Newsletter 10th January

This time of year can be a little overwhelming as it’s all talk of new years resolutions. We know that it can take a little more than New Years day to get those things in line. In order to create meaningful financial goals (or any other goals for that matter) it can be helpful to celebrate the wins that you’ve already made. Even by reading this newsletter you’ve contributed to your financial education! 

It’s been a suitably subdued start to the week too for investments, with the market sentiment indicating that there’s apprehension around an ongoing environment of inflation and geopolitical changes. If you’re seeing a slower than expected start to your investments, hold tight as we continue to break down the behind the scenes movements.

So, in 2024 did you learn a little more about your investments? Did you see some successes with your investments last year? Did you opt for a new investment? Or are you still looking for somewhere to grow your wealth? Let us know and keep us posted as 2025 progresses, we love to hear from our community!

In case you were also curious, we had a brainstorm in the team to get some of our biggest wins down. Here’s what 2024 brought for us at Propelle…

• Built and launched a financial education and investing app (this is HUGE!)
• Hosted 12 webinars with over 10,000 attendees 
• Hosted our first ever 6 week masterclass 
• Onboarded a bunch of lovely experts to help further women’s access to financial services 
• Tackled multiple bugs that inevitably crop up with a new app seamlessly
• Continued a fundraise which is no mean feat as a female founded company
• Started planning all the new developments we want to bring to you all in 2025

Here’s to a great 2025 for us here and for you too! Keep sharing your wins, we’d love to know. 

Upcoming events

We’ve got our next masterclass coming up, with the first live session kicking off on Friday 24th January. It’s six weeks of live sessions, guided work and extra learnings to supercharge your investing strategy. That’s not to mention our special guest Lamide Elizabeth who will be hosting an extra session! Tempted? 

The masterclass isn’t financial advice. If you’d like advice, it’s best to speak to a financial adviser. This also means that if you are not satisfied you will not have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as financial education is not a regulated service.

Wanting a bit more as well? Why not check out our next free webinar? 

Our very own founder Ayesha Ofori will be joined by Zoë to break down the top trends hitting our investments in 2025. We can’t wait to see you there!

Little learn of the week

Currency pairs

Currency pairs relate to how currencies are valued against one another. More specifically, the quotation of two different currencies, which indicates how much of one currency (the quote currency) is needed to buy one unit of another currency (the base currency). For example, in the GBP/USD pair, GBP is the base currency, and USD is the quote currency. These are used to see how much currency values have risen or fallen in comparison to one another. For example, the US Dollar weakened in comparison to the GBP, and so on. Under a Trump presidency, many expect a more volatile US Dollar in comparison to many other major currencies, which is why this little learn may start to pop up a lot more!

Major indexes & Propelle Funds

Last Week’s Major Indexes

Before we dive in…

Indices are lists of major sections of a market. Basically, they give a gauge of the health of a certain financial market. You’ll see below the value of some major global indices, as well as how much it changed last week, with a percentage.

FTSE 100 (UK): 8,288.93 +0.79%

S&P 500 (US):  5,918.25 0.16%

Euro Stoxx 50 (Europe): 5,023.44 2.66%

Nasdaq (US):  19,478.88 0.39%

Dow Jones (US): 42,635.20 0.25%

Accurate as of Friday 10th Jan 1200

Propelle Funds

We have a selection of funds available on our Propelle investing app, specially selected to be diverse and suitable for a range of investors. Whilst all investing should be considered long term (minimum of 5 years), it can be helpful to understand how each fund is doing. Here’s some notable updates from our Propelle funds.  

Vanguard LifeStrategy 100%

In the calendar year of 09/01/24 -09/01/25 the fund returned 19.84%. The fund manager disclosures are due and we will keep you posted with more updates on more of the funds featured on the Propelle site in the coming weeks!

Mini Market Deep Dive

Bond markets have a rocky start to the year

It’s fair to say that bond markets have had a rough start to the year. There has been a sell off globally of government bonds, spiking yields and putting pressure on government borrowing costs. Whilst the bond market might not be something at the forefront of our minds when investing, their movements can give signals as to what is occurring in stock markets and the wider economy. Many are reading this new year slow start as an indication that the current climate of persistent inflation and geopolitical tensions could lead to situations that aren’t so favourable for market growth. That’s not to say that it won’t happen in 2025, rather that there’s caution in the air. 
Source: Finimize

Fear & Greed

The Fear & Greed Index is a way to gauge stock market movements and investors attitudes. The theory is based on the idea that excessive fear tends to drive down share prices, and greed tends to see share prices rise.

Whilst it’s based on the US, it matters to us in the UK because it helps us to understand where general sentiment of the US market sits, which often has very close ties to other global markets and investment portfolios.

The fear and greed chart is currently sat at 32, which puts the markets in the ‘fear’ category. It’s been a slower start  to the year than many had hoped for on the markets. This has left the general sentiment more fearful as investors anticipate a potentially rocky ride into 2025. 

Keep your eyes open for next week’s latest and how these market movements affect your finances and investments. 

If you invest your capital is at risk and your investments can go up as well as down. Past performance is not an indicator of the future.

Love, 

The Propelle Team