Hrkn to .. The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors

Hosted by Share Premium

Business Investing

Website RSS feed

Episodes

242

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

About the show

.. Each week Share Radio casts its experienced eye over the financial and economic landscape from a British perspective, highlighting topics great and small that they feels are – or should be – of interest to the far-sighted personal investor. Hrkn to www.shareradio.co.uk for more ..

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 11, 202610 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: What do the FTSE100 changes mean?

Russ Mould of A J Bell discusses the quarterly reshuffle of the FTSE100 constituents. Coming in at the end of June are Computacenter, Investec and Aberdeen. Investec is the second bank to enter this year while Computacenter is felt to be an AI play. Out go Berkeley Group, Rightmove and Mondi, indicating sentiment turning against real estate and property. Investors often find companies moving up to be a positive indicator but we should not forget the disaster that was ASOS entering the FTSE250. In the end, investors should stick to fundamentals and valuations. Sector flows can be a useful soft indicator for spotting bubbles. Russ gives examples from the tech bubble and that of oil and resources. You just never know what is going to tip a sector over the edge or when. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

June 4, 202610 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Games Workshop & Easyjet

Neil Shah of Edison Group returns to the topic of Games Workshop. The recent trading update of this small cap that has grown into a FTSE 100 share significantly beat expectations. It is growing so strongly that it has already beaten Edison's analysts' 2027 numbers. The company benefits from loyal consumer demand, is still expanding geographically and will benefit from the forthcoming linked Amazon drama. It is a business which is growing in a sensible way while paying decent dividends. Neil points out that it was only a fortnight earlier that he talked of the attractions of Easyjet, now the subject of a bid from US private equity. It may be opportunistic but there is strong underlying demand and valuation there. Stelios still owns 15% of the company and, given that the shares were £18, he may not be willing to sell. But it shows that there are some very attractive UK businesses out there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 28, 20268 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Market reaction to mid-term Prime Ministers

For once, Russ Mould of A J Bell talks politics. With the prospect in the offing of the 8th mid-term Prime Minister since 1962, how much attention do markets pay to such things? Rather less than you might think, concludes Russ after crunching the numbers. Although the results vary, by and large the equity market doesn't seem to be particularly threatened, while gilt market yields on every occasion have gone down, though with a wide range of outcomes. Perhaps this is not surprising. Whatever their policies, the occupant of Number 10 is more likely to shape the P in P/E ratios than the E. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 21, 202611 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: MP Evans, AEP and Easyjet

Finlay Mathers of Edison Group explains why MP Evans and AEP fell so heavily this week. Both produce crude palm oil, which estimates say are in roughly ⅓ of the things on supermarket shelves, even shampoo. The Indonesian President is to centralise product exports through a state-run company which investors fear will produce bottlenecks and distort prices. Both companies, however, say they sell to local refineries and do not export directly. After Easyjet reported, Neil Shah says investors might consider thinking about how the company will be perceived after the Iran crisis. Their planes alone are worth about £8 a share and, in normal times, they trade cheaply with an attractive yield. If you believe the status quo will return, they could be interesting from a valuation perspective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 14, 202611 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: What UK political turmoil means for markets

Russ Mould of A J Bell says that the UK 10-year gilt, yielding over 5%, is the highest since 2008. Although that was normal in the Blair years, things are different after 15 years of financial repression with inflation consistently above target and debt levels everywhere far higher. If Starmer and Reeves are replaced, we'd have the 7th PM and 9th Chancellor in 10 years. In the G20 only emerging markets have to pay more to borrow than the UK, while our interest bill is more than we spend on defence. Investors can get a theoretically risk-free and tax-free 5% nominal yield with gilts. It's a potential alternative to equities but inflation is the enemy: while the UK market yields 3.6%, with buybacks, bids and so on factored in, it's more like 6.3%. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 7, 20268 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Seraphim Space Investment Trust and Molten Investors

Liam O'Byrne of Edison highlights Seraphim Space Investment Trust, which has a diversified portfolio of primarily private space technology companies, businesses which would otherwise be very hard for investors to reach. The shares have risen over 300% in a year, an amazing re-rating with its one-time 70% discount turning into a 56% premium. Despite the rise, there are several positive catalysts ahead. Molten Ventures, in the FTSE250, is a venture capital firm focussing on private high-growth tech companies. Its recent trading update makes for encouraging reading. They trade at a discount of 25% but the management is working to close that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

April 30, 202611 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Oil and what the markets are telling us

Russ Mould of A J Bell says that oil briefly touched $125 a barrel because the "blockade of the blockage" is cutting off 1/5 of the global supply. However, he points out that this is a paper future oil price. The current price is higher, as one might expect with tight supply. There are, of course, other types of oil which are currently much cheaper because they go nowhere near Iran. The equity market is pricing in a speedy solution but it is just as easy to argue that the blockade will continue and that stagflation will be the result. It isn't only oil that is the problem, of course. Urea and helium are both essential commodities also facing supply problems. Even if the markets are correct and things de-escalate, in the face of so much that has been destroyed or damaged, it is unlikely to be a smooth ride ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

April 16, 202610 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Finding an optimal asset allocation

Russ Mould of A J Bell says that the S&P 500 has just set a new all-time high, with the UK getting close too. Despite the war in in the Middle East, markets must believe that they've seen it all before and that the war won't last long. But there are longer-term issues to address if not, including the status of the dollar, supply chain issues and national security, with a move from Just In Time to Just In Case. This year the best performer has been Latin America while the UK has beaten the US. If you want dependable stodge and think the emphasis will continue to be on commodities and raw materials, then both areas look sensible. Russ also discusses Japan. Investors need to think about their sectoral and geographical mix as well as valuation. This can go a long way towards helping you find an optimal asset allocation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

April 9, 202610 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Billington Holdings & Devolver Digital

Finlay Mathers of Edison Group highlights Billington Holdings, a steel specialist with a market cap of £50m which makes frames for large buildings. Listed on AIM, it restructured and consolidated operations last year, increasing capacity. Recently it has won a raft of new contracts. The company focusses on training its own staff, has a strong balance sheet with zero debt and will report results in a couple of weeks. Chloe Wong looks at Devolver Digital, an indie games publisher of third party and in-house video games. Its full-year results were encouraging in a flat gaming market. Indie games are expected to perform strongly and the company, which has made significant operational improvements since its 2021 IPO, is well positioned and at a significant discount to fair value. More information is available on the Edison website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

April 2, 20269 min

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: The one-year anniversary of Liberation Day

Russ Mould of A J Bell marks the first anniversary of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. The overall impact hasn't been as great as feared at the time, with tariffs settling around 10-13%. Since then, the dollar has gone down, US equities have underperformed and US bond yields have generally gone up. The concept of the US being the only game in town has been reassessed, while supply chain management and national security in all its ramifications have come to the fore. In all this, the UK isn't the worst place to be invested in, thanks to the heavy emphasis on oils, mining and staples, which do well in times of uncertainy. The UK isn't immune if there's a worldwide recession but it does offer some balance and ballast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices