Insight - Investments

Government budget balances are misunderstood. By politicians — sometimes wilfully — and even by some economists. So it’s no wonder then, if they’re misunderstood by the public.

Global markets have been focusing on US rate cuts over the past few months. But investors are increasingly looking to governments to stimulate growth, with a record 57% of fund managers saying fiscal policy is too restrictive, according to a recent survey of fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The UK’s first December general election in nearly 100 years punctuated an eventful year for politics and the economy. Financial markets experienced a series of mood swings throughout 2019, but ended on a high as investors regained their appetite for risk. Despite ongoing uncertainty, including Brexit and trade tensions between the US and China, we remain positive about the outlook for 2020.

So much emphasis on ensuring people don’t take on too much investment risk could be creating a different problem, argues David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. Case study: dear old dad.

Don’t let robots blindly guide you, warns David Coombs, our head of multi-asset investments. Algorithms are great investors right up to the point when things change – which is more often than programmers would like.

Elon Musk has got himself in hot water with the SEC after months of erratic behaviour. Our head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, ponders the effects of hubris.

Will McIntosh-Whyte, assistant manager of our multi-asset funds, finds a few hidden gems while exploring his new digs in zone one. He found another in Wisconsin, USA.

Rathbones’ head of equity research Sanjiv Tumkur discusses how the next generation is steering consumer trends, and why millennials matter for investors of all ages.

Clearing the hurdles