Investors Chronicle

As a dedicated value investor, River & Mercantile fund manager Hugh Sergeant has perhaps unsurprisingly made big gains from the cyclical rally of recent months, with the River and Mercantile UK Recovery and River and Mercantile Global Recovery funds posting big returns. Now, with the rebound losing some of its momentum in the last few weeks, he makes the case for beleaguered value investors to keep their optimism after a rough decade.In this podcast, he talks to the IC's Dave Baxter about the need to "stay in the game" at times of underperformance, the UK stocks he's backing for further outperformance and why Baidu might be "the cheapest megacap stock I've ever seen in my career".  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As inflation rises, inventors are questioning if central bankers are right that inflation will only be transitory. Today’s podcast guest - Karl Sternberg, chairman of the investment committee of Christ Church, one of the largest Oxbridge endowments - says there is a good case to be sceptical about central banks’ ability to ensure monetary stability.In this interview, Karl tells Mary McDougall how investors might prepare their portfolio for a period of inflation, how quantitative easing has sparked a spate of takeover bids and what changes could encourage long-term thinking in UK equities. In a fascinating tour of economic theory, he also explains where he thinks modern monetary theory falls short. Karl recently became chairman of Monks Investment Trust (MNKS), and is on the board of Jupiter Fund Management (JUP). He is a non-executive director of Herald Investment Trust (HIT), Clipstone Logistics REIT, Lowland Investment Company (LWI) and JP Morgan Elect (JPE). He founded Oxford Investment Partners in 20

James De Uphaugh and his team might have questioned their luck when they took over the running of the Edinburgh Investment Trust in March 2020. Sixteen months on, the trust has both outperformed its benchmark and recovered its pandemic losses, all with a UK-dominated equity portfolio.In this conversation with the IC, the Majedie Asset Management chairman and co-founder gives his take on the Morrisons takeover battle, inflationary pressures, and why he is selling out of Associated British Foods and Hargreaves Lansdown.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this interview, Charles Stanley head of passives Lynn Hutchinson and Morningstar passive strategies analyst Briegel Leitao talk to Dave Baxter about some of the biggest recent developments in the ETF world and what they mean for investors. They look at the rapid rise of thematic funds, the continuing evolution of ESG investing in a passive format and what investors should remember when seeking to ride a value rally using ETFs.Lynn and Briegel have served as expert panellists for the compilation of our 2021 Top 50 ETFs list, which sets out the most useful and interesting building block funds for an investment portfolio.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Europe can be overlooked by investors, but following encouraging economic data, significant fiscal expansion and a slew of companies beating earnings expectations, its stock market - as measured by MSCI Europe ex UK Index - has beaten all other major investing regions so far this year.In this interview, Jamie Ross, manager of Henderson Eurotrust (HNE) tells Mary McDougall why he continues to back defensive, quality growth companies, despite the recent rally in more cyclical names. He explains where he thinks valuations look stretched, what he has been buying and selling recently and why sustainability-minded investors should pay attention to management incentive structures.He also shares why he feels more positive now than he has in the past about Europe’s perennial problem: How will it cope with rising debt levels?Henderson Eurotrust’s share price (total return) has risen 25 per cent over the past 12 months - in line with its benchmark index. Over five years, the trust has delivered returns of 109 per cent,

Stephen Yiu, manager of Blue Whale Growth Fund, tells Mary McDougall how he constructs a concentrated portfolio of companies he believes are very high quality and can do well in all macroeconomic conditions.He shares why he has sold Unilever (ULVR), Boston Scientific (US:BSX) and Moncler (IT:MONC), and why he has conviction in Kering (FR:FER), Adobe (US:ADBE), Alphabet (US GOOGL), Mastercard (US:MA) and Visa (US:V).Blue Whale Growth Fund was set up in 2017 and has grown to assets of over £800m. Since launch the fund has delivered an annualised return of 17.9 per cent, ahead of 11 per cent for the Investment Association’s global sector over the same period.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nick Kirrage and Simon Adler, managers of Schroder Global Recovery Fund and Schroder Recovery Fund, tell Leonora Walters about their approach to value investing and how they take advantage of behavioural biases. They also set out why they like financials and energy companies.While Schroder Global Recovery has underperformed its peers over the past five years, it is up 47.5 per cent over 12 months to 16 June, ahead of 35 per cent for MSCI World Index. Its UK-focussed sibling, Schroder Recovery Fund, is up 43 per cent over the same period - ahead of 22 per cent for the FTSE All-Share Index.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There's a lot of hype around crypto, but blockchain technology is in its infancy - and has the potential to overhaul how we do business. In this interview, Frederik Gregaard, chief executive officer of the Cardano Foundation, tells James Norrington what the Cardano platform is trying to achieve and why many cryptocurrencies shouldn’t be thought of in terms of currency. They also discuss how decentralised ledgers could interact with corporates and how the regulatory landscape might pan out.Cardano, founded in 2017, is a proof-of-stake, open-source blockchain platform. It is at the forefront of the movement to democratise the internet. The project focuses on long-term real-world solutions rather than being about cryptocurrency speculation. Nevertheless, Cardano's native cryptocoin, ADA, has struck a chord with traders and the coin had a market cap of over $50bn on 10 June, making it the fifth largest crypto asset by value.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Adrian Lim and Pruksa Iamthongthong, co-managers of Asia Dragon Trust (DGN), tell Mary McDougall what they have been buying and selling as vaccination programmes progress and inflation fears pick up.They explain why they continue to support new economy stocks, how the antitrust proceedings are progressing in China and if climate change might threaten the region’s chipmakers. They also discuss how the development of China’s e-yuan might disrupt the corporate sector. Asia Dragon’s share price rose 120 per cent over five years to 8 June 2021, ahead of a 96 per cent return for MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this podcast episode from The Brunner Investment Trust, a three-part discussion covers; recent developments in volatile markets, how a different approach from policy makers around the world is providing ongoing monetary and fiscal stimulus plus a focus on the healthcare industry, and a look at the Trust's annual results and the current dividend/income situation. To see the full podcast series visit https://www.brunner.co.uk/podcast/.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Janus Henderson's James Henderson tells Mary McDougall where he thinks the best value is in the UK stock market, what his favourite holdings are, how he values companies and what the key differences are between the funds he manages.James is co-manager of Lowland Investment Company (LWI), Henderson Opportunities Trust (HOT) and the equity portfolio of Law Debenture (LWDB). He also co-manages Janus Henderson UK Equity Income & Growth Fund.Henderson Opportunities Trust currently has the best five-year NAV performance in Winterflood’s UK All Companies trust sector, while Law Debenture ranks top of the broker’s UK Equity Income sector over the same period.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this interview, three fund managers from Liontrust’s Sustainable Future investment team tell Dave Baxter how a planned ESG investment trust will differ from the funds they already run. Peter Michaelis, Simon Clements and Chris Foster also discuss the most important ESG criteria to use in different sectors, how to deal with a holding that runs into controversy and why Alphabet is one of their most prominent investments.Read more about how ESG funds deal with the FAANG stocks here.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emerging markets are not associated with high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards but Mobius Investment Trust applies this kind of investment approach in these regions. The trust's co-manager, Carlos Hardenberg, explains how it is possible to do this, how ESG standards vary in different countries and he also takes ‘culture’ factors into account.Hardenberg profiles some of the trust's recent investments and explains why some companies in Covid hotspots are managing to hold up amid the challenges.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Baillie Gifford has delivered some tremendous returns to investors across a wide range of funds over a long period of time, and the man at the heart of it all has been Charles Plowden, joint senior partner and chief of Baillie Gifford’s investment staff from 2006 to 2021. In this interview, Charles tells Mary McDougall how the Scottish firm has grown to become the dominant force it is today, how individual funds sit within the firm’s wider context and shares his concerns about the rapid growth of passive investing. He also explains why he doesn’t think the types of stocks Baillie Gifford invests in are overvalued. Charles has worked across a number of investment teams over 38 years at Baillie Gifford, most recently managing the Monks Investment Trust and Baillie Gifford Global Alpha Growth Fund. This interview was conducted in his last week at the firm, ahead of his retirement on 30 April 2021.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's Alpha Podcast, Phil Oakley explains to John Hughman why he's growing more fearful of an inflation headwind for equities, and reveals one company he expects to power its way through it  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’re all very grateful to the healthcare industry for the amazing work it has done to create vaccines and treatments to help fight the pandemic. But what is the investment outlook now for the companies in the biotech sector?In this interview, Ailsa Craig of the International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) shares what types of companies she looks to own, where she sees the value in the biotech industry currently and how the development of coronavirus treatments has impacted holdings in the fund. Ailsa was named co-lead manager of the trust last month, alongside Marek Poszepczynski, following the announcement of Dr Carl Harald Janson’s departure, manager of the trust since 2013.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's Alpha Podcast, John Hughman and Phil Oakley ask whether asset price bubbles are forming everywhere, and assess the prospects for three British retailers proving that physical stores still matter.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A cashless, cashier-less supermarket experience. Simply walk in, load up your bags, and walk out, without any queuing, fumbling for wallets or human interaction whatsoever. This is not out the pages of a sci-fi novel, but a new venture from Amazon that has recently arrived on the streets of London.Yes, this month ‘Amazon Fresh’ has opened in two locations, firstly Ealing and most recently Wembley Park. They’re the first to be seen outside of the US, and the first of many planned for the UK. So today we’ll be discussing Amazon’s entry onto our high streets, and asking whether it’s a taste of the future for all retail or an experiment that’s doomed to fail.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shares in Games Workshop and Fevertree Drinks both took a tumble last week, but which one does Phil think is most likely to bounce back? Find out on this week's Alpha podcast, and why he also thinks a boardroom bust up at BT could be good news for shareholders.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's Alpha Podcast John Hughman and Phil Oakley explain how Morrison's is shaping up into an online grocery powerhouse, why life in an uber-competitive post-lockdown takeaway market may be tough for Domino's Pizza, and why shares in the LSE could be worth a nibble as it gets itself in shape.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.