President Xi’s economic aim and the China Dream October 27, 2017 | City Talk Following the opening of the 19th National People's Congress in Beijing, our chief economic strategist Gerard Lyons gave his personal view on President Xi's main speech. Our investment committee keeps fully abreast of global affairs, both in terms of the opportunities they offer and the wider implications. The Chinese NPC is a political gathering and [...]
UK inflation rises, adding to pressure on rates October 20, 2017 | City Talk There are two key domestic issues this week for UK financial markets. One is the latest inflation news and the implications for interest rates. The second is the ongoing Brexit discussions and what might the latest phase imply for settling. Let's focus here on the inflation news. This week's data release showed that inflation rose [...]
How the UK can plug the productivity gap October 13, 2017 | City Talk Addressing the UK’s low productivity is more important than ever and whilst there is no magical solution to the problem, we can make improvements, says Gerard Lyons. Productivity helps determine a country's long-term performance. It measures output per person or per hour worked. Over time, high productive economies have higher output and living standards. Low [...]
Germany, ‘Jamaica’, France & the UK – a European update October 2, 2017 | City Talk The German elections could be a game changer. It is still too early to tell what impact they will have on future German and European policy, but the immediate reception they are receiving in Germany suggests it could yet prove profound. Germany But, first things first. After an unconvincing campaign, Merkel was re-elected Chancellor for [...]
How investors can meet the income challenge September 22, 2017 | City Talk Wealth managers should take a rounded approach to building portfolios, especially if the aim is to provide an ongoing income for the future. Investors’ ambitions can typically be classified as one of two broad goals: accumulating and growing a pot of money for use in the future, or investing to provide ongoing income, such as [...]
Inflation is back and shouldn’t be ignored August 31, 2017 | City Talk When you factor in inflation you will need to save much more than you might think. Not long ago, the biggest fear of central bankers across major economies was deflation. Policy after policy has been introduced to ward off this risk. More recently we have seen inflation pick up, particularly in the UK where sterling’s [...]
Stay the course to meet your goals August 15, 2017 | City Talk Market uncertainties often prompt investors to make knee-jerk reactions to events. A longer term attitude is what’s needed, says Netwealth’s Iain Barnes Every generation thinks that they live through unprecedented times. There certainly seem to be enough extraordinary issues to worry about currently, from political gyrations to the longstanding economic worries dating from the start [...]
Robo Advice is here to stay, now let’s clear up the confusion July 20, 2017 | City Talk It may be a hot topic for investors, but what does the term “robo advice” actually mean? Here is some much-needed clarity from Netwealth COO and co-founder Thomas Salter. If you regularly read the Personal Finance or Money sections of any newspaper, it’s unlikely that you’ve escaped reading about robo advice. You’ll probably have heard [...]
How geopolitics trumps economics July 7, 2017 | City Talk Earlier this week I attended the "Athens Seminar", an economic and political round table discussion that has been hosted annually since 1979. I thought it would be of interest to share some of the main takeaways, as they help understand the current environment. Since the global financial crisis, economic and financial issues have dominated this [...]
The clock is ticking for traditional wealth managers July 4, 2017 | City Talk We need a new approach to wealth management. With the FCA turning its attention to the sector, pressure is mounting on the traditional culture of high fees and indifferent service. How many of us either enjoy, or are comfortable with, managing our own money? Well, that depends on what we mean. For many of us, [...]
