What should you do about investing in both shares and bonds with so many fears over the latter? Christine Johnson, of Old Mutual explains what you need to know. Also on the agenda in this show is a look at the winners and losers on the recent stock market rollercoaster and the thorny question of should the Fed raise rates?

As the country was welcoming a new monarch in 1952, the economy and the City was in flux. But how has Britain's top flight of publicly traded companies changed during her reign? The FT30 was the equivalent of today's FTSE 100 index but with some notable differences.

Self-investing via an online fund supermarket is growing in popularity, despite recent stock market falls. But choosing a provider can prove a minefield. Last month, I road-tested 13 of the largest platforms that allow investors to trade shares and funds at the click of a computer mouse and hold them inside a tax-friendly Individual Savings Account or Self-Invested Personal Pension.

Pennon, which owns South West Water, Bournemouth Water and a waste management firm has pledged to pay a dividend that is 4 per cent above the Retail Prices Index rate of inflation until 2020, a promise that offers real comfort to investors in search of income in a low interest rate environment. Yet Pennon shares have fallen 20 per cent to 737p since the beginning of the year, hit by concerns over future profits at its waste division, Viridor.

Some hedge funds have done very nicely out of the global market turmoil triggered by concerns about the Chinese economy. How do hedge funds work, and how do you get exposure - assuming you're willing to shoulder the risks, withstand the potential losses and pay the high fees.

The last 48 hours have been frantic and fearful for savers with money in shares and funds.. Fearful investors have been ditching shares and funds but others are asking if lower share prices mean this is actually a good time to start buying. Here's our guide to the market mayhem.

Amid the doom and gloom it is worth remembering that some blue-chip shares are still well up on where they stood six months ago. Only 33 of the top 100 companies are in positive territory over that timeframe.

New analysis by asset manager Barings, suggests a motley crew of currently struggling markets should deliver the best returns over the next decade. It used productivity, demographics and the availability of credit, alongside current valuations, to forecast how assets will fare between now and 2025. We reveal the results.

While investors' favourite Neil Woodford may have produced some spectacular returns over the past ten years, some lesser-known fund managers have outperformed him, new research suggests. The top 25 beat the FTSE All Share by a significant margin, the study found, producing an average return per annum of 9.8 per cent against 7.1 per cent for the FTSE.

I'm new to investing and keen to learn more before making any rookie mistakes. Can you explain how to 'read' the figures on a balance sheet - what am I looking out for, and what criteria do you use to judge the health of a company?

Alternative investments are coming of age - with many having their fortunes plotted much like stocks and shares. We explore the alternative options and see how they compare with traditional equity markets - as well as just how deep your pockets need to be to invest.

Statistics from the London Business School and Credit Suisse have shown just how rewarding investing in the sin or vice stocks can be, with an investment over 100 years returning 200 times more than the average market return. But a London-based stock exchange is trying to show that backing firms that have a social or green benefit is not the preserve of sandal-wearing vegans.

Sarah Whitley joined Baillie Gifford's Japanese investment team in 1982 - she was there for the bubble, the crash, the lost decades, and now what promises to be recovery. Investor interest in Japan is reigniting as the big turnaround project dubbed 'Abenomics' - after ambitious leader Shinzo Abe - starts showing signs of success. Whitley met with This is Money to discuss how she goes about her job, her investing strategy and tips, and what she thinks the future holds for Japan.

We opened a one-year bond with Highgrove Osprey on 24th February last year for £5,000 - and to date, the money has not been repaid. After at least 150 phone calls and various reasons for the delay given by the firm, no payment has been made. What is the hold up?

Twice-a-year investment firm Sanlam selects its14 best performing UK Equity Income funds based on performance, volatility and income over the last five years. You could have earned as much as £36.50 for every £100 invested if you picked the right UK equity income fund, according to the study. We reveal the list.

Cautious investors are being put into Absolute Return funds to beat interest on a cash savings account without taking risks with your money. The funds are designed to produce constant returns - whether the stock market rises or falls. Investors are rushing in, but is that wise?

The gold price slumped to $1,080 last night, alarming investors who still hold it as a safe haven asset despite suffering big losses since its all-time peak at $1,900. What's behind the sudden sharp fall, and how worried should investors holding gold as a hedge against inflation and other financial hazards now be about the price outlook?

Investment trusts specialising in smaller firms were among recent top performers after the election improved confidence in the sector, new research shows. But commodity and Asia-focused investment trusts were among the stragglers as investors shunned stocks exposed to an economic slowdown in China or a US rate rise, according to performance tables for the past three months compiled by QuotedData.

Star names such as Neil Woodord and Richard Buxton have moved on in recent years taking money and investors with them and in recent weeks respected managers at Newton and Standard Life have departed. Broker Chelsea Financial Services has investigated whether investors have been better off historically sticking with their fund or moving with the manager.

Savers may be wondering whether now is the time to cash in their European investments. Experts, however, are snapping up cheap shares while the market is nervous. Jake Robbins, manager of the Premier Global Alpha Growth fund, has been raising his allocation of European equities over the past six weeks. His Global fund gives him the freedom to invest anywhere and he now has almost a quarter of his money on the continent.

The junior market has given us big names such as ASOS and Majestic Wines, but overall its performance leaves little to celebrate - the whole index has lost 18 per cent over the past two decades. We take a look at AIM's history and highlight five funds to gain exposure to the risky but rewarding world of fledgling firms.

The Alternative Investment Market - also known as AIM - celebrates its 20th birthday on Friday. And while the stock market for small companies has come on leaps and bounds since 1995 investing in it is still as risky as ever. AIM is home to 1,100 fledgling companies. For them, it's a great first step in to the stock market. It allows them to sell shares to raise vital funding to grow their business further. Listing on AIM, rather than on the FTSE, is also easier - there is no requirement to have been trading for three years, or to issue a minimum number of shares, and the disclosure rules are less stringent.

Of course, with investors cottoning on to the allure of Asia, stock markets in countries like India and China have raced ahead leading to inevitable questions about rising valuations and bubbles brewing. Here are four key things you need to know about investing for income in Asia.

A clear strategy is a key element of active fund investing but sometimes an alternative route is also necessary. Fund managers need to be savvy to navigate potential problems brewing and that's where some different contrarian thinking can pay off. We reveal six fund manager's unusual thoughts.

In the latest episode of The Investing Show, we're joined by fund manager Chris White, of Premier Asset Management, to take a look at how to spot a good income investment. Also up for discussion is how to spot a share that's on the move and some income investment trust bargains.

Pre-tax profit rose to £600m for the 52 weeks to March 28, from £580m, on group sales of £10.3bn. But earnings still fell short of rival Next, and are half the £1bn M&S; posted in 2007. As a consequence, Britain's biggest clothing retailer was able to announce plans this week to return £150m to investors through a share buyback programme. It also increased the final dividend by 7.4 per cent to 11.6p, taking the full year pay-out up 5.9 per cent to 18p. That is some reward for long-suffering shareholders - but the key questions are how Marks was able to do this and whether the performance is sustainable.

'Sell in May and go away, stay away till St Leger Day' is a timeworn piece of advice to investors, but no financial pundit has ever proved whether it's true or not. Instead of engaging in this dusty debate, we prefer to focus on which shares are likely to do well this summer and beyond, however the wider market performs. Ian Forrest, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, suggests five stocks that look a good buy right now and recaps how our summer share tips from last year performed.

There are 465 solar farms in Britain, and 184 of these sprung up last year. As a result, investing in renewable energy has become increasingly popular - particularly as they pay a reliable income of around 6 per cent a year. That far outstrips anything you can get from a bank savings account and is double what a ten-year UK government bond pays.

In the latest episode of The Investing Show, we take a look at what's actually in the FTSE 100 and whether investors should buy in. We also discuss the best UK bank shares and their prospects and take a look at whether there is any wisdom in the old Sell in May adage.

In today's mad world, negative yields mean that investors are buying bonds guaranteed to lose them money if held to maturity. Here, they pay for the privilege of lending money. That's prompted bond king Bill Gross to rail again at 'the less than commonsensical notion that a global debt crisis can be cured with more and more debt.' We would be wise to at least consider his words.

China is firmly gripped by stock market fever. The country's mainland index, the Shanghai Composite has been on a tear, up more than 120 per cent in the last year and hitting its highest level for seven years. Some say this is just a preview of things to come, others warn of an impending bubble. Maike Currie takes a look.

Bonds are attracting masses of savers' cash - trade body the Investment Association reported that £130million flooded into these funds in February alone. But their popularity is making these precarious investments ever more risky. Jon Mawby, manager of the GLG Strategic Bond fund, is looking at countries such as Australia and Canada because they haven't had bouts of monetary stimulus skewing valuations.

Deryn and Derek Hemment were told by Capita they must buy an 'indemnity' against their lost Compass share certificates being used fraudulently - though they are innocent of mislaying the documents or of any wrongdoing. The pair can't trade their shares in the FTSE 100-listed catering giant until they get replacement share certificates, but they are being refused them until the indemnity issue is sorted. The Hemments insist Capita should foot the indemnity bill, because the loss of their certificates was down to the firm posting such valuable documents second class.

Higher volatility is thought to indicate greater uncertainty about performance, and all funds have to use a standard measure to help investors grasp the risks. This ranks funds from band one for the lowest risk to band seven for the highest - but research by Rplan has found some 40 per cent or 1,016 of the funds available in the UK are bunched up together in band six. A further 50 per cent or 1,275 of funds are split almost exactly between bands five and four.

Why are there half a dozen or more versions of the same fund listed on the performance tables, followed with abbreviations like Acc, Inc, No Trail, R, I, and Z? What do these all mean? How do I know which version of a fund I want to buy?

Some popular investment funds are so big that providers are actively obstructing keen investors from putting in more money. Why do managers 'soft close' their funds, and which are most likely to shut in future?

Investors have the opportunity for higher returns with commission-free 'clean funds', which are mostly cheaper than the old kind. But fund providers have given their clean funds a baffling array of new names - so how do you track them down?

Financial advisers warn so-called 'closet trackers' are all too common, and investors need to stay alert to avoid shelling out high fees for passive performance. We look at how to spot these index-huggers masquerading as active funds - and whether you're better off just buying a real tracker fund anyway.

For more than 20 years, Mr Woodford has been a renowned investor in big FTSE 100 firms, but now he is turning his attention to a fund for smaller companies. Based in Oxfordshire, the Patient Capital Trust will help finance early-stage firms, many of which will have a science and medical bias. This makes the trust quite a risky punt since many start-up firms fail.

The UK has produced some of the world's most powerful companies and best-known brands. But are the glory days of the FTSE 100 stalwarts a thing of the past? From Rolls-Royce to Centrica to Burberry, we look at some iconic names for investors to watch.

How can you tell where the best investment opportunities lie amid all this controversial deal-making in the pharma sector? Stock experts explain the main issues that potential investors need to know about the industry and offer their share tips. For those lured by the money-making prospects of pharma but who prefer not to invest directly in stocks, we also profile a specialist healthcare investment trust.

The tobacco industry is as controversial as ever, with rows raging about plain packaging and these new-fangled 'e-cigarettes'. The shares of British giants BAT and Imperial have struggled over the past year or so, but is there now a case to invest - and which one should you buy?

The fund's 25-stock portfolio is full of big companies - including Accenture and Wells Fargo, as well as Google, Visa and Disney. Despite sharp price falls in some of these holdings - 10 per cent or more since the start of the month in some cases - fund manager Gerrit Smit remains stoic, refusing to turn to cash or change the portfolio's composition.