Popular investment vehicle Alliance Trust (ATST) has announced a modest but meaningful shake-up of its portfolio.The FTSE 250 constituent invests in global equities across a range of industries and sectors through a ?manager of managers? approach. Following an overhaul in 2017, the trust gives investors relatively low-cost exposure (with an ongoing charge of 0.62%) to 10 leading fund managers sele

With shares in UK high-street bellwether Next (NXT) trading close to all-time highs above £90 despite the recent pull-back in markets, there is a fair bit riding on its upcoming first-quarter trading update (1 May).When it posted full-year results in late March, the firm said it had been ?a long time since we started a year in a more positive frame of mind? after a better-than-expected performanc

Shares in hundreds of UK and US-listed companies have not fully recovered since the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a global stock market crash in February 2020, even though most major market indices are now trading above that level.According to SharePad data, 196 stocks in the FTSE 350 and 149 stocks in the S&P 500 are still trading below the day before markets crashed four years ago (21 February 202

In this third part of our investor survey, we asked some of the UK?s leading fund managers which sectors or stocks they thought were the most promising for 2024.The responses were as varied as they were thought-provoking, with only a couple of managers singling out technology stocks.As before we would like to thank all those who took part for sharing their views, and we hope readers enjoy them. WH

Stocks in London closed mostly lower on Tuesday, as investors nervously eye this week?s US inflation print.The FTSE 100 index closed down 10.23 points, 0.1%, at 7,683.96. The FTSE 250 ended down 99.78 points, 0.5%, at 19,294.02, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.84 points, or 0.3%, at 752.66.The Cboe UK 100 ended flat at 767.86, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.8% at 16,767.71, and the Cboe Small Com

European equities were lower on Tuesday afternoon, with stocks struggling to find their groove early in the year new year, as investors show signs of unease ahead of major interest rate decisions in the weeks to come.Among individual stocks, a special dividend announcement lifted B&M shares. Recruiters fell after a warning from Hays.The FTSE 100 index was down 7.33 points, 0.1%, at 7,686.86. The F

Stock prices in London were in the red on Tuesday morning as weak UK retail data and company updates overshadowed optimism after a tech rally on Wall Street.The FTSE 100 index had opened higher before returning early gains, and edging into the red by 0.29 of a point at 7,693.90. The FTSE 250 was down 85.57 points, 0.4%, at 19,308.23, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.56 of a point, 0.1%, at 750.26.

Making a start to any enterprise is often the hardest part - so if you have opened a SIPP (self-invested personal pension) you have already taken one of the most important first steps towards a more comfortable retirement.This article will talk you through the next steps so you can start putting your money to work in the global stock markets and grow your wealth.STEP ONE: ASSESS YOUR CURRENT RETIR

A wall of money is going into building out the green infrastructure required to facilitate the global energy transition. This starts with electrifying power generation all the way through to transmitting and storing this energy before it is eventually consumed.At the same time, indebted governments are increasingly looking to private companies to help solve the global water challenge.Water is an e

We would hesitate to call it a wave of consolidation - maybe a ripple would be more appropriate - but this year has seen a number of mergers among investment trusts.There is a long tail of sub-scale funds and trusts in the UK all desperate to attract more investors, but with the average discount to net asset value hitting 18% at the end of October, according to research from Winterflood Securities

When a stock price makes a new 52-week high or low it is usually a sign of a strong trend. Going against the flow at these times is fraught with danger for investors betting for a sudden change in direction.That is because share prices tend to overshoot. Behavioural scientists have shown that investors overreact to bad news and underreact to good news.When bad news comes investors often sell for e

Given the positive summer trading updates from UK hospitality firms such as JD Wetherspoon (JDW), Marston's (MARS) and Mitchells & Butler (MAB), expectations are fairly high for Beefeater, Brewers' Fayre and Premier Inn owner Whitbread (WTB) when it reports first-half earnings on 18 October.In the first quarter to the start of June, Premier Inn accommodation sales were up 18% on last year while Re

Huge swathes of Europe, North America, Asia and Africa have endured boiling conditions this summer, with the majority of scientists pinning the blame for the planet's exceptional heat and rain, as well as wildfires in countries such as Greece and Canada, on human activity.Data from the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service showed that the first three weeks of July were the warmest three-week

Fundsmith Equity leads way in JulyActively managed funds remain popularSpecial situations and technology among favourite thematicsTerry Smith's Fundsmith Equity (B41YBW7) remained the most bought fund by investors through July, according to data from investment platform AJ Bell, but there has also been high demand for special situations and index funds too.Leading global stock indexes have been on

Stock prices in London rose in the morning on Thursday, as investors eye a key interest rate decision from the European Central Bank, just a day after the US central bank lifted its rates.The FTSE 100 index was up 16.29 points, 0.2%, at 7,693.18. The FTSE 250 was up 144.87 points, 0.8%, at 19,331.41, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.87 points, 0.4%, at 769.02.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 767.45, t

Another week, another takeover - this time it is alternative asset manager Gresham House (GHE:AIM), which is being bought by private equity firm Searchlight for £470 million.At £11.05 per share, 63% above the previous closing price and 10% above the all-time high a year ago, the purchase price represents an enterprise value of almost 16 times last year's earnings before interest, tax, depreciati

The UK banks' first-half reporting season kicks off with Lloyds (LLOY) on 26 July.The industry has been under fire for being much slower to pass on the benefit of higher rates to savers than it has been to pass on higher borrowing costs to mortgage-holders and other borrowers.The Financial Conduct Authority called in the boss of Lloyds as well as several other banks and building societies to press

Deal sees veteran Pease bow outConsolidation gathering paceListed UK firms could be vulnerable to takeoversCompetition for customers and the need for economies of scale are driving another round of consolidation in the UK wealth management industry with the announcement this week of yet another deal.Yesterday it emerged that hedge fund Lansdowne Partners had agreed to acquire equities specialist C

- Record first quarter with adjusted earnings beating forecasts- New $4 billion buyback announced- Shell expects to return $12 billion in buybacks and dividends in first halfEnergy giant Shell (SHEL) provided more grist to the mill of campaigners for more aggressive windfall taxes by unveiling a record first quarter performance and accompanying $4 billion share buyback.Investors reacted positively

This article attempts to uncover the least favoured stocks in the UK market. The idea is to identify contrarian investment ideas which have the potential for a strong rebound when sentiment improves.Betting against the crowd when they are wrong is a sure-fire way to make money in the stock market, but it's much easier said than done.Picking individual stocks is hard to get right. Even the professi