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1 week ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
Will elevated interest rates and the prospect of recession spell trouble for the sector? Published on May 9, 2025Debt investors face two major challenges: interest rate risk and credit risk. Given the current political and economic landscape, it would be understandable to be nervous about both. However, for savvy investors there are still opportunities in this esoteric sector.
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1 week ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
If someone offered you the chance to double, triple or even quadruple your returns, you might be tempted. However, get-rich-quick investment schemes almost always come with a catch. Leveraged exchange traded fund (ETFs) are a case in point. While the potential gains are eye-catching, in reality the funds rarely deliver results for private investors – quite the opposite. The risks are built into the design of these funds.
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2 weeks ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
Could market turmoil turn the page for value investing? Published on May 2, 2025Value investors have had a difficult time over the past decade. With growth stocks in the tech sector driving the majority of returns, there has been little room for this much beleaguered style. However, the upheaval caused by President Trump’s tariffs has highlighted the limits of US exceptionalism and the relentless search for growth. In response, value investing could be due a resurgence.
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3 weeks ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
Portfolio Clinic: Recent market turmoil has muddled our reader’s retirement plans. Holly McKechnie explores what they should do nextPublished on April 25, 2025For soon-to-be retirees, US President Donald Trump’s tariffs could not have come at a worse time. Watching your pension fund drop in value as markets crash is unnerving to say the least. However, it is important not to let panic get the better of you.
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3 weeks ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced plans for a small pensions pot consolidator in a bid to boost retirement savings. Under the new system, pension pots valued at £1,000 or less will be automatically combined into one pension scheme. Savers will retain the right to opt out. The number of small pension pots has risen drastically in recent years due to auto-enrolment and a rise in the frequency with which workers move jobs.
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3 weeks ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
Platform costs are not the only thing to watch out for: app design can affect your returns Published on April 23, 2025Trading platforms are manipulating investors into gambling on risky products such as derivatives and cryptocurrency using prize draws and frequent push notifications, a new report from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned.
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1 month ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has increased the interest rates across its existing fixed-term savings accounts, as well as relaunching its popular one-year and five-year options. Today the organisation released new issues of its one-year and five-year British Saving Bonds. The one-year option offers a rate of 4.05 per cent, while the five-year bonds pay 4.06 per cent. NS&I had dropped its five-year bonds from its product option in December. It paid 3.4 per cent at the time.
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1 month ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
As more of our assets move online, there are a number of things to consider when planning your estatePublished on April 14, 2025Long gone are the days when we stored all of our financial information in a filing cabinet tucked away in our house. Most of us now have digital assets in one form or another, even if we don’t consider them as such.
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1 month ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
America dominates tech funds, but there are options for investors willing to be creativePublished on April 11, 2025US tech stocks are in trouble. The pre-eminence of American technology companies was first called into question earlier this year, after the launch of DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company. DeepSeek claimed it was able to build its AI model for a far lower price than its US competitors, prompting a tech sell-off which still shows little sign of abating.
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1 month ago | 
investorschronicle.co.uk | Holly McKechnie
Retirement used to be a shorter affair. However, increased life expectancy means many of us will now live into our late 80s or early 90s. When you combine this with the switch from defined benefit to defined contribution pensions in the private sector, today’s retirees face a far greater challenge managing their pension income. Pensioners tend to fall into one of two camps: those who underspend and those who overspend.
