Following on from the pandemic and war in Ukraine, UK stocks are being buffeted by headwinds from hot inflation, rising rates and the cost-of-living crisis. But it is UK small and mid-cap investors that have endured the toughest period over the past year, with the small cap, mid cap and AIM indices all suffering severe setbacks.The good news, however, is this sell-off has created opportunities acr

The year so far has seen significant volatility for global stock markets driven by concerns over red-hot inflation, the impact on share prices of rising interest rates and war in Ukraine.Crunching the latest data from Winterflood Investment Trusts, Shares has spotted that discounts to net asset value have widened on a variety of trusts with interesting strategies and prospects.BANKERS ON SALEFor i

As the UK continues to step lightly through the coronavirus pandemic's social distancing minefield, many investors have turned their back on the small cap space. This is a mistake.We can understand why small caps might not appeal to everyone at the moment, given this space can include unproven business models and fragile balance sheets. It can also be harder to sell small cap shares when you want

UK small cap companies are dead cheap, claim managers of the popular Invesco Perpetual UK Smaller Companies Investment Trust (IPU).'Equity valuations within the smaller companies sector are well below their 20 year average and we believe there is potential to make money even in this highly uncertain environment', insisted Jonathan Brown and Robin West, joint fund managers of the Invesco small cap

The deadline for payment protection insurance (PPI) claims may have just passed but judging by the new provisions revealed by the high street banks many of us waited until near the August deadline before applying for compensation.With the average compensation payment standing at £1,700 according to the Financial Conduct Authority, and sometimes running to several multiples of this figure, a PPI p

Out-of-fashion British clothing and accessories brand Ted Baker (TED) rallied to 951.5p at the start of the week following reports founder and former chief executive Ray Kelvin is considering a private equity-backed buyout to take the challenged retailer private.The mysterious Kelvin resigned as CEO earlier this year following a company probe into 'hugging' claims made by some employees, an allega

All serious investors need a small cap fund in their portfolio and Invesco Perpetual UK Smaller Companies (IPU) is a cracker of an investment trust to buy now.Smaller companies have the potential to generate high returns for investors as contract wins, a rise in customer numbers and market share gains can all have a bigger impact on their share price than larger, more mature companies.Invesco's fu

Investment trust shares can trade either at a discount or a premium to their underlying assets or net asset value (NAV), depending on factors such as current market appetite for the strategy or the performance track record of the manager.While share prices that trade at a discount to NAV are quite common for closed-ended funds, sometimes these discounts become unduly wide or narrow and do not adeq

The top 10 best-performing investment trusts have delivered an average 12.1% compound annual return* over the past 25 years, illustrating the power of investing in the stock market. This is according to new data from the Association of Investment Trusts (AIC).This article looks at the leaders over this period, and the best performers on a 10-year basis. This list of winners can give you a good sta