Tracking the economy

Ben Kumar, Investment Manager, Seven Investment Management In finance ‘footsie’ means something other than tangle-toed flirting. The FTSE 100 is the first stock index encountered by newcomers to the world of finance. It is often…

The mixed messages are concerning

Ben Kumar, Investment Manager, Seven Investment Management When we look at the financial markets, the mixed messages are concerning. By extrapolating today’s low interest rate environment almost indefinitely into the future, quality government bond markets…

Where’s the clever money going? August 2017

July was a fairly quiet month in the markets, with most indices making some gains. The FTSE 100 has tracked broadly sideways during July and so far in August, wavering between 7300 and 7500. It…

Lowland: small and mid-caps for…income?

The UK dividend seeker’s dilemma: avoiding too much income concentration. The concept surrounds a fairly well-penned story in the press about how the vast majority of the UK’s dividends are paid by a small cadre…

How to supercharge your returns

David Prosser explains how reinvesting dividends makes a huge difference. Where do your returns come from when you invest in the stock market – in the shares of the companies that trade on that market,…

Plus ça change: credit crunch 10 years on

Chris Darbyshire, Chief Investment Officer, Seven Investment Management Viewers of Paramount’s ‘The Big Short’, will remember a scene towards the end of the film when the US housing market is in freefall, mortgages are defaulting…

From Low Volatility to No Volatility

Just when we thought that it couldn’t get any worse for traders, markets have almost come to a standstill. Simply put, unless price actually moves, traders cannot make any money. And so it is with…

A Mini Wake up Call as we Head into Summer?

Having been far too one directional with exceptionally low volatility in recent weeks, it feels like financial markets received a slight jolt last week just as many will be heading off for summer vacations. Nothing…

Expect things to get a bit more difficult

Chris Darbyshire, Chief Investment Officer Can political uncertainty become so elevated that it affects a country’s economy? We are about to find out. British businesses, already dealing with the coming departure from the EU, must…

The future is Real The future is Real

Will Fulton, Manager of UK Commercial Property Trust, on what’s next for UK real estate. After a difficult 2016, UK commercial real estate has started 2017 in a much more positive fashion. Capital values have…

Now with Added Income

New dividend policy approved Shareholders of the Martin Currie Asia Unconstrained Trust have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the proposed resolution to allow payment of dividends from capital. The final dividend for the financial year…

Central Bankers’ Message to Markets

We have been bombarded by Central Bank speakers in recent days. What does it all mean; if anything at all? Do we need to change our thinking on markets? These are serious questions for investors…

What Korean Life Expectancy Means For Your Savings

Income Investing For A Longer Retirement For the first time in history, a national life expectancy is set to surpass the 90-year barrier. Recent news that South Korea’s female population will soon reach this demographic…

Old is gold!

Investing to take advantage of an ageing population   The global population is increasing and ageing. This creates many challenges... ... but also offers new investment opportunities. Healthcare, property, infrastructure, leisure and travel are just…