The UK Smaller Companies sector provides a number of opportunities set for potential outperformance. Citywire Wealth Manager looks towards Hermes Investment Management’s UK Small and Mid Cap Companies Fund, managed by David Stormont, as one firm delivering on this front.

Continue reading “The giants in UK small caps”

“Hubris and overconfidence” in the car industry has led to the automotive sector’s downfall, according to Jeremy Lang. The co-founder of Ardevora Asset Management tells FT Adviser his firm dumped its exposure to the sector last year because of fears about risky management behaviour and regulatory pressure. Continue reading “Lang: ‘Hubris’ led to carmakers’ woes”

Investors should not run scared from France due to its difficult labour laws and bureaucracy, S. W. Mitchell’s Stuart Mitchell tells Citywire Global. The European equity manager explains the region is growing, and why risk-averse investors could miss out on quality companies across a range of industries. Continue reading “Equity star: why I’m not ‘throwing my hands up in horror’ on France”

Top-performing manager Brian Cullen of S. W. Mitchell Capital runs FE Trustnet through three of the UK stocks he is currently shorting, and explains why he thinks now is a good time to bet against these companies. Continue reading “SWMC’s Cullen: The UK stocks I’m shorting in this tough market”

The vulnerability of emerging markets to tighter US monetary policy still concerns many investors. Gary Greenberg, head of emerging markets at Hermes Investment Management, speaks to Morningstar about currency risk – and asks whether the market has priced in the impact of rising US interest rates. Continue reading “Should investors be concerned about currency risk?”

With ECB President Mario Draghi yesterday hinting the current asset purchasing programme could be extended in December, causing the euro to drop against the US dollar and government bond yields to fall, Neuberger Berman’s Jon Jonsson tells Citywire Global why the weak euro could be an advantage. Continue reading “The waiting game: bond stars on how to play the ECB’s next move”

Nordea’s Asbjørn Trolle Hansen has increased his exposure to emerging market stocks after the recent sell-off driven by China’s equity correction, reports Citywire Global. The manager of the Nordea 1 – Stable Return fund explains his contrarian stance, having almost doubled his EM equity position over the past two months. Continue reading “Nordea’s Hansen: why I’ve doubled my EM exposure after recent sell-off”

Institutional investors believe ESG is unimportant when investing in direct property, according to a report by Hermes Investment Management. IPE reports the investment manager’s annual Responsible Capitalism and Sustainability survey shows only 48% of respondents believe ESG factors are unimportant when assessing direct property investments. Continue reading “ESG ranks low as priority for direct property investors, survey shows”

Hugh Yarrow, manager of the Evenlode Income Fund, explains to FE Trustnet why concerns about bond proxies have been hugely overblown, citing the recent performance of Unilever as an illustration to back up his view. Continue reading “Yarrow: Why defensive equity income funds are not going to struggle”

A concentration on low volatility in the absolute return sector leads to low diversification and mediocre returns. This is at odds with the funds’ own investment case, Argonaut Capital’s Barry Norris tells Funds Europe. Continue reading “INSIDE VIEW: The trouble with absolute return”