It has now been 10 years since the then chancellor George Osborne, introduced the so-called 'pension freedoms' for individuals with defined contribution pension savings. 'Pensioners will have complete freedom to draw down as much or as little of their pension pot as they want, anytime they want. No caps. No drawdown limits. Let me be clear. No one will have to buy an annuity,' Osborne...

A recent report from consultants McKinsey explored the subject of what long-term 'intrinsic investors' want from companies and how in return companies can benefit from the presence of a strong a stable shareholder base. The bottom line is a strong, stable shareholder base tends to lead to higher returns, not just for businesses but for their investors too, creating a kind of virtuous circle....

Rates are starting to come down on cash savings accounts driving income-hungry individuals back into equities and bonds in search of better yields at a time when tariffs and volatile geopolitics are expected to keep inflation high. In a scenario where central banks continue to cut rates, savers will be offered less generous interest on their cash in the years ahead. In contrast, equity...

In an environment where share prices have been volatile, focusing on dividends and those companies which can grow their dividend over time has real merit. The fact these businesses feel confident enough to increase their generosity to shareholders and, in the first place, have the financial strength and discipline needed to sustain a regular payout, are real ticks in the box from an investment...

When markets are volatile and the value of your portfolio is moving around on a day-to-day basis there can be some comfort to take from investments which offer a steady stream of income. The problem is, dividends can sometimes cut or cancelled in the face of uncertainty. Investment trusts, also referred to as closed-ended funds, can like other funds mitigate this risk by investing in a...

Hotter-than expected UK inflation for January, with headline CPI up 3% year-on-year versus the 2.8% expected, combined with a volatile geopolitical backdrop, means investors should be seeking ways to protect their income.Shares has long championed the unique advantage investment trusts have when it comes to paying regular and progressive dividends, since these funds are able to hold back up to...

On 1 August the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee made a 5-4 decision to kickstart its rate-cutting cycle. A 25 basis point reduction in the base rate to 5% marking The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street's first cut since March 2020.This means cash savings rates are heading in one direction, down. And the lower-than-expected jump in UK inflation reported on 14 August only boosted market...

Tate & Lyle (TATE) 645pMarket cap: £2.5 billionInvestors have soured on Tate & Lyle (TATE) since the global ingredients group announced the $1.8 billion (£1.4 billion) acquisition of 'mouthfeel' specialist CP Kelco in June.The food producer's shares have fallen more than 20% from May's 831.5p five-year high on concerns over price and integration risk, since large acquisitions have an...

Trust underperforms benchmarkDividend increased for 42nd consecutive yearManager positive on outlookMerchants Trust (MRCH) served up a 42nd consecutive year of higher dividends, up 2.9% to 28.4p per share, but the portfolio fell 3.1% for the year, lagging the FTSE All-Share?s total return of 1.9%.Chairman Colin Clark described the performance as ?very disappointing? but stressed that the...

There were several trends in the UK stock market this year which, if you managed to identify them, served you well.Most obviously, although it may not have seemed it at the index level, large-cap stocks generally performed better than small- and mid-caps, although for the lucky few the small-cap space has been rife with takeover activity.In terms of sectors, aerospace and defence topped the...

Value stocks have outperformed growth stocks by 12% since Pfizer (PFE:NYSE) announced the first effective Covid-19 vaccine on 9 November 2020. That's comparing the MSCI World Value index against the MSCI World Growth index.We have reason to believe the value investing style could soon deliver even bigger outperformance given the shift in the backdrop from cheap money to more normalised...