AJ Bell Comments

AJ Bell budget comment – three key pensions announcements (and one thing he didn’t say)

Following the launch of a new cash Lifeftime ISA by Nottingham Building Society, AJ Bell looks at whether the Help to Buy ISA or Lifetime ISA is better for different customers.

Following the launch of a new cash Lifetime ISA by Nottingham Building Society, AJ Bell looks at whether the Help to Buy ISA or Lifetime ISA is better for different customers.

The Government would risk a backlash from younger voters if it caves to pressure to scrap the Lifetime ISA (LISA), AJ Bell warns.

“Kingfisher’s Turkish joint-venture Koçtaş is a very, very small part of the DIY giant – it contributed just £3 million in profit last year in combination with a 49%-owned French operation – so investors don’t need to worry too much about that, but slack sales at the core Carrefour brand in France is a bigger concern altogether,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell’s Investment Director.

“Three founder members of the FTSE 100 in 1984 went broke and it is to be hoped that House of Fraser – a private company since 2006 – does not become a fourth, not least for the sake of the company’s staff and suppliers,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“The collapse of the Turkish lira and the threat of contagion across emerging and also developed stock and bond markets look to be catching many investors off guard but this is just an another example of what the economist J.K. Galbraith once termed ‘the extreme brevity of financial memory, because we have been here before,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.

“The Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) sector has struggled this year, falling slightly while the FTSE All-Share has eked out a 1% gain, and today’s interim results from Derwent London offer enough to keep both bulls and bears of the British property stocks more than interested,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.

“A very experienced – and successful – hedge fund manager once told me that he never shorted high-flying, popular stocks until they had at least halved, because that was when confidence would finally begin to crack and shareholders would start to sell on the rallies and not buy on the dips. The latest action in Tesla’s share price reinforces the wisdom of these words,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.

“Helped by the long-awaited drop in conduct and litigation costs, loan and asset write-downs and restructuring charges, the Big Five FTSE 100 banks racked up a stated pre-tax profit of £9.3 billion in the second quarter of 2018, their best three-month showing since the £10 billion total racked up between January to March 2013,” says Russ Mould AJ Bell Investment Director.

The Office for National Statistics has today published its latest analysis of UK longevity data, alongside a comparison with major developed countries.

“Management’s decision to recommend a cash offer for the John Laing Infrastructure fund from a consortium of financial buyers could well trigger more bids for the remaining London-quoted investment trusts in the infrastructure area for three reasons,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.

“Yet another increase in the total cash pile at his Berkshire Hathaway, to $129.6 billion, despite $12 billion in net new investments in traded securities in the second quarter (mainly Apple), suggests that master investor Warren Buffett is still having difficulty in finding value in US – and perhaps global – stocks,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.

The Work and Pensions Committee has today launched a wide-ranging inquiry into pension costs, charges and value for money.

“RBS boss Ross McEwan had identified three major obstacles to the bank’s long-awaited return to the dividend list. He has now satisfied European state-aid regulators regarding the Williams & Glyn subsidiary, settled with the US Federal Housing Agency and in principle reached a $4.9 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice, so all three of those boxes are ticked,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.

“The substantial jump in Tesla’s shares in after-hours trading in the US could lead you to believe that the car maker is firmly back on track after a torrid few months of production problems, a plunging share price and public relations gaffes from its boss, but a more muted reaction from the company’s traded bonds shows that there is still much work to be done,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.

“If stock market investors want a guide as to what they need to know about the Bank of England’s second rate hike in ten years, then they should take a look at the UK Government bond – or Gilt – market,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today published early indications of its Wealth and Assets Survey.

“Apple’s third-quarter earnings easily beat analysts’ forecasts, as sales rose 17% and earnings per share soared by 40%, as price increases on its hardware and flourishing services and app store revenues more than compensated for sluggish volume growth in iPhones, iPads and iMacs,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.