Investors' Chronicle

A government U-turn has seen a windfall tax finally imposed on oil and gas companies, but what are the implications for investors?

Also retail writer Madeleine Taylor joins the show to take a deep dive into M&S as the 'result of the week', and the IC's resident personal finance guru Leonora Walters talks through the magazine's feature on SIPPS.

Dan Jones hosts Alex Newman, Mark Robinson, Madeleine Taylor, and Leonora Walters

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With UK inflation reaching a 40-year high of 9 per cent, the Bank of England base rate lagging at just 1 per cent and the global stock market falling over 15 per cent since the start of the year, investors' priorities have turned to how to preserve the value of their wealth.

On the pod this week, Peter Spiller, manager of Capital Gearing Trust (CGT), tells Mary McDougall how he has approached investing to preserve and grow wealth over the past 40 years, and talks through the key challenges facing the economy today, how it compares with history and what it means for investors.

Spiller explains why he is cautious on the outlook for most global equities and the role that index-linked bonds, property and infrastructure can play in providing inflation protection - as well as the associated risks.

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arthur Sants returns to the Companies and Markets show to breakdown results for Vodafone and BT, before the panel ask what next for supply chains amid the ongoing inflationary crisis.

Finally, private equity is under the spotlight, as their appetite for UK plc's doesn't show signs of slowing down.

Dan Jones hosts Alex Newman, Arthur Sants and Julian Hofmann.

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Investors' Chronicle struggles to come to terms with losing its veteran economist Chris Dillow to retirement, he shares the most important lessons he’s learned over his 35-year career. Hint: experts know less than you think.  

Chatting to the IC’s Mary McDougall, he also reflects on what country music can tell us about the state of the US economy, whether former Arsenal captain Tony Adams would be a monetarist or a Keynesian and why being left handed caused him to be an economist.  

Chris has penned the pages of Investors’ Chronicle since September 1995, having previously been UK economist at the Japanese bank Nomura. When not learning Italian, going to the gym or playing his guitar, he promises to continue to write his blog at stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com 

Godspeed Chris - and thank you!

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of the Companies and Markets show, Mark Robinson talks us through his long-read on waste management and the opportunities therein, and IC funds editor Dave Baxter also joins the panel for the first time.

Dan Jones hosts Julian Hofmann, Mark Robinson and Dave Baxter.

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Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fintech has boomed in recent years but a flood of money into the sector has spurred concern that some companies will struggle to grow into lofty valuations as the economic environment gets more challenging.

On the podcast this week, Tim Levene, chief executive officer at Augmentum Fintech (AUGM) tells the IC’s Mary McDougall how he avoids overpaying for companies, how he’s helping them prepare for tougher fundraising conditions and how the invested part of the fund has achieved an internal rate of return of over 20 per cent since its launch in 2018. 

They also discuss what threat neo brokers pose to traditional investment platforms, the prospects for digital assets and to what extent the Wirecard scandal has cast a shadow over the German fintech scene. 

Augmentum Fintech is the only publicly-listed fintech fund in the UK, with assets of £267mn invested across 24 holdings in the UK and Europe.  

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Companies and Markets show returns to discuss Sainsbury's as our result of the week, before diving into Alex Newman's latest long read on Warren Buffett's longevity.

Finally the pod welcomes new Investors' Chronicle property writer Mitchell Labiak to look at the 'warehouse bubble' in the UK, and potentially the start of it's deflation following Amazon's recent warning shots.

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Subscribe to the IC's free Trader's Market Outlook email for companies updates straight into you inbox each weekday. Follow the link here to sign up!

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The outbreak of Covid-19 sparked a transformation in monetary policy, according to Professor Russell Napier, with governments now effectively controlling money supply. Combine this with a decoupling between the West and China and Napier thinks investors must brace for a period of prolonged inflation. 

In this interview, Napier tells the IC’s Mary McDougall what a new era of financial repression might mean for investors, why he thinks China is not investable and where he thinks the best value is in equity markets. He also explains why he thinks it's time to invest with active fund managers over index funds and what he thinks are the most common mistakes that private investors make. 

Napier is a consultant, investor, historian, writer and Honorary Professor at both Heriot-Watt University and The University of Stirling. He’s advised institutions on asset allocation since the mid ‘90s and is chairman of Mid Wynd International Investment Trust. He's written two books: Anatomy of the Bear: Lessons from Wall St’s Four Great Bottoms and The Asian Financial Crisis 1995-98: Birth of the Age of Debt.

He also runs a course in finance called ‘The Practical History of Financial Markets’ and is keeper of The Library of Mistakes, a charitable venture he set up in Edinburgh in 2014. 

Time stamps

01:10 Takeaways from the launch of The Library of Mistakes

03:16 Outlook for inflation and money supply

06:05 Diminishing role of central banks

07:40 What indicators investors should look at

08:48 Outlook for equities

10:26 Implications of financial repression

13:48 Role of tax 

15:27 Impact of deglobalisation

18:20 Is China investable?

21:10 Companies that benefit from deglobalisation

23:40 Index funds vs active managers

28:28 Categorising by country vs sector

31:38 Suggestions for novice investors

33:18 Research of Hendrik Bessembinder

34:45 Infrastructure and property

38:29 Re-equitisation

41:42 Problems with the search for yield

44:20 Biggest personal mistake

46:00 Most common mistakes made by private investors

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Companies and Market show returns to discuss Elon Musk's $44bn deal to buy Twitter and ask what it means for Tesla investors. Then our panel give a sneak peak of the Investors' Chronicle's special feature this week, a review of the entire FTSE 350.

Alex Newman, Julian Hofmann and Mark Robinson join John Rogers.

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

UK small caps have struggled against their larger cap peers in recent months, but if you can avoid the banana skins there are some very attractive entry points for businesses, according to Ken Wotton, manager of Strategic Equity Capital investment trust. 

In this interview, Wotton tells the IC’s Mary McDougall where he thinks the best opportunities are, why he likes to run concentrated portfolios and what he has been buying and selling recently. He also describes how he approaches valuing companies, to what extent macro economic factors play into his decision making and what he wishes he had known when he started his career.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:35 - Outlook for UK small caps

03:30 - Preferred valuation metrics

04:55 - Profitable holdings

05:48 - Macro factors effecting investment decisions

08:40 - Changes to Strategic Equity Capital since you took over

12:28 - Largest proportion of a company you own?

14:07 - Would you consider yourself an activist investor?

15:05 - Fund size

16:12 - Favourite holdings

20:10 - M&A as part of investment case

22:25 - Quality UK PLC's leaving the market

23:52 - Participating in IPO's

24:39 - Healthcare and financial services sectors

26:57 - Filtering companies

28:05 - Areas of expertise

29:58 - Advice for your past self

31:02 - A book that's influenced you

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.