Investors' Chronicle
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Mark Robinson hosts this week’s episode and begins with a rundown of the latest news in the financial world, from Donald Trump’s Trust Social listing to the Bank of England’s warning on private equity bubbles. This week’s cover feature on Britain’s top-rated funds is up first. Dave Baxter shares what readers can expect from the article, including the trends picked up by our analysis and the big-hitting funds that can boost portfolios. Julian Hofmann discusses the credit card and loan-focussed bank VANQUIS BANKING (VANQ) https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/27/vanquis-struggles-to-maintain-profits/which recently released results. He and Mark discuss whether its doorstep lending model is more or less redundant in today’s age, and consider the reasons it’s trading at such a large discount. Lastly, Christopher Akers unpacks the contrasting results of two beverage companies, FEVERTREE (FEVR) https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/26/fevertree-s-sales-surge-in-the-us/ and AG BARR (A.G.) https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/26/ag-barr-bids-adieu-to-ceo-roger-white-as-sales-surge/. With the US now its biggest market, Chris looks at whether Fevertree can keep investors and customers interested across the pond. He also explains how AG Barr transformed itself into a “highly successful multi-beverage, branded company”. TIMESTAMPS 1:37 News rundown 5:15 Britain’s top-rated funds – as picked by analysts 14:32 Vanquis Banking results 23:11 UK beverage producers Fevertree and AG Barr * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Alex and Lord Lee have reunited for the seventh episode of Lee and the IC, two weeks on from Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget. The announcement of a British Isa could shake up the UK’s private investing landscape so the pair begin by mulling over the practicality of the tax shelter and how future governments can improve the public’s attitudes towards investing. In his statement, Hunt also announced the government would be selling its NATWEST (NWG) shares, which could be the move to get the ball rolling on Lord Lee’s gifting shares to schools idea https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/podcasts/2023/12/28/gifting-shares-to-schools-and-pupils-will-be-transformational-lee-and-the-ic/, a method to increase investing literacy. Lord Lee then answers questions from listeners on how he generates investment ideas and whether stop-losses are a part of his method. As with each episode, the pair wrap up the conversation by discussing some of Lord Lee’s holdings, including AMPARIO (AMP), M&G (MNG) and TREATT PLC (TET), which Investors’ Chronicle also profiled last week here https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/ideas/2024/03/21/recovery-will-be-sweet-for-this-once-loved-small-cap/. This episode was recorded on 21 March. TIMESTAMPS 1:31 A British Isa 3:24 How future governments can improve cultural attitudes to investing 5:54 Overseas shares tax exemption within Isas 9:41 Inheritance tax and Isas 12:49 Gifting shares to schools 20:05 Reader questions – does Lord Lee use stop-losses? 23:24 How he checks in on his portfolio 24:48 How he generates investing ideas 26:28 Will he write a sequel to his book ? 27:30 Anpario (ANP) 32:55 Genus (GNS) and Benchmark Holdings (BMK) 34:58 M&G (MNG) * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
We begin this week’s episode discussing specialist engineering company DOWLAIS (DWL) https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/21/dowlais-hit-by-449mn-impairment/ which has found itself making a considerable £450mn operating loss. Mark Robinson shares his thoughts on the business's health since the spin-off from Melrose and debates the effect the EV transition will have on the company. Dan Jones then stops asking the questions and answers them on his recent feature on VODAFONE (VOD) https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/20/understanding-vodafone-s-tricky-investment-case/. Investors may struggle to name a more disappointing stock since the turn of the century, and Dan analyses the chances of the business turning its fortune around, and what the dividend cut means for investors. Julian Hofmann then shares his thoughts on the telecom industry at large. Last but not least, Arthur Sants joins from New York to discuss this week’s cover feature on UK software stocks https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/ideas/2024/03/21/how-to-find-successful-uk-software-stocks/, and the ability of AI to either boost or break a business. He explains the rationale behind the piece and changes in the sector, while the team discuss some of the companies analysed in the piece, including Sage and Bytes Technology. TIMESTAMPS 1:13 Dowlais 10:08 Vodafone 22:15 Finding the UK's software successes 24:25 Sage 27:38 Bytes Technology * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 well as the current angst over the UK market, portfolio allocation changes, and the ‘Matrix’ stock screen. TIMESTAMPS 1:17 What Glennie makes of the angst over the UK market 8:10 Allocation changes to the portfolio in recent months 11:58 What the valuation process at Abrdn involves 14:03 What does the Abrdn ‘Matrix’ screen look for 18:33 Bytes Technology 21:22 4imprint 24:35 Hill & Smith 29:59 CVS Group 35:31 Food producers Hilton and Cranswick 40:35 UK video game stocks 42:42 The general rules on position sizing 44:46 Diploma and when to sell a holding * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/ideas/2024/03/14/the-ic-s-guide-to-isas-2024/, then runs us through the importance of understanding the allowances, the ‘simplification’ changes made and some of the platforms investors can utilise. Last up, Mark Robinson discusses the recent results from HILL & SMITH (HILS) https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/12/hill-smith-drives-us-revenues-and-profits/. Which of its business arms are performing best? And how does this compare with COSTAIN’S (COST) https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/12/costain-remains-undervalued-despite-revenue-visibility/ results? * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
The chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled his Spring Budget https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/06/spring-budget-2024-everything-you-need-to-know/ 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 full swing and Julian Hoffman covers one of the most popular UK companies: Legal & General (LGEN). Is it putting too much value into the pension value market? And after announcing an increased dividend, taking its yield to 9 per cent, https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/06/legal-general-dominates-uk-pensions-market-and-offers-9-yield/ he explains what investors should expect in the future. It’s then onto our cover feature of the week on dividends https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/07/why-dividends-are-more-important-than-ever/. Alex Newman, author of the story, explains the thinking behind the piece and gives some historical context on the topic. The attitude toward dividends differs on either side of the Atlantic, with UK investors being more in favour, so Alex unpacks this and the vital case for dividends in today’s investment landscape. Last but not least, Mark Robinson runs through the recent £1nb takeover of Spirent Communications https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2024/03/05/spirent-targeted-in-us-takeover-as-earnings-slide/ by Viavi Solutions Inc. He discusses the background of the deal and ponders whether the bid itself is too optimistic. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
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, Rolls-Royce. This episode was recorded on 27 February. TIMESTAMPS 00:59 How does the trust differ from its peers 2:58 Interesting opportunities outside of conventional income investing 6:08 What the fund looks for in a recovery play 8:05 Rolls-Royce 9:29 How the fund treats a well-performing stock 12:19 Dividend prospects for Rolls-Royce 13:42 Are we shifting away from a focus on dividends? 16:27 Interesting sectors that are pow