This week in MoneyWeek magazine: make money from pampered pets, how to find growth at a good price, and five ways to invest in infrastructure.
Plus, we've got a new page for small businesses, Merryn interviews Mark Slater an extremely successful fund manager and we've got all the best share tips from the rest of the British press.
All of that and an awful lot more could be yours, hand delivered to you every Friday, plus our smartphone and tablet app, and everything on the MoneyWeek website. Why not give it a go now?
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Pampered pooches and cosseted cats
We all like pets, it seems. Rabbits, hamsters and even the frankly pointless budgie are forever in favour. And cats remain inexplicably popular, despite treating their owners with barely concealed contempt and having a devastating effect on the country's songbird population. And (a side effect of toxoplasmosis infection, perhaps) owners are spending more and more money to make sure their furry little darlings have nothing but the best, says Chris Carter in this week's cover story.
The average cat owner in Britain (Americans go even further overboard) will spend £17,200 over their pet's lifetime, for example, covering such things as luxury "hotels" for when they go on holiday, accessories such as £80 litter boxes, and, of course, astronomical vet's bills worms and fleas are no fun for anyone of any species, after all. Dog owners spend a little less, at £16,900, but arguably get much better value for money (dogs, by any objective standard, being vastly superior pets than cats).
But for any and every desire, no matter how outlandish, there is a business somewhere that will cater to it. And it goes without saying that all of that is great for investors. Chris picks eight stocks that could help you cash in on humans' unaccountable passion for animal companionship find out what they are with a subscription to the magazine.
How to find growth at a good price
After a bit of a hiatus, Merryn's back with one of her interviews. This week, she talks to Mark Slater, a highly successful fund manager and co-founder of Slater Investments.
"I never meet a fund manager who tells me that he just likes to buy good stocks and hold them for a bit", says Merryn. "Instead they tell me they are growth managers, value managers, income investors, momentum managers, quality managers, or some mix of the lot."
Mark Slater defines himself as a growth investor. But what does that mean? "We're trying to buy businesses that have a degree of dynamism in terms of earnings growth", he explains. "But we're trying to buy them cheaply, so what we're looking for is growth at a reasonable price." Which is pretty much what everyone is trying to do, of course. The difference between Mark and a lot of other fund managers is that he is phenomenally successful. To find out the secrets of his success, sign up to MoneyWeek magazine now.
Five ways to invest in infrastructure
With both Theresa May and Donald Trump talking of spending on infrastructure, it makes sense to stick a little of your portfolio into funds that can profit from it. Max King looks at some ways you can get exposure, and picks five investment trusts to buy. And while "returns from infrastructure funds are unlikely to be as good as from equities", he says, the five he picks currently yield between 4% and 5.3%, and offer "a compelling alternative to government or corporate bonds". A must for any diversified portfolio, I'd say.
Altfi, property and SMEs
This week in the innovative finance section, I look at asset backed lending it's a wide ranging subject that covers everything form invoice financing to superyachts and "objets d'art". It can be risky, especially at the fruitier end of the market, so you might not want to put your pension pot on it.
Speaking of pensions, David Prosser looks at ways to "duck under" the lifetime limit. £1m might sound like a lot of money, but if you've been saving for a long time and your investments have been doing well, you could easily find yourself going over it.
On our new small business page, we ask when is it best to continue as a sloe trader, and when should you incorporate? Elsewhere, Emma Lunn looks at the trials of renting your property out when you live out of the country, Ruth Jackson tackles the annual tax return, and we take a look at tidal power.
All that, plus our usual features including property, toys and travel could be yours. Just sign up here.
