It’s an old adage that there’s no such thing as a free lunch – somewhere down the line there’s a payment to be made. Except perhaps in the world of fixed income.
Since Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini budget sent a wrecking ball through the gilt market in September 2022, the ‘moron premium’ has entered common parlance, at least within financial circles. The phrase, which refers to sovereign debt yields rising because of politicians’ mistakes, was brought out of retirement and dusted off when 30-year gilt yields spiked in August and September 2025, peaking around 5.7%1.
Many great thinkers through the ages have prized the concept of simplicity. Leonardo da Vinci believed it to be “the ultimate sophistication”; Albert Einstein quipped that “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”; while author William Golding concluded that “the greatest ideas are the simplest”. Then why, I wonder, do so many investment professionals try to make things so complicated?
A pressing debate for investors and asset allocators is whether corporate bond spreads are too tight. If yields are almost as high for a theoretically much safer government bond, shouldn’t they just buy gilts instead? Or even park their money in cash, given the high rates some savings accounts are paying out at present.
In this video, the team discuss how they have consistently beaten the benchmark, their investment process, what excites them about the future of UK equities and who the joker of the team is!
The Artemis SmartGARP European Equities Fund is up 33% over one year*. We ask manager Philip Wolstencroft if investors have missed the boat.
After a strong run of performance, we ask Philip Wolstencroft, Manager of the Artemis SmartGARP European Equity Fund, if it’s time to take profits in European banks amid interest rate cuts.
Toby Gibb says that with the attractions of smaller, domestically oriented European companies routinely going unnoticed, the sheep appear to have had the wool pulled over their eyes.
“The Art of War” and “The Art of the Deal” may have been written many centuries apart, but together could offer an insight into how the current tariff friction will play out.
While credit spreads look superficially tight today compared with their widest ever levels, Stephen Snowden says there is more to this metric than meets the eye.
Credit spreads have narrowed recently, which has concerned some investors. Artemis’ Head of Fixed Income Stephen Snowden argues that spreads are at their long-term average and corporate bonds are still offering value in a changing risk environment.
The FTSE 100 may be our flagship stock market, but it offers relatively little exposure to the domestic economy. If you really want to push up your exposure to the UK, William Tamworth recommends looking down.
Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ has narrowly passed its first hurdle in the House of Representatives. Artemis’ Chris Kent explores the implications of the wide-ranging bill as it makes its way through the Senate.
As Trump returns to the White House, we know from his first administration to expect the unexpected. James Dudgeon, co-manager of the Artemis US Extended Alpha Fund, analyses the key positives and many uncertainties.
In this short video, Grace Le explains why investment-grade corporate bonds merit a place in your portfolio, at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty and slowing economic growth.
In this short video, Artemis’ William Tamworth gives his views on what will bring IPOs back to the UK, whether the wave of M&A activity can continue and how smaller companies can pick up where they left off in the first half of 2024.
In this short video, Artemis’ Raheel Altaf explains where he is seeing opportunities in the world’s fastest-growing economies, why now is a good entry point and his view on investing in China.
In this short video, Artemis’ Olivia Micklem explains that US smaller companies should be particular beneficiaries of Trump’s policies, given their domestic focus.
Following the US election, US smaller companies rose on Trump’s domestically focused agenda. Is this the start of a broader rally? Artemis’ US team give their views.
October 2024 marked 10 years of the Artemis US Smaller Companies Fund. Using their up/down framework and deep understanding of industry cycles, the managers seek to find the winners in sectors that are benefiting from domestic tailwinds.