There is no question the dominant theme in stock markets last year was AI (artificial intelligence), in particular generative AI.In an interview with Time magazine last June, Sam Altman ? the former chief executive of OpenAI, whose ChatGPT product has been at the forefront of the AI trend ? said he believes the technology will ?transform the way people work and the way people learn. It?s going to

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

Trust returns to long-run outperformance trendBenchmark-beating 17.6% returnUK mid-caps cheaper than large-capsJean Roche-run investment trust Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund (SCP) returned to form in style over the year ended 30 September 2023, delivering a net asset value total return of 17.6% versus the disappointing 30% decline in the previous year.This beat the 13.6% total return from the benchmark

The FTSE 100 pushed higher at midday on Friday, as investors hoped to learn more about the future of interest rates at US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's address at Jackson Hole later in the day.The FTSE 100 index was up 35.67 points, or 0.5%, at 7,369.51. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was up just 3.12 points at 18,197.69, and the AIM All-Share was virtually flat at 734.50.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0

Firmly out of favour with investors since the Brexit vote seven years ago, the FTSE 250 index rallied strongly on the release of the latest UK inflation data (19 July). This showed UK CPI rising by 7.9% year-on-year in June, lower than forecasts of an 8.2% rise, theoretically reducing expectations for the scale of future interest rate hikes from the Bank of England.Yet even after a big one-day jum

NAV (net asset value) up by 18.5%Outperforms company's benchmark return of 15%Increases interim dividend of 5.5p by 10%Schroder UK Mid Cap's (SCP) net asset value for the six months ending 31 March rose by 18.5%, 'comfortably' outperforming the company's benchmark, the FTSE 250 ex Investment Trusts Index, which returned 15% over the same period.The company attributed the rise to successful stock

Finally, everyone is talking about UK stocks. The spotlight is back on the country after the UK's FTSE 100 was one of the few major indices globally to record positive returns in 2022 and this year it has broken through the 8,000 level and hit a new record high. Hopefully, this will lead to the return of foreign investors who have shunned the UK since the Brexit vote in 2016.Investors can either b

As 2022 draws to a close amid continuing market volatility Shares has canvassed leading fund managers to find out where they have been finding the best opportunities.Jamie Ross - Henderson Eurotrust (Hne)LOOKING OUT FOR BOMBED-OUT GROWTH STOCKSWe have spent the last 12 months trying to find opportunities within the growthier area of the market - our favoured part of the market and the part of the

Mid-cap companies have always attracted investors. Seen as large enough to compete on a global scale, but not so big that their capacity for growth is capped, like many FTSE 100 stocks, an increasing number of investors spend time researching stocks on the FTSE 250 index, or simply buy the index through the handful of inexpensive targeted ETF tracker funds that are available.While many investors m

This year's market turmoil has caused many investment trusts to trade below their average discount to net asset value. It means investors can often buy £1 worth of assets for 90p or thereabouts.A popular trading strategy is to find investment trusts on wider than normal discounts and buy them in the hope the discount narrows. The trick is to understand which trusts have become cheaper due to a on

Investors spooked by the recent sell-off in technology stocks need to understand that some parts of the market are still doing very well - this is not an all-sector global market slump.While the US tech-heavy Nasdaq index is down about 6% year to date, we've seen the FTSE 350 oil and gas sector rise by nearly 17% over the same timeframe, the UK's banking sector is up by 15% and the tobacco sector

In the same way investors can make a mint by backing a mythical '10-bagger' early doors, fund fanatics can make big gains by catching an investment trust on the way up, before it begins its rise through the market capitalisation ranks and potentially even joins the likes of Scottish Mortgage (SMT), 3i (III) or Pershing Square Holdings (PSH) in the FTSE 100.We can never know with certitude which in

There are lots of good reasons why investors should have allocations to the FTSE 250, London's high-flying index oriented to mid caps which provides a purer play on the domestic UK economy than the exporter-heavy FTSE 100.The FTSE 250 captures those growth stocks that have come up from the small cap ranks and therefore had a chance to establish themselves. And crucially, it can catch these 'second

Since the Covid bottom in March 2020, London's FTSE 100 has rebounded by 36% to 7,061.78 points, but the FTSE 250 has rallied an even more impressive 67.8% to 22,813.47 and this index of 'second liners' is testing new highs.Mid cap companies are attractive to investors for a variety of reasons; more established than smaller firms, they are regarded as less risky, yet they also tend to be faster gr

This is the latest part in a regular series in which we will provide an investment clinic based on hypothetical scenarios. By doing so we aim to provide some insights which can help different types of investor from beginners all the way up to experienced market participants.Having sold her house in Stroud for £375,000, 55-year-old Glenda has downsized to a smaller property by the sea in Eastbourn

The FTSE 100 tumbled throughout trading on Wednesday, closing 1.3% lower to 6,567.37, as investor sentiment was hit by a perfect storm of Covid-19 vaccine troubles, anxiety over the US Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy update and a warning from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).A row over vaccine supplies from pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) into the EU continued on Wednesday as

Shares in Scapa (SCPA:AIM) jumped 25% higher on Wednesday to 222p after the bonding solutions and wound care specialist recommended a cash takeover offer from Schweitzer-Mauduit International pitched at 210p per share.Scapa shares traded at a 5% premium to the offer price suggesting investors expect it will take a higher offer to secure the deal.BIGGER SCALE REQUIREDDespite progress made to positi

UK stocks tumbled throughout morning trading on Wednesday as investors braced for the US Federal Reserve's latest update on monetary policy, due later in the day.The Fed is expected to leave policy unchanged and stick to its ultra-loose stance with near zero interest rates, $120 billion of bond purchases every month and other liquidity relief measures to help the ailing US economy, which is the wo

UK stocks dipped modestly in early trading on Wednesday after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its global growth recovery forecast but flagged Britain's severe pandemic impact as likely to drag on its own economic bounce-back.The IMF now expects the global economy to grow 5.5% this year, a 0.3% increase from October's forecast, but cut its UK estimates from 5.9% to 4.5% as virus cases

UK stocks traded largely unchanged at the close on Friday as investors shrugged off better than expected US non-farm payroll figures and a slew of positive earnings surprises from companies.At 4.35pm the benchmark FTSE 100 index inched up 5 points to 6,032 as weakness in banks, energy stocks and mining firms offset a strong performance by companies reporting earnings.WINNERSGeneric drugs company H