Education

Widening retail participation in European equity markets

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. A thematic summary of a recent event hosted by New Financial Retail participation in equity markets  Investing in public equity markets can be a great way for individuals to improve their long-term financial security. It can also help to democratize wealth creation, connect issuers to their owners, and connect the financial services industry with the people it exists to serve.  However, retail engagement in equity markets and retail investment has fallen ...

Portfolio Review 2022 – Mark Bentley

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Introduction Following on from my reviews in 2020 and 2021, I have now conducted a similar exercise for 2022. See my 2020 review for an explanation of my investment objectives, strategy, "asset types" and investment accounts. My 2021 review can be found here. I think most investors will have found 2022 a difficult year and I was no exception! See "Results Breakdown" below for the gory details. Whilst my complete portfolio ...

Year End Portfolio Review of 2022 – Roger Lawson

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. As I have published in previous years, here is a review of my own stock market portfolio performance in the calendar year 2022. I’ll repeat what I said last year to warn readers that I write this for the education of those new to investing because I have no doubt that some experienced investors will have done a lot better than me, while some may ...

Portfolio Review 2022 – Cliff Weight

This is a personal blog by ShareSoc Director Cliff Weight. The views expressed are my own and do not purport to represent ShareSoc. Neither ShareSoc nor I are authorized to give financial advice, and nothing in this blog should be considered advice. Do your own research!  Performance Overview for 2022 My portfolio numbers for 2022 were: Everything – all equities, ISAs, SIPPs, OEICS, property, etc -6% Cliff’s portfolio F - the ones I actively manage. These are mainly small cap and AIM, i.e. growth shares -29% My benchmark = FTSE ...

Vanguard Platform/Funds and Customers’ Performance

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. ShareSoc’s role is not to recommend one platform over another, but we do try to bring to members’ attention relevant information about platforms. Robin Powell in the Telegraph has written about the performance of investors in Vanguard funds and highlights that in general they have been patient investors and not bought at the top, nor sold at the bottom, nor over-traded. Data on Vanguard A Vanguard ISA has ...

The Outlook for Stock Markets and Bank Runs

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Market Outlook It’s that time of year when financial commentators like to pontificate on the future for the stock market in the coming year and tip sheets give their hot share tips for the New Year. As regards economic forecasts and how the stock market will perform I can do no better than quote John Littlewood in his book “The Stock Market”: “The sequence of bull and bear ...

Review of the Year – But It Could Have Been Worse

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Not many stock market investors will have come out ahead this year. At the time of writing, the FTSE-250 is down 17.5% over the past year, the FTSE-AIM index is down 30% and the FTSE-100 scraped in a small rise of 1.8%. The last one was driven by rises in commodity prices which benefited oil/gas companies and big miners which dominate the index. With war in ...

Share Power Book Review

Book Review by ShareSoc Director Cliff Weight Brilliant, insightful, fun and easy to read short book on how ordinary people can change the way that capitalism works. Merryn Somerset Webb’s Share Power is a page turner. I recommend all ShareSoc members buy a copy and read its 145 pages. Should companies care about climate change? Should they be vanquishing the gender pay gap? Should they be advancing human rights in their supply chains? With 11 million people owning shares directly or indirectly, it’s ...

Portfolio Review 2021 – Mark Bentley

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Introduction Following on from my review in 2020, I have now conducted a similar exercise for 2021. See last year's article for an explanation of my investment objectives, strategy, "asset types" and investment accounts. 2021 was "a year of two halves" with my holdings roaring ahead in the first half and then a bit of a rollercoaster ride since September. These market gyrations are difficult psychologically but having lived through ...

What’s the best way to teach children about financial literacy?

The following article represents the personal views of Cliff Weight and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. I saw this interesting article in the FT: We need people to know the ABC of finance: facing up to the financial literacy crisis. The article showed data on Responses to financial literacy questions around the world. An example: If you had $100 in a savings account and the annual interest rate was 2%, how much would be in the account after 5 years, more than $102, ...