Opting for a “boring” investment strategy could be the route to returns that allow you to make exciting lifestyle decisions in the future. If you’re looking for excitement in your investments, read on to find out why that approach could lead to disappointments. The media can make investing seem exciting When you’re reading financial headlines, they might say things like “stock market soars in best day ever” or “the best companies to invest in right now”. In other media, investing is often dramatic too. For example, in The Wolf of Wall Street, the main character, Jordan Belfort, is shown making a huge fortune through investing and fraud. Yet, despite the perceived excitement of investing, acting on emotions, even ones that... Read More

The 2025 World Happiness Report has been released, and this year, it has highlighted the importance of social connections and giving back to your community. The World Happiness Report assesses the current state of happiness around the world, and this year’s edition revealed that Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in the world for the eighth consecutive year. Read on to discover how caring and sharing could help you improve your life. Can caring make us happier? Although there was a rise in generosity during the Covid-19 pandemic, the report found that acts of kindness have decreased over the past five years. One of the report’s biggest revelations is that being kind and expecting kindness from others is... Read More

When deciding how to invest your money, it can be tempting to seek the familiar. Indeed, familiarity bias, where investors stick to what they know, is a common type of financial bias. Yet, it could lead to an unbalanced portfolio. Read on to find out why and what you can do to overcome this bias. It’s easy to see why people seek out familiar things. Sometimes the unknown can seem scary, so going to what you know may feel comforting. However, while it can feel safer, when you’re investing the opposite might be true. Familiarity bias could affect investment diversification Diversification is an investment strategy that mixes a wide variety of investments within a portfolio to reduce risk. This could... Read More

This guest blog was written by Chris Budd who wrote the original Financial Wellbeing Book, and also the Four Cornerstones of Financial Wellbeing. He founded the Institute for Financial Wellbeing and has written more than 100 episodes of the Financial Wellbeing Podcast. Each of us has a set of beliefs, borne out of our experiences. Are these beliefs right? Are they helping us make great financial decisions? Right and wrong I recently saw a book review posted on X (formerly Twitter). The person reported they found the book to be inspirational and that it provided credible insight into the topic. Scrolling down my feed, I came across another review, coincidentally for the same book. This reviewer thought the book was... Read More

Once again, US president Donald Trump’s trade tariffs have affected investment markets throughout April 2025 and could have far-reaching implications over the coming months. Indeed, UN Trade and Development now predicts that global growth will slow to 2.3% in 2025, compared to 2.8% last year. While experiencing volatility can be daunting as an investor, remember to take a long-term view. Historically, markets have recovered from periods of downturn. However, it’s important to note that investment returns cannot be guaranteed. Trade tariffs and their effect on the market in April 2025 Since Trump took office in January, uncertainty around trade policies has affected global markets, and these announcements continued to have an effect in April. On 2 April, markets prepared for... Read More