Investors' Chronicle

We’re kicking off 2022 with a double interview. Firstly, everyone’s favourite stock picking expert Simon Thompson is on the pod to discuss the feature he’s written this week: Secrets of Successful Investing. Then IC properties writer Alex Newman joins us off the back of a busy week, with the government asking housebuilders for a 4-billion-pound plan to resolve the unsafe cladding crisis, and a pee...

Do you want to kickstart the year by sorting out your finances? Frightened of the stock market and unsure where to start?  Investing can seem complicated, confusing and downright scary, but get it right and it’s a powerful tool for growing your wealth. Over a series of ten weekly podcasts, we’ll be breaking down the complexities of the financial world to help you learn about how you can build...

Being a contrarian investor has been a tough gig over much of the past decade but Alex Wright, manager of Fidelity Special Values (FSV) and Fidelity Special Situations believes the best way of making money is to go against the consensus.  In this interview, he tells Mary McDougall how he identifies mispriced assets, what he has been buying and selling recently and in what sectors he sees the...

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&nbsp...

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 pr...

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 resili...

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 capi...

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...

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...

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 Comp...

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...

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 h...

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 Ministe...

Simon Brewer, former chief investment officer of the European branch of Morgan Stanley, tells Mary McDougall where he thinks investors should look in a world of very low rates and the possibility of prolonged inflation. He explains why he likes UK stocks, why he is wary of private equity and questions if it is worth private investors holding bonds at all. He also spells out why he thinks China is...

Blake Hutchins, co-manager of Troy Income & Growth Trust and Trojan Income Fund, explains where he has been finding UK equity income in a difficult environment and how the market looks set going ahead. He explains why he prefers what he considers to be good quality companies, and highlights some stocks he thinks will be able to grow their cash flows.   Investors' Chronicle has s...

Investors' Chronicle's economist Chris Dillow tells Mary McDougall why he’s not worried about prolonged inflation and why he thinks the central bank is right to keep monetary policy loose. He also shares his wisdom on lead indicators that can help you understand when you should consider buying and selling, and why thinks private equity is an important part of most investment portfolios. Investors'...

Azeem Azhar is a renowned thought-leader, entrepreneur and investor in the tech industry. In this podcast, he talks to Lauren Almeida about the exponential rate of tech development and how society - and investors - can keep 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 t...

From internet giants like  Alibaba (US:BABA)  to education and property companies, the recent regulatory crackdown in China has sent many leading Asia stocks into a tailspin. Is this an investment opportunity, a warning or a simple reminder of the risks in the developing world? In this chat with Dave Baxter, Asia and emerging market fund manager and Somerset Capital partner Mark Wil...

Active fund managers have gradually been losing market share to cheaper, passive alternatives. Yet the best active funds have significantly outperformed their benchmarks over long time periods. In this interview, Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney Smith & Williamson discusses what we can learn from Bestinvest’s latest ‘Spot the Dog’ fund report, where active management works best and...

This podcast episode from Allianz Technology Trust, looks at the ‘new normal’ post-pandemic where remote working will mix with on-site working where possible. The team discuss how this will benefit businesses that can make this new hybrid workplace both effective and efficient. Furthermore, new generations have changing expectations of work. Combined with demographic changes globally, there will b...

There are lots of reasons why investment trusts swing to discounts, and spotting those that might soon tighten can significantly boost shareholder returns. That’s the business of Miton Global Opportunities (MIGO), which looks to own trusts with potential for a narrowing discount as well as net asset value growth.  In this interview, manager Nick Greenwood tells Leonora Walters how he identifi...

Chrysalis Investments (CHRY) has made considerable gains by backing a small number of rapid growth companies, with a heavy weighting in fintech. In this interview, co-managers Nick Williamson and Richard Watts tell Mary McDougall why they aim to invest in companies before flotation and why they believe the opportunity for so-called crossover investors is huge. Discussing the investment case for Kl...

The stimulus needed to support the economy over the pandemic has caused a spike in public debt and rising inflation fears. To help make sense of what might come next, Nick Macpherson, former Treasury chief, tells Mary McDougall how he thinks the government should approach bringing the nation’s debt under control, and why it matters. Discussing the problems with austerity, the distributional conseq...

Temple Bar Investment Trust (TMPL) has surged ahead in the last year but its focus on "old economy" UK stocks may be off-putting for some. In this interview RWC Partners fund managers Ian Lance and Nick Purves, who took over the portfolio last year, make the investment case for Big Oil, miners, some retail names and other stocks some investors love to hate. In this interview with Dave Baxter,...

In this podcast episode from The Merchants Trust, portfolio manager Simon Gergel looks back over the five years since the Brexit referendum where many different factors combined to create a particularly extraordinary and challenging period for the UK market. However, the trick has been to look through the various market uncertainties and using that lens, many mispriced opportunities have presented...