The Essential Guide to Financial Protection
Nobody wants to consider what would happen if they became too ill to support their family financially. Financial protection is essential to creating peace of mind for your loved ones, but understanding what cover you may need can be confusing.
Market Update: Market correction turns into pothole
Our sign-off the week before last was supposed to be cautiously optimistic – predicting a bumpy ride to a decent destination in markets – but friends told us it read a little negatively. Cue the worst daily loss for the S&P 500 in nearly two years on Monday after a terrible session in Japan, and sharp losses for most other major indices. US recession fears – stoked by a distinctly disappointing jobs report last Friday – formed the backdrop for the sell-off, however, market liquidity concerns emanating from Japan’s actions were the spark.
Market Update: Central bank week
Interest rate policy reflects the differing, yet interconnected, pressures within leading global economies, while signs of a softer US economy make investors impatient for Fed cuts.
Placing Assets Into A Trust
Trusts are a powerful tool for estate planning, providing flexibility and control over asset distribution. Properly structured, they can address various scenarios and requirements, ensuring that your legacy is managed according to your wishes long into the future.
Market Update: Don’t fear the rebalance
Investors moving capital from Mag7 for smaller companies makes for bumpy markets, but a shift towards general bearishness is misplaced.
Market Update: Shock, rotation, growth?
Amid shocking global events, the market rotation from large to small cap stocks continues. Will the positive effects for small caps be enough to outweigh the wealth losses for the tech giants?
Market Update: Lower inflation, less profits?
Last week was an interesting week in capital markets. Global stocks are a nudge above where they were last Friday in aggregate, but this hides a great deal of variation. There was a steady climb early in the week, led once again by large US mega-caps, but this completely flipped into the latter days. Smaller stocks suddenly dramatically outperformed, while the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ (Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla) sold off sharply.
Market Update: New government, same economy
Keir Starmer was not wrong when he called this an historic victory. It is the Labour party’s first election win since 2005, ending 14 years of Conservative rule and handing the latter party its worst ever defeat. The results were emphatic, but full of contradictions. Labour won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in history with the lowest ever winning vote share. Britain’s right-wing party collapsed, but the Reform party outflanking it, surged. The new government crushed the old by emphasising the need for change, but its policy agenda emphasises stability and continuity. And the contradiction most relevant to us...
Tean’s Client Success Story Published in Financial Times Adviser
Our Chartered and Independent Financial Adviser, Tean Hatt was interviewed by the Financial Times Adviser’s senior reporter Alina Khan earlier this month about a recent client case that has highlighted a wider issue for older women and the state pension. The resulting story was front page news in this national newspaper aimed at the financial services industry. This news outlet is renowned for its focus on financial advice and engaging thought leadership pieces that profoundly impact both advisers and clients across the UK.
Market Update: The business of politics, politics without policy
This Friday marks the end of the second quarter and the day after the first, and for Biden disastrous, televised debate of the 2024 US Presidential election - yet markets have been reasonably calm. Large institutional investors are in the midst of their calendar driven portfolio rebalances without causing big price moves between asset classes, but there is still time before US markets close for significant intraday moves like the ones we saw on 31st May.
Market Update: Stock market highs don’t feel so high
A record breaking week for equities headlined a very mixed bag of economic and political developments, but there is definite fuel for optimism.
DPMS Portfolio Commentary June 2024
With an improving macro-economic backdrop, May 2024 has provided some strong returns across developed markets as investors look forward to a rate cutting cycle, GDP growth figures start to accelerate and optimism around the Technology sector continues. After some difficulties in Q1, the UK equity market has catapulted forwards as a top performer quarter-to-date to the end of May, following better-than-expected GDP growth figures, which brought the UK out of recession.
Market Update: Still mostly sticking to the plan
In a week where politics seemed to drive markets, it was central banks and ever-changing economic growth expectations that made the real difference.
June Team News 2024
Welcome to June's Team News. Now we are approaching Summer, we're all hoping to experience some sunshine at long last! So, what is new with our Vizion Team?
Market Update: ECB’s Lagard makes rate cut history
Europe’s first rate cut was anticipated by markets as much as last year’s pivot from further rate rises. Will it stimulate capital markets to the same degree?
Market Update: Consolidation
No month end fireworks for May, just dull but solidifying consolidation by increasingly discerning investors focused on the data, not politics (yet).
Market Update: Nvidia versus the Fed
Following the strong upwards surge in stocks and bonds at the beginning of May, capital markets have recently moderated and were mostly flat, to slightly down, overall last week. Britons were preoccupied with Rishi Sunak’s surprise election call – polling now less than six weeks away – but capital markets clearly had bigger things to worry about.
Market Update: Pluses and Minuses
It was a decent week for investors, with global stocks up around 1% from last Friday. British and European equities finished virtually flat, with the US and China slightly up. The gain for US stocks was not outsized, but it was enough to take the S&P 500 to a fresh all-time high on Wednesday. Breaking that record made a fairly average week for markets look like a great one.
Market Update: A blooming May for the UK
Global equity markets are rising and the UK is now doing well, the Bank of England is dovish and Sterling is holding up - is political change less worrisome here than elsewhere?
DPMS Portfolio Commentary August 2024
With a generally positive Q2 now firmly in the rear-view mirror, we are focusing on looking forward to a more accommodating picture for monetary policy for the remainder of 2024. Interest rate cuts are expected across developed markets as inflation starts to ease with growth prospects expected to improve as debt costs fall.