Merryn Talks Money
How to Buy a House in the UK Right Now
We're kicking off our special series on how to navigate the UK housing market. Professor Yolande Barnes at University College London joins host Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss the market as a whole: what s the outlook for home prices, what s the best strategy when purchasing your first property and why the UK is at risk of an oversupply in houses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2 abr 2025 - 24 min 40 s
There’s a Stock Picker’s Paradise Waiting for You
Alyx Wood, chief investment officer of UK-focused hedge fund Kernow Asset Management, joins Merryn this week. We discuss his contrarian approach to investing, where he is short, where he is long, and why he's decided to focus on UK equities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
28 mar 2025 - 40 min 36 s
Spring Statement Reaction: Reeves’s Margin of Safety Looks Too Narrow
In this week's roundup, Merryn speaks with Money Distilled newsletter author John Stepek about Chancellor Rachel Reeves's Spring Statement. They discuss what it means for your money, and why despite the Chancellor s cuts and tweaks, the UK s fiscal head room remains inadequate. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
27 mar 2025 - 22 min 42 s
Where to Invest $1 Million Right Now
Bloomberg personal finance reporter Suzanne Woolley is back on Merryn Talks Your Money . She discusses her latest in the 'Where to Invest' series, where four investment experts share suggestions on where they'd put $1 million right now. Ideas include European stocks, multifamily housing and art. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
26 mar 2025 - 19 min 22 s
Buy and Hold is Dead. Billionaire Michael Spencer on Why Good Investors Trade A Lot.
UK billionaire Michael Spencer joins Merryn this week to explain why he s betting big on Nutshell Asset Management s trading strategy. There isn t much everyone agrees on in markets. But one thing you rarely hear an argument against is the importance of trading as little as possible. The higher your turnover, the higher your costs go and the worse your overall performance will be. So find good quality stocks you have faith in and hold them for the very long term Warren Buffett or Nick Train style. Or maybe don t. Spencer, the billionaire behind one of the world s biggest financial brokerage fortune, says the low turnover story is old hat. There has been a change in market structure, he says, and trading costs today are microscopic compared with even a few years ago. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
21 mar 2025 - 34 min 42 s
Sort Your Finances Out Before Reeves’s Big Day
In this week's roundup, Merryn speaks with Money Distilled newsletter author John Stepek about Chancellor Rachel Reeves's upcoming fiscal event and what it could mean for your finances. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
19 mar 2025 - 18 min 48 s
Why Dying Broke May Not Be a Bad Idea
On this week s personal finance edition of Merryn Talks Money , hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss a selection of reader questions. Among them are why pension planning could be different between men and women, what to consider when choosing an Individual Savings Account in the UK and why dying broke might not be such a bad idea. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
18 mar 2025 - 21 min 04 s
Looking to Protect Your Wealth In Crazy Markets? Here's How.
Troy Asset Management founder Sebastian Lyon joins Merryn this week to talk strategies for protecting your capital in these crazy markets. They also discuss how the low interest-rate environment hit the UK investment trust industry hard, and the way he sees it rebounding, as well as American exceptionalism and why there are good reasons to be cautious about investing in the US, and his outlook for gold. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
14 mar 2025 - 38 min 32 s
Time To Consider Investing in German Companies and What About That 'Trump Put'?
The great John Authers, senior markets editor and Opinion columnist at Bloomberg, joins Merryn and John Stepek for this week's roundup. He talks about his time in Frankfurt, explaining "the biggest turning point for German economic policy at least since reunification, and possibly much longer." He also points out why German companies look like good value ( "take 10 percent out of your Mag7 ETF and put it into a Stocks Industrials ETF, and that will move things very quickly") and whether Wall Street is losing hope in the 'Trump put.' Disclaimer: Merryn's audio isn't great in this episode but we'll have it fixed by next week. The Johns sound excellent. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
13 mar 2025 - 22 min 03 s
Is There a Tradeoff Between Net Zero and UK Growth?
There s no tradeoff between net zero and growth in the UK. That s the conventional wisdom and the position of the current government. But what if it s the decline in available electricity that s causing productivity, GDP and living standards to stagnate? New research from Kallum Pickering, chief economist at Peel Hunt, suggests there may indeed be a connection. He joins Merryn Somerset Webb and senior reporter John Stepek on Merryn Talks Money to explain that the rise of power-hungry artificial intelligence and the UK s renewed focus on defense may mean the government should reexamine its energy policies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6 mar 2025 - 37 min 11 s