We explore what makes an emerging market and why they can offer attractive investment opportunities.

For example, South Korea is one of the world’s largest and wealthiest nations. Its GDP per capita – which measures economic output divided by total population – was $31,846 in 2019, outranking countries like Spain, which had a GDP per capita of $29,600. Yet South Korea is still classed as an emerging market in many stock market indices, such as the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. So why does the country fall into this category?

Markets have ...

The number of people using equity release schemes fell last year as older homeowners grew more cautious.

Older homeowners seemed to be more reluctant to release cash from their homes in 2020, according to the Equity Release Council. Data from the trade body shows drawdowns from lifetime mortgages fell by 21% last year and 10% fewer plans were agreed than in 2019.

This drop suggests the coronavirus pandemic affected the equity release market in 2020, with activity slipping to a four-year low between April and June. Yet the end of the year...

Putting your hard-earned cash into savings accounts may not be the most efficient way to make your money work for you.

If you’ve been placing your cash into a savings account over the past decade, you might be surprised to find that your money could now be worth less now than when you first put it away. According to research from AJ Bell, if you’d put £10,000 into a cash ISA 10 years ago, it would now be worth £9,772 even when accounting for interest.

So why is this? Inflation is currently outpacing interest rates, with the latest figure...

The economic recovery is gathering momentum as the pandemic recedes and successful vaccination programmes continue to roll out on both sides of the Atlantic.

April saw the continuation of progress made in March, as a more settled month in the investment markets, with equities performing well and bonds showing stability and positive returns. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased its forecast for growth in 2021 to 6%, citing stimulus bills in richer countries helping economies bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic1. Equities in t...

Moving home can be a hectic and exciting time, but don’t forget about protection – taking out the appropriate policies can save you a lot of stress in the long term.

If you’ve just moved home or are about to, it probably feels like you’ve been caught up in a bit of a whirlwind over the past few months. With searching for a property during a pandemic, making the move before the stamp duty holiday ends and potentially getting caught up in the resulting conveyancing backlog, protection policies are probably not top of your priority list.

Ye...

As well as peace of mind, many insurance providers offer additional benefits that you may not know about.

Whether we’re crossing the road or getting on a plane, we encounter risks every day. For many of us, life has felt more uncertain than ever over the past year as we continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Although we can’t always control what’s happening in our lives, we can plan for the unexpected.

By taking out a protection policy, you can safeguard your family’s finances if your situation changes. The main types of protect...

Successful vaccination programmes are rolling out on both sides of the Atlantic, pointing to a brighter economic outlook.

The US and UK continued their rapid vaccine programmes to combat the coronavirus pandemic, while Europe lagged in its rollout, resulting in a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in some parts of the EU. As a result, the US and UK are likely to be able to reopen their broader economies sooner, while much of Europe still faces strict lockdowns.

Budget brings some relief
In his March Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak outlined stimu...