Investors' Chronicle

In the latest episode of the IC Interviews, Dan Jones hosts Abby Glennie, deputy head of smaller companies and co-manager of UK smaller companies strategies at Abrdn.  As part of Abrdn, Glennie has been pivotal in the world of domestic small-cap shares. In the show, the pair discuss some of the Abrdn UK Smaller Companies fund's holdings, including Bytes Technology, 4Imprint and CVS Group, as...

We begin this week’s episode with TP Icap, the interdealer broker. Julian Hofmann reports on the figures that came out recently, and he and Dan discuss the divisions driving performance, its electronic trading push and the business's valuation.  Val Cipriani, author of this week’s cover feature the IC’s guide to Isas 2024 , then runs us through the importance of understanding the allowances,...

The chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled his Spring Budget and so we begin with economics expert Hermione Taylor unpacking all the major announcements. She explains what it could mean for the upcoming election and the impact on the country’s finances. The team also weigh in on the new British Isa – something that has divided the investing world. The Budget isn’t the only big news, results season is in...

Foll currently works as a portfolio manager on the Global Equity Income Team at the Janus Henderson Investors fund, where she has held the position for 10 years. In the episode, the pair discuss where the team tends to focus when stocks don’t pay dividends, the compelling opportunities in the UK market, some of the specific stocks the fund currently holds and one of the fund's largest holdings, Ro...

In this week’s podcast we begin with our cover feature on companies with brand power . We unpack why consumer staples are under pressure, the competitiveness of consumer health and share the story of how Sensodyne toothpaste became a staple product. As company results season is in full swing, we pivot only slightly to two consumer brands that have reported results this week, Haleon and Reckitt Ben...

In the sixth episode of Lee and the IC, Alex and Lord Lee are joined by Miles Adcock, chief executive of computing product manufacturer Concurrent Technologies.  The trio discuss the background of Concurrent, a favoured holding in Lord Lee’s portfolio, when Lord Lee began investing in it, how both he and Adcock view the company’s prospects amid current geopolitical tensions, how to navigate t...

We begin with Julian Hoffman who delves into the details of recently published banking results. He explains what was hidden inside Barclays’ results and whether it can afford its £10bn payout to shareholders. Julian and Dan also discuss HSBC’s impairments and NatWest’s dividend . Val Cipriani has written this week’s cover feature on taking advantage of the growing need for data centres . She and D...

In the latest episode of the IC Interviews podcast, Daniel Peris, a senior portfolio manager at Federated Hermes, discusses his new book, The Ownership Dividend, with IC associate editor Alex Newman. The two discuss: The backstory of  The Ownership Dividend  (what happens when interest rates go down for 40 years and what happens to investors when that stops?) The fleeting/ephemeral natur...

We begin this week’s episode with Jemma Slingo who covers top-10 FTSE data and analytics company Relx (REL) . Jemma walks listeners through the company’s growth, its latest buyback news, and the issues it has faced with universities. Knowing when to sell their shares is a common question investors ask and this week, Alpha editor James Norrington lays bare the answers in our cover feature ‘How to k...

We start this week’s show with property writer Mitchell Labiak, who delves into the details of the big takeover story of the week – the £2.5bn Barratt (BDEV) and Redrow (RDW) deal. The team weighs in on how sensible the move is, the two companies’ recent results and whether this could be the beginning of a swathe of housebuilder M&A activity. It’s then on to healthcare company PZ Cussons (PZC)...

In the latest episode of the IC Interviews, funds editor Dave Baxter sits down with the head of equities at Premier Miton Group and Diverse Income trust manager, Gervais Williams.  In the conversation, Gervais shares why he is upbeat about capital-intensive industries and reveals why customer service is a key criteria he considers before adding a company to the portfolio. The two also discuss...

Jennifer Johnson talks about the recently published GSK results, which showed strong growth, but the ongoing Zantac litigation is hanging over the shares. The team also touch on the prospects of rival pharma companies AstraZeneca and Indivior. Our US-based journalist Arthur Sants joins from New York to unpack the growth, capex and future returns worries investors may have about the Magnificent Sev...

This month’s episode begins with an examination of one of Lord Lee’s holdings: Secure Trust Bank. The pair discuss its unique position in the market, its performance since its 2011 IPO, and how it fits in with his view of the broader UK economy. The landscape for investors has changed significantly since Lord Lee began his journey six decades ago. Alex takes the opportunity to ask what he makes of...

In our latest episode, we start with gold miners, Centamin and Hochschild, both of which have released trading updates. Alex Hamer and Julian Hofmann unpack the news, revealing the contrast between the two. Alex Newman joins in to discuss the role of gold in a portfolio given the geopolitical context, and shares thoughts on just how good miners are at beating the gold price. It’s then onto this we...

In our latest IC Interviews episode, funds editor Dave Baxter sits down with Tom Slater, manager of the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust.  With a simple philosophy of maximising returns over the long-term, and having secured a 300 per cent return in the 10 years to January 2024, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust is best known for acquiring ownership of some of the world’s top growth compan...

We begin with emerging markets, focussing on Ashmore’s (ASHM) latest figures. Thanks to expectations of interest rate cuts, the investment manager’s shares were up 25 per cent in the last quarter, after a tough time for emerging market-focused companies. Julian Hofmann shares what investors can take from this promising uplift and where we can expect Ashmore to focus in the future. The author of th...

Dan Jones and the IC gang discuss the airline story that hit the headlines this week – Boeing’s (BOE) door blowout. Could this safety problem be the straw that breaks the camel's back? Michael Fahy and Alex Newman unpack what may lie ahead for the business, how its sole competitor Airbus (FR:AIR) might benefit, and whether other nations could end up competing against the two industry giants. This...

In the first IC Interviews episode of 2024, deputy editor Dan Jones talks to beloved IC columnist, Bearbull.   For the past 25 years, Philip Ryland has sat at the Bearbull desk, keeping IC readers up to date with the Income Portfolio and sharing weekly analysis on the changing face of companies markets. This episode is Philip’s final contribution to the publication as he passes on the re...

We welcome you to our first Companies and Markets Show podcast of 2024 with an analysis of recently released trading updates from British clothing retailers Next and JD Sports. Our team discuss how the two retailers compare and ponder the wider issues in the background that are contributing to their varying successes. It’s then on to the FTSE 100, which turned 40 on 3 January. The team unpack the...

Instead of a deep dive into one company, in our final episode of 2023, Lord Lee and Alex begin with an end-of-year audit of five holdings in Lord Lee’s portfolio. From a litigation financing firm to a beauty products maker to a bowling alley operator, Lord Lee shares the wins and losses he has experienced as a DIY investor. The pair also discuss his novel idea of using shares to encourage financia...

Our final episode of 2023 begins with IC property writer Mitchell Labiak discussing the merger of Reits LondonMetric (LMP) and LXI (LXI) , which will allow them to compete with the industry’s biggest players such as British Land (BLND) . Both have been called ‘sub-scale’, but what constitutes a sustainable Reit? Mitch also explores whether or not investors should prepare for similar activity in th...

We begin with the interest rate story that hit the headlines this week – the FCA’s warning to investment platforms, including AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown, over their treatment of customers’ cash balances. Alex Newman and Val Cipriani discuss why AJ Bell’s share price fell and what investors should expect in the future. Jennifer Johnson follows with an analysis of whether the UK can become a bi...

In this latest episode we look deeper into some of the things that portfolio companies actually do. In particular, host Joe Lynam and Brunner’s co-lead portfolio manager Julian Bishop examine some of the extreme technology needed to create the world’s most powerful semiconductor chips. The term ‘cutting-edge’ may often be overused, but in this case the sheer physics of what is being achieved by so...

The guest on our final IC Interview podcast of 2023 needs little introduction. Having been part of the Investors’ Chronicle team since the late 1990s, Simon Thompson is one of the most valued writers in our cohort.  Covering 93 companies for the IC, Simon has invaluable experience and knowledge of the small-cap industry. In this episode he reflects on the past 12 months, and shares his predic...

We begin with FTSE 100 equipment renting company Ashtead , which released interim figures in recent days. Jemma Slingo and Julian Hofmann delve into the numbers and explain the background of the issues the company has faced in terms of demand. They also touch on the future of the business in light of the possibility the US government will change hands in the coming year. Jemma also discusses the r...