We begin this week's episode with a rundown of industrial metal price movements. From copper’s boom, Russian sanctions and the price of gold, our commodities correspondent Alex Hamer reveals what investors need to know on all things metal. A change in fate has swept across one of the UK’s most well-known and loved funds: Fundsmith Equity. It has not beaten its benchmark for the past three years, bringing a concerning end to its long run as a high-growth fund. Dave Baxter talks about the shifts in the portfolio over the past decade, analyst criticism, Terry Smith’s response and more of what re ..read more

We begin with Julian Hofmann, whose latest article covers the companies left behind as doom and gloom takes hold of the British market. Many investors have been turning their noses up at British stocks but Julian says there is still value to be found. He touches on some of these, such as furniture brand DFS, and how investors can calculate a share’s value.  Next is Jemma Slingo who reports on the world’s leading thread manufacturer and British heritage brand Coats. The company recently released full-year results which show it’s making great progress internally, which can be attributed in ..read more

Joe Bauernfreund and value investing are nearly synonymous. The veteran manager runs the AVI Global Trust and AVI Japan Opportunity Trust, and has responsibility for all AVI’s investment decisions as the CEO and CIO. His £1bn global stocks fund scours the world for the best companies but whose shares stand at a discount to the value of their underlying assets. In this podcast, funds editor Dave Baxter and Bauernfreund unpack his extreme value investment process, how Japanese valuations have changed, how to avoid value traps and more.  This episode was recorded on 27 March. Timestamps 1 ..read more

Mark Robinson hosts this week’s episode and begins with a rundown of the latest news in the financial world, from Donald Trump’s Trust Social listing to the Bank of England’s warning on private equity bubbles.  This week’s cover feature on Britain’s top-rated funds is up first. Dave Baxter shares what readers can expect from the article, including the trends picked up by our analysis and the big-hitting funds that can boost portfolios.  Julian Hofmann discusses the credit card and loan-focussed bank Vanquis Banking (VANQ) which recently released results. He and Mark discuss whether ..read more

Alex and Lord Lee have reunited for the seventh episode of Lee and the IC, two weeks on from Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget.  The announcement of a British Isa could shake up the UK’s private investing landscape so the pair begin by mulling over the practicality of the tax shelter and how future governments can improve the public’s attitudes towards investing. In his statement, Hunt also announced the government would be selling its NatWest (NWG) shares, which could be the move to get the ball rolling on Lord Lee’s gifting shares to schools idea, a method to increase investing literacy.&nb ..read more

We begin this week’s episode discussing specialist engineering company Dowlais (DWL) which has found itself making a considerable £450mn operating loss. Mark Robinson shares his thoughts on the business's health since the spin-off from Melrose and debates the effect the EV transition will have on the company. Dan Jones then stops asking the questions and answers them on his recent feature on Vodafone (VOD). Investors may struggle to name a more disappointing stock since the turn of the century, and Dan analyses the chances of the business turning its fortune around, and what the dividend cut ..read more

In the latest episode of the IC Interviews, Dan Jones hosts Abby Glennie, deputy head of smaller companies and co-manager of UK smaller companies strategies at Abrdn.  As part of Abrdn, Glennie has been pivotal in the world of domestic small-cap shares. In the show, the pair discuss some of the Abrdn UK Smaller Companies fund's holdings, including Bytes Technology, 4Imprint and CVS Group, as well as the current angst over the UK market, portfolio allocation changes, and the ‘Matrix’ stock screen. Timestamps 1:17 What Glennie makes of the angst over the UK market 8:10 Allocation changes ..read more

We begin this week’s episode with TP Icap, the interdealer broker. Julian Hofmann reports on the figures that came out recently, and he and Dan discuss the divisions driving performance, its electronic trading push and the business's valuation.  Val Cipriani, author of this week’s cover feature the IC’s guide to Isas 2024, then runs us through the importance of understanding the allowances, the ‘simplification’ changes made and some of the platforms investors can utilise.    Last up, Mark Robinson discusses the recent results from Hill & Smith (HILS). Which of its business ..read more

The chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled his Spring Budget and so we begin with economics expert Hermione Taylor unpacking all the major announcements. She explains what it could mean for the upcoming election and the impact on the country’s finances. The team also weigh in on the new British Isa – something that has divided the investing world. The Budget isn’t the only big news, results season is in full swing and Julian Hoffman covers one of the most popular UK companies: Legal & General (LGEN). Is it putting too much value into the pension value market? And after announcing an increased di ..read more

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