Merryn Talks Money

After years of being overshadowed by US megacaps and the artificial intelligence boom, could smaller companies finally be ready for a comeback? Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Downing fund manager Simon Evan-Cook and Odyssean Capital’s Stuart Widdowson about why small caps remain unusually cheap, what could bring investors back — and whether small-cap value could become the ultimate anti-AI trade.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For today’s investor, making money in markets may seem straightforward: put your money into a passive fund that tracks US stocks. It’s been a winning strategy for so long that it feels like the obvious choice. Yet as Merryn Somerset Webb, John Stepek and their expert guests discuss over the course of this four-part series, past performance is no guarantee of future returns, with major implications for how investors build their portfolios. In the first episode, they examine how passive investing went from a niche strategy to the default for many people, channeling ever more capital into US stocks and the tech giants that dominate the market. Passive investing is still an investment decision, after all — one that leaves many investors with far more concentration risk than they realize.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are European bond markets signaling disaster? This week, John Stepek and Bloomberg's David Goodman explore how the rising gap between bond yields in France and Germany mirrors the eurozone debt crisis, why governments are struggling to deal with the return to more "normal" interest rates, and why Conservative proposals for inheritance tax might clog up the housing market even further.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Alex Edmans, author of The Madness of Markets: Why Smart Investors Make Crazy Decisions – And How to Exploit Them, about why even sophisticated investors struggle to overcome the psychological biases that shape their decisions. Markets are driven by humans, and humans are emotional. Edmans explains how understanding the influence of emotion, herd behavior and over-confidence can help investors make better decisions — and potentially achieve better returns.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek answer some of your questions. They explore the differences between holding physical gold and investing through an ETF, whether or not buying shares actually benefits the company you've invested in, and how best to adjust your retirement investment strategy as you draw closer to the big day.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn and John discuss worrying signals from the stock market, the physical constraints facing the AI boom, China’s growing appetite for gold and an unexpected consequence of the data-center buildout.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Daniel Susskind, senior research associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford and a member of the UK government’s expert panel on AI and the future of work. AI is expected to transform the job market, potentially upending many of the traditional educational pathways that have long led students into established professions. As those routes begin to look increasingly uncertain, how should young people prepare for the world of work that awaits them? In his book, What Should My Children Do?, Susskind seeks to answer that question, offering a framework for how children — and adults — can best prepare for an evolving labor market with AI at its center.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb sits down with Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, to discuss how gifting surplus income can help reduce your inheritance tax bill ahead of changes to the IHT treatment of pensions in April 2027.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Britain’s bond yields are the highest in the G7, as renewed inflation pressures collide with rising defense costs and a government reluctant to make politically painful spending choices. This week, John Stepek is joined by Bloomberg macro strategist Simon White to discuss whether markets will ultimately force Britain’s hand, what Scott Bessent’s interventions mean for US Treasuries and the yen, and whether the AI boom is getting closer to a correction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.