Should Investors Join the Rush for Venture-Capital Trusts?
The UK Budget will cut the upfront income‑tax relief on new venture‑capital trust (VCT) shares from 30% to 20% starting April 2026, prompting a surge in investor demand this tax year. Sales have jumped to £140 million in the past three weeks, more than double the same period last year, echoing the 2006 relief reduction spike. While the chancellor raised VCT investment caps—allowing larger stakes in companies up to £30 million—fund managers risk over‑raising and being forced into lower‑quality deals. The mixed signal creates short‑term buying pressure but long‑term uncertainty for UK early‑stage financing.
Food and Drinks Giants Seek an Image Makeover – Here's What They're Doing
Food and drink conglomerates are confronting a three‑pronged crisis: GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs are slashing consumer calorie intake, digital platforms are eroding traditional branding moats, and volatile commodity markets are exposing fragile supply chains. To preserve margins, firms such as Nestlé...
Tony Blair's Terrible Legacy Sees Britain Still Suffering
Tony Blair’s New Labour era introduced a series of fiscal and structural reforms that, according to MoneyWeek, have left lasting scars on the UK economy. Key decisions—including the sale of 40% of the nation’s gold reserves, a windfall tax on...
Inheritance Tax Investigations Net HMRC an Extra £246m From Bereaved Families
HMRC opened 3,977 inheritance‑tax investigations in the year to 5 April 2025, recovering roughly £246 million from estates. The rise follows the tax authority’s deployment of artificial intelligence, data‑matching and other big‑data tools to spot under‑payments. A frozen nil‑rate band since 2009, combined...
Barings Emerging Europe Trust Bounces Back From Russia Woes
Barings Emerging Europe trust lost roughly 28% of its assets when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rendered its Russian holdings worthless, halving its share price by late 2023. The board responded by expanding the mandate to cover the Middle East, Africa,...
How a Dovish Federal Reserve Could Affect You
President Trump appointed Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair, signaling a likely dovish tilt for monetary policy. Warsh is expected to pursue aggressive short‑term rate cuts while also shrinking the Fed’s bond holdings, which could push long‑term yields...
MoneyWeek News Quiz: Can You Get Smart Meter Compensation?
New UK regulations now require energy suppliers to automatically compensate customers with faulty smart meters if they fail to propose a resolution within five working days, and also cover cases where installation appointments are delayed over six weeks due to...
ISA Fund and Trust Picks for Every Type of Investor – Which Could Work for You?
The article urges investors to fully utilise the £20,000 stocks‑and‑shares ISA allowance before the 5 April 2025/26 deadline and to plan for the next year’s reset. It outlines fund options across risk profiles, from defensive global dividend funds and balanced total‑return...
The Most Popular Fund Sectors of 2025 as Investor Outflows Continue
UK retail investors continued to pull money from funds in 2025, with net outflows of £2.3 billion, matching the previous year. Equity funds bore the brunt, seeing £16.8 billion withdrawn, especially from US‑focused large‑cap tech exposure, while European equity attracted modest inflows....
Tom Stevenson's Fund Picks for 2026: MoneyWeek Talks
Tom Stevenson of Fidelity highlighted three funds he expects to outperform in 2026: the Dodge & Cox Worldwide Global Stock Fund, Fidelity Special Situations (UK‑focused), and the Lazard Emerging Markets Fund. He argues that after three strong years for US equities, investors...
Three Companies with Deep Economic Moats to Buy Now
Edinburgh Investment Trust is targeting firms with deep economic moats to deliver superior total return versus the FTSE All‑Share, focusing on three UK‑listed companies. Rightmove dominates UK property portals with an 85% share of time spent and is investing heavily...
Should You Add Gold to Your Pension?
Gold has surged 65 % in 2025 and added 7.6 % through early 2026, prompting advisers to revisit its role in retirement savings. With bonds and equities becoming more correlated amid persistent inflation, gold’s low correlation offers a diversification buffer for pension...
Energy, Healthcare and Utilities: How to Tap Into AI in the Real Economy
Artificial intelligence is moving beyond pure tech firms into the real economy, with healthcare, biotech, utilities and energy identified as primary beneficiaries. In healthcare, AI accelerates drug discovery, streamlines data processing and powers advanced robotics and brain‑interface projects, delivering measurable...
Junior ISAs Could Help with Inheritance Tax Planning as More Families Utilise Allowance
Junior ISAs are gaining traction as a tax‑efficient inheritance planning tool ahead of the April 2027 reform that will bring pensions into estate tax calculations. Families can contribute up to £3,000 per child each year, with a one‑year carry‑forward allowing £6,000...
Nationwide: UK House Price Growth Bounced Back in January
Nationwide’s latest index shows UK average house prices rose 1% year‑on‑year in January 2026, reaching £270,873, an improvement from the 0.6% gain recorded in December. Mortgage approvals remain close to pre‑pandemic levels, suggesting lingering demand despite recent market softness. Affordability...
NS&I February Premium Bonds Winners Revealed – Did You Win £1 Million?
NS&I announced two February 2026 Premium Bonds jackpot winners, each receiving a £1 million prize. Both winners held £50,000 of bonds, one from central Bedfordshire and the other from Liverpool. The February draw featured over 6.1 million tax‑free prizes worth more than...
Should You Sell Your Affirm Stock?
Affirm (AFRM) generates most revenue from high‑interest BNPL loans, unlike peers that rely on merchant fees. The company’s aggressive lending, high leverage, and dependence on risky consumers expose it to defaults, especially if the U.S. economy slows. Regulatory attention on...
Why It Might Be Time to Switch Your Pension Strategy
Pension advisers now argue that age 75, not the state‑pension age, should be the focal point of retirement planning. The popularity of income drawdown means many savers keep their pots invested while taking income, but HMRC rules make tax‑free cash...
Beeks –Building the Infrastructure Behind Global Markets
Beeks Financial Cloud, a Scottish tech firm, provides private ultra‑low‑latency cloud infrastructure for high‑frequency traders and exchanges. The company has moved from one‑off hardware sales to multi‑year, revenue‑sharing contracts with major exchanges in Australia, Canada and Latin America, creating predictable...
Saba Capital: The Hedge Fund Doing Wonders for Shareholder Democracy
Saba Capital’s latest activist push to replace the board of Edinburgh Worldwide Trust was rejected, with 53% of votes opposing the resolutions despite the fund’s 30.7% stake. The vote saw a record‑high 70% shareholder turnout, indicating heightened engagement. While the...
Rachel Reeves Is Rediscovering the Laffer Curve
Rachel Reeves, the UK chancellor, is embracing the Laffer curve principle by warning that continuous tax hikes can erode revenue. In a recent commentary, Matthew Lynn highlighted Reeves' shift toward a more nuanced fiscal stance, suggesting that the Labour government...
Star Fund Managers–An Investing Style That’s Out of Fashion
Two of Britain’s most celebrated fund managers, Terry Smith and Nick Train, are grappling with several years of disappointing returns. Smith attributes the underperformance to external forces, while Train publicly accepts responsibility and apologises to investors. Both built their reputations...
Top Reasons Homeowners Use Equity Release to Access £4 Trillion Housing Wealth
Homeowners aged 55 and over hold about £3.7 trillion of UK property wealth, 68 % of total housing value. Equity release, chiefly lifetime mortgages, is increasingly used to unlock this wealth without moving, with the market growing 11 % to £2.57 billion in 2025....
The Coastal Locations Where Properties Are Losing Value
Fresh data from Property DriveBuy shows UK coastal house prices fell an average 1% in 2025, with the steepest declines in Aberystwyth (‑6.9%) and Tenby (‑5.2%). Bournemouth and Brighton also recorded drops of 3.8% and 2.4% respectively, ending a pandemic‑driven...