Prices and Markets

North American Income Trust – Macro driven market is creating opportunities Fran Radano, the manager of North American Income Trust (NAIT), comments that the US market has been very highly driven by macroeconomic sentiment this year, with the effects of this frequently outweighing company fundamentals. He notes that, whilst it can be challenging to trade through such environments, increased market volatility creates opportunities for investors who are able to look through the noise. Valuations have increased during the last 12 months and...

In swooped Binance, who are pros at manipulating the system for their benefit. The crypto-exchange platform, run by Changpeng Zhao, basically repackaged the Initial Coin Offering tool by swapping out the 'C' for an 'E', introducing the new and improved Initial Exchange Offering.

Henderson High Income Trust (HHI) launched in November 1989, with an objective of generating a high income from a portfolio consisting primarily of UK equities complemented by a modest weighting in fixed interest investments that have been used to enhance income.... Read more Investors might have been forgiven for thinking that the second half of HHI’s objective, “maintaining the prospect of capital growth”, might fall by the wayside. However, by making imaginative use of the flexibility afforded by its investment...

2018 saw a strong recovery in the uranium price. This has stalled this year, but with the uranium market now seeing more demand than supply, Geiger Counter’s (GCL’s) managers see the potential for a resurgence in the uranium price, as more nuclear reactors come online (particularly in China and India), while major producers hold off from returning mothballed mines to production.... Read more An announcement by the Trump administration in July, in relation to its section 232 investigation into the...

Aberdeen Frontier Markets (AFMC)’s manager has been re-positioning the portfolio by reducing exposure to Sub-Saharan Africa, adding companies in new markets and looking capture more of the momentum in markets. There is a now a greater tilt to the Asia Pacific region, where Vietnam accounts for over a quarter of the portfolio. AFMC holds a concentrated selection of companies that offer the prospect of double-digit earnings growth paired with inexpensive valuations (the weighted average current year price/earnings (P/E) ratio of...

October was another strong month for certain retail focused property companies. For the second month running, Capital & Regional topped the list for share price growth: up 30.5% in the month – admittedly off a low base. The shopping centre landlord’s shares continued to rise after it agreed a deal to sell a majority stake to South African REIT, Growthpoint Properties. In the three-month period to the end of October, the company’s share price has risen 69.7%. Central London landlord...

A collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or sell any of the companies mentioned. Global Katy Thorneycroft and Gareth Witcomb, managers of JPMorgan Multi-Asset, acknowledge that the possibility of a global recession over the next 12 months has increased, though this...

In this issue Over October, we published notes on Pacific Horizon, Seneca Global Income & Growth, Premier Global Infrastructure, Polar Capital Global Financials, Ecofin Global Utilities and Infrastructure, Aberdeen Standard European Logistics Income and Herald. Additionally, as part of our enhanced coverage of the property sector, we launched a sector overview report. Performance data – Equity markets were broadly down over October and the US dollar lost value following a third interest rate cut of the year. Gold continued to benefit under this backdrop as investors sought safe-haven exposure. Riverstone...

Moves by Pacific Horizon’s (PHI) manager Ewan Markson-Brown to re-position the portfolio by lowering its allocation to technology stocks, and excellent returns to-date from stock picks made in 2018, are paying off. PHI is the best-performing Asia Pacific fund in net asset value (NAV) terms over the year-to-date. Following a poor 2018, which saw sentiment turn against both China and technology (areas where PHI has significant exposures), the portfolio is now more diversified with a greater focus on a newer...