Share Sounds related to Investing in Funds - Bonds

Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Tanya Jefferies discuss a new online service coming next Spring for state pension top-ups. Also, Simon looks at what's going on in the Bond market. There's also comment on premium bond values, and the team pick up a cause of local disputes: cameras in the back garden!

When gilts hit the headlines it’s a clear sign that trouble has not only been brewing but has been unleashed. Government bond yields only tend to break through into the mainstream when things aren’t going well and they have been firmly in the spotlight since Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-fated mini-budget. But what is a gilt, why does its yield matter, what’s that got to do with prices and why do we worry about such things? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert, take a step back from the maelstrom to explain gilts, why investors worry about government bonds, what’s causing ructions in the pensions industry and what this all means for normal people. Chancellor Kwarteng has now departed – in fact, news of his imminent exit from the job while the team were recording the podcast, triggering a breaking news style interruption – but will Chancellor Jeremy Hunt fare any better (and last longer)? The team discuss why the mortgage market is key to the answer to that and also look at what first-time buyers should do in this scenario. There are some for whom the current rapid rate rises aren’t bad news though and that is savers. We now have a top savings rate above 5% for the first time in many years, but is it worth taking? It requires locking in for five years, but that’s the sort of return knocking on what could reasonably be expected from the stock market, where you also have to take the risk of losing money. And finally, investors are hunkering down at the moment, but when share prices fall the stock market is on sale – and if you look at some investment trusts there is a double sale going on, as discounts have widened to 13% on average. Should you be greedy when others are fearful, as Warren Buffett is often quoted as saying, or exercise some caution rather than having your head turned by knockdown prices?

Mistakes. We all make them, but whether we will admit them freely often depends on what they are and how we made them. Investing mistakes can be among those that are tough to swallow and own up to. Often the easiest thing is to brush them under the carpet and try not to think about it too much. But looking at where we went wrong and learning from it is an important part of long-term investing. On this week’s podcast Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss investing blunders. Simon confesses some of his and what he thinks he’s learnt from them over the years, the team look at new research on why people give up investing and how big a part loss aversion plays in that. And This is Money invites listeners to get in touch and reveal their investing slip-ups to feature in a future show (no names need to be mentioned, of course). Also on this week’s show, is the Bank of England flirting with negative rates or just indulging in Maradona monetary policy? And what on earth is an estate rent charge on a prospective new home and should it put you off?

For women (59%), the resounding role of wealth is being able to provide comfort and security for themselves and their family. But many women neglect to plan and invest sufficiently to provide for their retirement; currently women lose nearly £1million over the course of their lives through a lack of investing. COVID-19 has dramatically impacted financial security, changed the ways in which we work, and the way we think about life, the future, and retirement. As the age of retirement keeps rising and we find ourselves in uncertain times, we should all be thinking about how we want to spend our lives and be armed with the knowledge needed to make the right financial choices to fuel the future we want. In this episode, Tamara Gillan is joined by Wealth Director of Brewin Dolphin, Carla Morris, to share her knowledge and expertise on pensions and female prosperity – both now, and in the future.

Stock markets crashing tend to put savers off investing in shares, but there has been a sizeable rise in new investors in Britain during lockdown, reports suggest. That came as savings rates plummeted (again) and people decided to go hunting for a bargain amid the stock market turmoil in March and April. But who are these novice investors and what do you need to think about to get started? On this week's podcast This is Money editor Simon Lambert tells host Georgie Frost what first timers need to know about building an investment portfolio - and gives some tips on easy ways to get started and why British isn't always best for investors. Managers can invest in their own fund or investment trust, but how do you find out if they do - and whether they're buying or selling, and does it matter? Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs backed Marcus Bank has pulled its best buy easy-access savings account – assistant editor Lee Boyce reveals why and how we are set to see rates tumble even further. Should you gamble on taking a European summer holiday in July, August or September and if you are tempted, what do you need to know? Euro 2020 should have been starting today, but at least for sport-starved fans Premier League football returns next week. However, you'll need a major tournament-style wallchart if you plan on catching the action, with Amazon Prime, BBC, BT Sport and Sky Sports all having games on – how do you watch for the cheapest price? And finally, property sales in England have started to edge up but apparently million-pound-plus homes in the country are leading the way. Are buyers really swapping Millionaire's Row for Millionaire's Lane?

Adam Cox talks to international speaker and passive income coach, Douglas Vermeeren. Douglas explains why most of the population rely on only a single source of income – often through conventional employment – and explains that what was taught in schools as being a source of security is actually a very risky strategy. He discusses why having multiple streams of income (some of which are passive) enables us to have more security and freedom simultaneously, and offers a few tips about how to make the transition from employee status into the world of having passive incomes.

Interest rates and bond yields are slowly starting to rise in 2018, so it’s a good time to ask what investors should do with their money as we begin to return to a world of monetary normality. Is it time to get out of bonds? Or stay in shares? Ed Bowsher asks James Butterfill, investment strategist, Sean Corrigan of Cantillon Consulting and Russ Mould of AJ Bell.

Will markets carry on rising this year? Is Gold the best insurance policy against something going wrong? And how will the ETF industry evolve? Will ESG be the big theme of the year? Ed Bowsher finds out from James Butterfill of ETF Securities, Adam Laird of Lyxor, David Stevenson of ETFstream and John Davies of S&P Dow Jones.

In the latest Money Makers podcast Trevor Greetham, responsible for multi-asset investment strategy at Royal London Asset Management, one of the UK’s biggest pension fund and with-profits investment firms, explains what is driving the firm’s current thinking and why he thinks the current bull market in equities could continue for another 1-2 years. Mr Greetham is a 25 year veteran of the investment business, and one of the UK’s higher profile strategists, having previously worked at Fidelity and Merrill Lynch. Topics covered include not just stocks and bonds, but Brexit, inflation, interest rates, annuities and pension drawdown.

Welcome to the This is Money Show on Share Radio, brought to you in partnership with NS&I. Retirement just got more complicated this week with proposals put forward to raise the state pension age to 70 whilst further question marks hang over the triple lock. Pensions seem to be the subject of wider controversy though as we hear nearly a fifth of women are retiring without any personal or company pension. Saving up anything for retirement also got more challenging this week though with the latest inflation statistics. A temporary peak or will the Bank of England finally move on interest rates? Answering all this and more Georgie Frost is joined by Editor Simon Lambert and Consumer Affairs Editor Lee Boyce. Also this week we find out how banks and cheques are getting a 21st Century upgrade.