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The heat of the moment

By Alexander Davies | 13 Oct, 2008
Undoubtedly we are in uncertain times and stock markets hate uncertainty. At times like this the market tends to react strongly (or even overreact) to news, and we have seen huge swings in the markets on almost a daily basis. It is easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment. Now is probably not the time to make a knee-jerk reaction and sell the holdings in your portfolio. Rather than be panicked out of the market in the short term, investors could benefit from considering the long term opportunities this situation presents. With some shares on historically low valuations and an average yield on the FTSE All Share Index of about 5% some interesting investment opportunities are starting to present themselves. Some investors will inevitably be waiting for the market to reach the bottom before investing, but unforeseen events make timing this perfectly almost impossible. The bottom of the market can only be identified weeks, or even months, after...

Recent comments

A week in advance 13th - 17th October 2008

By Keith Bowman | 10 Oct, 2008
This coming week sees the scheduled UK major corporate calendar again staying relatively quiet, whilst major economic announcements look likely to dominate investor attention. In the US, a series of economic announcements are scheduled, whilst the third quarter corporate results...

What's wrong with my lifestyle?

By Tom McPhail | 10 Oct, 2008
One of the key risks with money purchase pension arrangements can come at the moment when you convert your accumulated pre-retirement pension fund into a post retirement income (the useful, if inelegant term for this is decumulation). So, conventional wisdom suggests...

Market Update

By Mark Dampier | 08 Oct, 2008
Stock market moves have been extraordinary. The line ‘markets can go down as well as up’ seems somewhat of an understatement, but the news at last of a policy initiative from the government plus co-ordinated rate cuts across the world...

Past comments

• Market Update

  By Mark Dampier | 07 Oct, 2008
  Can we really make any sense out of the stock market movements? It is well known that stock markets are a discounting mechanism. In other words they look ahead and try and reflect what is going on in the future. ...

• Looking after the pennies

  By Danny Cox | 07 Oct, 2008
  If you have a pile of paperwork on the dining room table, or next to the computer in the study ready to be “filed” you are not alone. Mine stares at me every time I sit down at the machine...

• There's value to be had

  By Mark Dampier | 06 Oct, 2008
  I have to say that despite the news I think stock markets have held up relatively well. Even today when the FTSE fell around 8%, which was hardly much fun, compared to October 19th 1987 when the market fell 22% I thought...

• A week in advance 6th - 10th October 2008

  By Keith Bowman | 04 Oct, 2008
  This coming week sees the scheduled UK major corporate calendar staying relatively quiet, whilst major economic announcements gain in importance. In the US, the government’s proposed package of assistance for the embattled financial sector remains squarely centre stage, whilst the...

• Is short selling wrong?

  By Stephen Lansdown | 03 Oct, 2008
  It was inevitable that short sellers would be highlighted as a major problem in the current financial fallout. I must confess to have never been comfortable with the idea of short selling, always believing that you invest into a company...

• IHT thresholds

  By Danny Cox | 02 Oct, 2008
  Apparently the Conservative party will increase the Inheritance Tax threshold from £312,000 up to £1m if elected. For a married couple (or civil partnership) this means that estates will potentially be Inheritance Tax free up to £2m. This is good news as...

• Remember September

  By Richard Hunter | 01 Oct, 2008
  Astonishing times. If there is anyone who has worked in this industry and has seen one month like the one we have just had, they have not yet made themselves known. It feels as though several decades of market lurches, twists and...

• Confidence is everything

  By Stephen Lansdown | 30 Sep, 2008
  The failure of the House of Representatives to pass the bail out plan last night was disappointing. The investment markets had focused on this as a panacea to all their ailments but in many ways it was good to see that...

• Another nail in the coffin for final salary pension schemes

  By Tom McPhail | 29 Sep, 2008
  I think we are about to witness the last stages of final salary pension provision in the UK. Insurance works on the basis of paying a small premium up front, in order to pass the risk of a catastrophic event...

• A week in advance 29th September - 3rd October 2008

  By Keith Bowman | 26 Sep, 2008
  This coming week sees the scheduled UK major corporate calendar remaining relatively quiet, whilst major economic announcements also prove somewhat sparse. In the US, the government’s proposed package of assistance for the embattled financial sector is likely to remain centre...

• Tax can be taxing - filing your tax return

  By Meera Patel | 26 Sep, 2008
  It’s that time of year again when many individuals will be filing their tax return for the tax year 6 April 2007 to 5 April 2008. There has however been a change to the deadlines. Those who calculated their own...

• Has Buffett called the bottom of the market?

  By Ben Yearsley | 25 Sep, 2008
  It has recently been announced that Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s investment firm, has made a $5 billion investment into the troubled bank Goldman Sachs. His investment is in the form of preferred stock paying an annual interest rate of 10%....

• Inflation

  By Ben Yearsley | 24 Sep, 2008
  A figure largely overlooked during the turmoil in world stock markets recently is that of UK inflation. August inflation figures were released and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) unsurprisingly showed a rise, to 4.7% up from 4.4% the previous month. This...

• Chinese interest rates cut - is the boom over?

  By Alexander Davies | 23 Sep, 2008
  In a shock announcement recently, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), cut interest rates from 7.47% to 7.2%. Rates were widely expected to not fall until next year. During 2007 interest rates were raised six times to try to keep inflation...

• The American retirement solution

  By Nigel Callaghan | 22 Sep, 2008
  Retiring investors have an increasing array of options as to how to convert their pension funds into an income. Whilst the most popular routes remain annuities and income drawdown , some American companies are now promoting in the U.K....