Chapter 6

In this episode of the Merryn Talks Money UK housing mini-series, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and Money Distilled author John Stepek are joined by Paula Higgins, founder and chief executive of HomeOwners Alliance, to tackle the question: are new-build properties a wise choice? 

In this episode of the Merryn Talks Money&nbsp;UK housing mini-series, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and Money Distilled author John Stepek are joined by Paula Higgins, founder and chief executive of HomeOwners Alliance, to tackle the question: are new-build properties a wise choice?&nbsp;

Merryn Talks Money with Bloomberg senior columnist Merryn Somerset Webb is your key to understanding how markets work – and how you can make them work for you. Every episode features a relaxed but in-depth conversation with a fund manager, a strategist, a Bloomberg expert or just someone Merryn finds particularly interesting in any given week. Listen in for the kind of insights and explanations everyone can use to help them make better saving and investing choices.

Merryn Talks Money with Bloomberg senior columnist Merryn Somerset Webb is your key to understanding how markets work – and how you can make them work for you. Every episode features a relaxed but in-depth conversation with a fund manager, a strategist, a Bloomberg expert or just someone Merryn finds particularly interesting in any given week. Listen in for the kind of insights and explanations everyone can use to help them make better saving and investing choices.

Merryn Talks Money

Is It Really a Good Idea to Buy New in the UK?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1b4c0349-6601-40b4-b067-b2c60152fd4a/transcript

Passive investing was designed to track the market, not shape it. But as Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek explore in the second episode of The Portfolio Reset, the enormous growth of passive investing has changed the market it was built to follow, just as some of the world’s most valuable companies are staying private for longer.

Using SpaceX as an example, they examine the changing relationship between public and private markets and why no investment is truly passive — someone is always making a decision somewhere in the process. As passive flows grow powerful enough to move markets, Merryn and John explain why investors should make sure they’re making active decisions in pursuit of their own financial goals, rather than leaving those decisions in the hands of strangers. 

Passive investing was designed to track the market, not shape it. But as Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek explore in the second episode of <a href="bbg://news/stories/TMVPTHRKV2U0" data-web-url="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-14/us-stocks-won-the-last-decade-what-about-the-next-one" data-cke-saved-href="bbg://news/stories/TMVPTHRKV2U0">The Portfolio Reset</a>, the enormous growth of passive investing has changed the market it was built to follow,&nbsp;just as some of the world&rsquo;s most valuable companies are staying private for longer.
Using SpaceX as an example, they examine the changing relationship between public and private markets and why no investment is truly passive &mdash; someone is always making a decision somewhere in the process. As passive flows grow powerful enough to move markets, Merryn and John explain why investors should make sure they&rsquo;re making active decisions in pursuit of their own financial goals, rather than leaving those decisions in the hands of strangers.&nbsp;

The Portfolio Reset: Episode 2 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d74b1169-fd55-4d58-badd-b4e90158e681/transcript

After years of being overshadowed by US megacaps and the artificial intelligence boom, could smaller companies finally be ready for a comeback? Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Downing fund manager Simon Evan-Cook and Odyssean Capital’s Stuart Widdowson about why small caps remain unusually cheap, what could bring investors back — and whether small-cap value could become the ultimate anti-AI trade.

After years of being overshadowed by US megacaps and the artificial intelligence boom, could smaller companies finally be ready for a comeback? Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Downing fund manager Simon Evan-Cook and Odyssean Capital&rsquo;s Stuart Widdowson about why small caps remain unusually cheap, what could bring investors back &mdash; and whether small-cap value could become the ultimate anti-AI trade.

The Case for Buying Small Caps Now

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/378ba41b-aa2b-4e05-ac16-b4e7014ac418/transcript

Are we seeing signs of investors starting to lose their nerve over artificial intelligence? On this week's markets wrap, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss the cracks appearing in the AI boom, as well as why UK house prices could rebound faster than expected, and how changes to inheritance tax may help fuel demand. Plus, with the Budget approaching, they ask whether the best thing the government could do is simply leave well enough alone.

Are we seeing signs of investors starting to lose their nerve over artificial intelligence? On this week's markets wrap, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss the cracks appearing in the AI boom, as well as why UK house prices could rebound faster than expected, and how changes to inheritance tax may help fuel demand. Plus, with the Budget approaching, they ask whether the best thing the government could do is simply leave well enough alone.

Markets Wrap: AI Jitters, Budget Expectations and UK Housing Rebound?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/fcacadf2-ab65-42e4-beb0-b4e5008970f7/transcript

Is It Really a Good Idea to Buy New in the UK?

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