Shares magazine
Magazine archive
Feature
Shining a light in the dark: Picking through a murky market outlook for the rest of 2025
Thursday 03 Jul 2025As we move through the midway point of 2025, after a frankly dizzying six months when it has felt like the world has been running on fast forward, it is a good time to take stock. In this article the Shares team, drawing on expert opinion, looks to cut through the noise and judge where we sit now...
Under the radar stocks owned by popular UK funds
Thursday 26 Jun 2025If you’ve been investing for a while, there’s a good chance that certain funds will have found their way into your portfolio. An S&P 500 and/or Nasdaq ETF are likely inclusions. FTSE 100, 250 and World Index trackers are very good bets, as are a handful of actively managed vehicles. Take...
Secret ingredients: Why stocks armed with patents can outperform
Thursday 26 Jun 2025Ownership of intellectual property (IP) is a clear sign a business boasts the ‘economic moat’ popularised by the world’s greater investor Warren Buffett, especially in industries that rely on innovation. A company’s ability to continually develop and protect its IP assets helps to defend its market...
How do valuations on Chinese shares compare to other emerging markets?
Thursday 26 Jun 2025Chinese shares, as represented by the MSCI China index, have outperformed wider emerging markets in the first part of 2025 but, overall, valuations still lag those seen in the wider developing and developed world. As at 31 May, constituents of the MSCI China index traded on an average forward PE (...
Emerging markets: outperforming despite tariffs, dollar weakness provides support
Thursday 26 Jun 20251. Tariff uncertainty: Tensions between the United States and China have resurfaced after an agreement in Geneva in May to temporarily lower tariffs and start negotiations on a mutually agreeable solution. The United States has accused China of withholding approval for the export of rare earths,...
Bond vigilantes bare their teeth as US long-term yields rise
Thursday 19 Jun 2025Eagle-eyed investors may have noticed something strange going on at the long end of the US treasury market, where 30-year yields recently breached 5% to reach their highest level since 2007. This may sound counter-intuitive given the Federal Reserve started cutting official interest rates in...
Great AIM stocks to buy now: the best of the junior market as it turns 30
Thursday 19 Jun 2025Three decades ago, the Alternative Investment Market – or AIM for short – was launched. In this article we take a look back at how it all started, what have been the highs and lows and where it might go from here. Is it still an attractive place for innovative growth companies – described by the...
How our 2025 picks performed in the first half of the year
Thursday 12 Jun 2025Our portfolio picks for 2025 haven’t fared too well in the first half of the year, returning 0.6% compared to a gain of 6.1% from the FTSE All-Share index as of 9 June. It wasn’t all bad news, however, as stocks like defence technology group Cohort (CHRT:AIM) , premium mixer-maker Fevertree Drinks...
Hunting for quality growth in the bombed-out UK mid-cap market
Thursday 12 Jun 2025Companies which sit in the middle of the market capitalisation range, represented in the UK by the FTSE 250 index, by definition have the potential to become the next large-cap leaders. Unlike small caps, mid caps are big enough to have built a stable business supported by a strong balance sheet,...
The FTSE 100 shares outpacing the Nasdaq since 2000
Thursday 12 Jun 2025The Nasdaq 100 index has been one of the best performing indices of the last 25 years, returning 8.8% since January 2000. To put that in pounds and pence, £10,000 invested in the index would now be worth £84,473, even throwing some shade on the broader US stock market in the form of the S&P 500...