The Purse

Welcome to our #144 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we highlight the best women-run (US) companies to own according to Morningstar. Few public companies are led by female CEOs, but in many cases they outperform.

Don’t forget to listen to The Purse Podcast with Barbara Clarke. Barbara is the Co-Founder of The Impact Seat LLC and Chair of the Board of The Impact Seat Foundation. 

As one of the top U.S. individual investors in women-led innovative tech startups, Barbara’s iconic investment strategy has inspired many others around the world. Please enjoy!

***

You can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

***

And we would like to wish you Happy Holidays and all of the best for the New Year, as this is the last newsletter for 2022.

Thank you for being on this journey with us.

We’re excited about 2023 as we continue on our mission to change the conversation for women about money and investing.

And to support female investors, in not just growing your wealth, but in helping you build the world you want to see.

See you in early January 2023!

Warmest wishes,

Jana

The best women-run (US) companies to own in 2023

Few public companies are led by female CEOs, but in many cases they outperform.

Women still hold a disproportionately small number of CEO roles among companies. In the US, only 8% of the companies on Morningstar’s list of the Best Companies to Own are led by female CEOs. And in the UK, only 9% of women are CEOs in the FTSE 100, according to a study by Robert Half.

Based on data, female CEOs and female Portfolio Managers continue to outperform. Why? These female leaders face more barriers in the workplace, and the women who succeed tend to be exceptional leaders.

We know that there are many benefits associated with higher levels of gender diversity in corporate leadership.

These benefits include:

* superior performance

* better operational metrics

* improved risk and fraud management

* improve decision-making (and many other areas).

Owning company stock of women-led companies…

… can diversify an investment portfolio and generate outperformance. As might buying an index or an ETF of female-led public companies.

Hypatia Women CEO Index (US) was launched in November of this year for this reason and Pax Ellevate Global Women’s Leadership Fund (US) is a top performing gender lens fund.

Morningstar has highlighted female CEO (US) companies to own in 2023.

They have earned their spot on the list by having carved out wide Morningstar Economic Moat Ratings and having made smart decisions with their capital:

What next? (Re) listen to The Purse Podcast:

* #58: UK female entrepreneurship and The Gender Index with Jill Pay

* #69: Women as decision makers and asset allocators with Patience Marime-Ball and Ruth Shaber MD

News in Brief

Financial news

* The Dow Jones closes out its worst day in three months, falls more than 700 points as recession fears grow following weak data in the US and China. Shockingly hawkish the European Central Bank (ECB) did not help either.

* US Federal Reserve’s Jay Powell: no rate cuts until confident inflation is moving toward 2%.

* The Fed downshifts to 50 basis point hike. Ups key rate to 4.5%, which is the highest since 2007. Projected rates would end next year at 5.1%, according to their median forecast, before being cut to 4.1% in 2024 - higher level than prev indicated. Investors prior to decision bet rates would reach ~4.8% in May.

* ECB slows tightening pace. Hikes rate by 50 basis points. Main refi rate now at 2.5%, the highest since 2009. ECB says QT will begin in March at a measured, predictable pace. ECB says APP portfolio to fall by average €15bn a month in 2Q.

* Bank of England (BoE) raises key rate by 50 basis points (0.5%) as expected to 3.5%, highest since Oct 2008, following Fed in slowing pace of increases as inflation edges lower. 2 BoE members - Swati Dhingra & Silvana Tenreyro - voted in favour of holding rates at 3%. Catherine Mann called for firmer 75 basis point increase.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* Bitcoin slips, struggles to hold $17,000 and ether sold off more severely, dropping 4.8% to $1,215. Cryptocurrencies and crypto-related stocks were down in line with broader financial markets after a busy week of economic data and, of course, the arrest and charging of Sam Bankman-Fried.

* FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will no longer contest extradition to the United States, where he is facing criminal fraud charges, according to Reuters. The former CEO is charged with committing or conspiring to commit fraud on FTX’s customers and lenders plus counts of money laundering.

* US prosecutors probing Bankman-Fried’s political donations. Federal prosecutors requested information about donations made to Democrats and Republicans by the former FTX CEO and some of his colleagues, according to the New York Times.

* Yuga Labs advances in lawsuit accusing artist of copying Bored Ape NFTs. U.S. District Court of Central California denied a motion in favour of Bored Ape NFT creators in their lawsuit against artist Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen.

The Purse Podcast

We cover the following in our conversation:

* Women's relationship with money

* Why Barbara decided to start investing in female founder startups

* How she started on her journey as an angel investor

* How she invests in early stage businesses

* The value add that female investors can provide

* Barbara's favourite startup investment

* Startup lessons learned

* Why we need more female investors

* The role that wealth managers have to play

* How women can start on their own journey to become angel investors

* And more.

Please enjoy! Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify+

Coffee Break? Read This

* Why do my female friendships fizzle out?

* What will the global economy look like in 2023?

* A widening gender rage gap? No wonder: women have a lot to feel angry about.

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and janicka.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com

Welcome to our #143 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we highlight the research report by Goldman Sachs (US) which centres on women and their retirement.

One of their key findings is that women are more likely, at 50%, to say they are behind on their retirement saving, compared to 35% of men.

We explain why women’s retirement savings fall short and what women can do about it. It’s never too late to start engaging with your money to ensure your financial security.

And don’t forget to listen to The Purse Podcast with Julie Castro Abrams about how women invest in venture.

***

You can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

Report: women face more obstacles in saving for retirement.

A new report by Goldman Sachs (US) is published about women and their retirement.

According to a new report by Goldman Sachs (US), women are more likely, at 50%, to say they are behind on their retirement saving, compared to 35% of men.

Whilst 47% of women said that they were ahead or on track for their retirement savings, they still fall short compared to men (67% said that they were ahead or on track).

Why do women’s retirement savings fall short?

Women still earn less than men whether they have children or not (women in their 40s with no children earn 12% less than men with no children). And on average have one fifth of the pension pot men do when they retire.

Women are more likely to have career interruptions, work part-time or are in temporary employment and do far more unpaid childcare and housework.

Women who are divorced or separated have less savings than their ex-partners. They are also more likely to suffer from a mental health condition. And this is likely to become a barrier to work especially as women get older.

But women who choose never to marry, according to research from the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College, fare better than their married female peers.

Never married women tend to have more stable wealth, whilst married women experience declining wealth due to their spouse.

And based on research, married women (or women who are in a relationship) tend to defer long-term investing decision-making to their male partner.

Many may not engage with their (long-term) money until a recent life event like a divorce or the death of a spouse, which is a very challenging time to start.

Also, consider that women live longer than their male partner. They are more likely to experience longer periods of ill health in later life. And it follows that the cost of care for women is much higher.

A woman’s life trajectory is different to a man’s

This often leaves women with less money to save and less money to invest, which compounds negatively over a lifetime.

It is therefore no surprise that women are exposed to far more financial risk. And this means they are more vulnerable to financial shock than men, especially as they get older.

Here are the key findings in the report

Top concerns preparing for retirement:

* 51% have insufficient savings

* 24% of working women are more likely to withdraw money during recent market volatility (compared to 17% of men).

* 8 in 10 women report that their retirement income is less than 70% of their pre-retirement income (a common guideline).

* 48% are concerned about not receiving a salary any more

* 36% more of retired women had to take time away from the workforce to provide caregiving (compared to 21% of men).

* 60%+ more women retired earlier than planned, with health reasons being the top reason for retiring early at 29%.

* 48% are concerned about inflation

Top sources of retirement education and advice:

* 32% seek financial advice from family members

* 31% are part of an employer programme

* 27% have a financial advisor

* And 69% of women choose to manage their own savings.

***

So what can women do to save more for retirement?

* Get support: start working with a financial counsellor, a financial advisor or an accountability partner. Make a plan.

* Get clear on how much you need to retire on ie what’s your number?

* Know how much is in your retirement. Consolidate your retirement pots (reduce the fees you have to pay).

* Talk to your partner (if you have one). And agree on a plan so you can achieve your retirement number. Meet regularly to discuss your/your family’s finances.

* Review your monthly spending-where can you reduce your spending?

* Consider how to increase your overall level of income.

* Increase your monthly pension contributions. Setup a SIPP in you are self-employed.

* Live within your means and invest the difference.

* Stay engaged with your money and long term financial growth.

***

What next? (Re) listen to The Purse Podcast:

* #28: How to negotiate: a job offer, with your male partner and as a female founder with Victoria Pynchon

* #37: Marriage and divorce: how to manage your money with Mary Waring

* #50: How women take charge of their money and invest for the long-term with Heather McGregor

News in Brief

Financial news

* The US recession alarm is getting louder. US yield curve most inverted since 1981: US 2s/10s yield spread at -84bps.

* Looks like it was another bear market rally (after all). Wall Street continued its slide with S&P 500 dropped below 200d moving average.

* The European Central Bank (ECB) deleveraging continues for a second week. Balance sheet shrank by €500m in the past week. Total assets now at €8,470.9bn, equal to 66% of Eurozone GDP vs Fed's 33% and BoJ's 128%.

* UK to fall into year-long recession, CBI warns. This is the ‘stagflation’ combination of rising inflation, negative growth and plummeting business investment weighs on the economy.

* Average house prices fell 2.3% in November, biggest drop since financial crisis, knocking average house price down by almost £7,000.

* Despite this year’s bear market, Bank of America points out investors bought $800bn of ETFs, 2nd most on record. Equity ETFs have added $7tn in assets since 2000 as transaction costs have fallen 60%.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* Bitcoin, ether jump with stocks on US job report release. Bitcoin is back above $17,000 and ether is trading at circa $1,200+.

* Report: SBF tried to destabilise crypto market to save FTX. Trades made by Alameda Research were reportedly focusing on depeg Tether's stablecoin.

* Caroline Ellison Hires SEC’s former top crypto cop for FTX probe. Former NY federal prosecutor also on ex-Alameda CEO’s case.

* Bank of England opens bids for CBDC sample wallet proof of concept. The budget range for the initial five-month contract is £200,000 ($245,200).

* Blue-chip NFT sales surge as ether price stagnates. Trading volumes for some top NFT projects are surging while the price of ether stagnates below $1,300.

The Purse Podcast

We cover the following in our conversation:

* The early stage VC fund: How Women Invest

* Julie's journey for setting up the fund

* How Julie has raised funding from female investors

* And more.

Please enjoy! Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify+

Coffee Break? Read This

* Choose courage over confidence

* Are you emotionally invested in your job?

* 5 practices to make your hybrid workplace more inclusive

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and janicka.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com

Welcome to our #142 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we highlight Euronext’s launch of eurozone and France equity indices targeting gender equality as ‘first pillars’ addressing gender balance in the workplace.

The new index family comes in response to increased investor demand for socially-conscious investments.

Gender lens investing is a strategy that seeks to achieve a market rate of return, by investing in businesses that demonstrate the promotion of gender equality opportunities for women as employees, as business owners and as consumers.

***

And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

Gender lens investing: Euronext launches indices to invest in companies with strong gender equality performance

The new index family enables gender lens investments.

Euronext, in partnership with Equileap, has launched eurozone and France equity indices targeting gender equality as ‘first pillars’ addressing gender balance in the workplace, as reported by ETF Stream.

The new index family comes in response to increased investor demand for socially-conscious investments.

What is gender lens investing?

Gender lens investing is a strategy that seeks to achieve a market rate of return, by investing in businesses that demonstrate the promotion of gender equality opportunities for women as employees, as business owners and as consumers.

Women-owned businesses and gender conscious businesses require a full spectrum of capital which includes public equity and debt and private equity and debt.

According to Parallelle Finance, there are 27 gender lens global and regional equity funds available to individual investors. (Read more here).

Brief market overview: why is this a growth area?

There are several dynamics driving continued long-term growth.

The first of these is that gender lens is a thematic ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategy. And ESG has been seeing very strong AUM.

This is a growth driver for gender lens as a thematic strategy.

There is also growing investor awareness of the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in public companies. There are growing demands around this which is seen in an increasing number of shareholder proposals on diversity and equality issues.

Also, there is a unique growth and long term performance opportunity for gender lens funds and investments.

Gender balance in the workplace

Research has demonstrated many benefits associated with higher levels of gender diversity in corporate leadership.

These benefits include:

* superior performance

* better operational metrics

* improved risk and fraud management

* improve decision-making (and many other areas).

In fact, a recent MSCI report found that gender diverse companies had better records on reducing carbon emissions.

Corporate gender equality is an important element to closing those deep gender gaps in the global economy.

Investors committed to sustainable investing should be seeking to capture the performance and other benefits of the gender lens approach.

The Euronext Equileap Gender Equality Eurozone 100 index…

… and Euronext Equileap Gender Equality France 40 index will offer exposure to the top-performing companies in target regions based on Equileap scoring on:

* gender balance in leadership and workforce

* equal compensation and work-life balance

* policies promoting gender equality and commitment

* transparency and accountability.

Diana van Maasdijk, CEO at Equileap, has said:

“It appears that high-performing companies with the drive to do the right thing when it comes to addressing gender equality at work apply the same ethos to other key ESG criteria.

“Investors looking to create a better society with equal opportunities for women at work can now use these indices to back high-quality, high-performing companies.”

What next? (Re) listen to The Purse Podcast:

* #48: Gender lens equity investing and women in leadership with Angela Atherton

* #60 Gender lens investing and the gender lens scorecard with Marypat Smucker

News in Brief

Financial news

* The US Federal Reserve deleveraging continues as balance sheet keeps shrinking. Total assets dropped by $37bn in the past week to $8,584.6bn, the lowest level since Nov 2021. The Fed balance sheet equates to 33.4% vs ECB's 78%, BoJ's 128%.

* Yield curve inversion reaches new extremes: US 10y yields have fallen further below those on short-term bonds than at any time in decades

* Jerome Powell says Federal Reserve’s rate hikes could slow as soon as December.

* Eurozone inflation slowed for 1st time in 1.5yrs in sign of hope for the European Central Bank (ECB). Nov CPI dropped to 10% from 10.6% in Oct while Core CPI remained steady at 5%. Money markets are pricing ~56bps of rate hike in Dec.

* Britain’s growth potential has fallen behind every large economy except Mexico due to collapsing productivity and severe labor market shortages. Dismal picture helps explain why UK faces a sharp squeeze on household incomes and highest tax burden since WWII.

* UK house prices fall at fastest rate in two years. Average house prices fell by 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in November, figures just released by Nationwide building society show.

* Brexit added nearly £6bn to UK food bills in two years, research finds. Cost of food imported from EU rose because of extra red tape, with poorest most affected.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* Bitcoin set for more losses in wake of FTX’s collapse if history is a guide. Weak December almost always follows November losses in token. (See current BTC price).

* Bitcoin and ether dip following US job figures. Non-farm payrolls in the U.S. came in at 263,000, above estimates of 200,000. Bitcoin and ether fell sharply following the release. Bitcoin experienced a sharp sell-off following the news, falling below $17,000 by 9:45 a.m. to $16,918, according to TradingView. Ether was flat over the past 24 hours, trading around $1,284.

* On Nov. 28, crypto lender BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after earlier announcing that it had paused withdrawals.

* Kraken announced on Nov. 30 that it was cutting 1,100 staffers after saying in June that it had no plans to adjust hiring goals. 

* Genesis owes $900 million to Gemini customers. The crypto exchange is attempting to recover the funds, the Financial Times reported. 

* Alameda invested $1.15 billion into crypto miner Genesis. The crypto mining company isn’t related to Genesis Trading, whose lending unit suspended redemptions in the wake of FTX’s collapse.

Coffee Break? Read This

* We need to talk more about mental health at work

* 7 ways to build greater trust in all your partnerships

* The challenge for ‘chauffeur mums’: navigating a city that wasn’t planned for women.

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and janicka.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com

Welcome to our #141 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we spotlight our interview with Anna Sofat who rejoins us on The Purse Podcast.

We highlight Anna’s intention behind building Addidi, her financial services boutique for women and why profit and impact should, in fact go hand in hand.

Listen to the full interview here.

***

And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

Building business for profit and impact.

Anna Sofat rejoins us on The Purse Podcast to talk about her business, finding investors and partners, ‘the exit’, women’s wealth and why women should invest.

Anna Sofat joined us again on The Purse Podcast.

Anna is known as the Voice of Women’s Wealth. She is passionate about money being a force for good in business and beyond. As an award winning and highly qualified financial planner until recently, she had advised private clients for over 20 years.

Anna founded Addidi, a financial services boutique for women. The firm was sold to Progeny Wealth in 2019.

In this podcast interview we talk about Anna’s business Addidi, how she grew the business, finding investors, ‘the exit’, building a business for profit and impact and more.

Here is a short extract from the interview:

Jana: If we think about your example… you were building a business that helped, supported, enabled women around their money to essentially lead a financially independent, a financially happy life.

So in addition to the financial success that your business had, it was having a real positive impact on women, women's lives and on women's financial independence.

Anna: Yes. And it was having a business model, having a focus and doing business in a way which put that right at the heart of the business.

So we had bigger and smaller clients, and we probably could have done better and grown more if we focused on a really tight segment and say, these are the only people we look after.

You've got to be clear.

But for us, it was very much about can we add value to somebody's life? And if we can, then perhaps they're the right type of client for Addidi.

And I think women do think about this and it's right, we should, because the future of the whole planet depends on us.

Thinking about impact rather than just profit.

Big business have helped to generate a great deal of wealth, but that wealth hasn't led necessarily to a balanced or happier world. Right?

A lot more people can feed themselves, which is fantastic. But the gap between the top 1% in the world and the bottom 50% is huge. So I think we do have to think about that.

Because the future isn't what the past has been. It has got to be different.

And I read recently, on Linkedin, about women raising millions of pounds and it is celebrated and I celebrate with them all. I think it's fantastic that so and so has raised $30m in this tough market.

There was a recent young lady raising about $34m as a sole founder: that's something to be celebrated, of course. But the whole article was about this input, about this number.

How are we going to measure the output? What is the output of the $34m investors are looking for?

And we don't look at the output, I don’t think. We don't, apart from profit in a business.

In the investment world, we're beginning to have this whole ESG approach: ie the environment, social and governance framework coming in.

But it’s still not there.

We have the whole B Corp movement around people, planet, and profit. But at the moment we don't have sufficient metrics to, for example, measure people.

So how happy are your employees? How happy and well are your clients and consumers that you are selling to?

I remember going to see a big bank in the city in the early days of Addidi and we were networking with women's networks. And this young lady came in; we were pitching for sponsorship and she was a key part of that sponsorship.

And she came in, she was late and she apologised and I said, ‘oh, what were you up to? Why were you late?’

She had another meeting. And it was all about the fact that they were setting up a business in East Europe somewhere, one of the ex-Soviet areas. And they were setting up a lending business that basically would lend to high risk clients.

And I asked: is there a demand for this sort of lending in the country? Who wants to borrow money at amazing percentages, unsecured?

And she wrote down on a piece of paper this matrix: in the UK they can lend maybe at 15% or 20%, but over there, they could do at 40% ….

So there was potential there. But there was no assessment in that business model about the need they were meeting. Or the output or the morals of how much to charge. It was all about the margins and the bottom line.

And that is no longer fit for purpose, in my view.

Listen here to the full interview

News in Brief

Financial news

* Nasdaq ends down as investors eye Black Friday sales and Covid-19 cases in China.

* On Wednesday night, minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting pointed to support for a slower pace of rate rises, which sent Wall Street higher.

* FTSE flat as Ofgem increases energy price cap and pound strengthens. The energy price cap will rise from £3,549 to £4,279 starting in January.

* The Bank of England (BoE) is also expected to raise its own interest rates by another 50 basis points in December, from 3% to 3.5%.

* Jeremy Hunt’s plans likely to degrade public services, says report. Thinktank says it expects chancellor’s autumn statement to leave ‘poisoned inheritance’ for next government.

* Demand for rental homes in UK up by 23% in a year, as rents hit record high.

Competition among tenants for properties intensified by potential buyers delaying plans and lower supply of smaller homes.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* Bitcoin worth $1.5B withdrawn from Coinbase in 48 hours. 50,000 bitcoin were withdrawn from Coinbase on Nov. 24 and 25, marking the third-largest withdrawal from the exchange (See the current bitcoin price).

* Coinbase's debt was 'canary in coal mine' for crypto meltdown. In January, price for 2031 paper was at $0.92. It then slid to $0.77 in April before dropping to $0.63 amid Terra Luna crash in May. Now trading at $0.53, a level associated with distressed.

* Coinbase shares hit an all-time low amid rising investor skittishness over how far the fallout from rival exchange FTX’s insolvency might spread. Stock now down 90% from ATH.

* Grayscale refuses to share proof of reserves due to 'security concerns' as shares of $10.5bn Bitcoin fund trade at a 45% discount to bitcoin GBTC’s share price has plunged 77% in 2022, compared with bitcoin’s 65% fall.

* FTX was run as ‘personal fiefdom’ of Sam Bankman-Fried, court hears. Hearing in Delaware bankruptcy court is the first since the cryptocurrency exchange declared bankruptcy earlier this month.

* FTX Collapse tarnishes Sequoia’s reputation, prompts apology: top partners at the powerful VC firm apologised to their investors in a conference call Tuesday for backing FTX with investments totalling $214m across 2 funds.

* Cathie Wood has been scooping up shares of crypto exchange Coinbase in wake of FTX's collapse. Recent shopping spree has boosted Ark’s holdings to 4.7% of Coinbase’s outstanding shares. Ark also bought Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

The Purse Podcast

We cover the following in our conversation:

* How Anna started her business, Addidi

* How Anna grew the business

* Taking outside investment and finding the right investors

* Media's obsession with unicorns

* Building a business and investing for social impact (nor just financial returns)

* The exit: how to sell your business

* Women's wealth

* Why we need more women investing and more women investing in the startup ecosystem.

Please enjoy! Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify+

Coffee Break? Read This

* Want to quit your job? 3 things to consider to avoid future regret

* How many steps do we really need to take a day? Here are the facts

* No need for six-month wait to try for baby after pregnancy loss, study finds

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and janicka.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com

Welcome to our #139 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we spotlight why the UK has a growth problem and what this means for the investor.

Vicky Pryce joins us again on The Purse Podcast to talk about gilts (UK bond market), how volatile are they, are they still a good investment and UK growth.

Listen to the full interview here.

***

And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

The problem with UK growth: what does this mean for investors?

Rising inflation, high interest rates and slowing UK growth means this will be a difficult environment.

The UK has a growth problem. So what does this mean for investors?

As reported by The Guardian, UK GDP fell by 0.2% in 2022 Q3. And it has fallen behind other major advanced economies in the last quarter.

Here’s how G7 nations fared in the July-September quarter:

* Canada: +0.4% (according to advance data)

* France: +0.2%

* Germany: 0.2%

* Italy: +0.5%

* United States: +0.6%

* United Kingdom: -0.2%

The UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has blamed the invasion of Ukraine, and Russia’s "weaponisation" of gas suppliers, for hitting growth and pushing up inflation (UK: 10.1%).

However, what central bank policy makers and the government often fail to acknowledge is the real reason for the high inflation:

* money printing during the pandemic

* and ultra-low interest rates (ie cheap money) during the pandemic.

The UK was originally supposed to borrow just £55bn in the first year of the pandemic in 2020/2021, and it actually borrowed £300bn. And it continues to borrow money according to UK economist, Vicky Pryce on The Purse Podcast.

What are the implications?

Elliott Management Corp, a leading US hedge-fund firm, have called central policy makers ‘dishonest’ by blaming high inflation on supply-chain disruption as opposed to loose monetary policy, as reported by Morningstar.

In a letter sent to investors by a leading hedge-fund firm, they believe that the global economy is in an ‘extremely challenging’ situation that could lead to hyperinflation and ‘global societal collapse and civil or international strife’.

The firm also told investors not to assume ‘they have seen everything’ because they have been through the peaks and troughs of the 1987 crash, the dot-com boom and bust, the 2008 global financial crisis, and previous bear and bull markets.

According to Elliott, the markets have not fallen enough yet and that an equity-markets decline of more than 50% would be ‘normal’, but they could not predict when that would happen.

Recession, consumer and business sentiment, Brexit impact

According to economist Vicky Pryce, we are entering a recessionary period in a high-interest rate environment, with high-levels of public and private debt.

Consumer and business sentiment is really important here.

If consumers continue to spend less, companies may struggle to generate sufficient revenue to cover their costs. And in the case of high debt-ridden companies, they are likely to go out of business because they can not service their debt.

The UK has struggled with low productivity levels and investment over the last 10 years, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.

UK growth has also been impacted by leaving the EU; trade has been more expensive and difficult and with far less staff available (than previously).

Therefore it is unlikely that the UK can can easily go back to ‘fast growth’ mode unless we see targeted growth policies from the new UK government (or perhaps the UK rejoins the EU).

For retail investors, the UK market may increasingly become less attractive. And they will turn to other markets such as the US to generate higher returns (in addition to seeking higher returns in alternative assets which can be more ‘risky’, including art, gold, silver or even crypto (BTC or ETH)).

However for many, with less disposable income available, they will save less and therefore invest less too (which may negatively impact their net worth).

What next? (Re) listen to this:

* #63: Inflation, stagflation and are we heading for a recession with Vicky Pryce

* #67: The markets today, how to think about a difficult or bear market and what actions are European investors taking with Rebecca Chesworth

News in Brief

Financial news

* Nasdaq 100 climbs 8.8% in best weekly gain since Nov 2020. Gained 9.4% in best 2 day gain since 2008.

* US inflation cools in October. Overall inflation as measured by CPI rose 7.7% YoY, way below the 7.9% estimate. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 6.3% YoY, below the 6.5% YoY change economists expected to see.

* Euro recession is here, warns European Commission. The eurozone is also poised to fall into recession as double-digit inflation and the ongoing disruption caused by the Ukraine war hits growth.

* UK lags behind other G7 countries. The UK fell behind other major advanced economies in the last quarter.

* UK heads for long recession as economy shrinks by 0.2%. Britain’s economy shrank by 0.2% in the three months to September, in what is expected to be the beginning of a long recession.

* ARK Innovation ETF sell-off deepens as crypto-related stocks like Robinhood, Coinbase, Block & Roblox crash, ARK now down almost 80% from high.

* Bank of America expects that the derating of Big Tech has just started and is far from over. Sees similarities to Japan '90s, internet '00s, US/EU banks '07, BRICs & resources '11.

* Sovereign wealth fund of Singapore Temasek, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund, & dozens of VC firms invested $2bn in FTX, propelling its valuation to $32bn in Jan. FTX’s chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Fri will likely wipe out the value of the equity stakes.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* The crypto market cap down from >$3tn to <$900bn.

* Cryptocurrency exchange FTX files for bankruptcy protection in US. The world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and the founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, has resigned as chief executive. This is deemed to be the biggest destruction of wealth has happened today in the history of crypto as FTX files for bankruptcy.

* Bahamas securities regulator says it didn't order FTX to reopen local withdrawals. SCB froze FTX's assets in the Bahamas late Thursday, but the exchange had already halted withdrawals a few days before.

* And FTX was apparently hacked for $600 million late Friday, though FTX later reported it was able to divert some of its funds back to cold storage wallets.

* Bitcoin returns to red, tumbling 7% on FTX collapse to $16,675. And Ether recently changing hands just above circa $1,260 off more than 4.5%.

* Ether (ETH)'s net supply increase has turned negative for the first time since the Merge.

* The Solana blockchain’s SOL token, one of the hardest-hit digital assets this week, was down 50%. SOL’s decline stemmed from speculation about Solana’s close connection to Alameda Research, a trading firm that was founded by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. SOL was Alameda's second-largest holding, according to Riyad Carey, a research analyst at crypto data firm Kaiko.

The Purse Podcast

We cover the following in our conversation:

* The UK bond market: what are gilts?

* Why are gilts so volatile at the moment?

* Why did the Bank of England (BoE) have to intervene after the 'mini budget' in September?

* What are LDI strategies and should pensions be using them?

* The problem with UK growth

Listen on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify+

Coffee Break? Listen & Read This

* Grit Is Good. But Quitting Can Be, Too (podcast)

* How women (and everyone) can form deeper bonds to fight bias at work (podcast)

* Skinniness is back in fashion, but did it ever really go away?

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com

Welcome to our #138 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we spotlight our interview with Victoria Ross from Progeny Wealth, who is a Chartered Financial Planner.

We talk about how women can protect and grow their money during the cost of living crisis.

We highlight Victoria’s response to why women are more worried (than men) about their finances at this time and what women can do to look after their money today and for the future.

Listen to the full interview here.

***

And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

Women: how to protect and grow your money during the cost of living crisis

We interviewed Victoria Ross, Chartered Financial Advisor on The Purse Podcast

I interviewed Victoria Ross on The Purse Podcast who is a Chartered Financial Planner at Progeny Wealth.

Victoria has 18 years experience within financial services, during which she also completed the qualifications as a chartered financial analyst and chartered managerial accountant.

As a financial planner, her key drivers are ensuring women reach out for and receive appropriate financial advice and that younger generations are financially informed.

Here is a short extract from the interview:

***

Question: I'd like to talk about the cost of living crisis; how women can manage their money and how they might think about their money during this time.

And of course, the research indicates that women are most likely to be worried about their money right now. Why do you think women are more worried about their money?

Victoria’s answer:

Our own house research shows that women are more concerned about money than men. And their greatest immediate concern is this cost of living crisis that we're experiencing at the moment.

And the second biggest concern after that is not being able to save enough for the future. I mean, if you think about who the cost of living crisis impacts the most?

It impacts those who have that less expendable cash. So that can be anyone.

But if you think about the fact that women experience the gender pay gap, or that they are more likely to experience gaps in their careers, they're also more likely to be single parents.

Whilst what's going on out there is a concern for everyone, it does disproportionately impact women.

Also, women can can react differently to stressful situations. And the cost of living crisis, without doubt, is a stressful situation.

Women on the whole are more likely to ruminate over issues. So when you're faced with a stressful situation such as money concerns, you can overthink it, which can create a vicious cycle which leads to more worry. And then you're not sleeping at night. You can tell, I'm talking from experience…

Women are on the whole are more likely to do that.

Question: Given where we are, how should women be thinking about their money and finances right now? What can women do to protect and grow their money during this time?

Victoria’s answer:

I guess if we start with how women can grow their money today.

With the cost of living crisis, saving options are really limited for a lot of people.

If your options are limited, the most powerful way to grow your wealth and your finances for that long term, is making sure that that future isn't forgotten. So ensure you invest into your workplace pension (if we have one).**

You can have defined benefit schemes where you build up a pension that is guaranteed based on your income.

Or the defined contribution schemes where we contribute, employer contributes, and it builds up based on investment returns on those contributions.

Whatever sort of scheme you have, be in it if you can. If you have opted out, you have opted out of your employer contributing into it, which is part of your pay package.

So that is what I try and tell people who've opted out of it because they feel like they're putting too much into it. You are opting out of some of your pay package and therefore missing out.

If there's only one thing you can do, do that.

I should remind everyone that pensions are for the long term for the benefits that you get. The tradeoff is you can not access them until you at 55 years of age.

That will rise to 57 (years of age) and it will go higher as the state pension rises.

But I don't want that to put people off because the growth on those early savings, say when you're in your twenties or your thirties, those small pounds and pennies that you can put away, that growth on growth that you experience over 20, 30, 40 years, that's really powerful stuff.

So if there is one thing you can do for your future, be in your workplace pension. **

If you are looking for something more middle term: you need to access to middle term goals, say 5-15 years- property is the common one. Something property related or child education costs.

The appropriate place is more investments inside of an ISA rather than for a pension, because pensions are for the long term.

And if you're looking at anything in the next, say, five years, (in our world that is fairly short term), it really needs to be in cash, particularly at the moment when markets are so volatile.

What you don't want is to need to raid that investment pot in a year, two years. And markets are so low. If you are investing yourself, and this is particularly in these volatile markets that we're experiencing at the moment, diversity is king.

By that I mean, if you're investing yourself you would want to be in a portfolio of funds that are investing in hundreds or thousands of companies that are diverse globally and across all sort of sectors.

You don't need to be a stock market expert to do this.

It should not be off putting. There are lots of ready made portfolios out there that will help you capture the whole of this world market space in volatile times.

There is a lot going on at the moment and the media bombards us with sound bites. So what we were saying to clients is just remember your intentions for your finances…

These losses that people are experiencing on portfolios at the moment, they are only paper losses.

They are not actual losses unless you have to cash in your portfolio.

So if you have this sensible, diverse portfolio, stand your ground…

Listen to the full interview with Victoria Ross here.

**You can also open a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) if you are not eligible for an employee pension.

News in Brief

Financial news

* The Federal Reserve increase the base rate by 0.75% to 3.75%-4%. The central bank said ‘ongoing increases’ in the fed funds rate would be necessary.

* Bank of England (BoE) warns of longest recession in 100 years & hikes base rate to 3% (by 0.75%). UK economy faces ‘very challenging outlook’ with recession now expected to last until middle of 2024. Interest rates are expected to rise to 3.5%.

* British pound drops 2% (against the Dollar) after dovish BoE rate hike, trading more than 2% weaker at $1.1157, the lowest since Oct. 21.

* BoE begins selling government bonds (ie QT), offloading £750m of (short term) government bonds (gilts) to commercial banks and insurers as part of a plan to sell £80bn by the end of next year.

* Savers, entrepreneurs and shareholders hit as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to launch £13bn raid on UK PLC. Changes to capital gains tax and dividend tax are expected.

* ‘Cloud ETFs’ have had some of their worst weeks ever. For the week, Salesforce Inc. (CRM) shares dropped 14.9% for their worst week since the one ending Aug. 19, 2011, and Service Now Inc. (NOW) shares fell 14.6% for the week.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* Bitcoin is now less volatile than the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD building on prior strength to hit highs of $21,473 on Bitstamp — a new seven-week high. ( See bitcoins’s current price).

* Bitcoin, ether rise to close week as altcoins tick higher. The global crypto market cap rose by 1.8% to $1.07trn+

* Polygon's MATIC shot above $1 over the past 24 hours — rising 14.6% to trade at $1.10. The token's initial price increase appeared to be linked to its partnership with Instagram, announced on Wednesday.

* Solana Labs CEO: 'We want to synchronise the world at the speed of light'. Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko looked at what the Solana network can achieve — if it can overcome its challenges.

The Purse Podcast

We cover the following in our conversation:

* Women's relationship to money

* Why the cost of living crisis is more of a concern for women

* What women can do to protect and grow their money during this time

* Index funds vs ETFs

* The new tax incentives for investing in startups and smaller companies

* Progeny research: women's aspirations and concerns about transferring money onto their loved ones

* Tips for finding a good financial planner

* How to start working with a financial planner.

Listen on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts.

Coffee Break? Read This

* The power of work friends

* In praise of loud women-the joy and power of being noisy and female

* Whether a husband identifies as a breadwinner depends on whether he respects his wife’s career or not (not how much she earns).

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com

Welcome to our #137 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we spotlight BlockFi’s Women x Crypto survey data (US) which indicates that 1 in 10 women invested in crypto as their first investment.

And 20% of Gen Z women see bitcoin as the best long term investment compared to every other potential asset class. Whilst only 10% of Gen X women think the same.

The majority of female crypto owners (69%) said they hold crypto and remain hold-only.

***

And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

Survey: 1 in 10 women invested in crypto as their first investment (ever)

For 33% of women, investing in retirement funds was their first point of entry.

BlockFi’s latest survey (US) found that 10% of women chose crypto as their first investment compared to 33% of women investing in retirement funds, as their first point of entry.

For 17% of Millennial women and 11% of Gen Z women, crypto was their first (ever) investment. And even though Gen X women have had more time to enter other asset classes, only 7% invested in crypto as their first investment.

But overall, 25% of women said that they have yet to invest (in any asset class).

Wealth building strategy

BlockFi’s research also found that 1 in 4 women said they are not confident in their wealth-building investment strategy. And less than half (45%) feel financially secure.

The good news is that 1 in 3 women talk about money in their social circles, although this seems more common in younger generations. Gen X and Baby Boomers are less likely to talk about money with their friends.

And while most women have heard about crypto, nearly 81% of women still report crypto to be confusing and 77% view crypto as a risky investment. 

Women, bitcoin and the HODL

Despite the crypto bear market, 22% of women intend to buy crypto in the next 12 months (this is down from 28%).

1 in 5 women regard crypto as a good hedge against inflation. And 20% of Gen Z women see bitcoin as the best long-term investment compared to every other potential asset class. Whilst only 10% of Gen X think the same.

The survey indicates that women regard investing in crypto as a long term investment strategy. And the majority of female crypto owners (69%) said they hold crypto and remain hold-only.

Knowledge and community is key

Women are keen to engage more around money and invest. Research across the board suggests that women want to learn and be educated on how to make their money work for them.

This is less about ‘tactics’ and ‘chasing alpha’ and more about building knowledge and confidence within a community. That is not to say women are not interested in performance. They are, but their approach to money and investing differs to men.

Flori Marquez, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of BlockFi, commented:

“Knowledge drives empowerment and confidence. I would encourage those women who feel financially secure and confident in their investing strategies, especially in the crypto community, to reach out to those in their social circles who may not feel the same and see how you can help them build their financial confidence.” 

Seek out role models, mentors or likeminded women who share a similar interest in learning about crypto.

Sign up to newsletters (like this one), listen to podcasts and commit to furthering your knowledge on the topic every week.

Or better yet, decide to invest, even if this is £10 or $10 a month.

Once you’re invested, even if this is a small amount, you will start to pay more attention and learn as you go.

What next? Re-read this:

* Women: why invest in crypto and how to de-risk your investment

* Women: why NOT investing is risky

Disclaimer: invest only what you are prepared to lose. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

News in Brief

Financial news

* US stocks finished higher for the second consecutive week despite a series of earnings that caused investors to shed shares of some of the world’s biggest tech companies. S&P 500 gained almost 4% this week and finished 3,900+ points.

* The S&P 500 is now at a pre-pandemic high relative to tech heavy Nasdaq 100. (There is such a thing as reversion to the mean, after all).

* European Central Bank (ECB) hikes rates by 75bps as expected. Main rate to 2%. Expects to raise rate further. No quantitative tightening yet.

* The FTSE 100 felt the pressure of poor technology earnings (down 0.4% to 7,043) in the US on Friday while a warning from NatWest hit sentiment around UK stocks.

* FANGMAN complex has lost another $270bn in market cap after Meta guidance disappointment. Meta alone has lost a quarter of its value $90bn.

* Microsoft’s $811bn rout is Big Tech’s worst in 2022, BBG has calculated. Other big names among the largest losers this year include Meta Platforms, Nvidia and China’s Tencent Holdings.

* UK has a new Prime Minister, ex-Chancellor, Rishi Sunak. Sunak will be Britain’s first leader of colour & first Hindu to take the top job.

* The UK gender pay gap is alive and well. The average pay disparity between male and female UK workers has stretched to more than 8%. And the gender pay gap is at 15.5% between the highest earning men and women.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* Bitcoin and ether trade lower as correlation to equities wanes. And bitcoin is trading at $20,600+ today, while ether is just under $1,600.

* Dogecoin rallies after Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. Dogecoin was up 116.7% over the last week, after billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter.

* Report: State of Solana 2022. Solana's position in the NFT sector remained the second largest by secondary sales volume, behind Ethereum, and narrowed the gap.

* Crypto company Blockchain to issue Visa debit card. The newest card from Blockchain, will be issued through fintech platform Marqeta, comes with no fees and allows users to earn 1% back in crypto.

* Andreesen Horowitz (A16z), one of the largest crypto investors, has seen a 40% drop in value for its flagship crypto fund.

Coffee Break? Read This

* How confidence is weaponised against women

* Being childfree: five women on why they chose not to have kids – video

* UK childcare is collapsing – and forcing mothers back into the home

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com

Welcome to our #136 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we highlight Amboy Street Ventures’ investment in Hey Jane, which prescribes abortion medication to patients online, delivers the medication to the home, and provides follow-up care and community.

This oversubscribed investment round of $6.1m is believed to be a turning point for abortion access innovation.

***

And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

Amboy Street Ventures invests in leading virtual abortion provider, Hey Jane

This oversubscribed round is a turning point for abortion access innovation.

Amboy Street Ventures has recently invested in Hey Jane, which prescribes abortion medication to patients online, delivers the medication to the home, and provides follow-up care and community, as reported on Amboy Street’s blog.

Hey Jane has raised $6.1m with participation from other female founded VC funds including Ulu Ventures, The Helm, Portfolia, and G9.

While so many companies shy away from what is often considered a ‘politicised’ space, Hey Jane is focused on providing necessary, accessible, convenient, and safe solutions for women, and has created an extremely loyal customer base as a result.

In June of this year, the US Supreme Court overturned…

… the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that protects the right to an abortion.

Abortion will now likely be prohibited in twenty-six states, forcing women to:

a) travel hundreds of miles across state lines to the nearest clinic and risk prosecution upon returning, b) self-administer abortion procedures or c) seek illegal abortions in their home states.

It is often quoted that ‘overturning Roe v. Wade does not stop abortions, it stops safe abortions’.

One in four women will have an abortion by age 45…

…and even for the remainder who don’t, this is about women having the freedom to make their own choices about their body.

And yet abortion continues to be underfunded.

Despite significant capital going to non-profit organisations, the for-profit investment world has tended to avoid it altogether. Even some of the most progressive VC funds will not invest in abortion related startups due to restrictions from their fund investors, as per the Amboy Street blog.

According to Kiki Freedman, Co-founder and CEO of Hey Jane, interviewed on Forbes: ‘…abortion is too difficult to get logistically, financially, and from a stigma and emotional perspective. That’s why we provide fast, affordable abortion care from home..’.

And these abortions are equally spread across all party lines, so this is a health issue not a political one.

Since its inception in 2021, Hey Jane…

…quickly scaled to serve nearly 20,000 patients and plans to expand into other stigmatised areas of women’s health, starting with post-partum depression.

Even before the overturning of Roe vs Wade, Hey Jane saw customer growth increase by 300% between Q1 and Q2 in 2021.

They have a 3 pillar approach to care…physical, social, and emotional:

* Physical: $249 for treatment, with financial assistance available

* Social: creating a safe online space for this community (is really critical)

* Emotional: patients can chat with a caring doctor within 24 hours of contact, and medications are shipped daily.

Whilst VCs have historically stayed away from this space..

…this oversubscribed $6.1m round in Hey Jane is a turning point. VCs are starting to fuel the abortion access innovation space.

Female founded VCs which also tend to attract…

… more female investors are starting to create a flywheel of interest and capital aimed at these underfunded and often underestimated markets.

We are also seeing more high profile female investors such as Reese Wetherspoon, Serena Williams and Oprah Winfrey back female founded startups as well as starting their own.

These celebrity female investors are often high signal for the VC market, providing credibility and endorsement in categories often ignored by the mostly white male investor.

Women with capital to invest are starting to drive the investment ecoystem in ways we have not seen before. And women (and men) everywhere stand to benefit.

What next?

* #66: How more women can invest in female-led startups with Gillian Fleming

* #69: Women as decision makers and asset allocators with Patience Marime-Ball and Ruth Shaber MD

* #71: Investing in women’s reproductive and maternal health with Ruth Shaber MD

News in Brief

Financial news

* The S&P 500 is up 4.7% this week. However it’s a violently flat stock market—and investors shouldn’t mistake the recent rally for anything more than a welcome respite in what has been a very uncomfortable journey.

* Pound rises over $1.13 and stock market closes higher as the UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss resigns.

* Interest rates unlikely to rise above 5%, says Bank of England official. Ben Broadbent says increase already priced into markets would deliver ‘pretty material’ hit to economy.

* Investors are betting the BoE to raise interest rates by 0.75-points to 3%. This is down from (an exepcted) 1% increase before Truss resigned.

* Rising food prices pushed UK inflation to 10.1% in September, well above the Bank of England’s 2% target.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* Bitcoin lingers under the $20,000 for the longest stretch since late 2020. And bitcoin is now less volatile than the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq since 2020.

* Fidelity to roll out Ethereum trading for institutions next week. Fidelity will officially make Ethereum—the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap—available to its customers on October 28.

* The Ethereum staking rewards rise with leveraged stakers seeing 11% APR. The main cause for the rising yield is increased network activity, specifically in ways that result in higher fees for network validators.

* Solana Founder: “we’re more complementary to ethereum than killer”. Solana is a popular blockchain for dapps and non-fungible tokens or NFTs due to its fast transaction speed. “That opens up the space to a decentralised network optimised for consensus at the speed of light..”

Coffee Break? Read This

* The new menopause market has been well and truly tapped

* UK childcare is collapsing – and forcing mothers back into the home

* Almost 8m people in UK struggling to pay bills, says City watchdog

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com

Welcome to our #135 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we highlight a recent study by the Resolution Foundation which indicates that more than 5m UK households will see their annual mortgage payments increase by an average of £5,100 by the end of 2024.

And don’t forget to listen to The Purse Podcast interview with Sally Mueller who is the Co-founder and CEO of Womaness. We talk about the menopause, why it’s still a taboo topic, what it’s like to build a startup in the menopause market, how to find the right investors and how to start investing.

***

And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

Study: annual mortgage bills to rise by £5,100 for 5m UK households

The Bank of England (BoE) is expected to hike the base rate to 5%+ in 2023.

According to research by the Resolution Foundation, more than 5m households in the UK are set to see their annual mortgage payments increase by an average of £5,100 by the end of 2024, as reported by The Financial Times.

Mortgage interest rates have risen sharply recently, in large part due to an increase in the Bank of England’s (BoE) base rate. And because the base rate is expected to jump from 2.25% to 5%+ in 2023.

UK inflation is on the rise…

…and the ‘mini’ Budget announced, by the then UK Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, spooked investors, driving up gilt yields and increasing the cost of borrowing further.

Those on a variable rate mortgage already face higher repayments as a result. And 1.7m households will face the increase in their mortgage bill by the end of this year (as their fixed mortgage comes to an end).

The report says that households in London will see the biggest increase. The average payments are set to rise by £8,000 by the end of 2024.

However, it is the lower income families that face the largest rise as a share of income. They will be spending 10% of their income on housing costs by the end of 2024 (up from 5%).

The think-tank forecasts that mortgage rates will rise to between 6% and 7% for those on fixed rates, rising to 8%+ for those on variable rates.

What next?

* #67: The markets today, how to think about a difficult or bear market and what actions are European investors taking with Rebecca Chesworth

* #72: The UK bond market, rising interest rates and will the Bank of England stop printing money with Shaun Richards

* #12: How to manage your money with Tina Weeks

News in Brief

Financial news

* S&P 500 has lost 1.5% this week after violent reversals. While the market was able to shrug off US inflation (8.2% for Sept), inflation expectations revive inflation worries.

* This week’s volatility in UK bond markets has had a significant effect on the FTSE 100 with wild swings in house builders, consumer staples and banks. These moves have been driven by the sharp rise and fall in gilt yields.

* Bank of England warns mortgage defaults to rise in months ahead. Survey of lenders paints gloomy picture of new deals drying up and end to ‘golden era’ of cheap mortgages. The average two-year fixed mortgage hit 6.46% this week.

* The UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss appoints Jeremy Hunt as UK Chancellor after sacking Kwasi Kwarteng. She introduced a U-turn on corporation tax which will increase from next April to 25%.

* The pound accelerated its slide when Liz Truss spoke, falling 1.2% to $1.1187, and government bond yields, which had fallen earlier today, thereby reducing government borrowing costs, started to tick up again.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* Bitcoin (BTC) has gained ground since dropping to $18,100 Thursday after the (CPI) data was released. The cryptocurrency was recently trading at around $19,600, up just over 5% on the day.

* Ether (ETH) gained 6% on the day, while Quant Network’s token surged 20%. The question is whether bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market can sustain Friday’s rebound.

* Dogecoin, SHIB post more losses as crypto market sheds $11B overnight. SHIB is trading down 88% from its historical record, and down about 60% since the start of the year.

* Morgan Stanley says crypto ecosystem is becoming less decentralised. The Ethereum blockchain has become more centralised following the shift to proof-of-stake as 60% of validators are managed by only four companies, the report said.

* BlackRock launches blockchain ETF for European clients. The world’s largest money manager continues to ramp up exposure to digital assets space.

The Purse Podcast

We cover the following in our conversation:

* The menopause and why is it a taboo topic?

* What are some of the challenges women face as a result?

* Reclaiming the narrative around the menopause

* Womaness: building a menopause startup

* Building a new consumer brand

* The importance of community

* How to find the right investors

* How to start investing

Listen on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts.

Coffee Break? Read This

* Why having fun is a secret to a healthier life

* How to break down barriers and not accept limits

* Nuclear power is our best hope to ditch fossil fuels

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com

Welcome to our #134 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we focus on the UK bond or gilts market and understanding why the Bank of England (BoE) had to intervene last week by committing to buying £65bn of long-term government debt over a 13 day period.

And don’t forget to listen to The Purse Podcast interview with Shaun Richards where he talks about the UK gilts market, why the BoE had to intervene, can they stop bond-buying and what’s in store in Q4 and in 2023.

***

And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

UK bond market: BoE says its £65bn gilt intervention prevented a UK financial crisis

The BoE has said it intends to start its ‘quantitative tightening’ (QT) programme October 31 in order to reduce its debt.

On Thursday last week, the Bank of England (BoE) launched its emergency bond-buying programme in the wake of chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘mini’ Budget, as reported by The Financial Times.

This intervention avoided pension funds selling £50bn of UK long-term government debt ‘in a short space of time’ and prevented a likely UK financial crisis.

The BoE has said it would buy £65bn in bonds or gilts over a 13 day period and indicates how close the UK came to a market meltdown after Kwarteng’s £45bn ‘mini-budget’ of unfunded tax cuts.

Sir Jon Cunliffe, the BoE’s deputy governor for financial stability, explained in a letter, that had they not intervened ‘there would have been a “self-reinforcing spiral” that threatened “severe disruption of core funding markets and consequent widespread financial instability”.

The BoE had also received warnings from managers of the liability-driven investment strategies as early as Friday September 23 that the huge moves in gilt yields would force them to dump large quantities of government debt.

The BoE has spent just £3.8bn in the first seven days of its programme, far below the potential maximum of £35bn.

According to investors, ‘the possibility of larger central bank purchases had been successful in backstopping the market and giving other buyers the confidence to step in’.

However, bond yields moved higher again after the BoE did not buy any bonds on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Cunliffe has confirmed that “These operations are not intended to create central bank money on a lasting basis, nor are they designed to cap or control long-term interest rates..”. Therefore this effort should not fuel inflation.

Last week’s gilt purchases has delayed the start of the BoE selling gilts from it portfolio to shrink its balance sheet (or debt).

The BoE has said it intends to start its ‘quantitative tightening’ (QT) programme October 31 in order to reduce its debt.

Given the high levels of debt globally, rising interest rates and general nervousness by investors, it is questionable how long the BoE can sustain its QT efforts.

***

Listen to The Purse Podcast interview with Shaun Richards where we talk about the UK economy, the UK bond market & its near collapse, BoE’s intervention and what’s in store in Q4 and 2023?

News in Brief

Financial news

* IMF chief warns world heading towards age of greater instability. Kristalina Georgieva points to ‘fundamental shift’, with fragile global ties and more frequent natural disasters.

* US recession 'now over 50% chance'. A US recession is now “more likely than not”, Capital Economics say.

* Bank of England (BoE) confirms pension funds almost collapsed amid market meltdown.

* Deutsche Bank: UK economic outlook has weakened further. It predicts that UK GDP will fall by 0.5% in 2023 (down from a previous forecast of 0%), before growing by 1% in 2024, when the economy would finally return to its pre-pandemic level.

* Money markets expectations of UK interest rates are rising. With bond yields rising again, the markets now indicate Bank of England base rate could have jumped to 5.8% by next June.

* UK Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng to ‘work closely’ with banks as five-year mortgage rates hit 6%.

* UK price cap on household energy bills expected to cost £89bn. Liz Truss’s intervention to freeze domestic energy bills could cost between £72bn and £140bn, analysis finds.

* Rating agency Fitch downgrades UK credit outlook. Lack of independent forecasts at mini-budget and clash with Bank of England’s inflation strategy prompts cut.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

* Investors free gold and Bitcoin, pushing correlation to new 12-month high-they are attracted by a strong US dollar and high bond yields.

* Bitcoin stays close to $20,000 as US stock futures traded down. Ethereum gained gained approximately 1% and is trading around $1,300.

* State of Ethereum Report: Q3 2022. An overview of protocol metrics, DeFi, NFTs, Layer 2 and development.

* Solana’s latest downtime caused by code bug and malfunctioning node.

* Celsius creditors face fallout from U.S. bankruptcy disclosure process. Celsius produced a trove of documents this week containing creditor information that has some worried they may be left vulnerable to cyber threats.

* Modular Asset Management, crypto hedge fund focused on ESG buys Algorand and Polkadot.

* Crypto slump leaves 12,100 coins trapped in zombie trading limbo ( coins that haven’t traded for a monthy by year).

The Purse Podcast

We cover the following in our conversation:

* UK bond market

* Can the Bank of England stop printing money?

* Will interest rates continue to rise?

* UK housing market

* What’s next: Q4 and 2023

Listen on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts.

Coffee Break? Read This

* Talking about burnout is still taboo at work

* Why talking to strangers is good for you, them and all of us

* Want to quit your job? 3 things to consider now to prevent future regrets

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.

The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2022 & All Rights Reserved.

The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jointhepurse.substack.com