Investing

Women face a difficult challenge when it comes to their finances; on average, they live longer than men but earn less.

Many Nutmeggers are asked by friends and family for their opinions when it comes to financial matters, particularly understanding their investments. And, while we have a team of specialist in-house financial advisers on hand, the first step is often to make sense of all the information presented by investment companies.

On 21st March Prime Minister, Theresa May, asked the EU for an Article 50 extension until June 30th. They declined, instead giving the UK two options.

A lot of untruths are spoken about exchange-traded funds (ETFs). So we thought we’d unpick the fact from the fiction.

2018 was a difficult year for markets and it left many people searching for a glimmer of hope from any asset class that could offer some level of return. A few Nutmeg customers spotted that gold had started to shine and contacted us to see if we’d be upping the gold content of our portfolios. Here, we take a look at the two sides to this attractive element and show why it’s important not to always be blinded by this precious metal.

We recently launched a range of socially responsible portfolios, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) scoring for all Nutmeg portfolios to help investors better understand how their investments align with their values. As part of our goal to demystify this area of investing, we’re publishing a series of analysis pieces looking at ESG scores in more detail. In this blog we look at how ESG metrics vary with geography from market to market, driven by different sectors, industries and economic drivers.

In January, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) revealed proposed changes to the UK stewardship code, that for the first time would require signatories to take into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when satisfying their stewardship obligations.

Despite the English love affair with property as an investment, we’ve long held the view that the liquidity mismatch between what’s promised by commercial property funds and that of their underlying holdings should ring alarm bells for investors. As the FCA requests commercial property funds provide them with daily liquidity updates and warnings from the Financial Ombudsmen Service, more so than ever before, investors should be cautious.

In short, dividends reward shareholders by giving them a cut of the company’s profits. But there’s more to it than that. They can be of great benefit to portfolios in the long-term, especially when re-invested – that’s why they form a crucial part of our investment management strategy at Nutmeg.

UK income funds remain very popular with UK retail investors. These funds aim to produce a yield higher than the broad UK equity market. Given the very low rate of interest paid on cash – the average ISA cash rate was just 0.92% in January¹ – this isn’t very surprising. Of the total amount invested in retail UK equity funds, 30% is invested in funds targeting income².

Whether it’s recycling, cutting our energy use at home, or changing the way we eat and drink, the majority of Brits say they are choosing more sustainable and ethical lifestyles these days.

Despite what many people may think, you don’t need a degree in economics to be a good investor.