your portfolio
Thursday 09 Feb 2017One of the most striking aspects of 2016 was the impact of currency returns on investor portfolios. The sharp fall in the pound after the EU referendum meant that sterling finished the year down 16% against the dollar, 14% against the euro and 19% against the yen. UK-based investors with exposure...
Are share splits a waste of time?
Thursday 02 Feb 2017Have you ever seen a share price automatically shoot up 1,000% or suddenly become a fraction of the price it was the previous day? If so, these are likely to be a result of a company undertaking a share split or share consolidation. This can involve cutting the number of shares in issue to make the...
The UK’s little-known communications gems
Thursday 26 Jan 2017The UK telecoms and internet infrastructure industry is dominated by a handful of giants. Look a bit deeper and you’ll find some lesser-known but very interesting players. Most people associate this sector with the large companies such as BT ( BT.A ) and Vodafone ( VOD ) . They tend to be natural...
Come and join Shares’ 20% club
Thursday 12 Jan 2017Stocks featuring in Shares’ weekly Great Ideas section over the last year racked up gains of 12.4% versus a comparable return on the FTSE All-Share of 11.4%. On an annualised basis the result was 24.8% versus 22.8%, as we explain in What is Great Ideas? What is Great Ideas? Shares’ Great Ideas is...
Return, risk and building a portfolio
Thursday 12 Jan 2017Returns and risk are often two sides of the same investment coin. Understanding both is key if investors want to achieve their financial goals with the fewest possible hiccups. Returns are usually well understood because they are easily calculated after making an investment. Focusing on risk and...
Shares’ 2016 Picks in Review
Thursday 22 Dec 2016Our ‘Big Picks for 2016’ portfolio gained an average of 2.2% versus a return on the FTSE All-Share of 12.9%. It’s a disappointing performance compared to previous years, but at least we didn’t lose money. After a decent start to the year, in which our stocks led the market in very tough conditions...
Ben Lofthouse on 2017: fiscal austerity no longer the focus
Thursday 22 Dec 2016What does Henderson International Income Trust ( HINT ) do? The Trust’s mandate is to generate dividend growth and capital appreciation over the medium to long-term. We aim to do this by investing in all sizes of companies which we believe have attractive dividend yields, and are strong and cash...