What diversification really means
Investment portfolios are like teams. They should all work together harmoniously, with each member bringing their own strengths to balance out the others’ weaknesses so that no matter what happens, you wind up with a good result. That’s the theory. The art, science and skill of diversification is building an investment portfolio which makes this work in practice. Here is [...]
Why you should be investing now
If you have a strong stomach, then now could be the perfect time to set up your share portfolio for a win when the market recovers. Admittedly, a market recovery is not guaranteed, but a glance through history shows that there have been many occasions when the world, and the stock market, has gone through “interesting times” - and come [...]
What’s on the stock market horizon?
Hopefully, the worst of the COVID19 pandemic is now over and people around the world can start easing themselves into the new normal. Of course, in some place, the term “the new normal” may have to be interpreted fairly loosely. In the UK, for example, 2021 should be the year Brexit really begins as the UK finally severs ties with [...]
The basics of cashflow modelling
Financial planning is basically the art and science of balancing your needs (and wants) in the present with your needs and wants in the future. Of course, the future can mean anything from the next few seconds to the time until your death (and maybe even beyond if you have dependents and/or are concerned about leaving a legacy). A lot [...]
What has the Coronavirus taught us about e-commerce?
If there’s one economic sector which should, at the very least, be doing just fine right now, it’s arguably e-commerce. For example, looking at the headline figures, Amazon is doing spectacularly well. According to CEO Jeff Bezos, however, this “pandemic profit” will be cancelled out by the need for extra safety precautions. Cynics might take this comment with a pinch [...]
Spotting Coronavirus Scams
Scammers are a sad fact of life. It would be nice to think that they would “go straight”, for the duration of the pandemic. Unfortunately, quite the opposite seems to be true. Some people are treating the Coronavirus scare as an opportunity to scam other people out of money. Repulsive as this is, there’s very little the police (and other [...]
How to help small businesses keep going
Although it’s the big-name brands which get national, or even global, recognition, it’s the numerous small businesses which are the real backbone of any economy. The UK has long been known as an entrepreneurial economy with a high percentage of small independent and/or local business and a large self-employed sector. Much of that sector is currently feeling the pain of [...]
The Coronavirus Versus the Stock Market
When the Coronavirus first hit, governments around the world did whatever they felt they needed to do to save lives. Now that we appear to be nearing “the end of the beginning” of the pandemic, both governments and the public need to think about balancing the need to save lives with the need to save livelihoods. This includes both the [...]
Is now the right time to invest?
Right now, economies around the world are taking a pounding. Stock markets are dropping and gold is picking up. In short, we’re living in interesting times and realistically it’s probably going to take a while before everything settles down. So is this a time to batten down the hatches or a time to get out and search for bargains? That [...]
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