Markets Lift at last !!

But I am sure they will fall again. You can't expect stable markets, in an unstable world.
 
But I am sure they will fall again. You can't expect stable markets, in an unstable world.

instability is still good for pensions and investors though, they make just as much on the ups and downs :-)
 
Only for active traders or those with funds with managers that are on the ball.
 
Scottish Mortgage have made a nice comeback, nice and steady so hopefully more robust.
 
Only for active traders or those with funds with managers that are on the ball.

i find the vanguard lifestyle managed funds are very active like that :-)
my funds with them are thriving.
 
Looking at the markets this morning, I don't think they like the fact that Reform seem to be doing so well in the local election results. Red across the board with few exceptions.
 
Unknown quality to come from reform worries them, worries a lot of people?
 
Looking at the markets this morning, I don't think they like the fact that Reform seem to be doing so well in the local election results. Red across the board with few exceptions.

It's hard to know if its specifically due to it being Reform, or if it's because the traditional two party system is being threatened. Maybe both.
 
Looking at the markets this morning, I don't think they like the fact that Reform seem to be doing so well in the local election results. Red across the board with few exceptions.

yeah but to be fair so is everyone else, i dont think the middle east is scared of an old bloke ina tweed jacket.
 
Well, it seems to have got over whatever the spook was and has recovered a bit, mostly. Thankfully as I have to sell something (National Grid - taking profit , and in order to pay for the drive to be resurfaced!)
 
Well, it seems to have got over whatever the spook was and has recovered a bit, mostly. Thankfully as I have to sell something (National Grid - taking profit , and in order to pay for the drive to be resurfaced!)

Asia seems to be the only WW market doing ok today, think everyone else is down the pub having an early friday.
 
Scottish Mortgage have made a nice comeback, nice and steady so hopefully more robust.
Noticed that, I wished I'd bought some when they were rather low, I had bought some just at their previous peak. Also, Rio Tinto shared have nearly doubled in the past year, another one I missed...
 
Just wait until the full effect of the war with Iran kicks-in.
 
Lovely chunky dividend from Aviva today!
Can't grumble at 26.2p per share.:)

Trying to game the market in these conditions is not for the faint of heart,not even for the 'ordinary' punter.
 
I hope my "defensive" array of BP, Shell, Rolls Royce, Bae and Chemring plus HSBC will weather the storm well, so far so good. Thinking of dipping into the Hang Seng a bit for a laugh!
 
I hope my "defensive" array of BP, Shell, Rolls Royce, Bae and Chemring plus HSBC will weather the storm well, so far so good. Thinking of dipping into the Hang Seng a bit for a laugh!
Well,good luck with the Hang Seng..lol .

BP..Good re Iran war and oil prices. RR, Chemring and Bae ..Good re increased defence spending. HSBC good re inflationary aspect of the Iran war which will keep interest rates up and most likely increase them. Have you looked a the Beta stock Barclays ? 0.9-1.7 rating. It's forecasting a 66% surge in dividend this year. Latest divi was 8.6p. Consumer's voice are challenging the car finance mis-selling scheme saying it's depriving many car buyers of due compensation...so something to bear in mind. Lloyds was,at last, on the up,too before the Iran war.
 
Banks and Insurance are cornerstones of my portfolio, bought Natwest, Barclays and Lloyds at their low point and the dividend cover is now generous compared to what I paid, same for Standard, Aviva and L&G. They've all just paid for my recent Bhutan trip (all in ISAs of course). Volatility in the markets unwelcome but hopefully once the recent batch of dividends have been delivered hope to get something extra at a reasonable discount, which also delivers a good dividend..
 
Huge lift on my Vanguard Managed funds over the last week
:)

One of my wife's funds that I manage has a healthy just short of 17% on the last 12 months

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Also one of my Vanguard Funds which is quite similar is close as well :-)

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It's early today though as I find most markets wait until US markets open so most are down a little at moment.
I think Trump the little orange turd being away from his little hot desk has calmed markets for a few days lol
 
The FTSE ended down 177points today,it was even lower than that earlier on. Anxiety about a long drawn-out leadership battle..the market hates uncertainty..Got to get through the Rushworth by-election first then the possibility of a left-leaning Andy Burnham government.. He once criticised excessive bank profits, so that along with everything else we know about. To be fair, Burnham did a great job in Manchester because he engaged with business and set up public/private initiatives but not like the one-sided ones Blair set up.

This fear of a Burnham government sent 10 year bond yields to 5.1%.
 
The FTSE ended down 177points today,it was even lower than that earlier on. Anxiety about a long drawn-out leadership battle..the market hates uncertainty..Got to get through the Rushworth by-election first then the possibility of a left-leaning Andy Burnham government.. He once criticised excessive bank profits, so that along with everything else we know about. To be fair, Burnham did a great job in Manchester because he engaged with business and set up public/private initiatives but not like the one-sided ones Blair set up.

This fear of a Burnham government sent 10 year bond yields to 5.1%.

yeah oddly enough world markets hit the toilet, Trump coming home on a friday i suspect
no one knows what that t*** will do on a weekend.
 
Great week and looking like Friday will be a hot one
:)


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Rose significantly yesterday, fallen further back today. May is a good month for dividends for me, so do I take a bet not knowing what the markets will do from day to day or get a 5year deal on a cash ISA at >4.5%?
 
Careful with the cash ISA - apparently Reeves is planning to tax interest in ISAs and SIPPs if more than £12k in cash is held in them. I may have the detail wrong, but that's what I've been reading.
 
Careful with the cash ISA - apparently Reeves is planning to tax interest in ISAs and SIPPs if more than £12k in cash is held in them. I may have the detail wrong, but that's what I've been reading.

I believe it's the annual contribution level for Cash ISA's that is being reduced to £12,000. The overall £20,000 annual limit will still be in place, but the remaining £8,000 would have to go into a Stocks and Shares ISA, or a combination of your choosing such as £5,000 into the Cash ISA and £15,000 into the S&S ISA etc, But the max. for the Cash ISA will be £12,000.

Regarding tax, I believe it interest earned on any cash that is sitting uninvested in a Stocks & Shares ISA that will now be taxed. I don't believe that there are plans to tax cash held uninvested in a SIPP, but I wouldn't rely on that either.

---

Re. investments, I'm a bit gutted that my recent punt with a Chinese fund hasn't gone well, -9.38% at the moment, but it was only a small investment and I've got time to wait. I'm confident it will play ball soon. In contrast my recent investment into a European fund is doing well, 13.13% up. I also made two small investments in some Gold funds, but they aren't performing very well at the moment, but looking at the DXY it would suggest that it is more just a cooling off period and profits being taken, they are expected to climb.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment is with SAP SE. It's more a disappointment with myself for not paying attention, I knew the recent rapid growth in 2024+ was due to their cloud and AI and it was overvalued. I should have known it would cool off and waited until about now to buy as it's currently being cited as undervalued. Fortunately, just a token investment for fun, but it still hurts! lol

On the plus side, most of my main and larger investments have been performing well and thankfully smashing inflation to bits despite the smaller poor performers. Scottish Mortgage has been lovely recently as have many of the tech funds and also my Vanguard holdings are doing well as usual. Long may it continue, but who knows with Trump still about.
 
Careful with the cash ISA - apparently Reeves is planning to tax interest in ISAs and SIPPs if more than £12k in cash is held in them. I may have the detail wrong, but that's what I've been reading.

yeah she is going to do something with ISAs , to be honest there are some good high interest savings about at the moment.
4% is easy at the moment.
 
Careful with the cash ISA - apparently Reeves is planning to tax interest in ISAs and SIPPs if more than £12k in cash is held in them. I may have the detail wrong, but that's what I've been reading.

I think Gman is correct.... she is planning on limiting the cash element to £12000 so people will be 'encouraged' to invest in British companies; I am getting to that age when the £12000 might not apply given that the elderly are not necessarily looking for longer term growth but rather a steady income over the shorter term. Investing in the UK is not very attractive proposition given that a lot of blue-chip companies are not listing in London and the likes of Blackrock's UK Smaller companies and FTSE are really not doing spectacularly well. I thought Jeremy Hunt's idea to have another £3-5000 on top of the £20000 just to invest in the UK was a smarter idea than Rachel's.
 
I think Gman is correct.... she is planning on limiting the cash element to £12000 so people will be 'encouraged' to invest in British companies; I am getting to that age when the £12000 might not apply given that the elderly are not necessarily looking for longer term growth but rather a steady income over the shorter term. Investing in the UK is not very attractive proposition given that a lot of blue-chip companies are not listing in London and the likes of Blackrock's UK Smaller companies and FTSE are really not doing spectacularly well. I thought Jeremy Hunt's idea to have another £3-5000 on top of the £20000 just to invest in the UK was a smarter idea than Rachel's.

That is definitely a smarter idea, but alas this Labour government like to take rather than give.
 
I looked it up and it is limiting the amount you can invest PER YEAR to £12k so yeah its a reduction but to be fair what percentage of the population will it affect?
So if you have an existing cash isa its not going to make any difference to it, just further investing.

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I'm more concerned about the interest being taxed if uninvested - I need to look into that.
 
I'm more concerned about the interest being taxed if uninvested - I need to look into that.

Yep, it's a bit snide because they know people sell stock when markets could be looking ropey and leave it as cash in the account ready to invest at a later date when the markets look good again, therefore not impacting the annual allowance had they actually withdrawn the money.

I wonder what's next on the tax agenda?
 
Was it the Police who released "Every Breath You Take"?...
 
I'm more concerned about the interest being taxed if uninvested - I need to look into that.
I presume that would come under the general umbrella of the tax on general savings interest....and would assume that if you have cash sitting in your ISA envelope waiting to be invested the interest being accrued won't be much....

Markets are down again today....
 
Up and down like "an 'ore's drawers!"
 
I kicked the erse out this years isa investment with a new pair of speakers an amp streamer, power amp to follow when they get to the UK later this year. Rachel from accounts look elsewhere.image.jpgimage.jpg
 
I kicked the erse out this years isa investment with a new pair of speakers an amp streamer, power amp to follow when they get to the UK later this year. Rachel from accounts look elsewhere.

That's an understatement, those aren't cheap! Nice, how do you find them?
 
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