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S&P Dow Jones Indices has tweaked the methodology for its 11 Select Sector indices tracked by $300bn in exchange traded funds in response to large market swings in the technology industry, the index provider has disclosed.
The rebalance was the result of concerns within S&P regarding the continued growth of certain technology stocks such as Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia, the company noted in a September 10 article on its website.
Some 42 ETFs with a combined $303.6bn in assets track Select Sector Indexes, according to data from Morningstar Direct.
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The largest of those funds is State Street Global Advisors’ $69bn Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF, which tracks the S&P Technology Select Sector index, Morningstar data shows.
This article was previously published by Ignites, a title owned by the FT Group.
Market swings impacting that index appear to be the primary motivation behind the changes, S&P noted on its website.
Four other ETFs also track that index: the $3.2bn Direxion Daily Technology Bull 3X, $698mn ProShares Ultra Technology, $104mn Direxion Daily Technology Bear 3X and $5mn ProShares UltraShort Technology ETFs.
The five ETFs garnered a combined $4.1bn in net inflows during the year that ended August 31, Morningstar data shows.
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Overall, the 42 Select Sector index-tracking ETFs recorded $467mn in combined net inflows during the same period.
S&P’s 11 Select Sector indices are market-cap weighted and aim to have the right mix of companies from the benchmarks they follow, their methodologies note.
To qualify as a registered investment company, no more than 25 per cent of an ETF’s assets may be invested in a single issuer and the sum of the weights of all issuers representing more than 5 per cent of the fund, dubbed “larger companies,” should not exceed 50 per cent of the fund’s assets, Zachary Evens, research analyst at Morningstar, wrote in note explaining the process.
Under the old methodology, if a group of large companies were to account for more than 50 per cent of the index weight, the index would reduce the weight of the smallest company in the group to 4.5 per cent, the S&P website states. The process would repeat iteratively, if necessary, until there were no breaches of the thresholds.
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But the growth of large tech stocks has caused this mechanism to lead to “flip flops” in index weights twice this year, S&P noted.
Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia each had weights greater than 4.8 per cent, and their collective weight exceeded 50 per cent as of March 2024. As the smallest of the three companies at the time, Nvidia’s weight was reduced to 4.5 per cent.
But in June 2024, Nvidia had become the second-largest of the group, “reflecting investors’ expectations of the impact of AI on the company’s growth prospects,” S&P noted.
As such, Apple had its index weight reduced by 17 per cent at the June rebalance, while Nvidia’s weight increased by 15 per cent to around 21 per cent.
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“The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF was forced to sell roughly $10bn of Apple and buy nearly as much of Nvidia after the former’s market cap was supplanted by the latter,” Morningstar’s Evens noted in his report.
Under Monday’s new capping mechanism, the aggregate weight of the larger companies will be reduced to 45 per cent from 50 per cent, and the larger companies’ individual weights will be determined by their relative proportions, after checking for any breaches in the single company cap.
The minimum index weight of each of the larger companies is now 4.5 per cent.
The new system should be enough to quell regulatory concerns, Evens told Ignites.
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“There are buffers built into the methodology to prevent the portfolio from running afoul of the diversification rule,” he wrote in an email.
The new rules should not cause any structural or mechanical issues, he noted, but investors might be concerned with the “relative underweighting” of the tech market’s largest holdings compared to an uncapped technology index, Evens wrote.
“An uncapped index wouldn’t satisfy the diversification rule but would be more representative of the technology sector,” he added.
While the updated methodology will reduce the index’s reliance on its two largest holdings, diversification is improved, reducing single-stock risk, Evens said. Performance will still be steered heavily by the sector’s largest stocks, he added.
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*Ignites is a news service published by FT Specialist for professionals working in the asset management industry. Trials and subscriptions are available at ignites.com.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Russian spies are on a “mission to generate mayhem on British . . . streets” while Iran has been fomenting lethal plots against the UK at “an unprecedented pace and scale”, the head of Britain’s domestic intelligence service has warned.
Instances of spying against the UK by other states rose by half over the past year, MI5 director-general Ken McCallum said on Tuesday, with the range of threats facing the UK “the most complex and interconnected . . . we’ve ever seen”.
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The number of aggressive state actions investigated by MI5 had “shot up” by 48 per cent in the previous 12 months, he said, and the agency had responded to 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots since January 2022.
“MI5 has one hell of a job on its hands,” McCallum said in his annual threat assessment. Alongside its counterterrorism work, which has continued at a more or less steady level for the past five years, MI5 was having to confront “state-backed assassination and sabotage plots, against the backdrop of a major European war”, he added.
McCallum said MI5 had so far not seen the rising conflict in the Middle East lead directly to increased terrorism incidents in the UK.
“We are powerfully alive to the risk that events in the Middle East trigger terrorist action in the UK,” but “we haven’t — yet — seen this translate at scale into terrorist violence”, he said.
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Nonetheless, radicalisation stemming from recent events in the Middle East was a “slow burn” process, McCallum cautioned, adding that established groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda had “resumed efforts to export terrorism”.
McCallum said the return of these groups was the “terrorist trend that concerns me most”. Over the past month, more than a third of MI5’s highest-priority investigations were linked to organised overseas terrorist groups.
Another development is that one in eight terrorists now being investigated in the UK are minors recruited online. MI5 had seen a “threefold increase” in investigations of under-18s in the past three years, driven by far-right terrorism that skews “heavily towards young people, driven by propaganda that shows a canny understanding of online culture”.
However, it is state threats that have undergone the biggest rise, not least by Russia. Britain’s decision to expel 750 Russian diplomats had “put a big dent” in the Kremlin’s ability to cause damage in the west, as “the great majority of them” were “spies”.
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Denying diplomatic visas to new Russian agents by the UK and its western allies was “not flashy, but it works”, he added.
The expulsions forced Russian spies such as its GRU military intelligence unit to use proxies, including private intelligence operatives and criminals.
McCallum said this had reduced the usual professionalism of Russia’s spy services and increased MI5’s “disruptive options”, as the proxies were not covered by diplomatic immunity.
Nevertheless, the UK’s “leading role in supporting Ukraine means we loom large in the fevered imagination of Putin’s regime”, McCallum said, adding that “we should expect to see continued acts of aggression here at home”.
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“The GRU in particular is on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets . . . arson, sabotage and . . . dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness,” he said.
Iran has also stepped up its recruitment of criminals — from international drug traffickers to low-level crooks — to serve as proxies for Tehran’s espionage operations in the UK, mostly against dissidents.
Since January 2022, “we’ve seen plot after plot here in the UK, at unprecedented pace and scale”, said McCallum.
He described the counter-intelligence work of detecting criminals who are recruited online by hostile states, such as Russia or Iran, as being similar to spotting would-be terrorists recruited online by overseas radicalisers.
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“It’s a familiar challenge,” he said, and “we’ll keep finding them.”
Nevertheless, the rise in threats facing the UK, which includes confronting technological theft and high-level espionage by China, means that “things are absolutely stretched”, said McCallum.
The decisions MI5 now had to take on how to prioritise its finite resources “are harder than I can recall in my career”, he said. It had also meant that “our lower-level bar has had to rise” — a tacit warning that some potential threats might go uninvestigated.
“We can’t always draw the right conclusions from tiny clues,” said McCallum.
MCDONALD’S is launching a new lunch and dinnertime meal deal offering customers four menu items for just £5.
Fast food fans will be able to save almost £2.50 when the deal is unveiled in restaurants tomorrow (October 9).
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McDonald’s is launching a new £5 meal dealCredit: MCDONALD’S
Customers can choose from two different burgers, a medium drink, fries and four chicken McNuggets normally costing £7.46.
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The offer will be available in restaurants from 11am, after the breakfast menu is switched for the main one.
However, fast food fans won’t be able to order from the comfort of their home as the new deal isn’t available for delivery.
Plus, not all restaurants are running the offer so there is no guarantee you’ll be able to snap up the discounted items.
This is the full list of items included in the meal deal and how much they cost individually:
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Cheeseburger – £1.39
Mayo Chicken – £1.39
Medium Carbonated Soft Drink – £1.59
Medium Fries – £1.69
Four Chicken McNuggets – £2.79 (based on a pro-rata of the price for six Chicken McNuggets)
Bear in mind, the price of all the above items may vary from restaurant to restaurant.
We have also asked McDonald’s if the £5 meal deal is a permanent offer and for the list of restaurants not offering it and will update this story when we have heard back.
How does the £5 meal deal compare to other chains?
McDonald’s latest offer might seem like the perfect way to save a bit of money on your lunch break, but is it the cheapest?
I tried a returning iconic McDonald’s burger not seen for 10 years – it’s unlike anything else on the menu
We’ve listed off a few other retailers and fast food chains’ offerings which are actually cheaper.
The below offers aren’t offering the same options as McDonald’s, but do offer some alternatives if you’re looking to spend a bit less.
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Tesco‘s meal deal comes with a main, including sandwiches and pasta pots, snack and drink for £4 for regular customers and £3.60 for Clubcard holders.
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s meal deal costs £3.50 and comes with the same trio of items.
Pharmacy chain Boots‘ meal deal also comes with a main, snack and drink and costs from £3.99. Londoners have to pay £4.99.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
“The woman who walked into doors” was first introduced in a mid-90s TV show created by the Booker Prize-winning Roddy Doyle, whose subsequent novels developed that woman’s story and the second of which, Paula Spencer, bore her name. The initial response was relentless and polarised, with some critics outraged by his representation of domestic abuse and sceptical that such a grim phenomenon could exist in modern-day Ireland.
The Woman Behind the Door, Doyle’s latest novel, begins in 2021. Paula is 66, many years sober, a widow and mother to adult children. She’s “elated” to receive her first dose of the coronavirus vaccination, though if the person administering it saw “the state of her skin, years ago — but never that long ago — when she was her husband’s beloved punchbag, he wouldn’t have mentioned the sting the needle might give her.”
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Paula’s current stability, her close friendships, her part-time job, her sobriety and her chosen solitude have been hard-fought. Now she has a life all her own; it has been decades since her husband Charlo was “shot dead by the Guards”. When she returns from that initial vaccination appointment, though — the first tentative steps towards liberty — there is another woman behind the door, the last person Paula would expect to arrive unannounced. It’s Nicola, her most capable child, Nicola who “had been Paula’s mother for years”, seemingly happily married and a mother herself; “the safest thing in Paula’s life”. Nicola says she isn’t going home or back to her job and the question, then, is why? “Will you let me in?” she asks.
Segments of fleeting narratives show tragic, poverty-stricken lives colliding
Of course Paula does, but Nicola’s presence is both balm and blight: she’s a “teenager in a menopausal body” and this blend of humour and sympathy, the unlikely pairing of the two women under one roof, provides a great deal of comedy. “No one should have to have middle-aged children,” Paula thinks. “Job done, good or bad. Leave your ma alone.” And how, she wonders, “is she supposed to mother the woman who’s been mothering her for thirty years?” When Paula contracts Covid, “breathing like the Irish Sea”, the isolation period sees the pair barricade themselves from the world: it’s within this enforced space that a conversation begins, the first of its kind.
Doyle has long been praised for his use of vernacular, dialect and slang: talk is at the heart of his work and this book is no exception, whether via the interiority of thought or the audible babble of jokes, jeers, recrimination, fury. Paula and Nicola’s quick-fire exchanges become sparring matches that once started can only escalate: Paula is “all set for round two or three”. These cycles mirror the hourglass structure of the plot, from Nicola’s initial arrival in 2021 to 2023 and back again. “The Covid” seems the least frightening virus of all, and the pair’s discussions focus intermittently on such contagions, the dark legacy of misogyny, the guilt and self-hatred that Paula believed, mistakenly, “had skipped a generation”. For Nicola, her mother’s suffering has precluded her own ability to describe the trench-like depth of its impact: “You’ve already more or less told me,” she says, “that you had it worse — because I never bled on top of one of my children.”
This latest instalment forms a trilogy, though a follow-up hasn’t been ruled out. Doyle’s other three-parter is The Last Roundup, where the history of his protagonist, Henry, was charted from the 1916 Easter Rising to life in the US and back to Ireland. In the first of that series, Henry reflects on his surroundings: “It was my world and it could be as big and as small as I wanted it to be. There was a corner and, beyond that, more corners. There were doorways, and more doors inside.”
There is a strong sense in this novel, too, that for each interaction, each passing glance, there are similar portals waiting to be opened. Segments of fleeting narratives show tragic, poverty-stricken lives colliding briefly, from a minor accident with a delivery cyclist to a woman who picks something up in the supermarket before, on seeing its €1.79 price tag, returning it to the shelf.
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As with Doyle’s other work, Dublin is the urban life force outside the door. Paula observes the homelessness crisis manifested through tents erected across Henry Street “like two different cities, two different times of the day”. The precariousness of, and danger inherent to that life is subtly compared to Paula and Nicola’s own situation, were Charlo still alive: in Ireland, gardaí reported an increase of 25 per cent in domestic-abuse calls during the pandemic. Paula realises that despite being the site of such brutality, where her husband “battered the mother out of her”, her home and her patient listening can provide the “sanctuary” required.
The Woman Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle Jonathan Cape, £20, 272 pages
Believe it or not, we’ll soon be turning our attention to 2025 – and it might be a year for advisers to take particular notice of.
If estimates from The Centre of Economics and Business Research are correct, women will hold 60% of the UK’s wealth from next year. That’s a hefty amount.
As women’s wealth grows, the hope would be they increasingly look to seek professional advice on how best to manage it.
Of course, some will have been responsible for their own wealth creation and may already be benefitting from the peace of mind that comes with advice.
It probably was never the intention to exclude the client’s wife. But it’s hard to win someone’s trust if they haven’t felt included
These women are on track to achieve their financial goals. They know how to navigate their savings and investments, they adequately contribute to their pension and they are well placed to ensure their money keeps working for them so they can have a fulfilling retirement.
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And as long as they feel they can trust their adviser, they probably don’t mind whether that person is a man or a woman.
Let’s face it, as female advisers account for just 16% of the total market, it’s more than likely their adviser is male.
There is a real opportunity to address this gender imbalance and make advice and the wider financial services sector more appealing as career options.
There is already great work being done in this area. Small changes can have a big impact.
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While more women will have the money in their hands, others will still be facing a pension shortfall compared to their male counterparts
Wouldn’t it be a great result if having more female advisers leads to more women seeking advice?
For some women, next year may be their first time being fully responsible for their financial situation, especially if control of the money passes to them after the death of a spouse.
This is how a large proportion of wealth is expected to transfer. If the husband had an adviser (and I say ‘if’, as figures suggest only 8% of all UK adults have received financial advice), will the widow decide to continue with the professional relationship?
Much of that is likely to depend on how involved she was in the process previously. If the adviser didn’t do much to actively engage with her before her husband died, she may feel it’s too late now.
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If she doesn’t feel comfortable to ask questions without fear of judgement because she hasn’t properly been part of the equation and hasn’t been seen as an individual, it could mean assets walking out the door.
Research from The Lang Cat reveals more women feel greater uncertainty about how and where to find a good adviser
That’s not to say the adviser wouldn’t be perfectly happy to explain things in a clear way with empathy. It probably was never the intention to exclude the client’s wife. But it’s hard to win someone’s trust if they haven’t felt included.
They are also likely to be in a vulnerable position. They might need to take a bit of time to work out what’s best for them and their family.
When it comes to taking advice in the first place, research from The Lang Cat’s Advice Gap 2024 report reveals more women feel greater uncertainty about how and where to find a good adviser.
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Could more be done to promote the values of advice? Should firms look at how they market themselves to ensure they are appealing to a wider demographic?
Now, I’ve seen plenty of arguments for and against advice firms having a strategy to attract and retain female clients.
Things are improving but the very fact we still have a gender pay gap and a gender pensions gap shows more still needs to be done
On the one hand, women are no different to male clients, so why would they need to be treated differently? On the other, some may want to feel valued in their own right. Perhaps they consider their situation to require an alternative approach.
Could part of the problem be that, while women may not need to be treated differently as such, they haven’t been treated the same?
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While more women will have the money in their hands, others will still be facing a pension shortfall compared to their male counterparts.
Things are improving but the very fact we still have a gender pay gap and a gender pensions gap shows more still needs to be done.
There are also more women than men who have no private pension wealth at all. Indeed, the Financial Conduct Authority’s latest Financial Lives Survey found more women than men are struggling to cope financially.
The under-representation of women in financial services is a cause for concern and the same is true for female investors. If one improves, the other could follow
Elsewhere, studies have suggested women can be more risk adverse when investing. And, on average, with women living longer, there are clearly a few factors at play which puts them in a tricky situation and could see some struggle in retirement.
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Some women will undoubtedly feel more inclined to speak to another woman – someone who has shared similar experiences to them.
It’s not necessarily the case women have more empathy. Many advisers are able to support their clients because they use their soft skills alongside their technical knowledge.
But the under-representation of women in financial services is a cause for concern and the same is true for female investors.
If one improves, the other could follow.
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Laura Barnes is director of business development at Nucleus
THERE’S no better way to get into the festive spirit and spend time with the whole family than going to see a Christmas show.
From pantomimes starring well-known TV personalities to Christmas films screened with live music, we’ve put together a list of this year’s performances bringing holiday cheer up and down the country.
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Christmas shows are a great way to enjoy something with the whole familyCredit: Getty
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Snowstorm Firebird Spectacular Ice Show combines ice skating with circus performancesCredit: www.snow-storm.co.uk
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Expect a West End spectacle with stunning sets, costumes, rip-roaring comedy and incredible special effects with Robin Hood in LondonCredit: Robin Hood, London Palladium
This family show is full of jokes, Christmas jingles, and features the man in the red suit himself, Father Christmas.
The story goes, that at every house, Father Christmas eats and drinks tasty treats that have been left out for him. But when he reaches number 10, he realises he’s forgotten to do something rather important – he really needs a wee.
Dame Maureen Lipman stars as Mrs Potty alongside Pete Firman as Silly Billy in this classic pantomime adventure.
Featuring spectacular special effects, beautiful costumes and scenery, there’s also generous discounts for groups, concessions, and special rates for school available for selected performances.
Based on the 2003 film, the show tells the story of Buddy, a young orphan who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole, and his mission to find his birth father.
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Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list, and with a step-brother that doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Once upon a time, in a Pantoland far away, a beautiful Princess is cursed by the evil Carabosse to perish on her 21st birthday by pricking her finger on a spinning wheel. Thanks to Beauty’s fairy, she only falls into a deep sleep that can be broken by her one true love.
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Starring BBCStrictly Come Dancing‘s Karen Hauer as Carabosse, CBBC’s Chris Johnson as The Castle Clown, and X Factor’s Sean Smith as Prince.
Based on the 1947 film, a major New York department store is on the brink of collapse and their upcoming Christmas sale has to be a success. When their Santa quits at the last minute they’re left with a kindhearted stranger who is convinced he’s the real deal to save the day. But when he is arrested, the fate of Christmas is in the hands of a child called Susan.
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The show features songs including It’s Beginning to look a Lot Like Christmas.
Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, an 8-year-old boy who’s accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves.
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Alongside the showing of the film, John Williams’ score will be performed live by the International Film Orchestra.
Venue: The Bridgewater Hall, 29th November.
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Birmingham’s own Alison Hammond leads the cast as The Magical MermaidCredit: Peter Pan, Birmingham Hippodrome
Stoke-on-Trent favourite Jonathan Wilkes will be celebrating 20 years since his first Regent Theatre panto this year, as he leads the case as Dick Whittington.
Enjoy the story of Dick Whittington and his trusty car as he seeks fame, fortune and happiness journeying to become Lord Mayor.
The show is described as the perfect first musical for ages 3+.
It tells the story of a cosy village nestled in the snowy mountains, and the Schnootnoot Winter Festival is fast approaching. A character called Astrid is busy practising for her school band. Everyone wants to keep in time, but Astrid just wants to march to the beat of her own drum. Meanwhile, The Jingleclaw awakes, a mischievous monster who can’t stand festive cheer and music.
A magical sequel to the cherished classic, Alice in Wonderland. Alice has always told her children stories of her adventures in a faraway world, but they don’t believe her. Even Alice, has begun to doubt whether she’d really lived that daydream.
Until, one Christmas Eve, caught up in the chaos of last-minute shopping, a flash of white fur lures Alice back into an all too familiar story.
Venue: Shakespeare North Playhouse, 22nd November-5th January.
The re-telling the story of Peter Pan as we know it, the magical pantomime features songs from a live band, dazzling dance routines, and amazing 3D effects.
The show promises an unforgettable experience for children and adults alike.
In the kingdom of ‘Southportopia’ far, far away, a beautiful princess awaits her true love’s kiss to awaken her from a deep slumber. But, the wicked fairy Carabosse has cast a spell, and only the bravest heroes can break it.
The show stars Blue Peter presenter, magician and TikTok sensation Joel M.
Venue: The Atkinson, 6th-31st December.
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The Glasgow pantomime is a funny twist on the classic Beauty and the Beast storyCredit: Beauty And The Beastie, The Pavillion Theatre Glasgow
A funny twist on the classic story of Peter Pan. With a blast of magic from the mighty Stinkerbell, Peter Pan whisks West End Wendy away from the safety of her Byres Road residence to a place full of treachery, deceit and chippies that never close. Welcome to the rambunctious Riverland!
Peter and Wendy must face vengeful crocodiles, chippies that dare to serve salt ‘n’ sauce, and come face to face in battle to the death against the evil Captain Hook and his side kick Chai Tea.
Life in Cludgie on the Cobbles is quiet and peaceful – Belle passes her days helping her mother, Professor Porridge and their neighbours Dame Dolly Drumchapel and her son, Hector.
But up in Cludgie Castle, things aren’t so tranquil, as the arrogant Prince Lorenzo has had a curse places on him and must find true love before the final petal falls from a magic rose.
The Lost Present A Christmas Adventure has been written especially for children and brought to life using handmade puppetsCredit: The Lost Present a Christmas Adventure
A very different format to the traditional Christmas pantomime, audience participation and corny gags are mixed with classic rock anthems and chart-toppers.
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The show isn’t recommended for children under 4, but if you do want to bring younger children, ear defenders are advised.
Venue: City Varieties Music, 29th November-12th January.
It’s Christmas Eve, and, having tumbled to Earth through the night sky, Elva sets out on a journey to find her best friend – a little girl she hasn’t even met yet.
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Written especially for children and brought to life using handmade puppets, the show has original music and audiences can meet and greet Elva after the show.
Experience a winter circus-like world with clouds, giant snowballs, special effects and an indoor blizzard.
The ensemble cast of clowns use water, cobwebs, bubbles and dry ice to recreate a world of wonder – see a bed become a boat, a web of cotton envelop the audience, and a single piece of paper ignite a storm.
Newcastle’s pantomime superstar Danny Adams, and Theatre Royal favourite Clive Webb, Chris Hayward and Joe McElderry are part of the cast of this theatrical extravaganza.
Danny plays Danny Crabstix, best friend to Ariel, the bravest mermaid in King Triton’s kingdom, who must fight off the evil Sea Witch after she steals her voice in return for the ability to live amongst the humans, way above the ocean.
Venue: Theatre Royal, 26th November-12th January.
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Underneath a Magical Moon is a reimagined story of Peter Pan, as told by WendyCredit: Underneath a Magical Moon, Sheffield
Starring Catherine Tyldesley as the Wicked Queen, the show promises light-out-loud thrills, stunning costumes, lavish sets, fabulous music and everyone’s favourite jokes.
Gladiator’s Viper Quang Luong and Sheffield’s favourite Dame, Damian Williams also join the cast.
Through her open window Wendy Darling gazes out at the night sky dreaming of blue lagoons, magical moons, and the stories that she can tell. But tonight, there is magic in the air.
This is a reimagined story of Peter Pan, as told by Wendy, for children 3+ and their families to enjoy.
The popular West End and Broadway show will be playing in Sheffield over the Christmas period.
Flower shop assistant Seymour acquires a mysterious new plant, he named it ‘Audrey II’ after his crush and co-worker. But as it grows and grows, it offers Seymour the kind of success he could only ever dream of – as long as he keeps feeding it.
Venue: Crucible, 7th December-18th January.
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The show is packed with original songs, larger than life characters, and lots of opportunities to join in the funCredit: The Adventures of Red Riding Hood, Belfast
The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan sees the return of Belfast panto favourites May McFettridge as Mrs Smee, Paddy Jenkins as Starkey, Adam C Booth as Smee, Jolene O’Hara as Captain Hook and Aisling Sharkey as Wendy.
They will be joined by Belfast local Jordan Walker as Peter Pan and Georgia Brierley-Smith as Tink.
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Venue: Grand Opera House, 30th November-12th January.
An action-packed journey through the enchanted forest with a feisty heroine, Red Riding Hood, and her fairytale friends. But in a race to visit Granny Hood with a festive hamper of goodies, could it be a case of mistaken identity for media star Red Riding Hood, the jealous Goldilocks, or the Big (or not so) Bad Wolf?
The show is packed with original songs, larger than life characters, and lots of opportunities to join in the fun.
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Venue: The Mac, 27th November-1st January.
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Nottingham’s Peter Pan panto stars Gok Wan, Denise Welch, and Paul ChuckleCredit: Peter Pan, Nottingham
TV fashionista Gok Wan will lead the cast of Peter Pan as The Magical Merman along with TV personality and actress Denise Welch as Captain Hook, and children’s TV favourite Paul Chuckle as Starkey.
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Expect amazing special effects and barrel-loads of laughter.
Venue: Theatre Royal, 7th December – 12th January.
Cameron Mackingtosh and Disney‘s production of the classic multi award-winning musical Mary poppins opens its UK and Ireland tour by flying into the Bristol Hippodrome.
Australian stars Stefanie Jones and jack Chambers reprise their roles as marry Poppins and Bert, having received nightly standing ovations for their performances in the recent Australian production.
A slightly different story to the one we know. The Little Mermaid loves swimming, dancing and spending time with her friends. While she might be different to other sea creature, they’re family and the waters are their home.
So when the sea starts to get warmer – the kelp wilting and the coral fading – she realises she has to act. She vows to protect their home and it seems a caring young man trying to restore the reef is just the person to help.
Venue: Bristol Old Vic, 5th December-11th January.
A re-telling of the classic tale Little Red Riding Hood, The Red Shoes and The Little Match girl, this show shares a story of absent parents, dance-offs and finding the heart of Christmas.
Expect music, adventure, and lots of overcoming the monsters.
Venue: Bristol Old Vic, 6th December-12th January.
TV and musical theatre star Brian Conley heads this festive extravaganza, packed with riotous comedy, extraordinary special effects, and hair-raising stunts.
Goldilocks’ circus is under threat from an evil rival circus owner and, with the help of their madcap circus friends, they’re battling to rescue their Big Top from ruin.
Dr Leila Powell brought her scientific method from astrophysics to cyber-security
How do galaxies form? What happens when they collide? These are the kinds of questions Dr Leila Powell grappled with in her previous life as an astrophysicist.
But in 2015 she put those galactic-sized questions to one side and moved into cyber-security.
“The pursuit of understanding the universe is really important, but I got to a point where I felt like I wanted to do something that impacted people’s daily lives more,” she says.
And like many jobseekers, Ms Powell was looking for better pay and conditions.
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“There are various challenges in the academic career path that can dissuade people from sticking at it, including job security and pay in comparison with industry,” she says.
Dr Powell is lead security data scientist at Panaseer, a company that helps organisations to understand where they might have gaps in their cyber-security controls.
She’s one of many people who have brought their skills from other careers into cyber-security.
Cyber-security includes a range of roles that all aim to protect organisations and their technology from cyber-attacks. Some people help to prevent incidents by analysing or improving the security of applications, networks and devices. Others help organisations to continue operating or to recover when they are attacked.
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According to ISC2, an organisation of cyber-security professionals, 39% of new employees in the sector came from a non-IT role.
“I saw an advert for a [cyber-security] job that said they needed someone with data expertise,” says Dr Powell. “The problem space appealed to me.”
“Because I was coming from a different industry, I would see things in the data that I might not have seen had I been looking for something in particular.”
When she hires new team members now, Ms Powell doesn’t mind where people acquired their skills. “I would encourage people that don’t think they have the right skills to actually have a look. If I hadn’t seen that advert, it would never have crossed my mind that cyber-security could be an industry I could get into.”
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ISC2 estimates that four million more cyber-security professionals are needed worldwide.
“I would argue that it’s not necessarily a skills gap because the skills are out there,” says Amanda Finch, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec). “It’s actually getting the people with the skills into cyber and then getting them to develop further.”
“I think a lot of [the shortage] is because people don’t understand what’s involved in cyber,” she adds. “A lot of security is about people, process and technology. When we do our survey of the skills we’re short of each year, technical skills come out lower than communication, analytical and problem-solving skills.”
For newcomers the pay can be good.
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Cybershark Recruitment surveyed more than 2,000 UK cyber-security professionals about their salaries. Those with between one and three years’ experience earned between £40,500 and £58,000 in digital forensics; and between £39,500 and £55,000 in threat intelligence.
CIISec recommends that organisations trying to fill cyber-security roles look at the transferable skills career changers can bring.
Ms Finch advises organisations to break jobs down into duties, so it’s easier to identify the associated skills. “If you are looking at analysing logs and trends, you need somebody that’s got good analytical skills,” she says. “If it’s incident management, you need somebody that’s able to work under pressure in a crisis with good communication skills.”
Systal Technology Solutions
Calum Baird worked at Police Scotland for ten years
Calum Baird acquired skills like these at Police Scotland, where he worked for nearly 10 years. His roles there included response policing, violence reduction, digital forensics and cyber-crime investigation.
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Now, he is a digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) consultant at Systal Technology Solutions. The company helps its clients to investigate and recover from cyber-incidents, including ransomware attacks.
“The police taught me how to quickly assess risk, and prioritise based on that risk, which is a skill that’s very helpful when it comes to dealing with cyber-incident response,” he says. “It is not quite life and death [in cyber-security], but it’s a significant cost to businesses and a significant disruption to people.”
His communication skills developed in the police are helpful in his current role, which includes supporting clients on what may be the worst day of their careers. “The soft skills are sometimes understated in cyber-security,” he says. “That ability to speak with the client, to put them at ease, to clearly explain the process and reassure them that they’ve got someone on their side fighting their corner.”
Mr Baird says he has a lifelong love of learning new skills, which was vital in the police, and remains valuable in the private sector. “There are just so many devices, so many operating systems, so many different applications out there that you won’t find anyone that knows everything in depth,” he says. “A key skill in cyber-security is the ability to find a topic and dig deeper.”
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Evangelina Balitskaya
Rebecca Taylor studied English and creative writing at University
According to ISC2, 41% of companies are trying to recruit non-technical people into cyber-security from other roles within the company. Rebecca Taylor is an example of someone who made that transition. She is a threat intelligence knowledge manager at Secureworks. The company provides threat detection and response technology and publishes advice on threats.
“My role is focused on grabbing anything that pertains to a threat, making sure it’s accurate and useful, and bringing it into our systems,” she says.
She joined Secureworks as a personal assistant. “It was making teas and coffees, taking minutes, sitting in conversations,” she says. “I saw very quickly that this was a field that was changing and a hundred percent fit with what I wanted, which was to keep learning.”
After working in resource coordination and change management, she became incident command knowledge manager, where she was part of the ransomware response team. “They were trying to find someone to capture notes, capture indicators, and be there to help nurture that engagement through,” she says. “I loved it.”
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She works alongside people who studied history, geography and archaeology and says her own humanities background helps with her work today, processing information. “If I reflect on my English and creative writing degree, [it was about] reading significant volumes of text and being able to pull out the interesting parts.” Her writing studies help with the blogs and other materials she produces to explain cyber-security threats.
“There’s a huge perception that cyber-security is going to be all technical chat, coding and AI,” she says, “but there’s so much more to cyber than technical. I wouldn’t describe myself as a technical individual. I’m just someone that has found a passion for distilling useful information.”
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