One day in September 2022 “we were the only active buyer of UK duration in the world” says manager Duncan MacInnes. He, and LF Ruffer Diversified Return co-manager Ian Rees, added to UK gilts three days after the Truss-Kwarteng debacle and some assets more than doubled in a short period of time. In this interview, the pair tell us about this and other investments that helped the fund become one of the few to manage a positive return in 2022. They also explain why they think the next decade will be very different to the last 40 years and will see inflation average 3-4% rather than the 2% we are used to, and why this means investors need to rethink the way that they build their portfolios.

What’s covered in this episode: 

• How the fund produced positive returns in 2022
• Why the pair were the only active buyers of UK gilts one day last September
• The addition of commodities to the portfolio
• Why the next 10 years will be different from the last 40
• Why inflation will remain much higher than we have been used to  
• Why cash could once again be king
• How they use 100 years of data to help for their views and asset allocation
• How the managers will go about finding uncorrelated assets in 2023
• Why inflation volatility and investing for inflation aren’t the same thing

More about this fund:
Managed by Duncan MacInnes and Ian Rees, the LF Ruffer Diversified Return fund aims not to lose any money on any 12-month rolling basis – with a specific focus on providing genuine portfolio protection in times of market stress. The vehicle is global and completely unconstrained, allowing the managers to invest across various asset classes, including equities, fixed income, currencies, and derivatives – backed by a large desk of both macroeconomic and stock selection specialists.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Renewable energy has been around for some time, but with an energy crisis in the UK and Europe, David Harrison, manager of Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability fund, tells how its adoption is being accelerated due to both concerns about climate change and because of economics. In this interview, David considers four types of sustainable infrastructure (physical, energy, transport and water) giving examples of companies he holds and really bringing this theme to life.

What’s covered in this episode:

• The relationship between the energy crisis and climate change
• The acceleration of long-term investment in electric vehicles and infrastructure
• Examples of two companies working to make infrastructure less carbon intensive
• Why we’re still on the early side of transport infrastructure sustainability 
• The significance of water infrastructure and…
• How two US listed companies are leading the way
• The fund’s exposure to the circular economy and…
• Next generation drug discovery in the healthcare sector

More about this fund:
Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability fund is a high conviction, multi-cap fund but will have a bias towards mid-caps. The fund has a negative screen, actively avoiding businesses involved in unethical or unsustainable practices, such as those involved in alcohol, animal welfare violations, armaments, human rights violations, oil & gas extraction, nuclear power, pornography, tobacco and gambling. Additionally, each holding will also have to have at least one positive environmental, social or governance attribute.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Darius McDermott and Juliet Schooling Latter offer their opinions on how we got to where we are today and where we should be looking in 2023. The list of topics they cover is extensive including inflation, bonds, emerging markets (with India as the star of the show) and continuing volatility for the equity markets. They then look at the interesting question of where they would invest £10,000 today, and furthermore, the differing investment approaches needed whether investing for growth or income in 2023.

What’s covered in this episode:-

• Key moments of 2022 and the impact on the markets
• Why 2022 was a tough year for investors
• Index-linked gilts, inflation-linked bonds, Trussnomics and an unloved UK
• The surprising resilience of India
• Why 2022 was an odd year for equities
• Why bonds have now become an interesting asset class - again
• Is it too early to invest in China again?
• The implications of ‘the most expected recession ever’ 
• What kind of recession is the world heading into?
• How each would invest on behalf of an elderly relative …
•  … and how each would invest their children’s Junior ISAs

More about the episode:-
The end of the year brings a review of what Darius McDermott tells us has been a tough year for investors, where the name of the game was trying to lose less than anyone else. Both Darius and Juliet Schooling Latter offer their views on the current state of play, they discuss how the well-flagged recession might play out and its impact on the UK specifically, and conclude by offering their investment strategies for investing £10,000 for income and growth, unusually agreeing with each other.

 Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Simon Moon and Alex Game, managers of the Unicorn UK Smaller Companies fund, review a tough year for their sector but are confident in still being able to find opportunities by buying into under-priced, high-quality assets. Both managers identify smaller companies as being able to react and adapt quicker to changing fiscal environments than their larger comparators, so they believe that smaller companies will be well-positioned in light of recovery, which may be just around the corner, according to the general feeling in recent meetings with company management teams.

They tell us more about the interesting results of their research into 60 years of inflation data, how reshoring is affecting the sector, and how engineering companies in the portfolio will be able to weather any recessionary factors. The managers finish by commenting on several high-quality structural growth companies which they recently acquired using their disciplined relative value approach.

What's covered in this episode:

• Why 2022 has been tough for UK smaller companies
• Why smaller companies are in a better position than after the global financial crisis
• Which opportunities exist amidst depreciating sterling and volatile markets
• How smaller companies adapt faster and are more agile than larger comparators
• How inflation data from over the last 60 years suggests a good future for smaller companies
• A look at which catalysts will boost this sector’s performance
• The impact that reshoring is having on the sector and the wider UK economy
• Why industrial engineering companies are better able to withstand a recession
• Which growth companies they have recently added to the fund, and why
• How they buy new holdings using the fund's disciplined investment approach

More about the fund:
Unicorn UK Smaller Companies is a small, flexible fund with a solid investment process and a highly competent team. This is a very high conviction UK smaller companies fund with around 40 holdings. Its manager focuses on company fundamentals and aims to make long-term investments, while avoiding low quality, cash-burning businesses.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The Trust may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Matthew Brett, manager of the Baillie Gifford Japanese fund and Baillie Gifford Japan Trust, talks to us about the Japanese economy reopening and how the weak yen is impacting business. He talks about inflation finally occurring in the country and questions whether the Bank of Japan’s policy will change when the current governor’s term comes to an end. Matthew tells us that he is excited about the opportunities opening up and discusses some recent purchase and the increased gearing on the Trust. He also explains why the portfolios no longer hold car manufacturers and he wraps up by telling us that the Trust’s dividend could increase by as much as 50% this year.

What's covered in this episode:

• Where Japan is in terms of the economy reopening
• How inflation is a good thing in Japan
• Whether the weak yen is damaging to the economy or a positive
• Where the manager has been finding opportunities
• If Nintendo is a buy or a sell
• Why the portfolios no longer hold any car manufacturers
• What has caused the trust’s discount to close in recent weeks
• How the trust is growing its dividend

More about the fund:
One of the oldest Japan funds in the sector, Baillie Gifford Japanese fund has delivered outstanding returns in the most difficult market conditions. The Baillie Gifford Japan Trust aims to provide capital growth by investing primarily in Japanese small and medium-sized companies, which offer exceptional growth opportunities with sustainable business models. Both are run by Matthew Brett and the well-resourced Japan team based in Edinburgh.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The Trust may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Steven Smith, Investment Director for the Elite Rated Capital Group New Perspective fund, talks to us about how the fund’s original investment ethos - determined nearly 50 years ago - has evolved, and continues to evolve in today’s markets. He discusses how globalisation has changed their investment perspective, how growth stocks are being evaluated on slightly tweaked criteria to match the expectations of a recessionary market, and how a greater breadth of equity market leadership is good for active stock pickers.

He also tells us about the benefits of having the fund’s investment analysts actively managing part of the portfolio, about how the long-term experience of the portfolio managers stands them in good stead for a wide range of varying investment cycles and markets, and concludes with a detailed analysis of 5 key factors that are driving the fund’s positioning today.


What's covered in this episode:

• Is globalisation dead?
• The evolution of the term ‘trade’, from physically traded goods to intangible data flows
• How the fund is reacting to a less binary investment environment
• Repositioning the fund to capture the next cycle
• Growth stocks - and volatility - in a new investment environment
• How the fund’s 50-year track record stands it in good stead for the next 50
• How having investment analysts brings a greater depth of experience to stock-picking
• Watching for a deeper recession, driven by earnings decline in the US
• Outlook for 2023

More about the fund:
This is the flagship global equities strategy of Capital Group. It has a track record of almost 50 years, investing in some of the world’s largest multinational firms that are able to benefit from transformational changes in the global economy. The fund has a unique multiple manager structure, with each of the nine named managers running their ‘sleeve’ in their own way. Their best ideas are blended together for a diversified portfolio.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Richard Woolnough, veteran manager of three Elite Rated products, the M&G Corporate Bond, M&G Strategic Corporate Bond and the M&G Optimal Income fund, talks to us about some new acronyms in asset allocation. He tells us how equities can boost a bond fund’s returns, explains the wider impact of quantitative easing and quantitative tightening, and he finishes by commenting on whether he’s more bullish or bearish for 2023.

What's covered in this episode:

• Why it’s been an active year for the value investor
• Why TINA has been replaced by TIAA
• How interest rates have made bonds a more attractive investment
• How equities can help to optimise returns in a bond fund
• The impact of a 12-18mth lag from interest rate policy feeding into the real economy
• The impact of quantitative tightening
• What might happen to inflation in 2023
• Whether the manager is bullish or bearish for the next 12 months

More about the fund:
M&G is perhaps the biggest name in the UK bond space, and M&G Optimal Income is its flagship offering. This 'go-anywhere' fund has a flexible mandate, which enables the manager to shift the interest rate exposure and to invest across the fixed income spectrum. The fund can, and often does, invest in some equities, and also derivatives.


Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Chris Kinder, manager of the CT UK Extended Alpha fund, talks to us about being a bottom-up stock picker and finding ‘rain in the desert’; he notes that even in the most trying of financial markets, there will always be certain pockets of growth and performance that fund managers should be able to find. He comments in detail about the benefits that London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Aveva, SSE, and Diageo all bring to his portfolio, and – although not a thematic investor – he notes three themes in particular wherein he foresees many opportunities. He finishes by  commenting on what happens next, if we have hit peak inflation and rate rises; is it time to revisit a defensive growth strategy again?

What's covered in this episode:

• Thoughts on previous volatile market conditions and subsequent stabilisation
• Identifying mispriced opportunities
• The themes of energy transition, onshoring and luxury goods
• Are UK stocks losing favour on the global stage?
• How traditional owners of UK companies are giving way to a new cohort
• Realised and unrealised potential in London Stock Exchange Group, Aveva, and SSE
• Whitbread’s competitive advantage in the current environment
• Feeling a lot more constructive about the longs and the shorts!

More about the fund:
CT UK Extended Alpha invests primarily in large UK companies, but with an unusual approach. As the name suggests, the manager aims to extend investors’ potential returns by buying stocks he expects to do well and also looking to make money on stocks he expects to do badly (shorting). So far, this strategy has proven very successful and the fund has impressively beaten its peers and the UK stock market under the manager’s tenure.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Will Argent, investment adviser to the VT Gravis Clean Energy Income fund, tells us how the clean energy space has evolved in the last 5 years since the fund’s inception, and how the investment opportunities have equally grown. He gives his opinion on the impact of the recent windfall tax in the UK and, mindful of the National Grid’s warnings about challenging times ahead, comments on energy storage solutions, as well as alternative power sources such as nuclear, hydroelectricity, biomass and geothermal.

What's covered in this episode:

• The growth of renewables in the last 5 years
• The adjustments the industry has made with the recent windfall tax in mind 
• The investment potential in the growth of energy storage solutions
• Investment in energy storage closed-end investment companies
• Nuclear energy and responsible investment
• Different renewable options overseas
• The simple theory behind producing and storing hydroelectricity
• The development of biomass and geothermal technologies

More about the fund:

The VT Gravis Clean Energy Income fund taps into the expertise of the Gravis group to create a portfolio of renewable energy and energy-efficiency related projects, that are benefiting from the secular move to more sustainable energy demands. It looks to generate an attractive income, alongside modest capital growth, from a spread of different projects that should deliver defensive, uncorrelated performance.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Jeremy Gleeson, manager of AXA Framlington Global Technology, comments on the performance of tech stocks this year and tells us that, despite some high-profile disappointments, there have been a number of good earnings surprises in the sector.

He talks about Facebook’s problems, the possible demise of Twitter, and gives us some insight into current favoured holdings within the portfolio. He finishes by suggesting some interesting gadgets to add to your Christmas list!

What's covered in this episode:

•  3 reasons why tech has had a difficult year
• Why tech has gone from above average growth to challenging growth but…
• ...why it’s not all doom and gloom for the sector
• Facebook vs Twitter
• New opportunities in semiconductors and cybersecurity
• Building resilience through software subscriptions
• Gadgets for Christmas!

More about the fund:
AXA Framlington Global Technology is an unconstrained fund that invests in technology companies from around the world. Its lack of benchmark constraints means it is free to invest in 'new technology' rather than 'old commodity' companies. Jeremy Gleeson has successfully run this fund since 2007 and has been specialising in technology since 1998.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.

Learn more on fundcalibre.com

Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.