Investing

Following a less than stellar start to the year, oil markets opened this week in a rattled state. The price of crude oil fell by over 30% on Monday, sending financial markets into a frenzy. Four factors coincided to cause this tumble.

When markets opened on Monday, the price of crude oil fell by the largest amount in a single day since 1991. The sudden price drop came on top of investors’ concerns about the coronavirus, resulting in a bad day for stock markets, with negative performance for many portfolios. In this blog we try to explain what’s happened between Russia and Saudi Arabia to prompt the sudden fall in the oil price.

Bev Shah is the founder of City Hive, an organisation calling for greater diversity in investment management. In the run-up to International Women’s Day, she explains why she thinks investment firms are letting down female investors. 

There are so many painful truths around women and investing that it’s difficult to pick just one. But how about this: there are more funds in the UK run by men named Dave than there are by women. To mark International Women’s Day, we take a look at five ways the industry is failing female investors.

Global stock markets have witnessed one of the sharpest weekly declines since the 2008 global financial crisis as the world grapples with the wider spread of Covid-19, a type of coronavirus. In this blog, we try to put the market impact in context.

What does it mean to be a good steward in today’s world? BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, invited Nutmeg and other investment firms to discuss how best to use voting and engagement to promote better and more sustainable corporate behaviour.

The outbreak of Covid-19, otherwise known as the coronavirus, in Italy and elsewhere in Europe has rattled global stock markets in the week beginning 24 February. The global economic impact of this virus was always expected to be significant but three things were previously keeping markets optimistic in the medium term.

The coronavirus outbreak has left its mark on equity markets. Travel restrictions have disrupted Chinese New Year celebrations, weighing on the tourism and consumer goods sectors. But it’s too soon to say if the outbreak will have an impact on global economies. News is more positive in the US, where companies are mostly beating expectations with their latest earnings reports.

Ever wondered why, if investing is so important, they don’t teach it in schools? Or where the name Nutmeg came from? Watch as 10-year-old taskmaster, Roscoe, challenges our chief investment officer on these points and more.

Managers of stock-picking funds often say they’re “contrarian”. They mean they do their own research, make their own decisions, and don’t follow the herd. That’s one reason they think they’re entitled to charge high fees.

Once bitten, twice shy, goes the old saying. But when it comes to the performance, costs and risks of stock-picking strategies, are investors changing their preferences or will they fail to heed the lessons of (recent) history?

When it comes to your children’s future, not much is predictable. You don’t know if your child will be gay or straight, artistic or sporty, a deep-sea diver or Wimbledon champion. However, one thing you can be fairly certain of is that they’ll need a place to live when they grow up. How do you ensure the Bank of Mum and Dad has enough in it to help them?