The ‘PACE’ Reits that protect you from AI disruption

By Hugh Moorhead

Investors’ Chronicle

Published on April 7, 2026

The past year has been a blockbuster one for fans of financial market acronyms. Taco, which stands for ‘Trump always chickens out’ and dominated much of 2025, continues to cause investors whiplash as they follow developments in the Middle East.

More recently, Halo (‘heavy assets, low obsolescence’) emerged as a way to describe sectors that are less vulnerable to the perceived AI threat than those such as software.

A variation on this second theme is Pace (‘physical assets, compounding earnings’), which entails not just owning complex, tangible assets, but astutely operating them to consistently grow shareholder earnings and dividends.

“If Halo offers insulation from AI disruption, Pace may offer progression, and compounding,” says Matthew Norris, manager of the Gravis UK Listed Property fund, who coined the acronym.

The UK’s listed real estate sector offers some pertinent examples. Primary Health Properties (PHP) operates a £6bn portfolio of GP surgeries and private hospitals in the UK and Ireland. These assets will remain essential infrastructure irrespective of what is happening in the broader global economy, and should be resilient to AI disruption, at least in the near term.

Two-fifths of PHP’s portfolio earns rents that are indexed to inflation or subject to fixed uplifts, albeit with many subject to ceilings as well as floors. The remainder are reviewed on an open-market basis, typically every third year, overseen by an independent district valuer.

The UK and Irish governments, unlikely to default on rents, account either directly or indirectly for three-quarters of PHP’s rental income.

“We have a very secure income stream and very stable asset class,” chief executive Mark Davies told Investors’ Chronicle on results day on 17 March.

The upshot of this security is that PHP is set to increase its ordinary dividend for the 30th consecutive year in 2026, and openly covets ‘dividend king’ status (50 consecutive rises).

Rents on smaller peer Target Healthcare Reit’s (THRL) £900mn portfolio of care homes are wholly indexed to inflation, again providing investors with protection should the conflict in the Middle East result in a persistent inflationary increase. This is also the case for Social Housing Reit’s (SOHO) £600mn portfolio of supported housing.  

Target’s rental mix is far more weighted to the private sector. Yet the company argues that such tenants can more easily pass on rising costs, such as increases in the minimum wage, to customers.

In any case, its tenants’ rent cover – their ability to pay rents out of underlying operating profit – is very healthy, at just under two times.

A final example is LondonMetric (LMP). Its £7.4bn portfolio largely consists of ‘mission-critical’ assets, such as logistics premises, convenience stores and private hospitals.

Its tenants sign long-duration ‘triple-net’ leases, where the tenant takes responsibility for property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. Two-thirds of its rental income comes from contracts indexed to inflation or with fixed uplifts. The company has doubled its ordinary dividend in just 13 years as a result.

Not all of its portfolio is as defensive, however, with 20 per cent comprising leisure assets such as hotels and theme parks. The company likes these because they are difficult to replicate and play into consumers’ growing preference for experiences over goods, but their tenants could still run into trouble if those consumers were to aggressively tighten their belts during an economic downturn.

While these companies’ physical assets and income streams should leave them well-placed to grow earnings regardless of any wider economic or technological disruption, investors should also bear in mind the outside risk of rising rates – and debt costs – impounding the compounders.

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Story by Alan Oscroft
Motleyfool

I’ve been doing a bit of research on the habits of successful passive income investors, and I came across a bit of a surprise.

They all seem to name dividend stocks as a major part of their investment portfolios — though that’s not the surprising part. No, what I hadn’t expected was to find a large number of them recommending real estate.

Yes, real estate has been profitable for a number of people. But I had a very shaky venture into it. And it has a fair few drawbacks for individual investors.

Not really passive
One is that many of us won’t have the capital to go for, say, rental properties. It’s not the kind of thing we can get started with just a few hundred pounds, like we can with a Stocks and Shares ISA.

It’s not entirely passive either. Finding tenants, collecting rent consistently, and maintenance all take time and effort. And the latter can sometimes prove very costly if you’re unlucky.

But there’s a way we can get into real estate without facing those major hurdles. And that’s to consider buying real estate investment trusts (REITs). They’re investment companies that put their money into various kinds of properties, and they do all the management. All we have to do is buy shares in them, just as we do with shares in general.

I like Primary Health Properties (LSE: PHP), which invests in GP surgeries, pharmacies, dental clinics. Importantly, they’re mostly rented to the NHS on long-term leases.

Having the UK government as its main customer provides some stability and predictability. But it hasn’t made the trust immune to weak property values in recent times. Over the past five years, the PHP share price has fallen 35%.

Higher interest rates are a burden, especially with debt on the books. At the end of the first half this year, net debt reached £1,367m, up from £1,323m in December 2024. There doesn’t seem to be any liquidity problem, but it could keep the shares down for longer.

JPMORGAN RAISES PRIMARY HEALTH PROPERTIES TARGET TO 105 (100) PENCE – ‘NEUTRAL’

Current yield 7.7%

5 steps towards a Stocks & Shares ISA worth £1m

Millions of Britons are missing out on wealth creation because they’re not following these steps. Dr James Fox details how to build a Stocks and Shares ISA.

Posted by Dr. James Fox

Published 8 April

SMT

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services.

A million-pound Stocks and Shares ISA sounds like the sort of thing that happens to other people. It isn’t. But here are the tried and tested steps to help get there.

1. The best time was 20 years ago, the second best is today

The most powerful force in long-term investing isn’t stock picking — it’s time. Compound growth multiplies wealth. An investor who starts at 25 adding £500 a month will retire with roughly three times more than someone who starts at 35 with the same contribution. Same money. A decade’s head start.

2. Contribute regularly

When markets fall, your monthly contribution buys more shares. However, when they recover — and historically they always have — those cheaper shares deliver bigger returns. Investors should consider setting up a direct debit the day after payday. Make it automatic. Remove the temptation to pause.

3. Utilise the ISA limit, if possible

Every pound invested inside an ISA is sheltered from income tax and capital gains tax — forever. Unused allowance disappears at the end of each tax year and can never be reclaimed. At £1,000 a month, an 8% annualised return reaches £1m in around 28 years. Every extra contribution shortens that timeline.

4. Well-chosen stocks outperform cash

Cash ISAs are safe and reliably lag inflation. Equities are the only asset class with a strong long-term record of building serious wealth. What’s more, over half of my investments have at least doubled in value over the past three years. Celestica and AppLovin delivered 1,000%.

5. Reinvest every penny

Reinvested dividends compound alongside your capital. Over decades, they can account for more than half of total returns. Most brokers offer automatic reinvestment. Turn it on and leave it alone.

None of this requires genius or a large salary. Just patience, consistency, and a start.

Where to invest?

The above is great, but it’s largely theoretical. Investors need to know where to put their money, and this can be where many trip up.

Novice investors are typically guided to build some diversification. This could mean committing to buying a well-researched stock or two each month. Or a good starting point could be buying shares in a diversified asset like Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE:SMT).

The investment trust is managed by Baillie Gifford and holds stakes in dozens of companies spanning both public and private markets. Its portfolio is deliberately concentrated in high-conviction, long-term growth businesses — from established giants such as Nvidia and Amazon to unlisted innovators in biotech, space, and clean energy.

For new investors, this offers genuine global diversification through a single purchase. Rather than picking individual winners, buyers gain exposure to a curated basket of companies that Baillie Gifford believes can grow substantially over a decade or more.

That said, Scottish Mortgage isn’t a quiet, steady compounder. Its share price fell around 45% between late 2021 and 2022 as rising interest rates punished growth stocks hard — a reminder that its concentrated bets on early-stage and private companies can produce steep, swift drawdowns. It has since recovered meaningfully, but volatility comes with the territory.

Currently, it’s heavily exposed to SpaceX — that’s something I quite like. For investors comfortable with that risk profile, it’s well worth considering.

Here’s how a £20k ISA could generate £7,875 in monthly passive income

Have £20,000 ready to invest? Royston Wild explains how you could put this in a Stocks and Shares ISA to target a huge passive income in retirement.

Posted by Royston Wild

Published 7 April

MIDD

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services.

Investing in a Stocks and Shares ISA is a great way to target passive income. Once you’ve chosen which dividend stocks to buy, you can hopefully sit back and watch the money roll in. What’s more, any income drawn will be completely free of tax for life.

Fancy making a substantial second income with a Stocks and Shares ISA? Here’s one strategy to consider.

Should you buy iShares Public Limited Company – iShares FTSE 250 UCITS ETF shares today?

Before you decide, please take a moment to review this report first. Despite ongoing uncertainties from Trump’s tariffs to global conflicts, Mark Rogers and his team believe many UK shares still trade at substantial discounts, offering savvy investors plenty of potential opportunities to learn about.

Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.

Investing early on

With the new tax year under way, every adult in the UK has a fresh £20,000 ISA allowance to exploit. Not everyone has this much cash to hand and drip-feeding money into an ISA can yield brilliant returns. However, those who can start buying shares straight away can grow their wealth even faster.

Stock markets tend to rise over time, so getting money invested earlier increases exposure to long-term growth. Data from Vanguard backs this up — over a typical 12-month period, investing a large upfront sum has historically beaten drip-feeding cash about 68% of the time. Over three years, the odds improve to 74%.

Not only does lump sum investing win more often. It also tends to deliver higher returns over time, as gains start generating their own returns sooner. Over 12 months, this strategy typically earns around 2.3% more than spreading investments over the year. Over three years, this edge rises to 4.2%.

Let’s see how that looks in monetary terms.

A £297k boost

Say someone invests £20,000 at the start of each tax year over 20 years. While positive returns are never guaranteed, let’s also assume they secure an annual average return of 9%. At the end of this period, they’d have an ISA worth £1,350,000.

If they drip-fed that £20k over the course of each tax year, investing an equal amount each month, their eventual windfall would be £1,053,500. That’s a brilliant amount, but still almost £297,000 worse off.

What sort of investments could someone consider for a lump sum in to target a £1,350,000 ISA? Diversification is critical, and an exchange-traded fund (ETF) like the iShares FTSE 250 ETF (LSE:MIDD) can deliver this cheaply and easily.

It spreads investors’ cash over the whole of the FTSE 250 index. So it provides exposure to a wide range of industries and different parts of the globe. The advantage? It spreads risk and provides exposure to many growth and dividend opportunities.

On the downside, a focus on UK shares leaves the fund vulnerable if the broader London market underperforms. But this hasn’t stopped it delivering excellent returns over the last decade. Since early 2016, this iShares product has delivered an average yearly return of 8.7%.

A £1,350,000 ISA portfolio could deliver a £94,500 annual income if invested in 7%-yielding dividend shares. This works out at £7,875 per month.

And do remember that while lump sum investing can deliver outsized returns, even drip-feeding money into an ISA can help investors secure a comfortable retirement.

Explaining the difference between the most popular global tracker funds

Saturday, April 4, 2026

Eve Maddock-Jones

Funds and Investment Trust Writer

Related news

Global tracker funds and ETFs are one of the most popular ways for investors to gain access to the market.

These passive instruments track an underlying index. Tracking refers to the strategy of building an investment portfolio designed to mimic rather than beat the performance of a specific market, giving exposure to all the companies in that index.

This blanket approach allows them to be low-cost versus an active fund where you pay a higher fee to access a fund manager’s skills, process and expertise of picking and choosing just a handful of companies they think will beat the benchmark.

On the surface, all global passive portfolios may appear to be extremely similar, but once you dig a little deeper, you quickly realise that they vary not only in costs, but in their regional and sector exposure, leading to a range of returns.

Looking at the most popular global trackers among AJ Bell customers, we can help shed some light on what they’re actually buying.

First key difference: structure

A key difference between tracker funds and ETFs is how they’re structured.

When buying or selling an index fund, the price is based on the total value of all securities held within the fund, also known as the net asset value (NAV), and you’re only able to trade them once a day.

ETFs on the other hand are listed on the stock exchange just like shares in a company and are bought and sold the same way, meaning you can buy them at any time, but the price will fluctuate depending on the intra-day moves.

FTSE, MSCI, S&P: what’s the difference?

When looking at the names of different products you can get a lot of key information about what benchmark you’re buying exposure to up top and who built it.

The major index providers are MSCI and FTSE, which are relevant to many of the popular passive funds here, along with S&P and Solactive.

MSCI and FTSE are the two biggest players in creating broad global benchmarks, meanwhile S&P is known for US indices, and Solactive is a German-based firm best-known for creating bespoke indices specialising in ESG and thematics, and for offering lower costs than its more established rivals.

‘Global’ means different things in different benchmarks

Let’s take the most popular ETF among AJ Bell customers, the Vanguard FTSE All World ETF, and the most popular fund, the Fidelity Index World, which both track different benchmarks.

The Vanguard ETF tracks the FTSE All-World index while the Fidelity fund tracks the MSCI World index.

Both indices are market-capitalisation weighted, meaning larger companies have a bigger representation and thereby greater impact on the performance of the index, meanwhile smaller companies have less of an influence.

This is the general formula for global trackers and is the reason why the US makes up such a big part of these portfolios.

The Magnificent 7 – Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla – boast market caps in the hundreds of billions and even trillions, which means they account for a significant chunk of all global indices on their own.

Going back to the FTSE All World and MSCI World benchmarks, both focus on large and mid-caps but have a different interpretation of what ‘world’ is.  

MSCI World only includes developed markets meanwhile the FTSE All World encompasses both developed and emerging markets. The FTSE equivalent of the MSCI World is FTSE Developed and the MSCI index which capture both developed and emerging markets is the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI for short).

In fact, FTSE and MSCI as providers have a different approach to their emerging market classifications, with the former ranking South Korea as a developed market, whereas MSCI puts it in the emerging market category.

Not including emerging market means that the MSCI World misses out on one of the biggest companies in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, and has no exposure to China.

This varied make-up of the benchmarks contributes to a different set of total returns for the funds tracking them over the years.

Over five years, the Fidelity Index World made 87% tracking the MSCI World index, meanwhile the Vanguard option made 80%. Over three years they both made 57% but near term, when the US has been struggling and emerging markets have rallied that exposure has pushed the Vanguard tracker ahead of the Fidelity fund, making 17.5% versus 15%.

All the funds in this analysis have a similar level of nuance which requires investors to thoroughly check what exposure they’re actually getting even if they all appear to cover a broad global basket of stocks.

For example, nine of the 10 funds track indices made up of thousands of companies. The L&G Global 100 Index Trust gives, as its name suggests, the narrowest portfolio exposure across the group.

Investing in the 100 biggest public companies this makes it highly concentrated in the US which has driven its outperformance against peers thanks to the Mag 7, US tech trade.

Meanwhile, the Vanguard FTSE Developed World ex-UK Equity Index focuses on everything the aforementioned Vanguard World fund does but excludes the UK and emerging markets.

According to Vanguard, this fund is specially designed to help investors benchmark their international investments, meaning that they may want some global exposure but want their UK element to come from an active fund or, don’t want any at all.

If you’d taken that route, you’d have bested the Fidelity Index World fund and Vanguard All World ETF over three and five years and maintained a strong comparative performance near term.

Fees are competitive but there is some variation

Because they are passive products, all of these portfolios offer lower ongoing charges relative to actively managed funds. The 10 trackers highlighted had average charges of 0.16% but ranged from 0.19% to as low as 0.12%.

Murray Inc Trust PLC – Update on Transition of Portfolio HoldingsDate/Time:02/04/2026 07:00:20 ▼

Murray Income Trust PLC (“the Company”)

2 April 2026

Update on Transition of Portfolio Holdings

The Board of Murray Income Trust PLC, the FTSE 250 investment company with net assets of approximately £911 million¹, is pleased to announce that, having taken over management of the company on 2 March, as of 31 March Artemis Fund Managers Limited had completed 98.7% of the portfolio transition. This reflects change of approximately 75% of the portfolio.

Peter Tait, Chair of Murray Income Trust, said: “The investment management team at Artemis has been successfully repositioning the portfolio of the Company over the past month despite the very considerable level of volatility in markets resulting from the Middle East conflict.”

Artemis fund manager Andy Marsh said: “During periods of market dislocation we retain our focus on good companies run by good management teams.

“The key is that the businesses are generating sufficient cash – after paying down costs – to leave enough both to pay a dividend to shareholders and fund future investment in their business.”

The portfolio transition will be complete shortly. The top 20 holdings and sector positioning are shown below.

Artemis has also increased net gearing in the portfolio from around 5.3% as at the end of February to 7.0% as at end of March.

At 31 March, the NAV per share (debt at fair value) is 966p and discount to NAV is 8.6%.

Artemis has waived its investment management fee until 2 December 2026.

¹ As at 31 March 2026

Top 20 Holdings	Portfolio %
Tesco	5.1
GSK	4.9
Lloyds	4.6
NatWest	4.5
Aviva	4.5
Imperial Brands	4.4
BP	4.1
Barclays	3.9
Informa	3.7
Pearson	3.7
IG Group	3.4
LSEG	3.2
RELX	3.1
Shell	2.9
Smith & Nephew	2.8
Legal & General	2.7
AstraZeneca	2.7
3i	2.6
SSE	2.6
Segro	2.6

There are currently 46 holdings in the portfolio, with an expected range of 40-65 going forward. 72.0% of the portfolio is currently accounted for by the top 20 holdings.

Sector	Portfolio %
Financials	33.7
Consumer Discretionary	20.8
Consumer Staples	14.6
Health Care	12.1
Energy	7.4
Industrials	7.3
Real Estate	4.3
Technology	4.1
Basic Materials	2.6
Utilities	2.6

Sources: Artemis as at 31 March 2026

Dividend

The dividend for the year ended 30 June 2025 was increased by 3.9% to 40.0p per share, the 52^nd year of consecutive dividend growth. First and second interim dividends of 9.5p per share for the year to 30 June 2026, with pay dates of 11 December 2025 and 12 March 2026 respectively, have been announced. The third and fourth interim dividends have yet to be declared but are expected to result in total dividends for the year ended 30 June 2026 exceeding 40.0p per share.

As noted at this time last year, the Board is aware that listed stocks, in which the Company invests, are currently making greater use of share buybacks. In the main, this is in addition to paying dividends but, in several cases, they are being used as a substitute for dividends. According to Computershare, UK dividends were £88bn and share buybacks were £64bn during calendar year 2025. Whilst this might put pressure on dividend growth in the short term, it is also a sign that UK companies believe that there is good value to be had in their own shares. This bodes well for future market returns as, indeed, was the case during 2025 when the UK FTSE All-Share increased by 24.0%. Such share buybacks also enhance the earnings per share of the underlying companies, potentially giving them more scope for dividend increases in future years.

27/02/26

Thursday 9 April

Athelney Trust PLC ex-dividend date
BlackRock Smaller Cos Trust PLC ex-dividend date
CT Private Equity Trust PLC ex-dividend date
CT UK High Income Trust PLC ex-dividend date
F&C Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
JPMorgan China Growth & Income PLC ex-dividend date
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Lowland Investment Co PLC ex-dividend date
Manchester & London Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Mercantile Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Murray International Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Co PLC ex-dividend date
Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date

£20,000 in savings? Here’s how it could realistically be used to target £633 of passive income each month

Starting with the standard annual ISA allowance of £20k today, how much passive income could someone really aim for over the long term ?

Posted by Christopher Ruane

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services.

Do you currently have a practical plan to try and earn hundreds of pounds in passive income each month? Some people do, but many do not. Passive income ideas can often seem quite esoteric, making the whole idea of earning money without working for it sound a bit pie in the sky.

But in reality, there are plenty of such ideas that are firmly grounded in reality. One is investing into companies that will hopefully pay their shareholders dividends.

Here I explain how, by doing that today with £20k, someone could target hundreds of pounds in passive income each month in the future.

Why time can be an investor’s friend

When I say future, in this example I am presuming a 25-year timeframe before the income starts flowing. It would be possible to get it sooner – indeed, as soon as this year – but at a lower level.

Why wait? The shares will hopefully pay dividends but rather than take them as passive income straight away, they can be reinvested. This is known as compounding and can be a powerful force multiplier when it comes to investing. Basically, dividends in turn start to earn dividends. That is because they can fund the purchase of more shares.

Over the course of time that can all add up substantially. Compounding £20k for the 25 years I mentioned at 7% annually, it would grow by over five times, to a size big enough that a 7% dividend would equal £633 of monthly dividends.

Focusing on quality, with an eye on costs

Is a 7% yield realistic? After all, that is over twice the current yield of the FTSE 100 index of blue-chip shares. I do think it is realistic, even while sticking to high-quality shares.

Of course, some shares can disappoint and no dividend is ever guaranteed to last, so it makes sense to spread the £20k over a diversified range of shares.

That could be in a Stocks and Shares ISA or other share-dealing account, but whatever investing platform is used, it is useful to keep an eye on costs as they can eat into the returns.

Well-known broadcaster with a 6.7% yield

One share I think investors should consider at the moment for its long-term passive income potential is FTSE 250 broadcaster ITV (LSE: ITV). It yields a juicy 6.7%. It also aims to maintain its annual payout per share at least at the current level.

Still, with its well-known brand, strong broadcasting footprint and extensive production business, why does the share have such a high yield? Why does it sell for pennies, after falling 38% in price over five years?

It is always worth asking such questions, not only because they could be a risk to the dividend, but also because even for an income-focused investor, capital loss can be painful.

ITV’s revenue last year fell slightly, while its pre-tax profit was down by over a third. Digital competition keeps growing and, while ITV is investing lots in digital provision itself, that is a costly process.

But it continues to generate sizeable advertising revenue – something this summer’s football World Cup could boost handily. The production and studios business provides some insulation against the ups and downs of advertising demand.

FT. Stocks and bonds slump in tandem as Iran shock leaves investors ‘nowhere to hide’ Traditional 60-40 portfolio of global equities and fixed income on course for worst month since 2022

Stocks and bonds slump in tandem as Iran shock leaves investors ‘nowhere to hide.

Global stocks and bonds have this month suffered their biggest combined sell-off since 2022 as the energy shock unleashed by the Iran war leaves investors “nowhere to hide”. The MSCI All Country World index, which tracks stocks across developed and emerging markets, has fallen around 9 per cent in March as the outbreak of war in the Middle East and de facto closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz has caused a surge in energy prices. At the same time, a broad gauge of global government and corporate bonds has lost more than 3 per cent, as investors bet that central banks will need to raise borrowing costs to contain the inflationary fallout. The combined moves have put a traditional “60-40” portfolio of equities and bonds on track for the worst month since September 2022, when a previous cycle of global interest rate rises hammered markets. Even gold has tumbled as investors rush to liquidate previously winning trades, underscoring a lack of safe havens in financial markets. “What’s working for investors? Nothing,” said Raphaël Thuin, head of capital markets strategies at Tikehau Capital. “It’s really one of the worst set-ups you can think of. It’s been a very difficult few weeks to manage the market.”  Wall Street stocks extended losses on Friday, following their worst day since the war began on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump failed to reassure investors by extending his deadline for attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure. The S&P 500 fell 1.7 per cent, taking its decline this month to more than 7 per cent. The sell-off in government bonds pushed the yield on the 10-year Treasury to as high as 4.48 per cent, its highest level since July. In Europe, which is more dependent than the US on energy imports, yields also touched their conflict highs. Trump’s deadline extension “does not fix the problem that builds day by day with the Strait of Hormuz being closed”, said Jordan Rochester, head of fixed income strategy for Emea at Mizuho. “Markets may start paying less attention to the White House jawboning and more to the energy scarcity situation on the ground.” Recommended The Big Read Stagflation is back The price of the international oil benchmark Brent crude has soared more than 50 per cent since the start of the conflict. That has prompted fears of global “stagflation” — a mix of faltering growth and rising prices — that has proved toxic for both equities and fixed income, as it was in the energy price surge that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago. “It’s been a brutal month for investors,” said Matt King, macro strategist and founder of Satori Insights. “Not only traditional 60-40, but almost every category of mainstream multi-asset portfolio is now showing year-to-date losses.”

Gold has tumbled 15 per cent this month as investors cashed in gains from a storming two-year rally that peaked in January and as a sharp shift higher in interest rate expectations dulled the attractions of the precious metal. Sophie Huynh, a multi-asset portfolio manager at BNP Paribas Asset Management, said that because there was “nowhere to hide”, investors were “liquidating some high-performing assets like gold”. Christian Mueller-Glissmann, head of asset allocation strategy at Goldman Sachs, said derivatives that allowed investors to bet on a rise in inflation or commodity prices were “the only things that can help you in the early stages of an inflation shock”. Bank of America’s recent fund manager survey showed that investors piled into cash at the fastest rate since the Covid-19 pandemic in March, highlighting the dearth of other safe-haven assets. “We shifted to overweight cash a week after the conflict started,” Mueller-Glissmann said. “We don’t like being overweight cash, it’s costly. As soon as we get a slowing of the conflict and the oil price trending down, we want to scale back into assets.”

Additional reporting by George Steer in New York.

Whilst it’s always a positive to have a dividend re-investment plan, some whiles are better than other whiles. Whatever the outcome to the Straits of Hormuz blockade, it’s going to take a while for constraints to normalize.

So most probably a U shaped recovery than a V shaped recovery, which could mean some great yields to lock away, hopefully for ever in your Snowball.