Some exciting news to distract you from epidemiologist Neil Ferguson’s love life this week. This is issue 998 of MoneyWeek. In two weeks (assuming 2020 has already done its worst and we are still here) we will publish issue 1,000. In some senses this feels right. MoneyWeek launched into a crisis of sorts (the dotcom crash) and rather came into its own during another (the GFC). So it should be no great surprise that we are marking our relative longevity in the middle of another. Our core purpose has always been to help you invest. Our plan is to make issue 1,000 one of our best investing issues ever. So, here’s my anniversary ask to you: if you had £1,000 to invest right now for a ten-year period, where would you invest it?
This is not easy to answer. Listen to our latest podcast with Andrew Milligan (until this week, chief investment strategist at Aberdeen Standard Investments), and you will begin to see the problems. We have some idea of when economies will unfreeze – much of the EU is unlocking; US case growth is slowing; and in the UK we have been told that lockdown will ease from next week. But we have no idea how much of it will melt away completely as they do. How will consumer behaviour change (“not much” is my slightly contrarian view)? How will corporate behaviour change? How might government force that change? Are markets, currently operating in the dark as they are, massively overvalued? Or is it just that the investible universe has shrunk: perhaps travel, hospitality and commercial property are too risky compared to technology and healthcare? And what of oil – is it lower for longer or is the best cure for low prices really low prices?
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
'We face a £6m inheritance tax bill under Reeves's changes – it's sheer terror'Thousands of families fear they’ll have no option but to look at selling their firms in a fire sale to pay inheritance tax bills, due to Rachel Reeves’s changes to business property relief
-
Millions of over 50s fear pension investment risk – how should you position your portfolio?To de-risk or not to de-risk, that is the question. Act too late and you could face irreversible losses. Move too early and miss out on significant gains that could transform your retirement.
-
The dangers of derivatives as the “Goldilocks era” endsEditor's letter This is no longer a benign environment for investors, says Andrew Van Sickle. But – as the recent pension-fund derivatives blow-up shows – not everybody seems to have grasped that.
-
What to do as the age of cheap money and overpriced equities endsEditor's letter The age of cheap money, overpriced equities and negative interest rates is over. The great bond bull market is over. All this means you will be losing money, says Merryn Somerset Webb. What can you do to protect yourself?
-
Investors are bullish – but be very carefulEditor's letter Many investors are buying the dip, convinced the latest upswing is the start of a new bull market. The odds are that it’s not, says Andrew Van Sickle. The bear has unfinished business.
-
The MoneyWeek approach to investingEditor's letter At MoneyWeek, our aim is simple: to give you intelligent and enjoyable commentary on the most important financial stories, and tell you how to profit from them. So how do we do that?
-
Celebrity bitcoin ads echo the subprime mortgage crisisEditor's letter A wave of ads featuring celebrities punting crypto to the masses are reminiscent of how low income Americans were encouraged to take on loans they couldn’t afford, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
Will the UK's property slowdown turn into a house-price crash?Editor's letter As the cost-of-living crisis intensifies and interest rate rise, it is hard to see reasons for UK house prices to keep rising, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
What sardines can teach investors about today's marketsEditor's letter A California tale of “eating sardines” and “trading sardines” can help us divide investments into speculative and real, says Merryn Somerset Webb. Something that's very useful when looking at today’s markets.
-
The market finally seems to be getting itEditor's letter Reality checks are coming fast to the markets, says Merryn Somerset Webb – with even 2022’s safe havens beginning to reflect recession worries.
