Is there an opportunity to consider here? Analysts at JP Morgan seem to believe so – they have a 12-month price target of 1,300p.

Wise continues to grow

While Wise’s share price may not have a lot of momentum right now, the underlying business does. Recently, results have been strong.

For example, Q1 FY2027 results, which were posted on Friday (17 July), showed:

• Net revenue of $714m, up 25% year on year
• Cross-border payments volume of $69.3bn, up 26%
• Active customers of 11,863m, up 21%
• Customer holdings of $41.2bn, up 31%

Looking ahead, the company said that it expects revenue growth of 15%-20% for the current financial year, assuming no material change in interest paid to customers and no material changes in interest rates.

“This quarter almost 12 million people and businesses used Wise to move $69.3 billion across the world.”
Wise Co-Founder and CEO Kristo Käärmann

Keeping customers locked in

It’s worth noting that Wise lowered its fees again during Q2. Its cross-border take rate fell to 0.5% versus 0.52% a year earlier.

A lot of investors don’t like the fact that the company keeps lowering its fees as it gets bigger. What they don’t realise, however, is that this is increasing customer loyalty.

Multiple revenue drivers

Aside from this ‘scale economies shared’ business model – which has worked really well for companies such as Amazon and Costco – one thing to like about the company is that its revenue is becoming more diversified.

No longer is Wise just taking a chunk of every payment it sends across the world. Today, it can generate revenue from multi-currency account balances, debit cards, and white-label payments solutions.

Looking ahead, small business payments could be a major source of growth. These are only around 6% of its total payments at present.

Ultimately, this company looks very scalable. And with the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio sitting at near 20, it’s not particularly expensive.

What are the risks?

Now, while Wise has a really strong offering, competition from rivals remains a risk. Revolut is one competitor to keep an eye – it’s growing quickly and aiming to build a financial ‘super app’.

Money laundering fines are another risk. While Wise is doing everything it can to stop money laundering, it’s always going to be hard to completely stop criminals from using the platform to send money.

Significant profit potential

Overall though, I see the stock as an attractive proposition today. I believe it’s worth considering for an ISA or SIPP.

Note that if JP Morgan’s price target of 1,300p were to be hit, a £5,000 investment today could be worth around £7,143 in the not-too-distant future. Could that kind of profit potential deserve a closer look?

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Edward Sheldon owns shares in Wise, Amazon, and JP Morgan.

The post By mid-2027, £5,000 in this UK stock could be worth £7,143, if analysts are right appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Now? It’s back at 937p, a 25% jump from its June low!

According to broker JP Morgan Cazenove though, all of these numbers could be in the rear-view mirror by this time next year. Because earlier this month it gave the stock a new, higher price target of 1,320p.

Note that this is above the average target among analysts, which currently stands at 1,236p. So the takeaway here is that most analyst teams tracking Wise think it can deliver a gain of between 31% and 41% by July 2027.

Why are they overwhelmingly bullish?

Money without borders

Wise’s company motto is “money without borders“. In other words, people and businesses should be able to transfer money quickly and cheaply, without being stung by opaque fees and inflated exchange rates.

In Q4 FY26, the firm completed 75% of payments inside 20 seconds, while lowering the average cross-border take rate from 0.58% to 0.52% across the year. Wise continuously reinvests profits into lowering fees for customers and adding new features.

Admittedly, this business model appears counterintuitive. Shouldn’t Wise ideally be raising the take rate to maximise profits for shareholders? After all, that’s what most companies do (they flex their pricing power muscles).

I recently had one thank me for being a loyal customer for over six years, before ‘rewarding’ me with a 24% price hike. Not exactly a customer-centric approach! Needless to say, I went elsewhere.

No, what Wise is pursuing is a strategy called ‘Scale Economies Shared’ (a phrase coined by retired fund manager Nick Sleep). As it scales, Wise is sharing efficiencies with customers, which is attracting more of them in a virtuous circle.

Examples of companies that have succeeded using this model include Costco, Amazon, Shopify, and insurance giant GEICO (via Berkshire Hathaway).

Most companies pursue scale efficiencies, but few share them. It’s the sharing that makes the model so powerful. But in the centre of the model is a paradox: the company grows through giving more back.
Nick Sleep, Nomad Investment Partnership, 2004.

Structural cost advantage

In FY26, Wise moved $243bn across borders, a 31% year-on-year increase. But it has identified a $43trn market opportunity, with businesses and large enterprises (particularly banks) representing $39trn of that total.

In April, it signed up South Africa’s Capitec, adding to other recent customer wins, including UniCredit, Raiffeisen, and MBSB Bank (an Islamic lender in Malaysia).

This is where the massive opportunity lies, and why most analysts are bullish. They see Wise holding a structural cost advantage over traditional banks and money-transfer peers like Remitly.

That said, the FinTech may never achieve its long-term potential due to regulatory hurdles, compliance failures, and/or increasing adoption of stablecoins. But if it does, the reward could be very large, which is why I have it in both my SIPP and Stocks and Shares ISA.

Currently, the stock is trading at 19 times next year’s forecast earnings. At this price, I think Wise is worth considering buying to hold long term.

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Ben McPoland owns shares in Shopify and Wise.

The post Buy this top growth stock for a 41% gain by July 2027, says this broker appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Looking ahead to the next five years, though, I think one UK fintech stock will outperform Lloyds shares…

What’s wrong with Lloyds?

To be clear, I’m not overly bearish on Lloyds stock. Fuelled by the higher interest rate environment, the FTSE 100 lender has been reporting higher profits, and City analysts see this continuing over the next couple of years.

For 2026 and 2027, they currently expect earnings per share (EPS) of 10.2p and 12.2p respectively, up from 7p in 2025. And the lender has been reducing its share count in recent years through buybacks, helping boost EPS.

On top of this, we have a robust dividend forecast, with the forward-looking yield rising to 4.6% in 2027. So I can certainly see the appeal for income investors.

But one issue I have is that Lloyds is domestically focused, and the UK economy continues to toil under high inflation and weak consumer spending. I don’t think a recession can be ruled out over the next year or so.

Moreover, political instability has returned, with Andy Burnham expected to be the fifth Prime Minister inside four years. All this change and uncertainty isn’t ideal for business confidence.

Given this, I think quality companies with growing global operations could outperform Lloyds over the next five years.

A wiser pick?

The stock I have in mind is Wise (LSE:WISE), the international money transfer specialist. The company’s mission is to eliminate the high mark-up fees traditionally incurred when moving money across borders.

On Thursday (25 June), we got Wise’s FY26 results for the 12 months to 31 March. Thankfully (I’m a shareholder), the report was solid.

During the period, Wise helped 19m people and businesses move $243bn globally, up from $185.2bn the year before. Net revenue jumped 19% to $2.5bn.

The firm’s making significant progress on making transfers quicker and cheaper, with 75% of Q4 payments completed inside 20 seconds and the average cross-border take rate falling to 0.52% from 0.58%.

Lowering the take rate would worry me if Wise wasn’t growing customers (pre-tax profit actually fell 8% to $660.4m). But active customers rose 21% and customer holdings surged 40% to $39bn. Card spend grew 37% to $44bn.

Therefore, Wise is becoming much more than a cross-border money transfer company. It’s successfully scaling into a multi-product global payments network, with almost 50% of net revenue coming from non-cross-border sources last year.

What could go wrong?

This doesn’t mean there won’t be risks over the next five years, particularly rising competition. Also, there’s an ongoing investigation in Europe regarding suspected money laundering, and we have no idea what will be found (if anything).

Looking at the latest results though, I’m still bullish moving forward. Wise has reiterated guidance for medium-term revenue growth of 15%-20%, with a 15%-20% pre-tax margin.

The image above shows the scale of the long-term opportunity, with Wise so far capturing a small fraction of its overall market opportunity in the business and large enterprise segments.

Given this oceanic growth potential, I think the stock’s worth considering after falling 19% in a month.

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Ben McPoland owns shares in Wise.

The post Prediction: this UK growth stock will outperform Lloyds shares over the next 5 years appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

But there are some UK growth shares I think have real potential.

One of them has been getting cheaper. Its price is now 20% lower than it was a year ago. I have been buying it for my portfolio at what I see as an attractive price.

Strong position in a market with long-term potential

That company is money transfer specialist Wise (LSE: WISE).

This strikes me as a pretty simple business sector to understand, albeit it can be one that is fiendishly complicated to operate in.

Lots of people and businesses need to transfer money internationally. That is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future.

Historically that was done by banks, who often extracted substantial fees for the service. That has opened up opportunities for other companies to compete on price.

This market rewards scale.

The legal and regulatory complex is costly to navigate, so larger revenues can enable those costs to be swallowed more easily.

If possible, having users in many different countries who want both to buy or sell their currency can make it easier to match transactions directly rather than having to fall back on a third party to fulfil deals at additional cost.

Getting that scale by competing on price risks lower profit margins – a risk Wise continues to face.

But it can set a business up for longer-term success. Meanwhile, a lot of the money to be made here is not actually from exchange fees but from using customers’ deposits to make money, for example by lending them out at higher interest rates than those customers earn from them. In other words, just like a bank.

Wise has a lot of strengths

So, how is Wise faring?

I would say it is doing well.

Next week will see it publish final results, giving us the most up-to-date view of performance. But we already know that cross-border transactions in the final quarter of last year grew 26% year on year.

Underlying income was up 24%. Customer holdings in Wise accounts grew 37% to £29bn.

Those are strong numbers, so why has the growth share been getting cheaper?

One reason is concerns about price competition eating into profitability as I mentioned above. That is a risk for Wise.

Indeed, the company has said that it “remains focused on investing in long-term growth and becoming ‘the’ network for the world’s money”, which I read as a coded warning about profitability levels while it chases growth.

A more recent concern was news of a money laundering investigation involving its European arm. The stock market reacted by marking down the share price.

Why I’ve bought

I used that price fall as an opportunity to load up on the growth share.

Money transfers are naturally of interest to money laundering investigators. As Wise is a large player, such investigations will likely happen from time to time. As far as is publicly known so far, there is no reason to believe that the investigation will find any wrongdoing on its part.

The business is booming, growing fast, and looks well-positioned for long-term global growth.

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Christopher Ruane owns shares in Wise.

The post Down 20% in a year, I’ve been loading up on this UK growth share! appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

In particular, high-quality growth stocks appear to offer the best value in many years. Here are two that I think merit closer examination today.

MercadoLibre

Imagine there was a company that combined Amazon, PayPal, and eBay in one, while operating across an entire continent. Well there is, in the shape of MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI).

It resembles Amazon in the sense of running a massive logistics operation to support Latin America’s leading e-commerce marketplace. Meanwhile, its Mercado Pago fintech platform has similarities to PayPal, but is growing much more quickly.

These businesses combine to form one powerful ecosystem. But while Q1 revenue and financial income grew 49% to $8.84bn — the fastest growth in nearly four years — the stock is down 33% over the past year.

This is because the company’s margins have been under pressure due to the firm pouring money into building additional warehouses, lowering the free shipping threshold, and expanding credit throughout the fintech business.

Naturally, Wall Street hates it when companies sacrifice near-term profits to drive long-term growth. And there is fierce competition from Amazon in the region, adding risk to the investment case.

However, I think this is a classic case of investors not seeing the forest for the trees. That’s because e-commerce and digital banking are taking off across Latin America (and it’s still early days), while MercadoLibre’s growth is accelerating.

In particular, the company’s advertising opportunity remains very large. Digital ad revenue rocketed 63% in Q1.

Our huge audience and rich first-party data mean we are uniquely placed to capitalize on structural changes taking place in the advertising industry.
MercadoLibre

As a shareholder, I want to see management put the pedal to the metal to capitalise on this long-term opportunity. And with the stock currently trading at a historically low valuation, I think it’s worth serious consideration.

Note, Big Short investor Michael Burry sees a lot of value here, as he’s been buying shares recently.

Wise

Another quality growth stock that has been under pressure recently is Wise (LSE:WISE). It has slumped 24% in the past month after reports that the cross-border transfer specialist faces a probe in Belgium over money laundering.

Now, it’s early days and we don’t know the full facts. But there’s the potential for reputational damage and/or fines if significant illicit proceeds have flowed through Wise’s network.

However, if this investigation becomes a minor footnote in history, there could be a very attractive opportunity here. That’s because the company is still growing strongly, with Q4 FY26 showing noticeable progress.

• Quarterly cross-border volume increased 26% to £49.4bn
• Active customers grew 22%to 11.3m
• Customer holdings rose 37% to £29.4bn
• Underlying income jumped 24% to £435.3m

Meanwhile, Wise continues to separate itself from rivals by lowering the cross-border take rate by 1 basis point to 0.51%. And 75% of transfers were instant (up from 65% the year before).

In other words, the service is getting cheaper and faster.

We are making good progress on building the network for the world’s money…More people are using Wise at home or abroad for their everyday spending, for paying bills, for savings and investments.
Wise

After the recent pullback, the stock’s trading at a cut-price 19.5 times forward earnings.

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Ben McPoland owns shares in MercadoLibre and Wise.

The post 2 excellent growth ideas for a Stocks and Shares ISA in June 2026 appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Is there value on offer at current levels? I think so – in my view, Wise shares are a bargain today.

The bull case

Looking at this company from an investment perspective, there’s a lot to like. For a start, it offers a really great service for its customers.

I’ve personally been using Wise to transfer money internationally for over a decade now, and I wouldn’t use any other provider today. I’m always amazed at the speed of transfers (when I transfer money from Australia to the UK it arrives in about five seconds), and I’m very happy with the transfer fees (which are negligible).

It’s worth pointing out that Wise operates a ‘scale economies shared’ business model. This means that it’s continually lowering its fees as it gets bigger and more efficient.

This kind of business model is a great way to keep customers locked in. Other companies that have employed it include Amazon and Costco – two of America’s greatest corporate success stories.

Second, it’s a really scalable company. Looking ahead, it has the potential to onboard a ton of new customers, offer existing customers new products, and see growth through B2B deals with other institutions.

Note that while a lot of people use Wise today, it’s really only scratching the surface in terms of its potential. In personal international payments, its market share is only around 5% while in small business transfers, it’s under 1%.

Third, its financials are impressive. Revenue, for example, has grown from £964m to around £1.8bn over the last three years.

Profits have also soared. Note that return on capital employed – a key measure of profitability – is very high.

A setback

Now, like every company, it’s not perfect. And recently, the company has faced some negative press in relation to money laundering.

While Wise takes money laundering very seriously (around a third of its staff is focused on stopping financial crime), it seems criminals in Europe have been using its network for illegal payments recently. As a result, regulators in Brussels are looking into the company (this is what has sent the share price down).

Obviously, this development adds risk to the investment case. However, to me, it sounds like Wise is doing everything it can to stop this kind of activity.

In an update, the company said that it:

• Verifies customers before they open an account
• Continues monitoring hundreds of data points in real time as customers use its products
• Proactively reports suspicious activity to law enforcement
• Offboards customers when needed
• Continually invests in tech-enabled systems and teams to stay ahead of ever-evolving threats

So, I’d be very surprised if the Brussels prosecutor was to hand out a large punishment for a lack of controls. Ultimately, Wise is taking its responsibilities very seriously.

A low valuation

Now, after the recent share price fall, the forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio here is only 20. I reckon that’s an attractive valuation given the company’s growth potential and attractive financials.

There are risks around the Brussels investigation (and investor sentiment while it’s ongoing). But taking a three-to-five year view, I see a lot of potential so I think the stock is worth a closer look today.

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Edward Sheldon owns shares in Wise and Amazon.

The post Below £8, this high-growth UK fintech stock looks like a bargain to me appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

But might this just be a chance to invest in this fast-growing fintech at a marked-down price? Here are my thoughts.

‘Sell first, ask questions later’

As a quick reminder, Wise transfers money across borders more quickly and cheaply than traditional banking methods.

Indeed, it bypasses these networks entirely by operating a massive global network of local bank accounts. The firm calculates the mid-market exchange rate and applies a small and transparent fee, which it continually lowers as it grows larger.

In recent years, Wise has had great success attracting customers, including businesses and large financial institutions. It now has over 19m active customers worldwide and processes roughly 4.7m transactions per day.

The danger with such increasing scale, of course, is that criminals can try to move laundered money. Fintechs including Monzo, Starling Bank, and crypto exchange Coinbase have all faced fines for compliance failures in the past couple of years.

Like every financial institution, we face the reality of increasingly sophisticated bad actors attempting to exploit our platform, and we continually invest in tech-enabled systems and teams to stay ahead of ever-evolving threats.
Wise.

Today, the stock fell after the company said it’s responding to enquiries from prosecutors in Brussels relating to Wise accounts being used for criminal activity (suspected drug-trafficking and corruption).

The suspicious transactions are reportedly said to involve around €500m across European countries. For context, Wise did £181.7bn in global cross-border volume last year (25% growth).

Predictably, investors are responding with the age-old approach: sell first, ask questions later. Actually, these days it’s more likely trading algorithms programmed to respond this way.

Where next?

Wise says no specific findings have been shared with the company, while the requests themselves are not evidence of non-compliance or wrongdoing.

However, the timing is awkward because the company has only just moved its primary listing to the Nasdaq. These headlines could dampen enthusiasm for the shares and hinder customer acquisition across the pond.

On top of this, the firm might feel the need to beef up its checks for new customers. That could introduce friction in the onboarding process, slowing growth.

It’s worth noting that about a third of Wise’s global team is dedicated to compliance and anti-financial crime. So this is disappointing news, and is likely to increase volatility in the share price moving forward.

Bargain?

But might Wise stock be a bargain around 805p? Potentially, if this investigation leads nowhere. The slump puts the stock on a forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 21, which isn’t particularly high for a fast-growing fintech.

Wise aims to move trillions in future, and has barely scratched the surface of its opportunity in the large business segment. So today could prove to be a very attractive entry point, even if Wise achieves half its potential. But the ongoing investigation obviously adds risk.

As for me, I won’t be buying any more shares because this is already quite a large position for me. But today’s fall illustrates how important it is to have a diversified portfolio of stocks.

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Ben McPoland owns shares of Wise.

The post After crashing 13.7% today, is Wise now a stock market bargain at 805p? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

But there are some growth shares in the UK market that I think have a lot of the characteristics seen in some of the more exciting US stocks.

UK fintech with global ambitions

One is Wise Group (LSE: WISE), the UK-based fintech that facilitates money transfers internationally.

Its share price has actually fallen 16% in the past year. Indeed, concerns about whether the company can fully unlock its potential on the London market help explain why it obtained a secondary share listing Stateside this month.

That share performance reflects concerns some investors have about Wise’s long-term model. It is building its business in part by offering keen pricing, a risk for profitability.

That was reflected in the results it issued at the halfway point of its current financial year. Revenues grew 11% year on year, but underlying profit before tax fell 17%.

I think Wise is on the right track

That profit number is not going in the right direction.

But Wise’s revenue growth is impressive, as is the upwards march in user numbers. They reached a record number in the most recent quarter, with the company reporting 11.3m active customers.

I think the strategy of focussing on scaling up now makes sense. That can help lay the foundation for longer-term success for the group thanks to a large entrenched user base, strong brand, and economies of scale.

This is not some startup company throwing huge sums of money down the drain. Wise is solidly profitable: although profit in the first half fell 14% year on year, it still came in at £187m.

The company expects its pre-tax profit margin for the year to be at the top end of the 13%-16% range it has indicated.

Could this be a long-term bargain?

International exchange is a business that rewards scale.

The more customers Wise serves across a wide variety of currencies, the easier it will be for it to match a buyer on one side with a seller on the other at a competitive price.

But Wise’s investment case is about more than currency exchange. Customers building up deposits with it and being paid lower interest than Wise can earn by putting the same money to use could ultimately be the real profit driver for the company, just as it is at many banks.

The company ended its most recent quarter with a record £23bn of customer balances. Marketing campaigns promoting this deposit part of Wise’s offering could mean that that number grows steadily in coming months and years.

We await Wise’s full-year results for its most recent 12-month trading period that ended in March. But based on the prior year’s earnings, the growth share sells for around 22 times earnings.

That is not cheap, but I see substantial long-term growth potential for the business.

From a long-term perspective, I regard the current share price as attractive and think investors should consider Wise.

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Christopher Ruane does not hold any position in the companies mentioned.

The post Down 16% in a year, is this UK growth share now a bargain? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Source: Hedge Fund Tips

That might bring about a downturn in share prices. But investors who are prepared probably don’t need to worry too much.

Where to find inflation protection?

Inflation has reached 3.8% in the US (though the UK situation is much more positive). And investors have a few ways of responding.

Source: Trading Economics

One strategy is to try hedging. This involves buying something that’s likely to go up in price if inflation keeps going strong. 

The classic example is actually outside the stock market. Inflation tends to lead to lower bond prices as the real value of fixed returns falls.

As a result, one strategy is to go short something like the 20-year US government bond. And there are a few ways to do this. 

One is via options on the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF. That’s something a professional fund manager might look at.

The downside to this is that it’s complicated. And for ordinary investors, I think there are much more straightforward alternatives. 

Strategies for ordinary investors

Institutional investing is different to retail investing. And ordinary investors have a huge advantage in a stock market crash.

With professional fund managers, their clients start looking elsewhere if they have a bad three months. This doesn’t happen to ordinary investors.

The result is that most people don’t need to hedge their portfolios the way professionals do. If stocks go down, they can just sit and wait.

According to Warren Buffett, the stock market transfers wealth from the impatient to the patient. And this gives retail investors a big advantage.

The trouble is, they risk throwing this away by doing things professionals do. In doing so, they turn opportunities into challenges.

It’s unwise, though, to ignore the threat of a stock market crash entirely. So what should ordinary investors do instead? 

Which businesses are helped by inflation?

Investors need to think about what inflation means for their investments. But that means the underlying businesses, not just share prices. 

Some businesses are more resistant to inflation than others. Cross-border payment platform Wise (LSE:WISE) is one example. 

Higher prices mean higher transaction volumes. And since Wise makes money by taking a fixed percentage of these, its revenues naturally increase.

That works to a point. If inflation gets out of control and spending dries up entirely, the effect could be lower payment volumes.

The firm also has another defence against inflation – its scale. More users and more payments bring down the cost of any single transaction.

Wise looks to use this advantage to charge customers lower prices. That makes it hard to compete with, especially in an inflationary environment.

Buying and holding

Wise is a really interesting business. And the stock is unusually cheap at the moment.

The firm recently moved its main listing to the US. The ambition was to attract more investors. So far, that hasn’t been an obvious success. The stock is down 14.5% since joining the Nasdaq.

That, however, could be an opportunity. In today’s market, I think it’s well worth checking out.

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Stephen Wright has no position in any of the companies mentioned.

The post Is inflation about to cause a stock market crash? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Here are three stocks that I reckon are worth considering for a SIPP for at least the next five years.

Latin America

Let’s start with Nu Holdings (NYSE:NU), which is the leading digital bank in Latin America. In Q1, the firm added another 4m customers, bringing the total to over 135m.

Most of those are in Brazil, but the profitable lender is also growing rapidly in Mexico and Colombia. All three countries still have low penetration rates when it comes to financial services, indicating that this is a growing market.

However, Nu’s share of the existing monetisation pie is still small. In Brazil, for example, the annual total industry gross profit pool today is about $100bn. The digital bank has about 7% of that, and just 1% of Mexico’s $43bn.

One near-term concern here is rising household debt in Brazil, which has spooked the market. However, employment remains high overall and there’s a massive government-backed programme to help people reduce and restructure debt.

After losing 32% of its value inside five months, the stock looks enticing from a long-term perspective. It’s trading at about 15 times next year’s forecast earnings, which is cheap for a company that has a very large opportunity ahead.

Income and growth in Asia

Turning to Asia now, I want to flag Schroder Oriental Income Fund (LSE:SOI). Its purpose is “to tap into the Asian income story and help investors diversify their dividends“.

However, beyond income, the investment trust also targets capital growth. It has found great success here recently with top holdings Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics. These stocks are up 121% and 395% respectively in the past year, driven by massive global investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

This pair of leading semiconductor foundries have helped the Schroder Oriental Income share price jump 51% in the past 12 months. And this has boosted the annualised 10-year return to around 12.5%, which is comfortably ahead of the benchmark (MSCI AC Pacific Ex Japan Index).

Despite this surge, the trust’s still trading at a near-6% discount to net asset value (NAV), while also offering a 3% dividend yield. I think this offers solid value, albeit the stock could sell off if investors sour on AI and its top two holdings.

Big US growth opportunity

Finally, I reckon international money transfer specialist Wise (LSE:WISE) deserves a closer look after falling 16% in a month.

The firm has moved its primary listing to the US, where it estimates Americans will lose $43bn this year in hidden cross-border fees. As such, it sees a massive opportunity to sign up millions of customers to save them money, including thousands of banks.

Last year, cross-border volume rose 25% to £181.7bn. However, the firm sees a longer-term opportunity to move trillions, with the US being a key pillar of this strategy.

Looking ahead, Wise could face potential regulatory hurdles in the US (it wants to settle US dollar payments directly with the Federal Reserve).

But at 23 times forward earnings, I think the stock looks attractive given the disruptive growth potential.

Should you invest £5,000 in Wise Plc right now?

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And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Wise Plc made the list?

Ben McPoland has positions in Nu Holdings, TSMC, and Wise.

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