As UK and global markets face the unprecedented challenge of the coronavirus pandemic, Louise Kernohan, co‑manager of Dunedin Income Growth Investment Trust, advocates a focus on high-quality companies and the need for a long-term mind-set.…
Shifting Sands
Alex Scott, Chief Strategist, Seven Investment Management (7IM) We suspected that a rise in market volatility was likely in 2018 – but of course, no-one knew how or when it would play out. That risk…
Consider Last Week’s Correction a Clear Warning
We suspect that most experienced investors fully expected a correction in equity markets at some point (markets don’t go up in a straight line forever), however the ferocity and damage caused by the recent sell…
A Reality Check
Alex Scott, Chief Strategist, Seven Investment Management (7IM) For the first time in over a year, markets have fallen sharply. Keeping a cool head about markets is important when others are panicking. We believe that…
Equity Markets Finally Noticing the Price Action in Bond and FX Markets
We have been highlighting, for a number of weeks, the prospect of higher bond yields and suggesting that equities should eventually adjust to the downside in such an outcome. And for weeks, we looked like…
‘Yield beta’ – perhaps the most important consideration if you own any inflation-linked bonds For Professional Investors Only
Many investors have exposure to inflation-linked bonds, whether it’s within a diversified fixed income portfolio or a multi asset portfolio. The difficulty is that inflation-linked bonds and conventional bonds behave differently. Inflation-linked bonds provide you…
The End of the Dollar Standard Would be a Big Deal
We’ve all seen charts similar to the chart below, showing US bond yields, and the extraordinarily orderly decline in yields over the last 30 years or so. On the chart, we have marked the trend…
VIDEO MARKETS UPDATE – JANUARY 2018
In this update, Mark Whitehead, Portfolio Manager, assesses the change in US federal income tax and opportunities for dividend growth in the tech sector. WHAT CAUGHT YOUR EYE THIS MONTH? In the US, the first…
Are choppier waters ahead?
Alex Scott, Chief Strategist, Seven Investment Management In many ways, 2017 was far better than expected. The global economy certainly performed ahead of expectations, showing decisive and synchronised growth for the first time in several…
Underlying fragility of the US corporate sector For Professional Investors Only
Written by Mike Riddell As we’ve mentioned in recent months, total risk premia on US corporate bonds is at its lowest level ever. Meanwhile, the debt that US corporates have loaded onto their balance sheets has steadily…
Video: Introducing Witan Investment Trust
Introduction to Witan Investment Trust. Although our roots are old, our strategy is anything but. This short video introduction to Witan Investment Trust explains the trust’s key strategies and multi manager approach.
2018 – a year for active management
2017 saw a previously US-centric and relatively anaemic economic recovery from the financial crisis broaden out and gain vigour. The Trump presidency has so far proved to be mostly bun and no beef, while the…
Watch the Bond Markets as Pivotal Areas are Being Tested
Some key levels are definitely in sight for the bond markets. We will have to just wait patiently to see whether yields break out on the upside (which of course means bond prices going lower),…
Gilts – The Bear Market has Begun
The Gilt index is an important benchmark for most UK fixed income investors, whatever their risk appetite. 2017 was a year of modest returns (+2% for the iBoxx Gilt index) but the fact is that…
Seven scenarios for seven stockmarkets
By Ben Kumar, Investment Manager, Seven Investment Management Global growth can easily be described as ‘humming’ and the world seems to have confidence in that growth, be that trade led or domestically driven through…
Why should you invest in the FTSE All-Share Index vs. only the FTSE 100?
Whether an individual share turns out to be a good investment can depend on the performance of a company’s business, economic fundamentals, valuation, geography, dividend policy, currency, politics, regulation, disruption, and many more variables. And…
Boom times for the global economy
BUT INVESTORS KNOW THAT. THEY HAVE BEEN BUYING THE RUMOUR OF STRONG GROWTH AND EARNINGS SO MAY SELL THE DELIVERY OF IT IN COMING WEEKS. WE NEED A NEW RUMOUR TO BUY. THAT RUMOUR COULD…
Active or passive – which are the best performing funds?
Will 2018 be the year of the active fund manager? Commentators love to claim that actively managed fund performance generally fails to justify the higher annual management fees the fund managers charge for their stock…
Why it’s vital to keep an eye on worldwide and UK inflation rates
Day by day, a plethora of official economic statistics is released, building into a vast data set. In just one month, from mid-October to mid-November, Bloomberg recorded 585 major data releases for G8 economies, with…