Andrew Michael
Editor
Advisor
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Whisky As An Investment: All You Need To Know
Luxuries such as artwork, classic cars and fine wine have long been seen as having money-making potential, and are collectively referred to as ‘alternative investments’. Now, thanks to some stellar returns, the so-called water of life – whisky – has... -
Stocks & Shares: Is Now The Time To Buy The Dip?
Update 8 July: Stock markets like certainty. Political upheaval at Westminster following Boris Johnson’s resignation as leader of the Conservative Party is just another example of why it’s been in short supply for investors over the year-to-date. It’s already been... -
What Is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrencies are a digital means of exchange which use cryptography as a means of security. With a track record going back over a decade, cryptocurrencies are clearly more than just a fad. But they remain widely misunderstood by many people,... -
How To Buy Google/Alphabet (GOOGL) Stocks & Shares
Update 7 July 2022: Alphabet Plans 20:1 Stock Split After Shareholder Green Light After gaining shareholder approval at its annual general meeting in June, Alphabet – parent of the Google brand – is planning to conduct a 20:1 stock split... -
National Insurance Contributions Explained
The start of the 2022/23 tax year on 6 April heralded an increase in the rate at which National Insurance Contributions (NICs) are paid – by 1.25 pence in the pound. From 6 July, this increase will be offset for... -
How To Buy J Sainsbury (SBRY) Stocks & Shares
Latest results from supermarket chain J Sainsbury are a clear indication of how consumers are feeling the squeeze from the cost-of-living crisis. In a sign that shoppers are tightening their belts, the company reported today that general merchandise sales across... -
Best Emerging Markets Funds 2022
Some of the best returns for investors since the start of the 21st century have come from the emerging markets sector. According to the investment managers Schroders, the stock markets of the world’s developing economies have risen almost three times... -
Investment Outlook: What’s In Store For Rest Of 2022?
It’s already been quite a year for investors. Since the start of 2022, the US S&P 500 stock index has plunged by more than 20%, officially taking it into ‘bear market’ territory. In the UK, the FT-SE 100 index of... -
Best Bond Funds 2022
Most of us are familiar with borrowing, whether it’s a few pounds from a friend to stand a round of drinks, or a formal loan with a financial provider to help us buy a car or property. When governments and... -
Stock Market Indicators Investors Need To Know
When it comes to investing in stocks and shares, no one has invented a crystal ball that can predict the fate awaiting companies and investors. But there are indicators that have, in the past, helped investors to anticipate events, from... -
Stock Market Indices: All You Need To Know
A stock market index charts the ups and downs of a chosen group of shares, bonds or other type of investment security, making indices an intrinsic component of stocks and shares investing. Here’s a look at how stock market indices... -
How To Buy Airbnb (ABNB) Stocks & Shares
Airbnb, Inc. – as in ‘Air Bed and Breakfast’ – is a US-based company that allows property owners to rent out their rooms and properties to travellers looking for a place to stay. Travellers can rent out accommodation for several... -
Best Global Funds 2022
Global equity funds should, according to some experts, be a cornerstone of pretty much any stocks and shares portfolio. The thinking is that such a fund, which from a UK perspective targets overseas companies, can serve as a core holding... -
How To Buy PayPal (PYPL) Stocks & Shares
PayPal is a technology platform that dominates the digital payment marketplace. Headquartered in California in the United States, the company’s core business is an online payment service that allows individuals and businesses to transfer funds electronically. The service enables users... -
Best Income Funds
Stock market dividends - payouts to company shareholders - are a crucial part of the investing landscape. Income funds, a staple of stocks and shares portfolios, aim to generate a steady and preferably growing level of income through holdings in... -
What Is ‘Stagflation’?
In 1965, Iain Macleod MP told the House of Commons that Britain was facing the worst of both worlds: “Not just inflation on the one side or stagnation on the other, but both of them together. We have a sort... -
Best ‘Safe Haven’ Investments
Turbulent investment markets can shake your faith in riskier investments such as stocks and shares. When markets turn choppy as they have done this year (up to June 2022, the US S&P 500 index has fallen by about 15% since... -
How To Buy Tesla (TSLA) Stocks And Shares
UPDATE 13 June 2022: Muted Response To Share Split Tesla filed its annual proxy statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday 10 June, confirming its plans for a 3-for-1 share split. The split is subject to shareholder... -
What Are Rules About Travelling Back To UK?
As of 18 March 2022 all UK Covid border restrictions were dropped. Vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers entering the UK no longer need to take any form of Covid test, complete a passenger locator form or quarantine. Below are the rules... -
From AGMs To M&As: 10 Landmarks Of Corporate Life
Even the largest businesses have their roots in relatively humble beginnings. Amazon started off as an online bookstore, Tesco began life as a market stall, and KFC initially sold fried chicken from a single service station café in Kentucky. Whatever... -
Best Technology Stocks 2022
The world is driven by technology. As a stocks and shares investor, it therefore makes sense to have exposure to companies that occupy this important and all-encompassing industrial sector. Technology - ‘tech’ - stocks include any business that provides a... -
Index Trackers vs Exchange-Traded Funds: Powering Passive Investment
The ‘passive’ method of investing is an increasingly popular means of gaining exposure to the stock market. It offers access to a wide variety of shares, often at a lower cost than ‘active’ investment, the other main approach. With passive... -
Best UK Funds Of 2022
It’s been a turbulent year worldwide for stocks and shares investors, as they’ve grappled with a backdrop of higher interest rates, soaring inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s stringent Covid lockdowns. The London stock market, in relative terms, has... -
Best Funds To Beat Inflation
The UK, along with many other countries, is in the grip of soaring inflation, with millions of households facing a cost-of-living crisis. Consumer prices grew by an eye-watering 9% in the year to April 2022, a two-percentage point hike on... -
Best ETFs For 2022
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs), provide investors with a relatively low-cost way of gaining exposure to a wide range of shares or bonds within one investment offering. ETFs typically aim to mimic the performance of a specific stock market index such... -
How To Buy Walt Disney (DIS) Stocks & Shares
Worldwide entertainment group, The Walt Disney Company, reported significant growth within its streaming service division in the latest quarter, contrasting sharply with recent subscriber woes that have afflicted Netflix, the industry leader in this sphere. More than nine million people... -
How To Buy Shell (SHEL) Stocks & Shares
Shell, the UK’s largest energy company, has recorded its highest-ever quarterly profit as the oil and gas group capitalised on soaring prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Adjusted earnings for the FTSE 100 giant rose to £7.1 billion ($9.1 billion)... -
How To Buy Microsoft (MSFT) Stocks & Shares
Software giant Microsoft Corp. has announced better-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter that ended in March this year, shrugging off some of the macroeconomic concerns hanging over the technology sector. Quarterly sales and earnings topped analysts’ expectations, boosted by... -
How To Buy Dogecoin (DOGE)
The price of Dogecoin has spiked upwards in recent days on the back of news that Tesla boss, Elon Musk, was putting together a takeover bid for Twitter, the microblogging platform. Musk’s bid turned into corporate reality yesterday (Monday) when... -
Best Index Tracker Funds for 2022
Index tracker funds are a popular form of investment that offer investors exposure to a wide variety of shares, often at a relatively low cost. In the FAQs below, we explain how tracker funds work and why they are popular... -
Dogecoin (DOGE): What You Need To Know
Who let the Doge out? The price of cryptocurrency Dogecoin has risen by eye-popping amounts since the start of the year – and its rise has been given further impetus by rumours swirling around the crypto world that Elon Musk,... -
How To Buy Netflix (NFLX) Stocks & Shares
Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service, has seen a sharp reversal in its share price after revealing it has suffered its first decline in paid memberships for more than 10 years. Shares in the company plunged by around 35% to... -
How Many ISAs Can I Have?
Individual savings accounts (ISAs) can appear to be a bit complicated, not least because they come in several different guises (see below). Whichever part of the ISA family you’re considering, all you need to remember is that these products are... -
Best Investment Trading Apps UK 2022
Until recently, the idea of managing your stocks and shares from your mobile device – in effect, having a dealing room in your pocket – would have seemed a fanciful notion. But today’s smartphones are making this a reality. Private... -
Forex Trading For Non-Experts
Foreign exchange trading, often shortened to ‘forex’, or ‘FX’ trading, essentially involves buying and selling currencies. At a simple level, Brits who exchange pounds for a foreign currency at a bureau de change, bank, Post Office or travel agent before... -
What Is Ethereum (ETH) And How Does It Work?
Ethereum is the world’s second largest cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin, its price recently surging to a record high of $3,400 at the beginning of May 2021, a quadrupling in its value since the start of 2021. What are cryptocurrencies? With an... -
Investing For Beginners – How To Buy Stocks And Shares
Stock markets can be scary places for anyone new to investing: a mass of numbers, flashing screens and impenetrable jargon. A far cry from dropping coins into a piggy bank, or paying cash into a high street savings account. If... -
Share Dividends – How To Get The Best Returns
Company share dividends are a crucial part of the stock market landscape. Dividends have traditionally been a key component both for income seekers and as part of retirement planning strategies, but they endured a rocky period during the worst days... -
ESG Investing: The Only Way Is Ethics – Or Is It?
Can you make money from investment markets while maintaining a principled stance on ethical issues? Proponents of ESG investing – where ethical, social and (corporate) governance concerns are to the fore in decision-making – certainly believe it is possible. Once... -
What’s The Score With Football And Crypto?
Last year, Spanish striker David Barral made football history when his move from Real Madrid to DUX International de Madrid was paid for using Bitcoin. While this was the first transfer deal to be funded in this way, the tie-up... -
Keen To Try Your Hand At DIY Investment?
A combination of lockdowns, a growing desire by individuals to take control of their finances and the march of technology means the ranks of do-it-yourself private investors have swollen considerably in recent times. For evidence of this surge, consider the... -
How To Find The Best Lifetime ISA
Individual savings accounts – ISAs – are government-approved financial products offering tax-free ways to save and invest. A Lifetime ISA (LISA) is especially noteworthy because the government will reward you for saving by giving you 25% of your annual investment... -
How To Find The Best Stocks & Shares ISA
If you’re unfamiliar with them, individual savings accounts, or ISAs, can sound complicated. It doesn’t help that they come in several different guises. But all you need to remember is that ISAs are a form of financial wrapper offering a... -
Got A Gripe With Your Bank? Here’s How To Complain
The last few weeks have not been a great advert for the processing systems of the UK’s banks and building societies. Over the festive break, reports emerged of how Santander, the high street banking giant, accidentally paid out £130 million... -
What Does 2022 Have In Store?
It’s traditional, at this time of year, to speculate about what the future might hold – even if making predictions is a notoriously tricky business. No one, 12 months ago, forecast that teenage British tennis player, Emma Raducanu, would be... -
Revealed: Crash-For-Cash Car Insurance Scam Hotspots
Birmingham and Bradford are the UK’s worst areas for ‘crash for cash’ insurance scams, where fraudsters seek insurance pay-outs and compensation having deliberately caused road traffic collisions. The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) analysed 2.7 million motor insurance claims made in...
Whisky As An Investment: All You Need To Know
Stocks & Shares: Is Now The Time To Buy The Dip?
What Is Cryptocurrency?
How To Buy Google/Alphabet (GOOGL) Stocks & Shares
National Insurance Contributions Explained
How To Buy J Sainsbury (SBRY) Stocks & Shares
Best Emerging Markets Funds 2022
Investment Outlook: What’s In Store For Rest Of 2022?
Best Bond Funds 2022
Stock Market Indicators Investors Need To Know
Stock Market Indices: All You Need To Know
How To Buy Airbnb (ABNB) Stocks & Shares
Best Global Funds 2022
How To Buy PayPal (PYPL) Stocks & Shares
Best Income Funds
What Is ‘Stagflation’?
Best ‘Safe Haven’ Investments
How To Buy Tesla (TSLA) Stocks And Shares
What Are Rules About Travelling Back To UK?
From AGMs To M&As: 10 Landmarks Of Corporate Life
Best Technology Stocks 2022
Index Trackers vs Exchange-Traded Funds: Powering Passive Investment
Best UK Funds Of 2022
Best Funds To Beat Inflation
Best ETFs For 2022
How To Buy Walt Disney (DIS) Stocks & Shares
How To Buy Shell (SHEL) Stocks & Shares
How To Buy Microsoft (MSFT) Stocks & Shares
How To Buy Dogecoin (DOGE)
Best Index Tracker Funds for 2022
Dogecoin (DOGE): What You Need To Know
How To Buy Netflix (NFLX) Stocks & Shares
How Many ISAs Can I Have?
Best Investment Trading Apps UK 2022
Forex Trading For Non-Experts
What Is Ethereum (ETH) And How Does It Work?
Investing For Beginners – How To Buy Stocks And Shares
Share Dividends – How To Get The Best Returns
ESG Investing: The Only Way Is Ethics – Or Is It?
What’s The Score With Football And Crypto?