Keeping you up to date

The second quarter of 2024 was built on the strength of the first quarter, with global equity markets rising by 2.6%. [1] Gains in global equity markets were thinly spread, with the US tech sector driving most of the returns, whilst UK share markets enjoyed good gains on the back of improving corporate earnings and […]

Nobel Prize winner Harry Markowitz is reported to have said that “diversification is the only free lunch in investing”. We agree! Our goal at Magnus is to give our clients the best returns, while taking as little risk as possible. Our approach targets high “risk-adjusted” returns in finance speak, or put simply, the best possible […]

With the US stock market bobbing around at record high levels, it might seem a bit odd to cite the economy as showing signs of creaking! However, (much like the stock market itself!) there’s two clear strands to the US economy: one that’s reaping the rewards of record high prices and the other that’s bearing […]

Global stock markets were flat last week but this didn’t take the shine off in what was a very strong month of returns (for June), with the global share index up by 2.9%. UK stock markets have been treading water over the last few weeks and will look forward to this week’s General Election for […]

Global stock markets rose last week, with UK domestic stocks putting in a good showing on the back of inflation getting down to 2%. Despite the Bank of England making no changes to interest rates (holding them at 5.25%), UK markets were encouraged by the 2% inflation reading and positive tone from the Bank’s statement. […]

Global stock markets rose last week, but there was huge divergence beneath the surface. Large US technology stocks drove gains in the US market, whilst European share markets were hit by snap elections in France and the prospect of a change in Parliament. This week the focus will be on the UK, with the Bank […]

Global stock markets bounced a little last week, rising by just over 1%. Whilst the bulk of the gains were driven by the US share market (and the technology sector in particular), there were also some notable gains for emerging market shares last week. Most of the data this week is squeezed into Wednesday! The […]

This is the current question we’re receiving most regularly, so we thought we’d put pen to paper and share our thoughts!  Our view is fairly nuanced and quite detailed, but the quick of it is that there’s a lot to be positive about what we’ve seen of Labour’s policies towards UK investment markets and we […]

Now could be the time to cash in on your cash holdings; that’s the view from the team at Magnus. We gave the same message last year (see “don’t miss out”), but judging on the spike in UK domestic savings rates (chart below), it’s perhaps fair to say that our cries were ignored! Here goes […]

Global stock markets fell back last week after having posted positive returns for the 4 consecutive prior weeks. There was an element of pausing for breath (given the strong recent gains), but sentiment was also hurt by expected delays to interest rate cuts. The Federal Reserve meeting minutes from last week noted the “lack of […]