Author: Aisha Mahmood

BlackRock’s L&G stake doubled to above 10% on 26 August, the US asset manager disclosed, as a separate but connected debate over pension taxation gathered pace among UK policymakers and retirement savers alike.How either development sits within a long-term portfolio depends, as ever, on an investor’s time horizon and appetite for regulatory risk, two factors that are becoming harder to separate in 2026’s retirement landscape.BlackRock L&G Stake Doubled: What the Numbers SayBlackRock’s total position in Legal & General reached 10.03%, up from 5.07% at the time of its previous notification. Of that new position, 8.08% represents voting rights attached to…

AI-generated client scrutiny is becoming a familiar headache for professional advisers across the UK, and independent financial planner Dan Wiltshire has written candidly about both sides of that experience. Writing in Investment Guide, Wiltshire describes how he first encountered the technology’s limitations as a consumer, before finding himself on the receiving end of its outputs as a practitioner. When AI advice meets the real world During a recent home renovation, Wiltshire used AI to interrogate builders’ quotes and interpret building specifications. For someone who describes his communication with tradespeople as “distinctly Partridge-esque,” the tool offered a welcome sense of control.…

The Vanguard Altruist acquisition deal, in which the global index fund giant has entered into a definitive agreement to buy the US AI-focused wealth technology and custody platform, is valued at roughly $4 billion, according to Yahoo Finance. For UK investors holding positions in domestic wealth management businesses, the transaction raises a question worth examining carefully: what does it actually mean for the competitive landscape here, and how should a long-term portfolio be positioned in response? What the Vanguard Altruist acquisition deal involves Altruist operates an AI-focused custody and technology platform serving independent financial advisers in the United States. Vanguard…

New data from the Financial Conduct Authority has brought the FCA young investor AI trust question into sharp focus, finding that almost half of young investors wrongly believe AI-generated financial information is subject to regulatory oversight. The regulator commissioned the platform Attest to survey 666 UK adults aged 18 to 40 who own or are considering investments, with fieldwork completed on 24 July 2026, according to Fintechly.The findings present a picture that any long-term portfolio manager should take seriously. Young investors are not simply browsing AI tools for curiosity; a meaningful share are treating AI output as they might treat…

New data from the Financial Conduct Authority lays bare the AI investment advice risks facing younger UK investors, with almost half of those surveyed wrongly believing that AI-generated financial information is subject to regulatory oversight. The FCA’s survey covered UK adults aged 18 to 40 who own or are considering investments, and the results raise questions that anyone building a long-term portfolio, or advising one, should sit with carefully. How far trust in AI has outpaced understanding Among respondents, 56% said they trust AI tools to guide financial decisions, outstripping trust in television and radio (47%), the press (46%), and…

The case for a sovereign bond diversification strategy has rarely been more pressing: persistent tensions in the Persian Gulf, a resurgence in global inflation, and a decisive shift at the US Federal Reserve have combined to make the old approach (gilts, US Treasuries, middle-of-the-road duration, set and forget) look increasingly inadequate.David Coombs, head of multi-asset investments at Rathbones Asset Management, sets out the case plainly. Benchmark 10-year yields in the US, UK and France have risen by 0.5 to 0.6 percentage points since the start of the year. Germany, traditionally the paragon of fiscal prudence, has seen its own yields…

Wesleyan’s smoothed fund platform proposition has reached its fifth anniversary in the independent advice market, and the mutual’s managing director of intermediary distribution, Karen Blatchford, says adviser attitudes have shifted considerably since the fund first launched. What began as an unfamiliar brand name in intermediary circles has evolved into a proposition now available on four platforms, with two new fund options added to meet demand across a wider range of client risk profiles.How the Wesleyan Smoothed Fund Platform Broke New GroundWhen Wesleyan first made its smoothed fund available to independent advisers, it was entering largely unfamiliar territory, both for the…

The Aegon Mylo pension app has helped UK savers consolidate more than £250m in savings, drawing together lost and forgotten pension pots into a single, manageable view. For anyone approaching retirement with a career spanning multiple employers, that headline figure deserves a closer look.What the Aegon Mylo pension app actually doesMylo enables workplace pension scheme members to trace and consolidate old pots they may have accumulated across different jobs. According to Corporate Adviser, the app has now attracted over 166,000 registered users and facilitated the consolidation of more than 21,000 individual pots. Aegon has said it will continue to invest…

Protection demand heatwave data collected by iPipeline points to a 12% fall in new business activity during two weeks of record-breaking temperatures, raising an uncomfortable question: how well does the protection industry actually understand what drives consumer behaviour? The weeks in question began on 25 May and 22 June, both periods of extreme heat accompanied by red warnings. According to BBC reporting on the heatwave, new all-time temperature records were set at 56 of the 109 longest-standing weather stations across the UK. The Met Office has also documented how temperatures reaching 40.3°C at Coningsby, Lincolnshire caused rail services to be…