It has been a very busy month that included two significant high profile events that impacted the markets. Firstly, the Alibaba IPO broke all previous records to become the biggest in history. Alibaba accounts for 80 per cent of all online retail sales in China and the global excitement, anticipation and speculation around its IPO was unprecedented. 

The interest from TD customers propelled Alibaba to the second most bought stock in our portfolio – this is pretty spectacular considering the float happened in the second half of the month (19th September). We have seen a 54 per cent increase in our customers now holding the stock.

It is important however for UK investors to take into account the nature and structure of the Alibaba stock as the Chinese Government prohibits foreigners from investing directly into its key strategic interests – this includes Alibaba.  Because of this, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing is facilitated by a VIE (Variable Interest Entity), so investors are not investing directly in the company but will be buying an offshore registered company which is under contract to receive profit from Alibaba’s Chinese assets, without actually owning them. It is a structure already used by many Chinese internet companies listed in the US. 

In addition to Alibaba, the Scottish referendum unsurprisingly provoked a strong reaction from markets as investors and the industry began to consider the real possibility of a breakup of the United Kingdom. It was clear to us which way investors were hoping the vote would go – our research showed that 66 per cent of investors wanted a ‘no’ vote, with 62 per cent stating they would no longer invest in Scottish brands if the country had decided to split from the UK.

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Fear among investors over the impact of a potential ‘yes’ vote was palpable, with nearly half worrying that it would impact their savings and, more broadly, two in three stating that a ‘yes’ vote would dent their confidence in the UK market for at least a year.

Spotlight

• Tesco was the top UK stock bought by TD customers during September. The supermarket has had a difficult month following an FCA investigation and the suspension of four executives accused of inflating profits to £250m. 

• Confidence in Solo Oil, which has appeared third in the top 10 UK buys and sells for this month, is evident. The share price has risen 300 per cent since the beginning of the year thanks in part to recent discoveries at its Horse Hill well near Gatwick wairport, along with gas discoveries at the Ruvuma Licence in Tanzania.