12th September 2025
The Weekly Roundup 12th Sept
We started the week talking about goals – so it’s only fitting to end it with the audacity to make the moves to achieve them.
But first, a very happy birthday to our fearless founder Ayesha! 🎉 Her reflection on turning another year older and embracing her audacious nature perfectly captures what we love about her leadership. Here’s to another year of breaking barriers and empowering women to build wealth.
This week also saw some major market moments – from Klarna’s splashy IPO debut (and why you shouldn’t rush in to buy now – you might just end up paying later) to MPs questioning whether LISAs are actually worth the government bonus. As Ayesha reflects on the power of being audacious with your money, we break down why patient investing often beats chasing the latest shiny thing.
A word from Ayesha Ofori, founder and CEO of Propelle
Before we look at how the markets have been performing this week, Propelle Founder & CEO, Ayesha Ofori, shares her reflections on the power of being audacious.
The Power of Being Audacious
I’ve been in a reflective mood this week. I completed another trip around the sun and turned a year older. I thought about the things I’ve done in the past year, the past decade, what I’ve achieved and what more there is that I still want to do. I thought about the key people in my life who support me and encourage me to be the best I can be. I thought about who I am.
Then I got a birthday WhatsApp from a woman I met when she joined Propelle, but who I’d now call a friend. Her message stopped me in my tracks: “You are such a force to be reckoned with and an example of a woman with AUDACITY! I’ve only got a glimpse of your story from what you’ve shared but you’re that woman and you should be SO proud.”
It was the word audacity that made me pause. Some people see it as negative, but when I thought about it, I realised it does represent me – and not in a negative way. I am bold, I am daring, I can be unapologetic. I am audacious. I see things I want or have ideas about things I want to do and I set out to do them. With 100% full force, full power ahead. Any obstacles in my way? Well, I’ll go above or around them or, as my husband once said, I’ll blow them up and walk straight through the middle.
Being audacious isn’t a bad thing. It’s what has led me to where I am today. It’s what made me leave a comfortable job at Goldman Sachs to start Propelle. It’s what drives me to keep pushing boundaries in an industry that’s often resistant to change. To keep pushing in an industry that doesn’t typically accept women who look like me or women in general for that matter.
The same audacity applies to building wealth. You have to be bold enough to start building wealth when others are sitting in cash. You have to be daring enough to think bigger than just your salary. You have to be unapologetic about wanting financial freedom.
So I say to you: be bold, be audacious. Because only then may you start to uncover your full potential and see what you’re truly capable of.
What would you do if you were just a little more audacious with your money?
Top 5 Market Headlines of the Week 📰
Here are some of the biggest headlines we’ve seen this past week.
🏦 Budget Delay Hits Rate Cut Outlook
The City expects no change at the Bank of England’s 18th September rates decision. Given the later than usual Budget on 26th November and inflation sitting near 4%, Deutsche Bank said that a December rate cut now looked more likely, having previously expected a move in November.
📈 US Stock Indexes Set Fresh Highs As Rate Cut Bets Grow
US stock indexes set new records this week, with the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all climbing higher as investors grew more confident that Federal Reserve rate cuts are on the horizon, with August inflation numbers rising to 2.9%.
💸 Klarna valued at $19bn in debut on Wall Street
Shares in Sweden’s buy-now, pay-later lender Klarna jumped on their first day of public trading in the US, giving the firm a market value of more than $19bn (£14bn) – more than 30% above its IPO price, settling to $17bn by market close.
🛍️ Losses at John Lewis and Waitrose owner almost triple to £88mJohn Lewis Partnership said new packaging regulations and increased national insurance contributions had cost it £29m, while it spent £54m on restructuring its business – but expects full-year profit to grow, whilst employees hold out for an annual bonus for the first time since 2022.
💊 US drugmaker Merck Scraps £1bn London Research Centre
Merck has scrapped a £1bn London research centre and is laying off 125 scientists in the capital this year, in a big blow to the UK’s important life science sector. Sir John Bell, a prominent scientist has warned that other big pharmaceutical companies will stop investing in the UK.
Source: Interactive Investor, Finimize, BBC, The Guardian
Little Learn of the Week 💡
🏫The LISA Dilemma – Is This Government Bonus Worth It?
Lifetime ISAs (LISAs) are back in the headlines this week, with MPs questioning whether they’re actually helping the people they’re supposed to serve. If you’re under 40, you might have wondered whether a LISA is right for you – and the answer isn’t as straightforward as you’d think.
The Promise vs. Reality
LISAs let you save up to £4,000 a year with a 25% government bonus – that’s free money worth up to £1,000 annually. Sounds great, right? But here’s the catch: you can only use it to buy a home worth up to £450k and 87% of people who used their LISA to buy their first home said they could have done so without one.
Why MPs Are Concerned
The Treasury Committee found that LISAs were being mis-sold and described them as “a confused product that requires reform”. The issue? LISAs try to serve two masters in separate time zones – helping you save for a house deposit AND retirement – which can lead to poor investment choices.
The Hidden Traps
If you’re on benefits or might be in future, there’s a nasty surprise: any savings held in a LISA can affect eligibility for universal credit or housing benefit, whereas this is not the case for other pension schemes. Plus, if you need the money for anything other than a first home or retirement after age 60, you’ll face penalties that can wipe out years of government bonuses.
What This Means for You
Before opening a LISA, ask yourself: Do I definitely want to buy a house or am I saving for retirement? If you’re unsure, a Stocks & Shares ISA might offer more flexibility. You won’t get the government bonus, but you won’t face penalties for changing your mind either.
The lesson? Government incentives aren’t always as good as they seem. Sometimes, simple and flexible beats complicated and restrictive – even with free money on the table.
Source: BBC
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. Often, when the UK market is strong, the FTSE 100 index (measuring the 100 biggest companies on the London Stock Exchange) will keep moving up. Conversely, when markets are bad, they fall. You’ll see below the value of the index, as well as how much it changed from opening, with a percentage.
FTSE 100 (UK): 9,338.83 +0.44%
S&P 500 (US): 6,587.47 +0.85%
Euro Stoxx 50 (Europe): 5,377.73 -0.17%
Nasdaq (US): 22,043.07 +0.72%
Dow Jones (US): 46,108.00 +1.36%
Accurate as of Friday 12th September, 9.13am
Mini Market Deep Dive
📊Why All That Glitters Isn’t Gold for Everyday Investors
Klarna raised just under $1.4bn, opening 30% up in its splashy New York IPO debut this week. Its first few days on the market offer a useful reminder about investor psychology and why boring often beats glamorous when building long-term wealth.
Choosing New York Over London
Klarna had rejected London or any other Old World exchange and gone to New York – another blow to European capital markets as promising companies seek the glamour and higher valuations of US listings.
The Valuation Rollercoaster
Klarna’s valuation story includes a dizzying high during the 2021 tech stock boom, when a private funding round valued it at $46bn (more than Barclays). The next year, it was worth just $6.7bn. Now it’s valued at $15bn, despite making a net loss of $53m and an operating loss of $46m, from revenue of $823m – declaring $29m adjusted operating profit in the quarter to June. When it comes to Tech IPOs, normal valuation metrics don’t apply – big investors take on high risk in the hope of catching the next Amazon – but many glitzy tech IPOs tank.
Why Patience Pays
This week Klarna priced at $40 a share, above its marketed range of $35 to $37. Now it’s at $43.74, trading around 8% above its IPO price but well off its opening day peak of $55.20. Investment experts warn against day-one buying: “Be patient, never buy day one…most of the time, stocks will undercut their day-one low within three weeks” says Eric Krull, co-author of The Lifecycle Trade.
The Bottom Line
Don’t get swept up in the hype. When investors contemplate a dowdy manufacturing company that has been churning out profits for decades, they think ‘oh no, IPOs are awfully risky’ – yet they’ll pile into loss-making tech companies. The most successful long-term investors often find their best returns in boring, profitable companies.
Fear & Greed Index
The Fear & Greed Index is a way to gauge stock market movements and investor 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 Index up only one notch to 54 from 53 earlier this week, holding on in neutral territory.
The Fear & Greed Index is used to gauge the mood of the market. Many investors are emotional and reactionary, and fear and greed sentiment indicators can alert investors to their own emotions and biases that can influence their decisions. When combined with fundamentals and other analytical tools, the Index can be a helpful way to assess market sentiment.
As always, we see this as a useful pulse check, not a forecast.
Keep your eyes open for next week’s index and how these market movements affect your finances and investments.
Source: CNN
Have a great weekend!
Love,
The Propelle Team 💜
PS: Full list of Sources available below.
Yahoo Finance (Stats),CNN,
Interactive Investor, Finimize, BBC, BBC, The Guardian, The Guardian