[ad_1] A reader says, ” I am 30, married, and have a 3-year-old daughter. I come from a middle-class background, and although I have completed my bachelor’s degree, I’ve worked in HR more out of necessity than passion”.“Over time, I became interested in financial literacy, especially through watching YouTube videos on equity investing. As I started learning, I realized the immense potential of equity markets and began investing. I focused primarily on short-term trading and saw decent profits”.“However, due to my night shift job, I could not dedicate sufficient time to monitor the markets during the day, which eventually impacted…
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[ad_1] When I watch expert investors giving interviews from home on a Zoom call, I always hope to get a glimpse of the books on the shelves behind them. I’ll pause the video and try to decipher the titles in their personal libraries. Maybe, just maybe, reading what they read will help me (and you) think a little more like they do. Recently, I spoke with prominent investors and asked them a simple question: What books should someone read if they want to become a better investor? Their answers were wide-ranging and practical. What follows are their recommendations, edited for…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Earlier today, I was reviewing the FTSE 100 index to discover the shares that had jumped or slumped in 2025. To my regret, I discovered that my family portfolio owned the Footsie’s two worst performers in this category. One stock we bought after its price collapsed in April — a ‘fallen angel’ business I hope to be a recovery play. The other loss was caused by the Diageo (LSE: DGE) share price crashing this year. Dreadful Diageo At their 2025 high, Diageo shares hit 2,567.5p on 9 January. Alas, the share price has fallen steeply…
[ad_1] Public blockchains are moving toward practical use in regulated finance, supported by leading global institutions. Although early expectations assumed a longer development horizon, advancements in clearing and settlement integration suggest that blockchain-based systems are becoming increasingly relevant to the operational foundations of investment management. Just as SWIFT reshaped global transaction processing in the 1970s, blockchain-based settlement chain may play a similar role for tokenized financial instruments. For institutional allocators, chief investment officers, and risk professionals, these developments signal an inflection point in global banking infrastructure, even as important adoption challenges remain. From Pilot to Proof A key distinction in…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images I’ve long dreamt of generating passive income for retirement through investing in dividend shares. My plan is to build a portfolio of sustainable FTSE 100 income stocks that yield between 6% and 8%. I already hold several and have my eye on a few more but, for fun, I thought I’d test ChatGPT’s stock-picking skills. As a risk-averse investor, I don’t just seek advice willy-nilly from anybody. To that end, I realise it’s unwise to expect an AI chatbot to accurately assess complex financials. I’ve read about their tendency to make up facts and confuse…
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[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Almost one year I asked large language know-it-all ChatGPT to name the best three FTSE stocks for me to buy for five years. However, I wasn’t that impressed with the ones it gave me, so I picked my own three UK stocks to go head-to-head with the AI bot. After nearly one year, who is winning so far — AI silicon brain or this fallible human Fool? Let’s find out. ChatGPT’s picks The shares ChatGPT named in early January were F&C Investment Trust, Unilever, and The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG). The first is a FTSE…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images The Barclays (LSE:BARC) share price has climbed 75% in the last 12 months. But with the way 2026 is shaping up, I don’t think a repeat performance next year is out of the question. Unlike other FTSE 100 banks, Barclays combines a significant investment banking operation with its retail operations. And this could be a big advantage over the next 12 months. Investment banking Exactly how much of Barclays’ total sales come from investment banking varies from year to year. It’s a cyclical business, so revenues can fluctuate over time. In 2024, though, the investment…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Investors who decided to buy Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares at the start of 2025 have done incredibly well. The stock’s up 61% since the beginning of January. Heading into 2026, the company’s probably in a stronger position than it was 12 months’ ago. But the rising share price seems to be starting to bring out some people’s inner value investor. The investment equation On the face of it, Alphabet shares are much less attractive than they were at the start of the year. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio the stock trades at has gone from 23 to…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) shares have been, according to ChatGPT, a “strong performer” over the past five years. This is undoubtedly true. But when I asked the software how much a £10,000 investment made in December 2020 would be worth five years later, it gave me a figure that it said “may or may not” include the impact of reinvesting the dividends received. To be honest, that’s not a very useful answer because whether someone decides to bank the dividends — or use them to buy more shares — can have a dramatic impact on…