As economic growth stalls and fewer small and medium-sized businesses choose to list in the UK, we explore policy measures that could help provide a boost to the sector.
What were the key events in Q4 2023 and how did the trust perform? Fund manager Jonathan Brown discusses UK inflation and interest rates, reviews Q4 2023 portfolio performance, before sharing his outlook for the UK smaller companies sector in 2024. Watch the video to learn more.
As we head into 2024, the market consensus is generally that interest rates have peaked – which is exciting news for bond investors. We explore the implications across a broad range of fixed income asset classes.
It’ll be a challenging backdrop for equities in 2024. From an investment perspective, company fundamentals are likely to become more important.
Value investing is expected to enjoy a renaissance as the decades long downtrend in bond yields is finally over.
Macroeconomic factors have continued to influence market sentiment over the quarter. Fund Manager Robin West shares his thoughts on the outlook for UK smaller companies in his latest video update.
In this short video update, Fund Manager Stuart Edwards shares his thoughts on where bond markets are headed and why flexibility is more important than ever.
With generous yields and a changing inflationary backdrop, Co-Head of Fixed Interest Mike Matthews thinks sterling corporate bonds could offer a good investment opportunity.
Votes and valuations: Could political events further strengthen the case for UK equities?
Inflation and the response of central banks was once again a significant influence on markets in the second quarter. However, while the future is always unknowable, Fund Manager Jonathan Brown believes that after a fairly difficult period for the UK economy, and the UK smaller companies’ sector, the outlook is finally looking brighter. Watch his latest video update to find out more.
While China is our largest geographical allocation for many of our portfolios, we believe there are plenty of exciting companies in the wider Asia region.
AI chatbots allow us to interact with technology in smarter ways, but there is a price – the billions that will be invested in the software and the hardware needed. AI will demand ever-greater processing power. One company involved in the AI revolution is California-headquartered Broadcom. Head of Global Equities, Stephen Anness, explains shares his thoughts in this short read.
Equity income funds have fallen out of favour over the past 10 years. The low interest rate and low inflation environment that has prevailed over this period largely benefitted funds tilted towards the growthier and riskier parts of the market. Total returns have been dominated by capital growth (coming largely from price-earnings ratio expansion), with contribution from dividends making up a very small portion of total return…a historical anomaly.
A contrarian investor is an independent thinker who cares about the price they pay for an investment. They don’t mind going against the market trends and sentiments, and typically buy assets that are currently out of favour, while selling those that are popular.
Asia’s growth potential is well known. It’s supported by strong structural trends such as urbanisation, rising incomes and the growth of the middle class. China’s economic rise over the years has prompted many investors to seek broad exposure to its market through ETFs.
The last three years have been turbulent for global markets. We’ve had a new president in the US, a carousel of UK prime ministers and chancellors, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation and interest rates, and a global pandemic to name a few events which have caused uncertainty for investors.
UK growth is expected to slow in 2023 but businesses and the consumer are proving to be more resilient than the media would have us believe. Fund Manager Robin West is hopeful that, with full employment and strong company and household balance sheets, any economic downturn in the UK could be relatively shallow and short. Watch his latest video update on the UK smaller companies sector.
For the smart active investor, especially those operating in high yield markets, “second-hand” bonds can offer opportunities. Fund manager and senior credit analyst Rhys Davies shares his thoughts in this short read.
David Aujla (DA), Multi Asset Fund Manager of our Summit Growth and Responsible ranges, and Ben Gutteridge (BG), MPS Portfolio Manager, share their thoughts on the key developments of the last quarter and how they’re affecting the portfolio management of their respective products.
Head of Global Equities, Stephen Anness, believes dividends are an important consideration when investing for the long-term. Here he shares why he thinks they might become a bigger part of shareholder returns going forward.