DIY Investor Magazine Issue 36

‘In God we trust…’

So, it’s New Year’s Eve 2021, and you’re ready to raise a glass; you’ve had your booster and you no longer look like Chewbacca. Things can only get better, right? 

 
Unfortunately, that sense of heady optimism lasted only a few short days; inflation hit a 30 year high and any hope of a lull after the Covid storm was swept away as Vladimir Putin unleashed a bloody conflict in Ukraine. 

Sanctions imposed on the tyrant added to supply chain issues created by Covid and Brexit, and saw a sharp uptick in oil, food and utility prices. 

Investors endured a rollercoaster ride as markets experienced extreme volatility, and the whole year was defined by broken records – scorching temperatures, soaring inflation, sharp interest rate hikes and a plummeting currency, all adding to a growing list of woes. 

If markets dislike uncertainty, then how unsettling is it to have three PMs in six weeks and then see the joyous celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee morph into a truly annus horribilis as we mourned the loss of probably the finest monarch the world will ever see.    

As 2022 draws to a close, ‘Broken Britain’ is sliding into recession as the only G7 country with an economy smaller than it was pre-pandemic, and facing a crippling winter of discontent.  

With pensions and healthcare provision inevitably coming under pressure from a new wave of austerity, it has never been more important to be in control of your financial future. 

However, those that ‘did the right thing’ and put something away for a rainy day are seeing the real value of their savings rapidly eroded by inflation. 

In a recent article – ‘Rainy day funds under water and the need for better financial education’ I highlighted my mum’s Santander ‘Easy ISA’ which yielded her £1.31 (tax free) on her £13,046 last year. 

I also looked at returns that my parents achieved, having fervently clipped every coupon available in the ‘80s privatisations, and then sat in steady-Eddie stocks that spiked initially, but then delivered steady, but unremarkable income over decades. 

I compared that to the £206,000 that £10,000 invested in the MSCI World Index in 1985 would be worth today; they just didn’t know. 

The leap from being a saver to becoming an investor, is down to better education and trust; EQ’s recent Shareholder Voice Report highlights the need to better educate investors.  

Some of you will recognise the header as being the official motto of the US; others as a plaque outside the Whippet Inn in Todmorden, but trust is intrinsic to engaging savers and taking them on a journey to financial independence. 

The source of your information, and your ability to process it, therefore becomes crucial – Ronald Reagan borrowed a Russian saying during the Cold War – ‘trust but verify’. 

Those that piled into ‘meme’ stocks such as EMC Entertainment or Gamestop having seen ‘tips’ on FinTok and Reddit, may still feel sore about losing $26bn. 

‘Passion’ investors tempted by Wasps RFC, were stung when it became the first retail bond to default, and those currently owed $3.1bn by the now bankrupt crypto-exchange FTX, will take little comfort from the fact that Sam Bankman-Fried admitted he got ‘overconfident and lazy’. 

However passionately Liz Truss and Kwazi Kwateng felt about kickstarting a flatlining economy, failing to engage with the OBR meant they lost the trust of the markets and £30bn to boot; something else to Mone about. 

DIY Investor will work tirelessly with its partners in 2023 to be that ‘trusted voice’ 

Have a safe and prosperous New Year  
 

In this issue:

• Asia: The impact of a sliding global economy
• A world running to stand still
• Japan – a differentiator in tumultuous times
• Investment trusts – opportunities in all market conditions
• Will we see more M&A activity in the UK?
• A uranium bull market and the race to net zero
• Small-caps? Don’t pick up any cigarette butts
• Power shift in Congress after the mid-terms?
• Investing in Europe at a time of recession
• Cry havoc!
• Finfluencers: John Rosier and his diary of a private investor
• 2023 outrageous predictions; the war economy
• DIY investing rules OK?
• Beginning to see the Light: Markets go up. Markets go down – 2022, a Year in Review
• Trusts have their own Black Friday sale
• Seven tips for the DIY investor
• ‘Non-saver to basic investor’
• 2023 – Time for Chinese stock to shine
• Two UK income funds we’ve just bought
• SAYE and Share Incentive Plans