The so-called Santa rally refers to the weeks before and immediately after Christmas during which shares have a tendency to collectively climb more than at other times of year. According to numbers run by investment director at Architas, Adrian Lowcock, since 1984 the FTSE 100, excluding dividends, has risen by an average of 2.5% during December. The index has only fallen six times out of 33 during December.

Investing for a low inflation world has paid off handsomely in recent years, as defensive shares with a reliable dividend have seen their prices rise substantially. But is it time for a different course of action? Better opportunities lie elsewhere believes Schroders' James Sym.

Concierge services may be unfamiliar to the average person on the street, but for the mass affluent and high net worths (and time poor) they are becoming a necessity. Alex Cheatle, whose business Ten Lifestyle Group listed on AIM just last month, believes the market is set to soar. In the future, he sees the world's mass affluent population all using what his business offers to organise their lives in the most effective way possible.

Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. We also highlight why investing in an Isa makes sense, as it should protect your hopefully growing investments from tax forever.

The most famous slot car racing brand is British company Scalextric which is celebrating its 60th anniversary after being unveiled at the Harrogate Toy Fair in 1957. Its earliest cars were sturdy tin-plated vehicles that raced around rubber tracks and were powered by batteries hidden in a cardboard hut. Slot car racing fan Mike Harvey (pictured) has built his own 97ft racetrack

Fund giant Vanguard has launched two special funds aimed at fresh-faced investors with over 40 years to go before they retire. It claims a 25-year-old investing £100 per month could end up with around £135,000 after 40 years. That means that they provide an easy option for someone in their twenties or early thirties now - the so-called millennial generation - who want to get cracking on saving for retirement.

History teaches us that bull runs never last forever and eventually markets will plunge into a bear territory, or even worse face a full-on crash. When exactly this will happen is anyone's guess, so unless you have a fully functioning crystal ball, having a contingency plan is a wise move.

City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority has said investment firms Artemis Investment Managament, Hargreave Hale, Newton Investment Management and River & Mercantile Asset Management 'may have broken competition law.'

I am almost 55 and have a pension pot totalling £70k over four policies. I wish to remove the risk and have them put into cash for now, as I believe there is going to be a crash. Is there any risk to me doing this, such as some hidden fee or it not really going into cash but some other vehicle which is worse than what I had?

Net retail sales of funds were £5.6 billion in September, the largest amount ever recorded by the trade body. That brought the quarterly total to of £14 billion, which was also a record. Not all asset classes fared well though, with significant variation in total sales.

UK investors are being unrealistic about their expected gains, which average 8.7 per cent each year over the next five years, according to new research. Schroders quizzed 1,000 British investors for its study and found that millennials are the most optimistic about their return forecast.

Super-low interest rates and quantitative easing sent bond prices soaring after the financial crisis - and led to countless warnings that they are no longer such as safe investment.With interest rates heading up, the environment has got a whole lot tougher for both government and corporate bonds. We pick five of the best bond funds for rising rates.

I have taken early retirement and received a lump sum of £60,000, which I want to invest for an income to supplement my pension. I haven't invested before and I don't want to take much risk. What is my best strategy?

It might be about finding out-of-favour investments, but value investing itself is back in fashion. A commitment to value investing requires patience, but that has been tested with the strategy falling by the wayside since markets recovered from the financial crisis. Now there is a growing feeling in the investment world that things are about to look up for value. We take a look at what this means and where value investors see opportunities.

The highest inflation rate for more than five years - at 3 per cent - is turning another screw on already squeezed family budgets. But from getting a better savings deal, to investing to generate income and potentially saving thousands on your mortgage, here's how you can fight back.

As has been extensively documented, Japan's economy has been stuck in the slow lane for well over 20 years with very limited or even non-existent growth. There are some signs though that it has picked up pace this year and is worth a fresh look for investors.The latest of which came this week as upbeat sentiment sent Japan's best known stock index the Nikkei 225 up to a 21 year peak of 20,881 on Wednesday, a gain of 57 points or almost 0.3 per cent.

Andrew, 45, is a web developer who has no investments outside of an endowment mortgage at present. He wants to start putting aside £5,000 a year out of his income into an ethical fund portfolio. Andrew is particularly interested in investing in green technologies. His time horizon is at least 10 years, probably longer. In the latest in our series Money Pit Stop, we asked an investing expert to give him a free portfolio makeover.

I am a 72-year-old retired builder. I have just sold a property and will have approximately £130,000 to invest, preferably for income. I have a medium appetite for risk. Patrick Connolly, certified financial planner at Chase de Vere (pictured), replies.

When investing it often pays to do the opposite of what others are doing. So what should we make of the seemingly contrarian investing opportunity staring us in the face - UK shares? Britain's investors have made it abundantly clear that their home market is not for them but that could mean that looking for unloved companies in our unloved country could pay off.

Good sources of income are hard to come by and analysts at Stifel have compiled a list of 13 investment trusts that invest in shares with a yield of at least 4 per cent. The names on it range from dividend hero City of London, with 50 years of rising payouts under its belt, to Aberdeen Asian Income and European Assets Trust, which yields 6.7 per cent.

Investing giant Fidelity International is tearing up its existing rule book on active fund fees to replace them with a new performance-linked charge. The new 'fulcrum' structure reduces the flat management fee, which investors are charged regardless of performance, in favour of bringing in a variable one which will be lower if a fund fails to perform but higher if it does well.

After riding on a tax-cutting ticket in the US election almost a year ago, President Donald Trump has finally outlined plans for the biggest overhaul of America's tax system since Ronald Reagan's times. That announcement has proved timely for a new ETF launched to give investors easy exposure to some of Trump's biggest corporate backers. The Point Bridge GOP Stock Tracker ETF invests in companies that have given more than $25,000 (£18,500) to a Republican candidate in any of the past two election cycles.

Retiring today brings much more freedom in terms of what you do with your pension pot. But with that choice comes a tricky task: investing in retirement and making sure your pension doesn't run out. We have written a series of articles that aim to help you navigate your way through the maze. Read them here.

Helena Morrissey is on a mission to persuade more women to invest in the stock market. They are at least as good at picking shares as men, she says, but far less likely to try their hand. 'Only around half as many women as men invest in shares through an Isa. Roughly about 17 to 18 per cent of men have a stocks and shares Isa but only about 9 per cent of women,' she says.

Would you lose sleep over the amount you plan to invest if it got wiped out in a market crash? If your answer's 'yes, it would cripple me emotionally and financially', think again about whether you're ready to invest. So, what amount of seed money is ideal, how long should you be prepared to lock it away, and what should the general state of your finances be before you enter the world of investing.

Are emerging market investment trusts the last decent cheap investing opportunity? Top performing trusts have share prices that trade at double-digit discounts. We look at the trusts up 70% or more in two years that can be bought for less than the sum of their parts.

A huge part of having money is spending it on things that bring a smile to your face, but how exactly should you spend your nest egg? We take a look at where to get help planning your income in retirement and what the usual options are.

Lars Kroijer has become a leading proponent of passive investing - and as a hedge fund manager is a man you might consider to know what he is talking about. We ask Lars to explain his thinking and how investors can build a simple passive investing portfolio that lets them sleep at night.

New Lifetime Isas allow under-40s to save for a home and retirement at once, and the Government is offering free top-ups worth up to £32,000 if you max out your fund. For those weighing up whether to open one, we look at the benefits and pitfalls of the new products, and what's available from providers.

Britain's biggest banks axed or scaled back investment services following a clean-up of the financial industry that banned cosy backdoor commission deals four years ago. But now most banks are bringing back investment options for customers under the new regime. We round up what the top players are offering and what it costs.

While many people dislike the idea of an annuity, the alternative means keeping your pension invested in retirement and managing it yourself - a process that can be confusing and full of pitfalls. So here's a checklist, from investing, to income, taxes, the state pension, inheritance, illness, financial advice and much else.

Investment fund names are often a baffling mixture of impressive but vague words, which mean little to people who aren't already clued up on financial jargon. People hoping to boost their savings by buying a fund or trust face a steep learning curve, unless they're lucky enough to have a friend in the know or are willing to fork out fees to a financial adviser. We offer a short cut, and explain what all the fancy terms really mean.

If you are new to investing then the huge number of funds and investment trusts on offer can be confusing. Fortunately, This is Money's experts have some ideas to get you started.