In this week’s markets wrap, John Stepek, senior reporter and author of the Money Distilled newsletter, and Bloomberg Opinion's Marcus Ashworth discuss how geopolitical uncertainty is leaving investors with few clear safe havens, as gold, bonds, and currencies all behave unpredictably while cash gains appeal.

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Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek speak with Paula Steele, director at John Lamb Hill Oldridge, about how to pass on an inheritance efficiently—minimising tax, structuring it wisely, and avoiding unintended effects on beneficiaries’ motivation. The conversation was recorded at a live Bloomberg.com subscriber event in London on March 17.

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Cathie Wood, CEO and CIO of Ark Investment Management, joins Merryn Somerset Webb to make the bullish case for the next era of innovation. From AI, robotaxis and CRISPR to Bitcoin, Tesla and SpaceX, she lays out the technologies she believes will drive faster growth, lower costs and major market disruption.

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What makes a leader successful? Francine Lacqua interviews top CEOs and global industry leaders for candid lessons on leadership, management, and the future of work.

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Merryn Somerset Webb sits down with Troy Asset Management founder and chief investment officer Sebastian Lyon to unpack why markets look eerily calm despite mounting geopolitical shocks—and why investors should be far more focused on protecting wealth than chasing returns. Lyon argues we’ve entered a new era of sticky inflation, fragile portfolios, and looming risks in government bonds. He talks about how he’s positioning for volatility, and offers some ideas for navigating markets when the old rules—like 60/40—no longer apply. This conversation was recorded at a live Bloomberg.com subscriber event in London on March 17.

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On this week's Merryn Talks Your Money personal finance episode, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek tackle another listener question: should you invest in absolute return funds? They start by explaining what an absolute return fund actually is, the pros (aiming for absolute returns makes sense) and cons (it's not easy to achieve consistently) of such an investment, and look at what to consider when trying to pick such a fund.

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Contrarian investor Alec Cutler, manager of the Orbis Global Balanced and Cautious funds, joins Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss why global markets are shifting away from speculative growth toward the fundamentals that underpin economies—energy, infrastructure, and national security.

Using his “pyramid of needs” framework, Cutler explains why investors are increasingly focusing on the resources and industries that sustain modern economies rather than the technologies built on top of them. The conversation explores opportunities in energy, AI infrastructure, global value stocks, and the changing geopolitical landscape shaping markets.

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Hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek assess the market reaction to oil price volatity and question whether gold, bonds or even hard assets can offer capital protection in this fragmented and dangerous world. They also discuss the latest in private credit and what this uncertaintly means for investors.

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