The Spot the Dog report from independent investment manager Bestinvest reveals that the amount of cash people have tied up in poorly perfoming "dog" funds has soared by 196 per cent since last year.

The amount climbed from £7.2bn on 31 December 2008 to £14.22bn by the end of September 2009. "The survey highlights a massive level of investor inertia," warns Martin Bamford, financial planner at Informed Choice.

"Performance is only one factor in selecting a suitable ( Read more... )
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He earns £32,000 as a self-employed producer of music videos and online content, and has been ploughing spare cash back into the company to give it the greatest chance of survival. "I put extra funds into equipment for the business, so if it got really bad, I could sell this to get hold of some money."

However, he already has some cash in hand. Campbell, from Finsbury Park, north London, recently sold £2,000 in premium bonds, leaving the proceeds in his bank account. ( Read more... )
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It was good while it lasted. Property has been easily the best investment since the millennium, according to research by Landlord Mortgages. A property bought with a deposit of £25,000 in 2000 would have earned a profit of £33,288 (133 per cent) to date. This compares starkly with the measly £1,443 (5.8 per cent) that investors in FTSE 100 shares would have brought in. Even putting the money in a savings account with Northern Rock would have done better, making roughly £10,000 (40 per cent).

But ( Read more... )
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A total of 31,162 loans were approved for people buying a property during the month, 7% more than in April, the British Bankers' Association said.

The figure was also 16 per cent higher than it had been in May 2008, the first time the annual measure has shown an increase since November 2006.

But the ongoing weakness in the remortgage market dragged down the overall lending figures, with total advances of £7.7 billion the lowest since February ( Read more... )
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According to research from the Standard & Poor's credit agency, some 1.7 million homeowners – one in seven ? will see the value of their home fall below the outstanding balance on their mortgage in the next year.

The gloomiest prediction circulating the City would see that number ballooning to 3.7 million households ? almost one in three. Prices are already 9 per cent off their peak.

Meanwhile, and partly as a result of the widespread gloom around property, consumer confidence ( Read more... )
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People reduced their outstanding credit card, loan and overdraft debt by £579 million during the month, the biggest contraction in unsecured lending since Bank of England records began in their current format in 1993.

It was also only the sixth time on record that repayments for consumer credit have outstripped new borrowing.

But on the mortgage side, the number of loans approved for house purchase increased for the 11th consecutive month, rising ( Read more... )
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Then came text messaging, radio, limited internet access, video calling and music downloads - and now comes broadband.

On Friday, the mobile network 3 launched its X-series phone service with high-speed internet access.

Although the near 1Mb speed isn't yet comparable with that enjoyed by many broadband users on their home PCs, the new service has some impressive selling points. For a flat monthly fee, consumers will be able to make unlimited calls over the internet, watch television, ( Read more... )
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The NLA hopes that Alistair Darling can be persuaded to raise the tax-free "rent-a-room" threshold from its current level of only £4,250 ? a level it has remained at since being introduced in 1997.

Since that time, rents have more than doubled in most parts of the country, shrinking the value of the original income threshold. The NLA is one of several organisations supporting the Raise the Roof campaign, which is lobbying for an increase to £9,000 per year.

"The ( Read more... )
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According to the research specialists Euromonitor, the market for perfume is booming. Last year in America, sales topped pounds 2.2bn. France came a close second with pounds 925m, making the French market for perfume bigger than our market for staple products such as potatoes and sliced bread.

Look closely at Euromonitor's statistics on how much deodorant and bath oil we use compared with our French or Japanese counterparts, and you start to realise the big cultural differences that remain ( Read more... )
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According to a report published today, almost two-thirds of people are planning to rely on the state pension when they retire even though it's worth just 31 per cent of the nation's average earnings.

That's less than half that of Italians, who retire with a state pension worth 68 per cent of average earnings. The French, meanwhile, get 51 per cent, Canadians 44 per cent, Americans 41 per cent and Germans 40 per cent.

Only Japan's state pension is close to paying such paltry sums as ( Read more... )
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Cumbria experienced the equivalent of a month's rainfall in just 24 hours leaving cars and trees floating through the streets and at least one fatality. With 92 flood warnings currently in force across England and Wales, experts warn it's time to take action to prevent your home being damaged.

"If you are currently living in an area at risk of flooding, taking preventative measures as soon as possible is crucial, especially if you know your property has been flooded ( Read more... )
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There are a number of breakdown cover policies that will help you avoid getting stranded in the cold, so here's a quick guide.

What are you covered for?

Your car insurance is unlikely to include breakdown cover, although you can often add roadside recovery. Some providers offer a discount if you buy both car insurance and breakdown cover from them.

Most providers offer a range of policies providing different levels of cover. The most basic policy will cover you for fixing ( Read more... )
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"The maximum no-claims bonus is commonly accepted to translate to a discount of 60-75 per cent, which encourages many motorists to choose the option," says Will Thomas of Confused.com. "But every insurer has a different procedure when calculating a premium, and no insurer simply takes 60 per cent off the final figure.

"So, the value of protecting an NCB is brought into question, particularly considering that protection doesn't stop insurers reassessing a driver's risk in the event of an ( Read more... )
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Some experts predict a backlash from lenders that will mean higher interest rates and less choice. "The long-term implications are that we are likely to see less attractive credit-card offers in the future as the banks seek to regain lost income," says David Black, a banking expert at analysts Defaqto.

We could see sharp increases in interest rates, fees and charges, and the return of the annual card fee. Even now, 7.2 per cent of credit cards levy an annual fee, up from 4.1 per cent in ( Read more... )
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"I want to be secure as I get older, and to invest wisely in order to get additional income from the interest on my savings and investments," says Susan. "What I need to know now is what to do with my money."

She plans to continue paid work for three or four more years, but despite her small pension provision and a cautious approach to investment, Susan hopes to retire on about £10,000 a year as well as help sons Daniel, 22, and Luke, 20, get on the property ladder.

Bolton says China's growth story is an almost unprecedented investment opportunity. He believes that China is in the first year of a multi-year bull-run and it's that opportunity which has persuaded him to return to fund management.

He has a fantastic track record, managing the Fidelity Special Situations fund for 28 years during which he achieved an annualised return of 19.5 per cent, compared to just 13.5 per cent for the FTSE All-Share Index. Anyone who stuck with ( Read more... )
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"When the Government borrows 12 per cent of GDP in a single year and the Bank of England buys, ahem, 12 per cent of GDP worth of government bonds in one year under its quantitative easing programme, I believe that the price is being kept somewhat artificially high," he says.

"Is the government deficit likely to close next year? Not by much. Is the Bank of England likely to repeat its trick next year? No it isn't. So I believe that there is a bond bubble."

Investors have piled into ( Read more... )
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The UK's banks will have breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Court ruled that unarranged overdraft charges are not governed by fairness, under Regulation 6 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulation of 1999 (UTCCR). With no legal leg to stand on, the OFT will struggle to continue in its separate investigation into the issue. Consumers are still free to pursue banks through the courts themselves, but with the OFT thwarted, any chance of success is, in effect, destroyed and hopes ( Read more... )
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The problem with forex ? and one of its major attractions ? is that investors allow you to leverage the money they place. In effect, that means you need to deposit only a fraction of the value of your trade to open and maintain a position, usually between 0.5 and 1 per cent.

"In forex trading, a small deposit can control a much larger total contract value," says Michele Lewis, a spokeswoman for eToro, which has just relaunched its foreign exchange trading software platform. ( Read more... )
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Richard Lim, British Retail Consortium economist, said the sales figures of many shops were already well up on last year, when people were dealing with the credit crunch and feeling extremely nervous about spending.

"Consumer confidence is rising and there's some spending out there to be fought over," he says. But where can you find the best bargains, and what tricks do you need to master in order to make the most of your shopping expeditions? Your Money has consulted the experts to compile ( Read more... )
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