Market rebounds, first 100 days of Trump’s second term and State Pension underpayment scandal.
This week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast starts with some positive news for investors who managed to hold their nerve through the Liberation Day sell-off [01:32]. But Dan Coatsworth also has a stream of gloomy corporate updates from big firms cutting earnings guidance, seeing sales hit by tariffs, or just feeling the pinch as American consumers tighten their purse strings [05:39].
Russ Mould joins us to analyse the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term, with a focus on how markets have performed in that time compared to previous presidents [10:25].
Charlene Young looks at the £800 million state pension benefit scandal and explains who’s affected, and what you can do if you think you or someone you know might be owed money [19:59]. House prices dipped in April, after the changes to stamp duty went live and cost of living pressure rose [17:40]
You might have run into bother trying to shop with Marks and Spencer recently. Dan covers the cyber incident that has taken the spark out of the retailer [27:28]. And to round things off, the Shares Magazine team bring us the latest update from streaming giant, Spotify [34:29].
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48:02
Tesla, Netflix, Premium Bonds, gold prices and tariff turmoil continues
In this week’s AJ Bell Money and Markets podcast, Charlene Young and Laura Suter break down the latest headlines affecting your finances and investments.
We cover Tesla and Netflix earnings (05:11), how political uncertainty in the US is driving gold prices higher (03:22), and what NS&I’s latest savings rates mean for savers (14:29). Charlene reveals the real odds of winning with Premium Bonds after an FOI request (12:21), and Tom Sieber from Shares magazine joins to explore whether fund managers with hands-on industry experience hold a performance edge (09:39).
Dan Coatsworth speaks with Peter Fitzgerald from Aviva Investors about how rising tariffs are shifting investment strategies (19:16), and pensions expert Rachel Vahey explains how tax-free cash works when taking money from your pension (31:37).
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37:50
Tariff turmoil, Tesco warns of price wars and an update on AJ Bell funds
On this week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money and Markets Danni Hewson and Tom Sieber from Shares magazine dig into what has been another ridiculously busy week for markets.
They track what’s been going over the past 7 days as what’s been dubbed by some as “Storm Donald” [1:50] has continued to buffet global stock markets. They discuss the 90-day pause for some countries, carve outs for things like smart phones which have boosted Apple.[6:00] But there’s huge uncertainty still and promises of further moves on semi-conductors and pharmaceuticals and the magnificent Nvidia has seen shares dive again after it said it would take a huge hit from controls on chip exports to China. [7:55]
With the UK potentially at the front of a queue for a trade deal with the US how are things looking when it comes to jobs and inflation, the pair chat through the latest numbers and assess what it might mean for interest rates and how the mortgage market is responding. [15:00]
We’ve also got a deep dive into the UK’s biggest supermarket Tesco from Steve and Ian from the Shares mag team [23:08], plus an update on AJ Bell funds from AJ Bell’s head of investment solutions James Flintoft [38:55] and Martin Gamble from Shares gives us the low down on two of the best fund managers you’ve probably never heard of - Nick Sleep and Qais (Zac) Zakaria from The Nomad Partnership. [47:40]
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59:29
Deep Dive #3: How to make the most of the pension freedoms
It’s ten years since George Osborne introduced his landmark private pension reforms, known as the ‘pension freedoms’. In this AJ Bell Money and Markets Deep Dive, we explore whether the pension freedoms have been a success and how you can make the most of them with your pension.
(05:26) Tom Selby and Rachel Vahey from AJ Bell will be joining Laith Khalaf to discuss what the pension freedoms were, and how people have been using them over the last decade. We’ll also be running through the tax treatment of pension withdrawals and the chancellor’s plans to levy inheritance tax on pensions.
(23:55) One of the architects of the pension freedoms, Sir Steve Webb, the Pension Minister in the coalition government of 2010 to 2015, talks to Laith about why the reforms took place and whether they’ve been a success.
(45:20) The team talk through the differences between drawdown and annuity and ask what a sustainable income is. We also discuss investment strategies in retirement, and ask whether annuities might be due a comeback. Finally we run through the resources that can help you decide how to take your retirement income.
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1:07:46
Everything investors need to know about the global market sell-off
It’s been an eventful week and this episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast explores the key reasons behind the global market sell-off and what might happen next. Dan Coatsworth explains why shares slumped and he reveals the total value destroyed on global stock markets and the winners and losers on the FTSE 100. Laith Khalaf reveals why bond markets were showing unusual behaviour and the pair chat about why some companies like Games Workshop and Diageo might not be as badly affected as investors think. [02:50]
Dan talks to Morningstar equity strategist Michael Field about what Liberation Day means for European stocks and shares which had a great run in the first quarter of the year. [26:23]
If you’ve been spooked by the market sell-off and are worried about your investments, Dan and Laith offer some reassurance and explain why there is no reason to panic. [35:45]
Laith has some interesting statistics on why it can pay to use your ISA allowance at the start of a tax year rather than at the end. [42:30]. Dan finds some interesting trend with AJ Bell customer behaviour during the market sell-off. [46:59].
Finally, Jonathan Maxwell from SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust is on the podcast to talk about the Trump administration rolling back green policies and whether that creates a headwind for renewable energy investors. [54:55].
UK