Podcasts from The Big Call

Ed Bowsher finds out about the ‘Elston Top 50’, which is a new rating system that could help private investors pick the best ETFs for their needs. Ed speaks to Henry Cobbe from Elston Consulting, who created the top 50, and Ed also finds out about Henry’s new book ‘How to invest with Exchange-Traded Funds.’ Later in the show, Ed speaks to Hoshang Daroga from Copia Capital about whether the Neil Woodford disaster could be repeated in the world of ETFs.

How can you use ETFs to build an investment portfolio? And what should investors focus on when they’re choosing an ETF? Ed Bowsher finds out from Oliver Smith, Portfolio Manager for IG Smart Portfolios, and Adam Laird, Head of ETF Strategy at Lyxor.

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.

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.

The technology sector has had a serious wobble in the last fortnight. Ed Bowsher asks what’s next for this part of the market and whether now is a good time to invest. He speaks to Howie Li of Legal & General Investment Management and Hector McNeill of HAN ETF.

It’s inevitable that stock markets will fall sooner or later. In this edition of The Big Call, Ed Bowsher asks whether ETFs will contribute to that fall. Ed speaks to Helen Thomas of the Blondemoney website, who thinks that ETFs may well contribute to a correction and Adam Laird of Lyxor who disagrees.