Looking at the year so far, our portfolios remain comfortably above benchmarks. At the same time, overall returns have been lower than we expected at this point given the prevailing market challenges. In the first chart we are showing our Low to Medium and Medium Risk Portfolios against their respective…
Alex Chappell
31st May, 2023
Investment Review Quarter 1 2018
Market Review The first two weeks of 2018 saw a continuation of steady growth within investment markets. Although many of these markets were trading near to or at all-time highs, economic data still appeared relatively supportive of further growth. However, history has taught us to be…
The Investment Committee
6th April, 2018
When we launched our range of five model portfolios on 1st March 2008, we didn’t quite know it yet, but one of the deepest financial crises in modern history was ensuing. At the market open, the FTSE 100 index priced at 5,884 but markets were firmly in panic…
Ashley Brooks
9th March, 2018
Love at first sight… can sometimes have a nasty bite!
The bitcoin journey quite aptly characterises the early stages of a failed relationship. Dave Sheep is just a normal guy… good looking, mid-20s, athletic build with an infrequent interest in investments. He’s in town one day, just picking up a few bits when he walks into a shop…
Alex Chappell
9th February, 2018
Investment Review Quarter 4 2017
Market Review of Quarter Four A strong start, a flat middle and a buoyant finish – the three distinct phases that characterised investment markets in 2017. The main stock markets started the year on the front foot, led by Europe and Emerging Markets. The…
Ashley Brooks
12th January, 2018
Investment Review Quarter 3 2017
Market Review of Quarter Three The summer of 2017 may be remembered as a turning point in this economic cycle. After a decade of pumping money into developed economies, Central Banks look to have put that policy in their rear-view mirror, signalling that interest rate hikes…
Ashley Brooks
13th October, 2017
Investment Review Quarter 2 2017
Market Review of Quarter Two After a strong start to the year, global stock market momentum faltered through Q2. Without substance, initially the rally continued, however, economically things weren’t looking that good. We’d had a series of poor data releases both in the UK…
Ashley Brooks
14th July, 2017
The investment industry is terrible at making things simple. It likes to hide behind jargon and phraseology, aiming to confuse and amaze. It makes the people sound clever and what they do extremely difficult. However, it’s no coincidence that often the fund managers with the best performance records are…
Alex Chappell
16th June, 2017
Investment Review Quarter 3 2016
Market Review of Quarter 3 After a volatile start to the year, investors were hoping for some consistency over the summer months, if only to take a breath and take in all of the change. Markets had absorbed the Brexit vote and Greece, China and the oil price…
Ashley Brooks
11th October, 2016
Inside an IC meeting: A fly on the wall
Beginning my internship with DB Wood at the start of July was an exciting time to start my journey into the world of the financial services; Britain had just voted to leave the EU, a result very few had expected, America was running through their quadrennial…
Declan Gamble
5th August, 2016