The good, for some, news is that the rich in the UK are not getting much richer, although the poor are relatively poorer, whereas in the US the share of wealth owned by the richest went up 12%. What’s more worrying, or at least should be, is that the old are getting richer and the young much poorer. In the past 15 years or so, over 60s have become 55% better off, 30-40 year olds 34% poorer. Most of that has to do with home ownership, of course, with far fewer 35 – 44 year olds having their own houses and no sign of that changing. And this does, of course, disproportionately affect lower-income ie poorer, younger people with less to inherit and less or no chance of a Bank-of-Mum-and-Dad intervention to oil the wheels. What can change things? Lots of cheap houses in a field near you? A return to the ‘if you’re breathing you can have a mortgage’ market of the early noughties? Are either good solutions? No. Higher incomes and a fairer distribution of wealth might work; but dream on.
“2024 a mixed year for sustainable investing, report finds”
lthough in theory the environment (pardon the) for sustainable/ethical/responsible funds improved significantly last year, the performance of many did not. Excluding oil/mining/guns/fags all hampered their performance in the aftermath of Ukraine.