Commodity-related stocks have had a difficult time of it in recent years with the main sector indices still trading well below their pre financial crisis levels. Funds that specialise in this area can provide a useful source of diversification and protection against inflation. They also offer huge upside potential if you can get the timing…
The high valuations of many equities and bonds mean that the financial markets could easily experience a major correction. There are lots of potential catalysts that could trigger a large scale sell-off with one of the biggest concerns being the level of global debt that is significantly higher now than it was before the financial…
Investing in turnaround plays can be a great way to generate market beating returns, as long as you can successfully identify which companies will be able to get themselves out of trouble. If you prefer a more hands off approach you could take advantage of the skills of the turnaround specialist, Alex Wright, by buying…
Neil Woodford is one of the country’s best known and most successful fund managers, but in the last few weeks a number of his largest holdings have suffered dramatic price falls. The most spectacular of these was the doorstep lender, Provident Financial (LON:PFG), which Simon Cawkwell had highlighted as a short at 2,100p in his…
Last year’s Brexit referendum has created a huge amount of uncertainty for British businesses and the election of a minority Conservative government has muddied the waters even further. The lack of political leadership has made it difficult to assess the long-term economic impact of our departure from the EU on domestically focused companies, many of…
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the new Supermarket Income REIT (LON:SUPR), which is in the process of buying a portfolio of supermarket freeholds. These sites that are already up and running will then be leased back in order to generate a high and inflation-linked yield for investors. SUPR is one of a…
The United Nations estimates that the world’s population will increase by about a billion by 2030, with the over 60s bracket growing faster than the younger age groups. By 2050 the number of people aged 60 or more will have more than doubled to 2.1 billion and there is also likely to be a significant…
Income investors frustrated by the low rates of interest have had to look elsewhere for alternative sources of yield. The ideal investment for anyone in this position would be a relatively low risk fund that pays a reliable inflation-linked income like a property or infrastructure investment trust, but most of these vehicles are now trading…
Buying an investment fund is unlike almost any other purchase you will ever make as you are not told upfront how much it is going to cost you. The best available estimate is the ‘ongoing charges’ figure, which is disclosed in the associated literature, but it does not give you the full picture. A fund’s…
Technology is transforming the world and changing the way we do things. Until a few years ago developments like robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality were rarely to be found outside of science fiction, but many of them are now part of our everyday lives. Investing in companies at the cutting edge of these new…
