When FT columnist Miranda Green lost her father, she expected the grief to be long-lived. What she didn’t expect was that she would still be attempting to settle her father's financial affairs nearly a year later with multiple calls to banks, building societies, insurers and utilities. She tells presenter Claer Barrett about her experience of inconsiderate call handlers and poor processes in the private sector and Claer puts Miranda’s concerns to Eric Leenders, the director of personal fina...
Sep 26, 2023•31 min
It’s a year since Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget sent the property market into a tailspin. No sooner had house prices begun to recover than they were dealt another blow by higher-than-expected inflation figures. At the recent FT Weekend Festival, the FT’s House and Home editor Nathan Brooker asked Yolande Barnes of the Bartlett Real Estate Institute, Andrew Montlake, boss of mortgage broker Coreco and buying agent Henry Pryor for their predictions on where prices will go next. Money ...
Sep 19, 2023•32 min
We all want to feel properly rewarded for the work we do, but getting a pay rise is a tough nut to crack. How do you even start the conversation? At the recent FT Weekend Festival in London, presenter Claer Barrett put listeners’ questions to Isabel Berwick, host of the FT’s Working It podcast and Jonathan Black, FT columnist and director of the careers advice service at Oxford university. If you want more: FLIC , the FT’s financial literacy charity: https://ftflic.com/ Working It newslett...
Sep 12, 2023•42 min
Sports betting is a relatively young industry in the US, in effect launching after a 2018 US Supreme Court ruling struck down a federal ban. Before then, those who wanted to gamble on sports legally had to travel to casinos in Nevada, or three other states that were exempt from the ban. Lifting the federal ban has led to a US sports-betting boom. How will regulators respond? It’s a subject that Oliver Barnes, the FT’s leisure industries correspondent, has investigated and he spoke to Brooke Mast...
Sep 05, 2023•22 min
Last year was one of the worst ever for the bond market. Fast forward to today and many people in finance say that despite the volatility, it is time for investors to get reacquainted with bonds. But what exactly are bonds, how do you go about investing in them and what are the risks? Brooke Masters, the FT’s US financial editor, stands in for Claer Barrett to discuss those questions and more with Edward Al-Hussainy, a senior analyst at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. Want more? Click on thes...
Aug 29, 2023•25 min
Zero day options are now almost 50 percent of the options market. But what are they? And why would anyone take these bets? Today on the show, host Ethan Wu and Alphaville’s Robin Wigglesworth discuss the latest way to gamble on the markets and address concerns that it all might blow up. Also we go short the Republican debate and long the Bloomberg terminal. For a free 90-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer Follow Claer Barret on Twitter and Instagra...
Aug 22, 2023•14 min
China’s economy has been growing faster than almost any other for a generation, so a slowdown is unfamiliar territory. Today on the show we look at three indicators — the CPI, exports and property sales — and try to understand why growth in China is finally slowing, and what it means for the rest of the world. Also, we go short cable news and long Argentina as a perpetual lesson in economics. For a free 90-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer Follow ...
Aug 15, 2023•20 min
Rob has been invited to nine weddings this year and it’s playing havoc with his finances! How can wedding guests approach the subject of money when the costs of travel, accommodation, hen dos, stag dos and suits are all totting up? Presenter Claer Barrett is joined in the studio by Alice Tapper, founder of Go Fund Yourself, and Hamish Shepherd, chief executive of wedding planning app Bridebook. They explore the latest trends in wedding planning, and share stories of the lengths to which people h...
Aug 08, 2023•28 min•Season 3Ep. 73
Barbie is a big spender and high earner, fast approaching the age of retirement. But after a long and varied career that has seen her build a portfolio of multiple dreamhouses and a low-commitment, long-distance relationship with casual boyfriend Ken, what financial advice should she be looking for? Presenter Claer Barrett is joined in the studio by wealth manager Christine Ross from Handelsbanken and FT personal finance columnist Moira O’Neill, who share their tips on everything from prenups to...
Aug 01, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 72
Exchange traded funds or ETFs have been growing in popularity recently but as Money Clinic listener Saranya has found, there’s a bewildering array of different types of ETFs to choose from. Presenter Claer Barrett is joined in the studio by Dave Baxter, funds editor at the Investors’ Chronicle, and Lynn Hutchinson, head of ETF and index solutions at investment manager Charles Stanley. They unpick the many different types of ETFs, how to use them to build an investment portfolio and what to look ...
Jul 25, 2023•26 min•Season 3Ep. 71
Are you an insurance addict? Listener Joss thinks he might be and wants to know what type of insurance he really needs and whether he's getting the best possible deal. Presenter Claer Barrett speaks to Dean Dunham, who presents the Friday night ‘Consumer Hour’ show on LBC Radio, and Sam Richardson, deputy editor of Which? Money, the magazine of the consumer campaign group. They share guidance on finding the right insurance cover for your needs, how to look out for overlapping policies and how to...
Jul 18, 2023•26 min•Season 3Ep. 70
Algy Hall has four strategies for seeking out stocks that will outperform the index, highlighted in his new book Four Ways to Beat the Market . They are: quality, value, income, and momentum. Each one homes in on a very different kind of company – from the undisputed champion to the comeback kid, and from the slow-but-steady to the on-a-roll. Presenter Claer Barrett gets Algy to explain the thinking behind each strategy. The two also reminisce about their time working together as financial journ...
Jul 11, 2023•30 min•Season 3Ep. 69
The government has just extended the deadline to April 2025 for people to top up their National Insurance contributions. For many people approaching retirement, especially women, it offers a fantastic opportunity for them to increase their state pension by thousands of pounds by paying in only a few extra hundred. As you can imagine, the demand is huge, and has jammed the government pensions hotline. Money Clinic host Claer Barrett speaks to Sir Steve Webb, the former pensions minister and now a...
Jul 04, 2023•26 min•Season 3Ep. 68
The 13th interest rate rise in a row has piled on the pain for many homeowners. Money Clinic host Claer Barrett has assembled a team of experts to talk through the options for managing the hit on overstretched wallets. Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist at Royal London, Adrian Anderson of mortgage brokers Anderson and Harris, and the FT’s Chris Giles offer analysis, strategies and solutions. Want more? Banks must play fair as mortgage rates rise Q&A: What should I do about...
Jun 27, 2023•31 min•Season 3Ep. 67
There’s a live debate in the UK over whether regulation of crypto trading should come under the scope of financial services or be treated like gambling. The FT’s digital assets correspondent Scott Chipolina and our producer Persis Love report from Castle Craig in Scotland, a rehab centre where people are being treated for crypto addiction. Plus presenter Claer Barrett and Scott Chipolina discuss what different regulation would mean for crypto investors. If you’ve been affected by a crypto or gam...
Jun 20, 2023•28 min•Season 3Ep. 66
Introducing Unhedged, a new podcast from the FT. Ethan Wu, Katie Martin and other markets nerds at the Financial Times explain the big ideas behind what’s happening in finance right now. Every Tuesday and Thursday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 14, 2023•58 sec
Lord John Lee of Trafford was the first person in the UK to reach £1mn invested in his stocks and shares ISA. He has a clear strategy based around choosing UK smallcap companies that pay dividends. He tells presenter Claer Barrett why this is his investment strategy and how he chooses stocks. Want more? My Isa has suffered - but I’m still a firm believer ‘I’m 22 and I earn more than my parents’ What should I do with my cash savings? Click here for tickets to the Investor's Chronicle Future of Pr...
Jun 13, 2023•23 min•Season 3Ep. 65
Former asset manager Stuart Kirk writes about investing for FT Weekend in a column where he shares both his investment successes and failures with readers. He tells host Claer Barrett what he’s investing in now, how he chooses stocks, why he isn’t keen on funds that follow a particular theme and what he thinks needs to change in the world of ESG or sustainable investing. Want more? Being honest about my portfolio’s performance Active management is a sham — no wonder my returns are suspect ...
Jun 06, 2023•27 min•Season 3Ep. 64
Brooke Masters, the FT's US financial editor, speaks to Anne Ackerley, managing director of the Retirement Group at BlackRock, one of the world’s largest investment companies. Anne spends her days thinking about how to make good retirement plans accessible to more people. Lately, that has included focusing on one particular problem: the differences between men and women when it comes to retirement planning. Anne tells Brooke about the challenges faced not just by women but also gig economy worke...
May 30, 2023•23 min•Season 3Ep. 64
With inflation running higher than the interest rates provided by most banks, cash accounts can rapidly lose value. What does that mean for emergency savings funds? Brooke Masters, the FT’s US financial editor, speaks to investing columnist Moira O'Neill, and Georgia Lee Hussey, founder of wealth management company Modernist Financial, about how much savings to have in cash and where to keep it - both in the UK and the US. Want more? Keep up with the latest from Brooke on FT.com and follow her o...
May 23, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 62
The Bank of England has lifted its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 per cent, the 12th consecutive rise since December 2021. But if interest rates are going up, why are some mortgage lenders putting their rates down? Presenter Claer Barrett is joined in the studio by Chris Giles, the FT’s economics editor and Andrew Montlake, chief executive of Mortgage Broker Coreco. They explain how the uncertain outlook for base rates is affecting mortgages, the pros and cons of fi...
May 16, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 62
It’s getting harder to keep up with the cost of essentials such as water, energy and internet. FT reporter Leah Quinn speaks to 26-year-old renter Conor, who explains what he has been paying over the past few months and which bills are starting to add up. Host Claer Barrett is on hand with tips and advice on everything from whether you should get a water metre installed to whether energy bills will go down later this year. Useful links: How to get a smart metre Find out if you’re entitled to the...
May 09, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 61
Does sorting out your personal finances fill you with anxiety and trepidation? What can you learn from your money mistakes? Money Clinic host Claer Barrett, and Isabel Berwick, host of the FT’s work and careers podcast, Working It, answer listeners’ questions in this special episode, taken from a webinar made in conjunction with the FT’s financial literacy charity, FLIC. Want more? The first lesson for female financial education? Money is power How to ask for a pay rise - and when to give one Is...
May 02, 2023•38 min•Season 3Ep. 60
How do you know if you need a financial adviser, how do you go about finding one and how do you know you’re getting value for money? Presenter Claer Barrett guides 22-year-old Laureen, who works for a bank, through the many forms of professional financial advice, and sources expert tips from Financial Times columnist Moira O’Neill and Sally Hickey, chief reporter at FT Adviser, our specialist publication for financial advisers. Want more? Clear’s latest column: The dash for cash savings is...
Apr 25, 2023•25 min•Season 3Ep. 59
Aligning our love lives and our financial lives is not always easy. Presenter Claer Barrett sources advice from Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs, founder of Surviving Economic Abuse, Tobi Asare from My Bump Pay, and Davinia Tomlinson, founder of Rainchq and author of Cash is Queen, on everything from talking about money in a relationship, the single tax, spotting the signs of financial abuse and planning for a baby. This episode is taken from a recording of an event Claer hosted in partnership with F...
Apr 18, 2023•28 min•Season 3Ep. 58
Simran Kaur thinks the stock market is a lot more straightforward than it is made out to be. The 26-year-old is the founder of Girls That Invest, an investing community and podcast that she set up with her best friend Sonya Gupthan when they realised that, as women of colour, there were not many people who looked like them in the financial world. Presenter Claer Barrett sources her tips on getting started as an investor, how to balance your portfolio and when to have a portfolio review. Check ou...
Apr 11, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 57
How does the global monetary system work and what should investors bear in mind about it? Professional investor Rob Dix had been investing for years before he set out to understand the mechanisms behind his money. Why do we have inflation? Why do central banks increase interest rates? Will this monetary system last? Dix shares his view on the financial world with presenter Claer Barrett, plus she asks what rules he follows with his own investments. Rob Dix is author of The Price of Money: How to...
Apr 04, 2023•26 min•Season 3Ep. 56
The Bank of England raised its key base rate to 4.25 per cent last week, its highest level in 14 years. But if interest rates are going up, why are some mortgage lenders putting their rates down? Presenter Claer Barrett is joined in the studio by Chris Giles, the FT’s economics editor and Andrew Montlake, chief executive of Mortgage Broker Coreco. They explain how the uncertain outlook for base rates is affecting mortgages, the pros and cons of fixed rate and variable rate mortgages and what mor...
Mar 28, 2023•27 min•Season 3Ep. 55
What does a week of turmoil in the banking sector - with the collapse of California’s Silicon Valley Bank and the Swiss state-backed rescue of Credit Suisse - tell us about what central banks will do next with interest rates? And what does it all mean for your money and investments? Host Claer Barrett hears from Financial Times markets editor Katie Martin, and author of the FT’s Unhedged newsletter Ethan Wu. Want more? Are banks on the edge of another 2008-style precipice? Central banks an...
Mar 21, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 54
What should you be thinking about for your finances when you are just about to enter the adult world? In today’s episode Claer Barrett meets four sixth-form students Demi, Patrick, Lucinda and Loisse-Lhana, who are trying to figure out how to manage their money as they get ready to leave school. Claer answers their questions about investing, saving and how to budget so that your earnings last the month. Want more? What They Don't Teach You About Money: Habits to Get You Unstuck and on the Road t...
Mar 14, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 53
