The dreadful nerve agent attack on the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury on March 4thwas a shocking example of how far president Putin is willing to go to satisfy old scores. His subsequent unwillingness to stop the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons virtually guaranteed a military response. Missile…
Investors who want to generate a rising level of income will normally allocate a significant part of their portfolio to funds operating in the UK Equity Income sector. These have delivered strong historic returns, but in many cases the underlying dividends are looking increasingly stretched. Recent research by Kepler Trust Intelligence found that just under…
There are many different factors to take into account when deciding which funds to invest in, but the main determinant of your overall return will almost certainly be your asset allocation. The proportion of your portfolio that you have in each of the different markets will often dictate your performance and this was certainly the…
Last week was another volatile one for investors with the main equity indices experiencing further sharp falls. Those who are uncomfortable with this may want to move part of their portfolio into low volatility funds that invest in different asset classes in an effort to produce steady returns in all market conditions. One such is…
Infrastructure investment trusts have the potential to deliver steady, inflation beating returns, but most are heavily biased towards UK-based assets that are dependent on the local economy and political zeitgeist. When Global Diversified Infrastructure (LON: GDIV) floats on the London Stock Exchange later this month it will provide exposure to a number of different countries…
One of the most remarkable trends in the financial markets over the last few years has been the rise in popularity of alternative asset classes. This diverse sector includes everything from property and infrastructure, to specialist bond and hedge funds, with the lack of liquidity in these areas making investment trusts the obvious way to…
One of the most unusual property investment trusts is the Tritax Big Box REIT (LON:BBOX), which invests in warehouses for large blue-chip clients. It has delivered strong returns since the launch in 2013 and expects a further boost from Brexit as more companies look for UK warehouse facilities to avoid the new border controls. BBOX…
RIT Capital Partners (LON:RCP) delivered a solid NAV total return of 8.2% last year and remains defensively positioned. It is chaired by Lord Rothschild and aims to deliver long-term capital growth, whilst preserving shareholders’ capital. Since it was launched in 1988 the fund has achieved the impressive feat of participating in 75% of market upside,…
It has been a strong year for BlackRock World Mining (LON:BRWM) with a NAV return of 24% in 2017. The performance has been driven by the pick-up in global economic growth, and sentiment towards the fund is finally starting to improve after a significant write-down in 2013 dented investor confidence. If the economic recovery continues…
The way the markets have started 2018 suggests that we have entered a new phase of heightened volatility with plenty of downside risk. Investors who are uncomfortable with this environment may want to protect their capital by increasing their exposure to some of the more defensively positioned funds. These use a variety of strategies to…
