Investments

Stocks had a small dip in November, before recovering back towards their previous highs. The longest US government shutdown in history had a negative effect, before coming to an abrupt end and allowing stocks to rally.

Another month, another gain for stock markets. It can’t continue like this forever and there are clear signs of profit-taking in some of the most popular trades. This feels like a test to see whether a renewed bout of “buy-the-dip” behaviour will drive stocks to fresh highs once the US government re-opens.

Stocks are at record highs and have now risen for five months in a row. Such a hot streak is quite rare, happening only 11 times since 2009. An artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom is at the heart of the rally.

August followed a familiar path with stocks rising for the fourth month in a row. A number of factors are supporting the market, including interest rate cuts from the US and UK, a massive increase in US fiscal stimulus through President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and a significant decline in the value of the US dollar

14 August 2025

Our pocket guide to 2025/26 tax rates will help you make sense of all the different areas of tax and how they might affect you. This useful guide outlines the tax rates for the next financial year.

2025 has been a mixed year, so far. The winners of 2023 and 2024 are not currently faring so well, with US stocks lagging behind Europe and the UK as the “Magnificent 7” technology companies decline in value.

4 March 2025

A Rollercoaster Start to the Year -
2025 has begun with the market’s focus flipping between different topics at a lightning pace. Firstly, government bond yields spiked higher and created alarm about budget deficits. However, lower inflation data made those fears subside and led to a strong rally...

We are at a point in time where US stocks are dominating all others, in terms of both their outright size and the strength of their returns. In 2024, the MSCI USA index gained 24.6%, almost double the 12.4% return achieved by the rest of the world (MSCI World ex-USA). However, 2025 does bring a mixed outlook for unemployment and inflation, in the US and elsewhere, therefore it will be interesting to see if investment returns can remain so strong in the coming year.

The re-election of Donald Trump to the US Presidency has caused another large rise in US stocks, which were already doing very well. Indeed, his “America first” ideology is reflected in the way US stocks have outperformed others recently.

The cost of borrowing has risen sharply in the past few weeks for the UK and US governments. This has caused stock markets to pause for breath after making strong gains.