Wealth & financial wellbeing

Why biodiversity is increasingly being viewed as both a values issue and an investment risk.

Despite volatile oil prices driven by shifting geopolitical tensions and peace negotiations, and ongoing uncertainty around inflation and the Middle East, broader markets have remained resilient. This strength in global equities is attributed to markets’ forward-looking nature and the continued resilience of corporate earnings.

The thought of losing money can be a primary driver when it comes to investment decision making. When people think of risk, in terms of investing, it almost always means seeing the value of their money going down. After all cash in the bank does not go down in value, right?

When building a portfolio, we think about investments within broad categories, known as “asset classes”. While stocks and bonds are often familiar categories for our investment clients, there is another category which might be less well understood: “alternatives”. This article focuses on explaining what we mean by alternatives, and the role they play within portfolios.

Across the UK, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of the economy. Yet for many SME owners, one vital strategic issue remains unresolved: who takes over when they step aside?

Charities face a unique set of challenges when it comes to managing the drawdown from their investment portfolios. These challenges are amplified when drawdowns are not approached strategically.

In last month’s Outlook, we noted that with both stock and bond markets challenged in March by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the important thing for investors is to understand how the conflict ultimately will affect the “real economy”.

In this article we explore what’s going on with gold and if it deserves a place within your portfolio.