Tax cuts were the centrepiece of the Autumn Statement last week – with national insurance bills set to drop in January for 27mn UK workers – but these savings stand to be wiped out by ‘stealth taxes’. Host Claer Barrett crunches through the numbers and explores the Autumn Statement’s impact on pensions, Isas and other investments, with Katie Martin, the FT’s markets editor and co-presenter of the Unhedged podcast, Sam Fleming, the FT’s economics editor, and Rafe Uddin, the FT’s UK politics...

Inflation, interest rates, growth and taxes - they’re terms we hear on the news every day, but what impact do they have on our everyday financial lives? In a Money Clinic episode recorded in front of a live audience at the Bristol Economics Festival, host Claer Barrett hears from Sarah O’Connor, FT columnist and associate editor, and Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. Plus, the audience pitches in with questions about property, mortgages, student debt and...

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. In an episode first aired earlier in 2023 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...

Are UK shares a bargain or a basket case? Nick Train has been an investment manager for more than 40 years and is renowned for sticking with his choices even if markets go against him. The man who’s been dubbed the UK’s answer to Warren Buffett tells host Claer Barrett why he has faith that shares in unloved UK companies will bounce back, even after years of underwhelming performance. Plus, he reveals why he seized the chance to secure a significant stake in Manchester United and why he’d...

Back in 2010, Money Clinic listener Kalyan bought an iPad with a monthly 3G subscription. Thirteen years later, that long-forgotten purchase might stop him from getting a decent rate on his mortgage. It’s a story that shines a light on how credit rating agencies score you and how things can easily go wrong. Host Claer Barrett hears from Sara Williams, who runs Debt Camel, a blog and popular Instagram account, as well as James Jones, head of consumer affairs at Experian, one of the UK's main...

Deborah Meaden, star of the hit BBC show Dragons' Den, is one of the highest-profile investors in the UK, famed for grilling entrepreneurs who want to secure financial backing for their businesses. She speaks to presenter Claer Barrett about how she goes about picking which companies to invest in, her commitment to green investment choices and about her new book, Why Money Matters, which explains money and finance to children.  Want more? Free links: What Rishi Sunak’s net zero overhaul means...

Isas, or individual savings accounts, in the UK are tax-free vehicles that have made millions of investors richer since their launch in 1999. The government is now considering a shake-up that would simplify “a complex landscape” of Isa products - but questions have been raised about fractional shares, which are traded by tens of thousands of younger investors. Host Claer Barrett discusses the basics of using Isas to save and invest, as well as what the government might have in store, with...

The renowned economist and investor Mohamed El-Erian is chief economic adviser at Allianz, the parent company of Pimco, one of the world's leading providers of bonds and fixed-income investments. He’s also a contributing editor at the Financial Times, but his smiling byline photo on his weekly columns about the global economy is often at odds with the warnings and predictions he makes. He tells host Claer Barrett why he’s taking a wait-and-see approach to equities and gives his take on...

It's hard enough sorting out the personal finances of a loved one who’s died. It’s even more painful when you suspect they’ve been targeted for their vulnerability. In the second of Money Clinic’s two-part series about what’s been called ‘sadmin’, the FT’s Miranda Green tells host Claer Barrett about the nasty surprises that she uncovered in her father’s personal finances after he died. Miranda found her Dad had been targeted by brokers selling him pointless insurance products, while her Mum...

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...

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....

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 newsletter...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 my...

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...

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.