Podcasts presented by Ed Bowsher

Ed Bowsher finds out more about smart beta investing – passive funds that can follow particular investment strategies such as value or momentum. He speaks to Adam Laird, Head of ETF strategy at Lyxor and Steve Goldin, Managing Partner at Parala Capital. Steve gives the rundown on recent Smart Beta performance and also looks at how smart beta ETFs that look similar may actually be very different.

ETFs (exchange traded funds) have revolutionised the investment world, offering a wide range of new opportunities for private investors. A new book on the funds has just been published called ‘The Ultimate ETF Guidebook’. Beginners can easily read the book, and more experienced investors will probably find fresh insight as well. In the latest edition of The Big Call, Ed Bowsher talks to the co-author of the book, David Stevenson.

ETFs are a cheap and simple way to invest in markets. Trouble is, there are more than two thousand listed on the London market alone. So how do you pick the right ones for you and your circumstances? Ed Bowsher gets tips on how to do it from two experts in ETF selection: Oliver Smith from IG Smart Portfolios and Hoshang Daronga from Copia Capital.

Political commentator, Mike Indian, Author of the Groucho Tendency Blog, tells Ed Bowsher how backbenchers from both parties are seizing power from the government as the Brexit crisis continues. Mike also discusses what the Labour Party’s next moves might be. And moving away from the UK, Mike explains the current US government shutdown, and suggests that Donald Trump might win the 2020 election.

As ever, James Cameron Wilson surveys the top ten films at the UK box office including ‘Glass’ at Number 1, and the new historical biopic, ‘Mary Queen of Scots.’ James is also very positive on his DVD of the Week – The Children Act starring Emma Thompson. And looking at the Oscar nominations, James is delighted that another Royal biopic – ‘The Favourite’ (on Queen Anne) - is up for ten awards.

Ed Bowsher chats to Melal Miah about the big stock market stories of the last week and looks ahead as well. Helal is quite impressed by Dixons Carphone’s latest results where online sales have held up well even though mobile phone sales did disappoint. Helal also explains Metro Bank’s share price tumbled 15% in just one day. Looking ahead, Shell will be issuing a fourth quarter update on January 31st – Helal explains how that update will have been affected by the falling oil price at the end of 2018.

Ed Bowsher speaks to top US fund manager, Meb Faber, as well as David Stevenson from ETFstream to find out where markets may go in 2019. Both Meb and David think that most US shares are too expensive while the UK is much more attractive. We also find out which parts of the Japanese market are cheap, and look at which emerging markets to avoid or invest in.

As the Brexit crisis becomes ever more unpredictable, Ed asks whether now is a good time to buy some cheap UK shares. Do long-term investors need to worry as they see their portfolios sway up and down? Ed speaks to Oliver Smith, Portfolio Manager at IG Smart Portfolio, and Howie Li, Head of ETFs at Legal & General Investment Management. Howie tells Ed about a new UK ETF that LGIM has just launched which has a management charge of just 0.05% a year and takes a slightly different approach from the more established UK ETFs. There’s more to this ETF than just being cheap. Howie also explains more about five other ETFs that LGIM launched last month.

After the market falls in October, Ed Bowsher asks: why was there a correction, and more importantly, where next for markets? Ed speaks to Sean Corrigan, Principal at Cantillon Consulting and Russ Mould from AJ Bell.

Abundance Investment is a crowdfunding platform that raises cash for green and social infrastructure projects. Abundance is currently looking for people in its own business and it's doing that via the Seedrs platform. Ed Bowsher spoke to Louise Wilson, co-founder and managing director of Abundance.