What caught my eye this week.
The Financial Times has a piece [1] about a Morgan Stanley piece (still with me?) about where we’re at in the three-year old [2] tussle between working from home and returning to the office.
Its most striking graph shows that of the four major economies surveyed, the UK’s employees worked the fewest days at home pre-Covid – and yet now they work at home the most:
[3]
They’d do even more if they could, too. (Dark green bar.) It’s such a striking turnaround.
Did UK workers not appreciate how miserable their remorseless schlep [4] to the office was before the pandemic showed them another way?
Did UK employers not trust them?
Or is something else going on in the UK economy as a result of the pandemic that has enabled this transition? (Or is this some artefact of data sampling clashing with local cultural practices?)
My gut says it’s probably in part a London thing, given its dominance. The City is still dead on a Friday.
That’s reinforced by a graph showing how the wealthier the worker, the more days they tend to work from home – and we know more wealthy people work in London.:
[5]
Indeed, the lowest income workers are now working fewer days from home. (As if they didn’t have enough to deal with already.)
When we last checked [6] in on this issue in March, big employers seemed resigned to a more remote workforce. This despite a lot of rhetoric about how things had to go back to normal soon.
Yet here in November it does seem like all the hot air urging a five-day commute was exactly that.
At some point politicians and planners will have to do more with this shift than simply use it as an excuse to scrap HS2.
Hurrah! More Monevator members
A quick thanks to everyone who just signed up to our Mavens member subscriptions [7] on the back of The Accumulator’s new decumulation model portfolio [7].
Sure, the company I talked about last week [8] in Moguls went up more than 30% on Thursday. (Something that won’t happen again in the next five years – so please don’t join up expecting a repeat performance!)
But @TA’s passive mantra is the heart of this site. So I’m thrilled to see so many more of you helping to ensure Monevator’s long-term future – whilst booking a ringside seat on @TA’s new adventure.
Some housekeeping notes for new members:
Allow third-party cookies and no ad-blockers. Now and then a member reports they cannot log into Monevator as a member, to read member articles. In all but one case, cookies were the issue. You have to allow them for the software to know you’re logged in. (There are no ads for members anyway. 🙂 )
Make sure you’re subscribed [9] to get our emails. A couple of dozen members are not getting member emails. In some cases they may not want emails and are reading on the site. But I bet a few are confused. Basically you have to get all our emails to get any – both the free site articles and your member articles. You can’t just get the latter. If you ever unsubscribed from our emails – or failed to confirm you wanted them when prompted by an email – then the system won’t send you member emails, either. This is best practice, because we’re not spammers. But please do re-subscribe [9] if you want to read member articles over email.1 [10]
Change your nickname before you post a comment when logged-in. Otherwise you may accidentally reveal your real name. Please see the FAQ [11].
We are now about 80% of the way towards the rough target I set for us as a sustainable membership base. (Albeit that’s ignoring inflation, and assuming not everyone signs up for the cheaper Mavens).
So we’re nearly there – but not quite there yet.
Please do consider joining if you’ve not yet done so. You’re in good company these days!
And thanks yet again to everyone who has already become a member.
Have a great weekend!
From Monevator
Introducing our model decumulation portfolio – Monevator [7] [For all members [12]]
From the archive-ator: What are return premiums/factors? – Monevator [13]
News
Note: Some links are Google search results – in PC/desktop view click through to read the article. Try privacy/incognito mode to avoid cookies. Consider subscribing to sites you visit a lot.
UK economy flatlines but avoids recession this year – Sky [14]
Housing market past ‘peak pain’ says Savills – Estate Agent Today [15]
Leasehold and rental reform confirmed in King’s Speech… – Mortgage Solutions [16]
…plus other bits and bobs from His Maj that could impact your finances – Which [17]
Regulatory concerns for Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell – Proactive Investors [18]
What cost of living payments are coming and when? – Which [19]
Beware this new WhatsApp recruitment scam – This Is Money [20]
Big hedge funds pay ‘silly’ money, says founder of Europe’s largest manager [Search result] – FT [21]
[22]
People in UK are overall less happy than before pandemic – Guardian [23]
Products and services
Nationwide first major lender to offer two-year fix below 5% since Mini Budget – ES [24]
Does Monzo’s new cashback of up to 10% beat rival banks’ rewards? – This Is Money [25]
Aldermore Bank offers easy access on a 5.25% regular savings account – This Is Money [26]
Get £50 free trading credit when you open an account with Interactive Investor [27]. Terms apply – Interactive Investor [27]
As car insurance premiums hit another high, here’s how to save – Which [28]
Bond ladders and target ETFs [US but relevant] – ETF.com [29]
Could doing your washing at night save you money? – Guardian [30]
Open an account with low-cost platform InvestEngine via our link [31] and get up to £50 when you invest at least £100 (T&Cs apply. Capital at risk) – InvestEngine [31]
Shopping from China using the popular Temu app – Guardian [32]
Homes for first-time buyers, in pictures – Guardian [33]
Comment and opinion
Not all returns are created equal – Morningstar [34]
UK house prices have suffered a real terms crash from peaks – This Is Money [35]
Why American’s biggest pension fund should just buy ETFs – Meb Faber [36]
Is this bond bear market really worse than the 1970s? [Search result] – FT [37]
How to become a millionaire – A Wealth of Common Sense [38]
Turmoil lies ahead for the pensions lifetime allowance [Search result] – FT [39]
Retirement surprises – Humble Dollar [40]
Average is not the same as median – Klement on Investing [41]
Why you should give more of your money to your heirs earlier – Morningstar [42]
Health and wealth are two sides of the same coin [Podcast] – Humans vs Retirement [43]
Decadence, drawdown, and deceptive sales – Simple Living in Somerset [44]
Bracing for the no-go years – Humble Dollar [45]
Cash mini-special
Five benefits of higher rates on cash – The White Coat Investor [46]
Cash is popular, but be careful when allocating to it – AAII [47]
Isle of Man encourages businesses to get rid of 1p and 2p prices – This Is Money [48]
Naughty corner: Active antics
How to diversify a defensive dividend portfolio – UK Dividend Stocks [49]
11 signs to avoid management meltdowns – Flyover Stocks [50]
2024 Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions [PDF] – JP Morgan [51]
How higher interest rates boost hedge fund returns – CAIA [52]
Investment trusts: a sector under siege [Search result] – FT [53]
Is it finally time to buy US small cap stocks? – Morningstar [54]
Explaining the outperformance of ‘dividend aristocrats’ – Advisor Perspectives [55]
Kindle book bargains
I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi – £0.99 on Kindle [56]
Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Charles T. Munger – £0.99 on Kindle [57]
The New, New Thing by Michael Lewis – £0.99 on Kindle [58]
The Epic Rise and Fall of WeWork by Reeves Wiedeman – £0.99 on Kindle [59]
Environmental factors
How much climate damage have we already done? – Klement on Investing [60]
Hazel dormice endangered in UK after a 70% decline – Guardian [61]
Australia offers refuge to Pacific nation threatened by rising sea levels – CNBC [62]
Glass buildings kill billions of birds – BioGraphic [63]
Crust-forming algae are replacing corals in tropical seas worldwide – Phys.org [64]
Bizarre echidna thought to be extinct rediscovered in Indonesia – Sky [65]
The good life mini-special
Why adventure is always a good investment – The Root of All [66]
It never gets easier – Of Dollars and Data [67]
The paradox of happiness – The Alchemy of Money [68]
How to avoid death by comfort [Podcast] – Art of Manliness [69]
Five things for your ‘un-retirement’ bucket list – A Teachable Moment [70]
Off our beat
Michael Lewis is still defending Sam Bankman-Fried – Institutional Investor [71]
Tech is going to get much bigger – Not Boring [72]
The AI debate is happening in a cocoon – The Atlantic via MSN [73]
Ray Dalio ran Bridgewater like the global strongmen he admired – Semafor [74]
Justifying optimism [Podcast] – Morgan Housel [75]
Why we can’t quit email even though we hate it – Tim Harford [76]
The Middle East is getting older – Noahpinion [77]
And finally…
“In a thousand parallel universes, what would be true in every single one?”
– Morgan Housel, Same As Ever [78]
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