From current accounts to savings or investing pots, it can be difficult to stay on top of the best place to keep your money. Some people will prefer to shop around and change their accounts regularly, while others may prefer to stick to one or two providers for the long-term. Which is right for you will likely come down to your personal circumstances, but here are some things to consider if you’re thinking about updating your accounts.   Current accounts For many of us, the first financial account we’re likely to have is a current account. They’re used for our everyday banking, from ..read more

A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a type of personal pension that offers more choice about where and how your investments are placed than a typical pension administered by a pension fund manager. The changing world of work has led many of us to consider opening a SIPP to give us some control over our retirement savings. Learn how SIPPs and other personal pensions differ and which might be best for you.  SIPPs have many benefits. They offer attractive tax incentives and allow you to start withdrawing your money from the age of 55 (57 from 2028).  They also give you choice ov ..read more

Interest in investing has flourished in recent years with more accessible information and coverage on companies, especially household names in tech such as Apple and Alphabet which are now among the world’s largest. While we do track the influence of individual stocks, the Nutmeg team is instead far more concerned with the indices that house them. Here’s why.   It’s encouraging that more people have been putting their money to work in recent years, which has been prompted by low interest rates – which can make stocks very attractive compared to putting money into savings accounts or ..read more

Individual definitions may differ, but a ‘bear’ market is generally when a stock market drops in value by 20% or more from its recent highs. This has happened this week in the US with the S&P 500 index, but there’s good reason why those in diversified portfolios should not panic.   Named after one of the most rugged and aggressive members of the animal kingdom, a bear market comes as an analogy of the way this mammal attacks through swiping down on its prey. This is opposed to the ‘bull’ market – attacking as it does with its horns up – which is used to define the good times.&nb ..read more

In this month’s investor update, investment writer, Gary Shepherd, speaks with our chief investment officer, James McManus, about markets in May, ongoing inflationary pressures and the key data that may, or may not, indicate the likelihood of a recession in the coming months.     May saw some further volatility in equity and bond markets, but they finished the month with a late flourish. Where did this leave us overall for May?  It has been another volatile month for equity assets, with global developed market equities at one point down over -5.5% in May, but recover ..read more

It’s been a challenging year so far for socially responsible investing (SRI), with portfolios across the board having struggled to deliver positive returns. Though there are several factors at play which have impacted short-term performance, in our view the opportunities ahead remain largely positive for this still maturing theme.     This year has so far been volatile for both global equities and bonds generally, regardless of whether they fit within the SRI theme or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) filters. Covid constraints have now been lifted among most developed eco ..read more

While the start of the summer may bring a loosening of ties on Wall Street, it’s been the US earnings season that’s been keeping many hot under the collar; the all-important results from some of the world’s largest companies determining the health of markets globally.   Since the end of the first quarter of the year on 31st March, the accountants have been beavering away tallying up the figures for listed corporates publishing their results for the first three months of the year, and the past 12 months. The reporting ‘season’ began in mid-April and will run through until the end of ..read more

Stock markets have been turbulent since the start of the year and there are signs that a bear market might be coming – this is a sustained period of decline in a market which falls 20% or more from its peak.  Even the best-known companies in the world have not been immune to the slump in share prices – Amazon is down 30% this year, for example. Recently the dark mood in stock markets has spread and the value of bonds, currencies such as the pound and the euro and more recently, cryptocurrencies have been badly affected.  For people with investments, logging on to check the value of ..read more

In this month’s Investor Update, paraplanner Matthew Smith speaks with director of investment strategy Brad Holland about why tech stock performance has raised fears of a bear market in equities, yet some of the UK’s largest companies remain buoyed by energy price rises and a cheaper pound.   Markets seemed to have a rough April. There’s been talk of a bear market – what is it and should investors be worried?  A bear market is a 20% drop in financial prices from their most recent high. There has been speculation the S&P 500 Index – the US Large Companies – might breach ..read more

Us Brits love to talk about our homes and house prices but are sometimes more hesitant to talk about other investments. But can buying property really be compared to investing in stockmarkets? And which is better suited for you?   As the biggest purchase most of us will make in our lifetimes, it makes sense for homeowners to see property as an investment – it is nice after all to hear your home’s value has risen even if you don’t intend to move any time soon.   Over the long term, UK residential property has historically proven to be solid investment – though regional pric ..read more