Wealth news and insights

In the last week or so headlines have been dominated by talk of a recession. As concerns mount about the US-China trade war and slowing growth in the global economy, markets have fallen around the world.

As part of ‘exploring the future’, we spoke to different experts to find out what long-term trends are they seeing and how these might affect your long-term financial plans and investments.

In the US at least, upward market moves of the magnitude we have seen this year are unusual, especially when they are not preceded by a more significant correction (or market fall) than the one which occurred in the final quarter of 2018. Hence, we remain somewhat more cautious than of late.

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) all but promised to cut interest rates at its most recent meeting, even hinting at ’further accommodation’ to follow. With interest rates a major determinant of equity valuations, shares have since soared in celebration of the implicit pledge.

Recently, we undertook research to test our hypothesis that women don’t invest in the markets (stocks, shares and bonds etc.) as much as men. With more than a third of high net worth women (35%) saying they don’t have an investment portfolio, compared to 17% of high net worth men, our belief was confirmed.

We consider the facts and figures, and provide some top tips to help you on your way to a comfortable retirement.