Latest articles by Merryn Somerset Webb
-
Beware: things are not normalEditor's letter With markets are all over the place, it is hard for investors to know what to do. But there is a strong chance that the assets that have done well over the last few years won’t do the same over the next few.
Editor's letter -
Young people are becoming a scarce resource – we should value them more highlyOpinion In the last two years adults have been bizarrely unkind to children and young people. That doesn’t bode well for the future, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
Opinion -
ESG investing wanes as “dirty activism” spreadsOpinion The “green” stocks that make up many ESG portfolios aren’t doing so well, so money is going back into “brown” investments. And that’s no bad thing, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
Opinion -
The market is gradually coming to its sensesEditor's letter Rising inflation is making markets focus on "jam today" over "jam tomorrow" with investors switching from growth stocks to value stocks.
Editor's letter -
We need to invest in renewables – but we need to invest in oil and gas, tooEditor's letter We need heavy investment in renewable energy, says Merryn Somerset Webb. But we also need continued investment in fossil fuels, to keep prices low and limit hardship on the way to net zero.
Editor's letter -
How the new environmentalism makes bad land goodAnalysis Around two decades ago farming was in crisis but today farmland is looking more lucrative. Merryn Somerset Webb explains why this is and how investors can tap into the market.
Analysis -
Investors are waking up to the value in UK stocks – you should tooOpinion It looks like the value in UK stocks is finally becoming obvious to everyone else, says Merryn Somerset Webb. If you haven’t repositioned your portfolio, you might want to get on with it.
Opinion -
Inflation could soon start to hurtEditor's letter Inflation is not going away. And with people's wages not keeping up, things are going to start to hurt, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
Editor's letter -
Market crashes: what happens when investors believe the impossibleAnalysis Market bubbles – and subsequent crashes – are rarer than many people think, but all are driven by the same thing, says Merryn Somerset Webb: investors’ belief in something that always turns out to be impossible.
Analysis -
Making money is about to get much harderEditor's letter Soaring inflation, geopolitical risk, bubbly stockmarkets - getting a return on your investment is going to get much more difficult – but not impossible, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
Editor's letter -
Whether it’s cryptocurrencies or investment trusts, make sure you know what you’re investing inOpinion Many people scoff at cryptocurrency speculators pouring money into an asset they may barely understand. But the same could be said of investors in many other more mainstream assets too, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
Opinion -
Shareholder capitalism: the world’s most powerful asset manager wants you to have your sayAnalysis Under shareholder capitalism, the owners of the companies the big fund managers invest in are us – yet our voice is rarely heard. Now one asset manager, Larry Fink of Blackrock, could be about to give us a say. Merryn Somerset Webb looks at what he's proposing.
Analysis -
Tech stock carnage: do you think Apple, Amazon and Alphabet will save you? Think againOpinion As tech stocks continued to slide, there is a view that you can escape all the carnage by holding really high quality profitable stocks. That view is wrong, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
Opinion -
Shareholder capitalism: why we must return power to listed companies’ ultimate ownersAnalysis Under our system of shareholder capitalism it's not fund managers, it‘s the individual investors – the company's ultimate owners – who should be telling companies what kind of world we want, says Merryn Somerset Webb
Analysis -
Inflation: now we really have something to worry aboutEditor's letter We’ve been worrying about a sharp rise in inflation for years, says Merryn Somerset Webb – now, we finally have something to worry about.
Editor's letter -
Made money in cryptocurrencies? Don’t forget to pay your taxes – in sterlingAnalysis Speculating on cryptocurrencies is akin to gambling in all but one respect, says Merryn Somerset Webb: you must pay tax on any gains, and you must pay it in sterling.
Analysis -
Ask for a pay rise – everyone else isOpinion As inflation bites and the labour market remains tight, many of the nation's employees are asking for a pay rise. Merryn Somerset Webb explains why you should do that too.
Opinion -
Energy prices will keep rising – here’s how to investOpinion Energy prices will keep rising for the foreseeable future – it is a simple matter of supply and demand. Merryn Somerset Webb explains how you should invest to take advantage.
Opinion -
The long-awaited return of value stocksEditor's letter For a few years we’ve been wondering when the gulf in valuation between “growth” stocks and “value” stocks will close. It might finally be happening, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
Editor's letter -
How to invest as we move into a new eraEditor's letter As we move away from pandemic panic and into world of risk acceptance, higher energy prices and higher interest rates, your priority as an investor should be to protect the real value of your assets.
Editor's letter -
The markets in 2022: why investors should tread very carefullyOpinion Despite everything, 2021 saw more extremely healthy returns for stockmarket investors. But 2022 is unlikely to be as profitable, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
Opinion -
MoneyWeek’s Super Six: December 2021 update on our investment trust portfolioTips MoneyWeek’s favourite investment trusts have rocketed in the past ten years, says Merryn Somerset Webb. We will stick with them
Tips -
Predictions are pointless – but we do them anywayEditor's letter We were right on much of what we predicted for this year, but wrong on much of it, too. The only thing we can say about the future is that it is unpredictable.
Editor's letter -
Things are expensive, but we are not yet in a full “everything bubble”Editor's letter When people are paying $650,000 for an imaginary yacht, you might think asset price inflation has got completely out of control. But there are still pockets of value left, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
Editor's letter
