The Sharpe End

Stocks have held up well on the surface so far this year, but it’s been an extremely narrow market, driven by a handful of mega-cap hyperscalers and AI enablers. Yet after a wild week or so, that has flipped – could momentum be starting to turn the other way? Next, they move on to the aerospace and defence sector, where the technology-focused names are leaving more traditional players trailing in...

South Korea has leapfrogged the UK to become the world’s eighth-largest equity market, prompting the team to consider the implications for geographic allocation within portfolios. Next, to mark the five-year anniversary of our sustainable multi-asset portfolios, we reflect on how sentiment toward renewable energy has evolved and how the rise of AI has fundamentally reshaped global power demand. Fi...

With headlines and tweets about the Middle East continuing to come in hot, the team cover what's changed and what's not. Their focus then shifts to commodities – energy, metals and everything in between – before wrapping up with this month's stock spotlight: HSBC, a household name and a new addition to the portfolios. This podcast was recorded on 14 April 2026. If during this podcast t...

As the conflict continues in the Middle East, the team discusses whether they are making any changes to their portfolios in response to the big moves they're seeing in markets. Next on the agenda is the software sector: once-loved, but where sentiment has since soured. Finally, the stock spotlight of the month is Singapore Telecommunications, one of Asia's largest telecom operators that&#3...

Geopolitics remains front and centre this month, as the team unpack President Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, and what America’s renewed focus on energy security and re-shoring could mean for global markets and the funds. The conversation then turns to the industrials sector - an eclectic mix of companies increasingly buoyed by the AI boom and their growing role in data centre infrastructure -...

As the calendar page turns to 2026, the team discuss what the year ahead could hold. Will the new year bring about any changes or is it business as usual? A midnight raid to abduct a Venezuelan strongman is certainly a new tactic for the US, but is President Trump’s underlying aim still the same? Next on the agenda is China: Will its strong stock market performance of 2025 continue, or will China’...

The Christmas jumpers and mince pies are out for the Multi-Asset Team as they enjoy that magical time of the year where they review Fund Manager David Coombs’ market predictions for 2025. How wrong was he this time? Or did he manage to turn it around for once? Did he divine the direction of UK growth and bond markets? What about the fortunes of US equities and presidential politics? All will be re...

The team kicks things off this month with the UK Budget and what they would like to see emerge – but probably won’t get – from the Chancellor's briefcase. Next, it's on to the US, where fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte has just returned from. The team hear about his week of on-the-ground research and meeting with companies on the east coast. Finally, they discuss a new holding: Booking Hol...

Are we in an AI bubble? That’s the question the team try to answer on this month’s episode. While there are definitely bubble-like signs popping up in the market, are there enough for the team to be worried? Next, some cracks are beginning to show in private credit. The team discuss recent bankruptcies that have hit the headlines, and whether these are isolated cases or indications of a wider risk...

Investor eyes and ears turned to the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech in August as he hinted that interest rate cuts could be coming in the US. How did our team respond to the rotation away from tech to cyclical stocks? Turning to energy, President Donald Trump’s been causing more havoc to wind energy developers by striking down projects under development, while on the...

You may feel a sense of déjà vu this month, as the team once again talk tariffs after July’s trade deal deadline got pushed back and a raft of negotiations and agreements ensued. While markets now seem almost to ignore many of the tariff announcements, there’s some nervousness around the economic data coming out of the US — but how accurate is it really? With frequent revisions (like the recent no...

Geopolitics are top of the agenda in an extra special podcast that celebrates four years of talking common sense about investing (alright and a bit of questionable banter on the side). While markets hover around all-time highs, the world feels far from calm. Are investors too relaxed? How is our team reacting to current events? And what does NATO’s bold new target for military spending mean for de...

This month the team talk all things big and beautiful – not a remake of the hymn – but President Trump’s new budget bill. Deemed by some as more generous to taxpayers great than small, Elon Musk thinks it’s by no means wise and wonderful. He called it an “outrageous, pork-filled … disgusting abomination”! So what does the bill actually contain, and what are its potential implications? Next, a few...

As Oscar Wilde wrote, in matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing. Yet President Trump’s style is leading some to question American exceptionalism, which has been a hot topic of conversation for the team for years now. The team discuss their thoughts on the longer-term impact of current events on markets and the global economy. And then guess who’s back, back again – n...

President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, delivered on two giant placards in the Rose Garden, sent stock markets into freefall. The team explain how they are unpicking what might happen next and how markets may react to further news and retaliations. The focus then switches to reviewing how the UK’s recent Spring Statement’s announcements – or perhaps the lack thereof – have left the team...

Europe has been the star of the show for the past couple of weeks. What’s driven this unusual outperformance? Will 2025 be the year of Europe’s comeback, or just another a short-lived bounce? The team then moves on to America: you can’t get away from President Donald Trump and his tariffs at the moment. Despite having talked about it on last month’s episode, there’s a whole lot more to cover since...

The Donald is firing out of the blocks on trade tariffs with no hesitation. The team discusses what it means for financial markets and how they should position their funds for a world of potentially lesser trade. Not to be outdone, the AI sector had its own mini-revolution recently with the emergence of low-cost Chinese chatbot DeepSeek. Does this call into question the dominance of the AI market...

It’s been quite the new year hangover for the global bond market as yields have continued to race away at the start of the new year – the UK 10-year gilt is back to levels not seen since the 2000s. The team start the year by discussing this volatile start, what the drivers are, and how this is impacting our funds. Next up is the financials sector: always a tricky and complex topic, the team make i...

It’s that time of year again! Mariah Carey is blaring in the shops, the Elf on the Shelf is on the loose in homes across the country, and our head of multi-asset David Coombs is held accountable for his annual predictions. Will the team be naughty or nice when they mark David on his prognostications spanning UK and US politics, bond yields, central bankers, and passive investing? As ever, David wi...

A lot going on this month, so the team focus on two rather large events which took place within a week of each other. First up is the big show across the pond: with Trump now claiming his seat in the Oval Office the team give their immediate reaction to his victory and discuss what it could mean for markets and their funds. Then the team swing to look at the ramifications of the Labour government’...

The gaze turns eastward this month as the team discuss China’s recent stimulus. Will it be enough to wrestle the economy out of its post-COVID funk? Then the conversation turns to making sense of western central bank interest rate cuts that coincide with conflicting economic data. Calling the direction of travel is challenging, so what does it mean for their portfolios? Finally, what has made UK-l...

It’s just over a month since Keir Starmer took over at Number 10, and for those of you not glued to Ticketmaster scrambling for Oasis tickets you may have noticed that we’ve started to learn a little more about what “Starmerism” will look like. In light of this, the team discuss how the new Labour government’s agenda might impact UK equity and bond markets, along with sterling. At the risk of open...

Trying to unpick some pretty extraordinary moves in global indices, the team discuss what’s been going on. Was it simply a short-term market overreaction, or something that we might be dealing with for a little while longer? They then move on to automotive parts – a blast from the past for manager David Coombs, but a new addition to the funds. They explain why they like the sector now, and what le...

On the eve of the most telegraphed election result in UK history, the team turns instead to a murkier electoral outlook in Europe. How will a shifting European political landscape – especially in France – impact the region’s economy? And what would the knock-on effects influence the European Central Bank from here? They then discuss the consumer as questions abound on the true condition of househo...

Inflation is on our agenda but not quite in the way you might expect. We discuss the outlook for inflation in the longer term and consider how some big structural changes could shift perceptions on what’s a ‘normal’ rate of inflation. Attention then turns to the tech sector and software in particular. Despite all the plaudits for the tech darlings, could we be seeing the first signs of a software...