Investors' Chronicle

The private equity sector may have generated very strong returns in recent history but many investors are yet to be won over. That's one interpretation of the fact that many of the private equity investment trusts available in the UK have had a stellar run of performance but still see their shares languish on substantial discounts to the value of portfolio assets.

Steven Tredget, who works on Oakley Capital Investments (OCI), tells Dave Baxter about the trust's great performance in recent years, the processes behind it and its future prospects. But he also takes aim at those who obsess over share price discounts, warning that this can only prolong the problem.

He also discusses the spate of private equity acquisition activity of 2021, and makes the case for private equity as an ESG-friendly asset class.

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.

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Terry Smith, founder and chief executive of Fundsmith, has built the UK’s largest actively-managed fund via rigorous implementation of the simple mantra 'buy good companies, don’t overpay, do nothing'.

In this interview, Smith tells Mary McDougall how he analyses and selects companies, how the rise of software has folded into his investment thinking and what trends he thinks currently look most promising.

He also talks about the extent to which fund size is a challenge going forward, and what spurred him to buy Amazon (US:AMZN) this summer.

Fundsmith Equity Fund has delivered an annualised total return of 18.4 per cent since its inception in November 2010, compared with 12.8 per cent for its benchmark MSCI World Index. It had assets under management of £27.9bn on 30 November 2021.

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.

Ian Mortimer and Matthew Page, managers of the Guinness Global Equity Income fund, take a different approach from some income managers by seeking companies with a "moderate yield and growing dividend" rather than chasing higher payouts.

They talk to Dave Baxter about how this approach has worked in different scenarios and their view on the outlook for dividends - from surprisingly resilient sectors to their relative lack of exposure to Asia.

The managers also tackle the thorny issue of inflation and make the case for quality dividend-payers as a buffer in a time of rising prices, while addressing questions about performance.

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.

Sam Cosh, manager of European Assets Trust (EAT), tells Leonora Walters why this trust is able to increase its dividend for 2021, and profiles some of the investments which are making this possible. 

He also explains how he selects stocks, and highlights holdings which should do well going forward despite the pressure of the pandemic.

European Assets Trust, launched in 1983, has a market capitalisation of £518m and paid a yield of 5.5 per cent on 17 November, according to Winterflood data.

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 latest episode of Connected Investor, the podcast from the Brunner Investment Trust, ponders the issue of tightening regulatory factors in China – what will that mean for China itself, the fortunes of companies and markets there and ultimately for the global economy and markets? To see the full podcast series visit https://www.brunner.co.uk/podcast/.

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.

Iain McCombie, manager of Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust tells Mary McDougall how he tries to source the best growth opportunities among UK stocks and divulges what he has been buying and selling most recently. 

He shares his thought process behind owning St James’ Place, Hargreaves Lansdown, Boohoo.com and Rightmove among other holdings and explains why the trust recently sought approval to invest in unquoted companies.  

Iain has co-managed Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust since June 2018 and is lead manager of Baillie Gifford’s UK core strategy. He is also a manager on a number of global funds and became a partner at Baillie Gifford in 2005.   

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.

In the latest budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak opened by stating that the UK’s public finances are twice as sensitive to changes in interest rates as they were before the pandemic, and that a 1 per cent increase in inflation and interest rates would cost around £23bn.

Clearly there is a political imperative to keep the cost of borrowing down, as Hamish Baillie, lead manager of Ruffer Investment Company (RICA) explains in this week’s podcast. He spells out why he thinks long-term disinflationary forces are waning and why he’s preparing for a period of enduring inflation. 

Speaking with the IC’s Mary McDougall, he defends putting up with -2 per cent real yields on long-dated index-linked gilts and talks through Ruffer’s thought process behind buying bitcoin in November 2020 and selling out entirely by April 2021. They also discuss the outlook for some the UK's largest banks and energy companies.

Ruffer Investment Company is a multi asset “all weather portfolio” designed to deliver a positive return in all market conditions. Its share price was up 28 per cent for the year to 27 October, and 42 per cent over five years.

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.

Paul Jourdan, CEO of Amati Global Investors, tells Christopher Akers why he thinks the Alternative Investment Market is an asset of national importance and shares his thoughts on overpricing in "the year of IPOs". He explains Amati's approach to ESG and discusses the stocks that have been important for them over the last year.

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.

Financials make up around 15 per cent of global equities, and despite a recent surge the sector remains at a significant discount to the wider market. In this interview, Nick Brind and George Barrow, co-managers of Polar Capital Global Financials Trust (PCFT), tell Mary McDougall how banks look well placed to benefit from any rise in interest rates.

They discuss what impact a rise in rates might have on bad debts, what pockets of the financials sector look most attractive, why they have avoided owning Chinese banks and what their outlook is for HSBC. 

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 Indian stock market has been on a tear this year, up 30 per cent for the year to 6 October. While this has led to some concern about lofty valuations, David Cornell of India Capital Growth Fund (IGC) says there are still plenty of attractive opportunities for stock pickers, as India emerges from years of disappointing growth in corporate profitability.

He explains how a change in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies should help attract more foreign investors going forward, how retail stock market participation is growing and why he’s not worried yet about the power crunch in India.

David shares how he searches for high growth, high quality small and mid cap companies which he expects to have annual earnings growth of 30 per cent over the next two years, and also why he’s not yet tempted to invest in unlisted companies.

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.