Merryn Talks Money

Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek answer listener questions on how retail investor flows, passive investing, and social media have reshaped markets, arguing that the surge in everyday investing has significantly boosted stock prices — particularly in the US. They also discuss practical personal finance challenges around pensions, capital gains tax, and passive versus active investing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb speaks to Pictet Asset Management Chief Strategist Luca Paolini about why markets remain remarkably resilient despite geopolitical turmoil, inflation fears and mounting fiscal risks. Paolini argues that the AI investment boom, strong corporate earnings and persistent US economic strength continue to support markets — but warns that the era of US exceptionalism may be fading, making diversification and lower long-term return expectations essential for investors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For this week's second installment of the news round up, hosts Merryn and John discuss how cheap UK stocks are still being bought up by private equity firms; and how rising inflation could put a stop to the highly-concentrated surge in US equity markets. They also talk about changes to the Premium Bond prize rate which mean the odds of winning are set to improve and consider how governments could make wider use of lottery-style fundraising.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why Britain Needs A Crisis To Turn The Country AroundBritain has once again been plunged into political turmoil. Despite rebellion in the ranks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer refuses to go, and it's not yet clear which - if any - of his potential challengers will lay down the gauntlet to try to take the leadership from him. And nor is it clear, given the divided nature of the Labour party, that any new Prime Minister could hold down the job until the next general election. Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss why Britain may need a 1976-style crisis to persuade our politicians to finally get a grip. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mortgage rates have jumped sharply—and fast—leaving buyers and homeowners scrambling to decide what to do next. Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek sit down with mortgage expert Anthony Emmerson, director at Trinity Financial, to unpack what’s really driving the market, whether now is still a good time to buy, and the surprisingly simple strategy that could save you thousands when remortgaging.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if AI isn’t coming for your job — but for your mind? In this episode of Merryn Talks Money, Merryn Somerset Webb speaks to Tom Slater, manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and partner at Baillie Gifford about his provocative paper, “AI Isn’t Coming for Your Job. It’s Coming for Your Mind,” and why the real risk may be a world that looks more productive while quietly losing the judgement, learning and expertise that make progress possible. They also discuss what that means for the future workforce and smart investing. Check out Tom Slater’s paper here: https://www.bailliegifford.com/en/global/all-users/insights/ic-article/2026-q1-ai-isn-t-coming-for-your-job-it-s-coming-for-your-mind-10061431/Sign up for the Merryn Talks Money newsletter: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/merryn-talks-moneySign up for the Money Distilled newsletter https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/money-distilledSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Markets are ripping higher on blockbuster earnings and AI euphoria—but on this week's markets wrap, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek aren’t buying the calm. From contrarian magazine covers to a looming of IPO supply, they ask whether this melt-up is masking the seeds of the next downturn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if owning a single share could get you discounted wine, cheaper holidays—or even a stronger voice in corporate decisions? Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek explore the forgotten world of shareholder perks, arguing they’re not just fun freebies but a powerful way to reconnect investors with the companies they own.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Temple Bar’s Ian Lance about the trust’s standout performance since 2020, driven by disciplined value investing—buying unloved, low-priced companies with recovery potential and holding them as sentiment improves. Lance argues that success comes from focusing on long-term earnings rather than short-term pessimism, even if it means owning controversial stocks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb sits down with John Stepek, Jim Mellon, billionaire investor and Chairman of The Burnbrae Group, and Blue Whale manager Stephen Yiu. The panel was part of the Master Investor Show, the UK’s largest gathering for private investors. This conversation was recorded on Saturday, April 25, 2026. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why has the UK become a nation of savers—but not investors—and what on earth do red squirrels have to do with it? Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek take aim at a baffling government campaign, unpack the real reasons people avoid investing, and argue that regulation, mistrust, and mixed messaging are costing Britons serious wealth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane joins Merryn Somerset Webb to unpack why the UK may feel poorer, more fragile and seemingly out of options—despite sitting on untapped wealth and world-class innovation. From tough fiscal trade-offs and rising taxes to the surprising strength of private balance sheets, he argues the UK’s problems may be serious—but they’re far from unsolvable. The big question: can policymakers unlock growth before patience and confidence runs out?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's markets wrap, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek explore how markets are navigating a world of constant geopolitical “mini-crises,” where uncertainty keeps investors reactive rather than predictive. They discuss warning signs from corporate earnings, the fragile but not collapsing UK economy, and the growing disconnect between gloomy sentiment and relatively stable data.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss the ongoing push into private markets by Britain's largest workplace pension scheme (by membership), the National Employment Savings Trust. NEST plans to invest roughly £30 billion of its members' cash in private markets by the end of the decade. But what if you don't want your money invested in private assets? The pair discuss what you can do as an individual, and also look at the questions the plan raises about transparency, investor awareness, and whether - and how - savers should have more say in where their money is invested.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Ruffer fund manager Alexander Chartres about investing in a world marked by receding US dominance and a more inflation-prone, shock-driven global economy. Chartres argues Donald Trump is just an accelerant to changes that have been developing since the end of the Cold War. Traditional market assumptions like reliable hedges and stable globalization are breaking down, requiring more active, diversified investment strategies. Chartres highlights opportunities in commodities, energy, China technology and repurposed industrial capacity, while warning that political volatility and structural change will define markets for years to come.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Markets have continued to hit new highs despite escalating geopolitical tensions and a major energy shock, raising questions about whether investors are underestimating long-term risks such as inflation and rising interest rates. The hosts argue that while markets often look through geopolitical events, today’s slow-burning crisis—combined with weak real income growth and fiscal pressures in countries like the UK—may be more consequential than current optimism suggests.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It might surprise some listeners, but UK-wide house prices have delivered only negligible returns after inflation over the past decade, note Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek, and London prices have actually fallen sharply in real terms. Rising interest rates, taxes, and political uncertainty continue to weigh heavily on the market. Yet guest Daniel Austin, chief executive of ASK Partners, suggests that while high transaction costs and policy risks remain a hurdle, prime central London may still look attractive at current levels to global investors with an eye for a bargain.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb sits down with Janusz Marecki, CEO & Founder of Fractal Brain and AI Partner at Ahren Innovation Capital, for an insider perspective on AI hype vs. reality—and what may come next. The focus is on large language models (LLMs)—and whether they are hitting fundamental limits. Marecki discusses the data ceiling (we’ve used most high-quality internet data), diminishing returns from scaling compute and persistent issues like hallucinations and probabilistic errors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s markets wrap, Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Helen Thomas of Blonde Money about how Middle East tensions are creating lasting energy disruptions despite ceasefire uncertainty. They warn this could drive persistent inflation and leave the UK particularly exposed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the US-Israel war with Iran upends global energy flows, Professor Helen Thompson joins Merryn Talks Money to explain what the shock means for oil, gas, supply chains and the wider world economy. They discuss why this may mark the end of any return to “normal” in energy markets, how Asia and Europe could be hit differently, and why Britain’s energy strategy now looks dangerously exposed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's Merryn Talks Money personal finance episode, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek answer an interesting listener question surrounding the active vs passive debate. The pair look at financial data spanning the past 40 years to help a listener understand the pros and cons of active vs passive investing and why passive investing isn't truly passive. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why did gold fail to protect portfolios during the latest market shock? In this episode of Merryn Talks Money, Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Evy Hambro, global head of thematic and sector investing at BlackRock, about the violent moves in gold and silver, the new energy risk premium, and why commodities may be entering a powerful new cycle. They discuss inflation, interest rates, energy security, mining valuations, AI-driven demand for materials, and why investors may need to rethink how much exposure they have to gold, energy and broader commodity equities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s markets wrap, John Stepek, senior reporter and author of the Money Distilled newsletter, and Bloomberg Opinion's Marcus Ashworth discuss how geopolitical uncertainty is leaving investors with few clear safe havens, as gold, bonds, and currencies all behave unpredictably while cash gains appeal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek speak with Paula Steele, director at John Lamb Hill Oldridge, about how to pass on an inheritance efficiently — minimising tax, managing the succession process, and avoiding unintended effects on beneficiaries’ motivation. The conversation was recorded at a live Bloomberg.com subscriber event in London on March 17.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cathie Wood, CEO and CIO of Ark Investment Management, joins Merryn Somerset Webb to make the bullish case for the next era of innovation. From AI, robotaxis and CRISPR to Bitcoin, Tesla and SpaceX, she lays out the technologies she believes will drive faster growth, lower costs and major market disruption.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes a leader successful? Francine Lacqua interviews top CEOs and global industry leaders for candid lessons on leadership, management, and the future of work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb sits down with Troy Asset Management founder and chief investment officer Sebastian Lyon to unpack why markets look eerily calm despite mounting geopolitical shocks—and why investors should be far more focused on protecting wealth than chasing returns. Lyon argues we’ve entered a new era of sticky inflation, fragile portfolios, and looming risks in government bonds. He talks about how he’s positioning for volatility, and offers some ideas for navigating markets when the old rules—like 60/40—no longer apply. This conversation was recorded at a live Bloomberg.com subscriber event in London on March 17.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's Merryn Talks Your Money personal finance episode, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek tackle another listener question: should you invest in absolute return funds? They start by explaining what an absolute return fund actually is, the pros (aiming for absolute returns makes sense) and cons (it's not easy to achieve consistently) of such an investment, and look at what to consider when trying to pick such a fund. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Contrarian investor Alec Cutler, manager of the Orbis Global Balanced and Cautious funds, joins Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss why global markets are shifting away from speculative growth toward the fundamentals that underpin economies—energy, infrastructure, and national security.Using his “pyramid of needs” framework, Cutler explains why investors are increasingly focusing on the resources and industries that sustain modern economies rather than the technologies built on top of them. The conversation explores opportunities in energy, AI infrastructure, global value stocks, and the changing geopolitical landscape shaping markets.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek assess the market reaction to oil price volatity and question whether gold, bonds or even hard assets can offer capital protection in this fragmented and dangerous world. They also discuss the latest in private credit and what this uncertaintly means for investors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's Merryn Talks Your Money personal finance episode, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek tackle a listener’s question about an issue many young UK professionals face: where should retirement savings go after auto-enrollment—a SIPP, an ISA or a Lifetime ISA? With markets volatile, rules changing and political risk on the horizon, the pair break down the pros and cons of each option. Sign up to the subscriber event here: https://www.bloombergevents.com/ZZ3kna?utm_source=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&RefId=subSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's Merryn Talks Money podcast, host Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with financial historian Edward Chancellor about how energy constraints and geopolitical tensions could reshape markets, whether the artificial intelligence boom is a bubble and what it all means for interest rates. Chancellor argues that AI enthusiasm may be overextended, warns of rising long-term rates and sovereign debt risks and makes the case for gold, commodities, Japan and emerging markets over bonds and expensive growth stocks. Sign up to the subscriber event here: https://www.bloombergevents.com/ZZ3kna?utm_source=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&RefId=subSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Markets have swung sharply as the escalating war in Iran and across the Middle East injects fresh uncertainty into oil prices, inflation, and the path of interest rates. On this week's markets wrap, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss how prolonged energy supply disruption could Britain from mere chronic stagnation (which is bad enough) and into stagflation. They also explore the fault lines that higher-for-longer rates are starting to open up — from private credit stresses to long-running productivity woes.Sign up to the subscriber event here: https://www.bloombergevents.com/ZZ3kna?utm_source=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&RefId=subSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek react to the Spring Statement, plus Bloomberg's exclusive interview with Chancellor Rachel Reeves. She sat down with Head of Economics and Government Stephanie Flanders on Tuesday, and discussed Britain's pending trade deal with the US, why it won't affect its view on the conflict with Iran, and the UK's economic future. Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-03/reeves-says-uk-won-t-make-iran-decisions-based-on-us-trade-ties?srnd=homepage-uk Sign up to the subscriber event here: https://www.bloombergevents.com/ZZ3kna?utm_source=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&RefId=subSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Simon Judes, chief investment officer of Winton, about how to properly understand quantitative investing. Judes attempts to demystify some of the strategies quantitative funds use to allocate capital across different portfolios. They also discuss the role artificial intelligence will play in quant fund research and capital deployment. Sign up to the subscriber event here: https://www.bloombergevents.com/ZZ3kna?utm_source=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&RefId=subSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From YOLO to HALO. In this week's markets wrap, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss why markets are ditching high multiple AI and software stocks, for "HALO" companies - heavy assets, low obsolescence - and why higher interest rates and even higher infrastructure costs may be behind the moves.To see the article Merryn references in the episode, please follow the link below.Special thanks to Joachim Klement who has allowed us to share this piece from his Klement on Investing Substack. https://klementoninvesting.substack.com/p/why-do-people-invest-in-expensiveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of the graduates whose university costs were funded with Plan 2 student loans are now in their 30s, wondering why they have no money at the end of the month, and why they still owe more student debt than they left uni with. The critical mass of graduates feeling the pinch might just have been reached - and now they're feeling angry and ripped off. On this week’s personal finance edition of Merryn Talks Money, Editor at Large for Bloomberg UK Wealth, Merryn Somerset Webb and author of the Money Distilled newsletter, John Stepek unpick how Plan 2 and the new - perhaps even worse - Plan 5 loans work, how and why graduate marginal tax rates can easily exceed 50% and what tweaks could be made to ease the burden. They also ask the overarching question: is the problem the system? Or is it the fact that the UK seems to be incapable of creating enough high paying jobs?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fiona Yang, portfolio manager on the Invesco Asia Dragon Trust, joins Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss why global capital rotated from US equities into emerging Asia in 2025—and what she sees happening in 2026. She explains her valuation-driven, long-term, contrarian approach to stock selection across diverse Asian markets, and shares how she weighs risks like geopolitics, demographics, currency moves, and frothy AI-linked valuations. Sign up to the subscriber event here: https://www.bloombergevents.com/ZZ3kna?utm_source=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&RefId=subSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's markets wrap, John Stepek speaks with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Marcus Ashworth and Morwenna Coniam from the Markets Today team about this week’s fall in the headline rate of consumer price inflation and slowing wage growth. They also discuss rising youth unemployment and the potential economic impact of government labor policies, while weighing a cautiously optimistic outlook for UK growth. Marcus also comments on Nuveen’s takeover of Schroders as part of a broader trend of US asset managers seeking international diversification amid dollar weakness. Sign up to the subscriber event here: https://www.bloombergevents.com/ZZ3kna?utm_source=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&RefId=subSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek are joined by Bloomberg’s Jack Sidders to break down how Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) work and why they’ve struggled in recent years. They explore the impact of interest rates, the significance of different sectors such as warehouses, student housing and data centers, and why many UK REITs trade at steep discounts. With interest rates potentially falling and supply constrained, they also discuss whether REITs could be poised for a comeback — and where investors might start. Sign up to the subscriber event here: https://www.bloombergevents.com/ZZ3kna?utm_source=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&RefId=subSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Panmure Liberum Chief Economist Simon French to unpack Modern Monetary Theory—the idea that governments issuing their own currency can spend freely, constrained only by inflation. They explore whether the pandemic offered a real-world test of MMT, why fiscal policy may be too blunt a tool to control inflation and what the theory could mean for UK politics, bond markets and capital allocation.Sign up to the subscriber event here: https://www.bloombergevents.com/ZZ3kna?utm_source=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&RefId=subSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's markets wrap, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss a sharp market rotation driven by growing fears that AI will disrupt – rather than simply enhance – major sectors including legal services, wealth management, and digital platforms. As “old economy” stocks rise and Asian and European markets outperform, Merryn and John debate whether investors should shift away from the US and reassess opportunities in the UK, emerging markets, and smaller caps amid political uncertainty. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.