Author: Helen Barklam

Silver prices have fluctuated considerably over the last 20 years. From the start of 2004 to 27 March 2011, investing in silver would have bagged you an impressive return of over 800% with silver prices rising from £110 per kg to £906 per kg. However, the market has since retracted significantly with silver reaching a low of £300 per kg in December 2015 before rallying to £390 per kg at the time of writing in April 2020. Silver is far cheaper than other precious metals such as gold or platinum, which are currently priced at £44,000 and £22,240 per kg…

In this buy to let investment guide, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of how investing in UK property using buy-to-let mortgages works and what you should consider before investing. What is buy-to-let property investment? A buy-to-let property investment typically involves acquiring a residential property to rent out to tenants. Buy-to-let property investors can profit through the receipt of rental payments and potential capital appreciation. Whilst property in the UK remains in demand, buy-to-let property is not considered a liquid investment and so investors should typically consider buy-to-let as a medium-long term investment. Buy-to-let property investment differs from other…

This article will explain the differences between income yield, redemption yield (also known as ‘yield to maturity’), yield to call and yield to worst. It will also teach you how to calculate bond yields in Excel. Income yieldRedemption yieldYield to callYield to worst In order to illustrate, lets imagine we are considering acquiring a 20-year bond with a 7% coupon rate (semi-annual payments), par value of £1,000 and current market price of £1,050. The bond was originally issued on 31/03/2010. Today’s date is 31/03/2020 and the bond is due to expire on 31/03/2020. Income yield The income yield calculates the…

Whereas silver and gold bullion coins and bars have illustrious pasts serving as legal tender across many economies, platinum has only ever been used within the monetary system of Russia. This is perhaps best explained by the fact that platinum was discovered by modern society far later and is much rarer than both gold and silver. As a result, the investment market for platinum is far less established than the markets for gold or silver. However, demand for investing in platinum has certainly grown over the last few years, reaching a peak of 1.1 million oz in 2019. Carry on…

Gold is commonly regarded as a ‘safe haven’ asset. This is driven by the fact that on numerous occasions, gold prices have fared better than equity and debt markets in times of market turbulence. For example, the FTSE 100 fell from £73.03 on 21 February 2020 to a low of £49.93 on 23 March 2020 (a reduction of £23.10 or 31.6%) in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Over the same time period, gold rose from £1,262 per oz to £1,297 per oz (an increase of £35 per oz, or 2.8%). As a result, private investors commonly invest in gold as…

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is applicable when purchasing a freehold, leasehold or shared ownership residential property in England. Since 3 December 2014, buy-to-let property and additional residential property purchases have attracted a Stamp Duty Land Tax (‘SDLT’) surcharge of 3% for acquisitions above £40,000. If you are just moving to a new house whilst selling your old house, then this surcharge does not apply and SDLT is calculated in accordance with the rules applicable to main residential property purchases – see our SDLT calculator for main residential properties. Stamp Duty Land Tax Calculator (buy-to-let or additional residential properties) Property…

There are certain speculative bonds (also known as high yield or junk bonds) which are often referred to as fallen angels or rising stars. If you’ve heard these terms and not been sure what they are, then this is the article for you. What are fallen angels? Fallen angels are simply bonds which were previously classified as investment grade, but have been downgraded to become speculative grade. Fallen angel bonds are typically downgraded to a BB rating which Moody’s describes as having substantial credit risk. Companies with current ratings of Baa3 are most at risk of becoming ‘fallen angels’ as…

When acquiring shares or trading in derivative contracts through execution only share trading platforms, there are a number of different types of share trade order that can be used. An ‘order’ is simply a request to acquire/dispose shares or open/close positions when trading derivative products. Not all order types are available across all platforms. Similarly, the length of time that specific order types can remain in place also varies between platforms. For example, one may only allow limit orders to remain in place during the current trading session whilst another may let them run for 90 days. It is therefore…

Stamp duty was first introduced in England in 1694 and originally covered all paper transactions such as gold/silver purchases, insurance policies, advertisements, newspapers and lottery tickets. Each of these documents required a physical stamp, hence the name. Stamp duty today has dramatically reduced in scope and is levied on security and property purchases, with other areas largely abolished. The ‘Stamp duty land tax’ refers to the tax levied on property purchases in the UK, which varies based on the value of the property purchase. This was introduced in its current form from 3 December 2014. However, stamp duty has been…