The Evenlode Podcast

Up until the last week of November, Mr Market’s mood was quite positive thanks to the continuing global economic recovery. However, sentiment in global stock markets took a turn for the worse at the end of November, as the new Omicron Covid variant emerged in South Africa. As I write, the FTSE All-Share has returned +12.9% so far in 2021 and the Evenlode Income fund has returned +13.8%.  --- Pleas...

As the nights are drawing in and a turbulent 2021 approaches a close, we naturally consider what has come to pass, and what the future might hold. The latter is difficult at the best of times, but we at least can reflect on recent history. --- Please note, these views represent the opinions of the Evenlode team as of November 2021 and do not constitute investment advice. Past performance is not a...

Last month we found ourselves balancing short-term news-flow with long-term reflections. The third quarter reporting season has begun in earnest, giving investors a window into companies’ post-pandemic plans and ambitions. At the same time, we are rapidly approaching the fourth anniversary of Evenlode Global Income. When we launched the fund in late November 2017, we could not have imagined the ma...

This month we would like to briefly discuss Evenlode Income’s consumer branded goods holdings, and why we feel they are good investments for the long term. These companies have seen their share prices lag the broader market in 2021: partly because they have been deemed too boring for Mr Market so far this year, with investors more interested in other sectors with a higher gearing to both the recen...

Back in May we wrote about the valuation environment in global equities, with markets having risen significantly from pre-pandemic levels. As we sit four months on the MSCI World index has risen further by 8.4% in sterling terms, and 4.6% in dollar terms, the pound having weakened a little over that time. So the question of equity valuations has not gone away, and the shape of the question is simi...

Global stock markets have weakened a little in September. The Covid situation is improving on the whole, with case rates stabilising or falling in many regions. A few clouds have gathered though, complicating the economic picture: China’s slowdown and property market woes continue; global fiscal policy is tightening as furlough schemes begin to tail off; central banks are beginning to hint at tigh...

As it is the summer holiday season, members of the Evenlode investment team have compiled a selection of books that we have read and found interesting over the first half of 2021. Many of the books included are business biographies, or cover technology or history of some kind. Most (but not all) are recent. And I’m not sure all of these texts are obvious light-reading material for the beach! But w...

Last month in our investment view we examined the move towards plant-based diets and how consumer goods companies are responding to the growing market opportunity. In this investment view we examine how consumer and societal attitudes are evolving to the most ubiquitous social lubricant, alcohol. --- Please note, these views represent the opinions of the Evenlode team as of July 2021 and do not co...

During July, the UK stock market has been range-bound with investors contemplating a mixed backdrop. The coronavirus situation continues to improve in many regions, with vaccination programmes progressing well. Disruption from the virus, however, has by no means ended: global case rates are high and rising in certain regions (the US, South East Asia etc.) and some restrictions have been re-imposed...

The UK market started strongly in June but then erased most of its gains in the second half of the month. Covid cases are on the rise again in several regions, including Asia, and this has led to the reimposition of restrictions in several countries. Thoughts are also now beginning to turn to the gradual withdrawal of crisis-induced fiscal stimulus programmes, such as furlough schemes, over coming...

At Evenlode we believe that it is vital for companies to adapt and change over time in order to stay relevant to their customers. The consumer goods sector is an important one for the Evenlode Global Income portfolio, currently making up over a quarter of the fund across food, beverage, home and over-the-counter health care. As such, we take a great interest in emerging trends in consumer tastes....

There are lots of theories as to why equity market values might look high. Chief among them are low interest rates pushing investors into equities to seek returns, and governmental stimulus putting cash in the pockets of people willing to have a punt on stocks (especially in the US). We find this sort of question interesting, but as interesting a question as it is, it is not information we use to...

The Ship of Theseus is one of the oldest philosophical thought experiments. Theseus, the great mythical hero of Athens, slayed the minotaur in Crete and returned to Athens where his ship was kept in the harbour as a memorial. Over the years the planks, masts, sails etc. were gradually replaced as they decayed. Eventually, all the pieces had been replaced but the ship still stood there in the harbo...

Thomas Austin is infamous throughout Australia. Not an outlaw in the mould of Ned Kelly, nor a bodyline bowling cricketer under the visiting Douglas Jardine, instead Austin is remembered for one of the greatest ecological disasters to hit the antipodean continent, the introduction of rabbits. In investment, exponential growth is referred to by another name, “compounding”.  With the launch of our n...

The world is by no means out of the coronavirus woods yet, but much of the global economy is now recovering from the worst of the pandemic. Conversations with management teams have therefore turned, increasingly, to post-crisis opportunities and investment plans.   On this note, we think the Evenlode Income portfolio is well placed to benefit from several structural growth themes.   Listen to this...

Over the course of the last year, new variants of the damaging and novel coronavirus have evolved and are now being sequenced and detected. Viruses do change rapidly by their nature, part of the biological mechanism that can make them successful in the battle for survival of the fittest. The human race has of course been rapidly developing its defences in the form of vaccines, which have been succ...

Global stock markets have been a bit mixed during March, though both Evenlode Income and the UK market have posted a positive return.   Reopening optimism continues, somewhat tempered by the announcement of further lockdowns in Europe following a rise in cases, and a less positive trend in economic leading indicators versus expectations. Commodity and energy prices also fell in the second half of...

Corporate results season is here. In this episode we look at the performance of the companies within the Evenlode Global Dividend and Evenlode Global Income Funds. The charts referenced in this episode can be viewed at - https://evenlodeinvestment.com/news/corporate-results-season-no-tea --- Please note, these views represent the opinions of the Evenlode team as of March 2021 and do not constitute...

Global stock markets have resumed their climb higher in February, spurred by optimism that the worst of the Covid crisis may begin to pass over coming months. The pendulum of investor sentiment has swung a long way in the last 12 months. Last March, the presiding sentiment was fear , but in today’s stock market it is fear-of-missing-out . In this episode, we look at the performance of the Evenlode...

As eyes turn to the post-pandemic world, investors’ imaginations have been captured by tech giants across America and Asia, whilst in stark contrast, Europe’s corporate elite in more traditional industries have faced difficult questions over their ability to keep pace. In this episode, we consider the innovation prospects for three leading European companies operating in three different industries...

In this episode Ben Peters, investment manager at Evenlode, and Tom Weller, Evenlode's innovation analyst, have a conversation about the The Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) industry. They discus how this industry works, as well as the specific companies within this industry Evenlode invest in. --- Please note, these views represent the opinions of the Evenlode team as of February 2021...

As we all turn the page on the extraordinary year that was 2020, we will as usual use this investment view to review the year just passed and to share some thoughts on the outlook for the coming year and beyond. To view the table mentioned in this episode please click here. --- Please note, these views represent the opinions of the Evenlode team as of January 2021 and do not constitute investment...

Happy new year to all of our co-investors and readers. 2021 surely can’t turn out to be more dramatic than 2020 can it? In this episode we provide an overview of last years performance of the Evenlode Global Income Fund, as well as our thoughts going forward into 2021. To view the charts and tables mentioned in this episode visit https://evenlodeinvestment.com/news/evenlode-global-investment-view-...

This month, as holiday season is approaching, the Evenlode investment team have compiled a selection of books that we have read and found interesting over the second half of 2020.  We're not sure all of these texts are obvious light-reading material for Boxing Day. However, we hope you'll find something of interest. --- Please note, these views represent the opinions of the Evenlode team as of Dec...

During the first three weeks of November, the very positive news on coronavirus vaccines and the clarity provided by the US election led to a huge surge in investor’s animal spirits and a significant rally in global stock markets. Listen to our thoughts on these latest developments. The charts and tables referenced in this episode can be viewed here - https://evenlodeinvestment.com/news/evenlode-i...