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by Leila Thomas, CEO and Founder, Urban Synergy

Happy International Women’s Day? I’m never quite sure if this is a day to celebrate or commiserate.

As we inch towards a more equitable society, ONS figures show that women still earn 7.7% less than men, and according to research by the Runnymede Trust* for Black Caribbean women that figure rises to 18% .

The Runnymede Trust also reports that “75% of women of colour have experienced racism at work, and 61% report changing themselves to ‘fit in’.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is ‘inspiring inclusion’, and as ever, the charity I founded in 2007 – a Dynamic Planner partner – will be celebrating the female role models and mentors who make us a beacon of progress, optimism and, on so many occasions, joy.

Help us create the “C-Suite” excellence of tomorrow

For those who don’t know Urban Synergy, we’ve worked tirelessly with some 27,000 young people aged 9-24 to help them access education, degree apprenticeships, and work.

Active across London and the UK, we connect those young people to inspirational role models (such as Parris Small, a Software Engineering Analyst at Goldman Sachs, shown) in the form of mentors who they can relate to, who help the young individuals gain access to education, internships and work experience.

Then when they’re ‘work ready’ we connect them to companies that want to nurture and employ the next generation, particularly in the communities in which they operate.

In other words, we help young people write their own futures. We couldn’t have done it without the support of people like Ben Goss, CEO of Dynamic Planner, who was one of our founding role models, mentors, and corporate board members as part of his passionate support for inclusive business.

Today his company has the pick of Urban Synergy’s raw talent, young people who are bright, unique and hungry to succeed.

As Ben argued in the FT in February, Diversity and Inclusion is a supply and demand issue, and on the supply side, the continued challenge is that too few people from diverse backgrounds see financial services as a career path for them.

In his own right, Ben can today celebrate that his highly successful team is made up of 45 per cent women and non-binary colleagues.

This team speaks 27 different languages, and 43 per cent are non-white, while 10 per cent are LGBTQ+ and 21 per cent identify as neurodivergent.

A trailblazer role model

If you follow Urban Synergy on LinkedIn and Instagram, you will see our many female role models, mentors and their mentees. Like us they are inspired by trailblazers such as Ben who make their workplaces more inclusive and accessible.

You’ll also see the mentors who helped young women like Perrine Beckley shown in this image make it to Oxford University with confidence.

That’s when the joy kicks in. So often we learn that an Urban Synergy mentor is being invited to a young person’s graduation, or that the individual they’ve supported has been offered an apprenticeship or a job where they can build a career.

We’re lucky enough to be celebrating the 30th birthdays of four young men who began their journey with Urban Synergy in 2009. Their teachers at Deptford Green School feared they were at risk of exclusion and would fail to reach their true potential.

You can see their stories in this short video. Today they hold these roles:

Gavin Kamara – SEO Manager at CMC Markets
Kofi Siaw – Vice President at HSBC Innovation Banking
Chad Orororo – Sound Fx Editor/Sound Designer (Freelance)
TJ M.Jaiyeola – Relationship Manager at Transaction Network Services

So yes, turn on the news, and you can see that the three evils of war, racism and poverty are ever present in this world. However, on International Women’s Day, we certainly have something we can all celebrate.

If you would like to experience the joy of becoming a mentor, or want to partner with Urban Synergy to make your business more sustainable and attract young people to financial services, contact us.. You can also donate here.

By Dorian Raimond, Head of Fixed Income Strategy and Trading, Hilbert Investment Solutions

As we have entered a new regime of higher inflation and higher yields, decades-old templates of portfolio construction might be worth reconsidering. Bonds yields have become more attractive again, while the product seems to have lost some of its diversification appeal. Could structured solutions well come out as the welcomed saviour?

Typical pension allocation follows portfolio theories like Markowitz’s (backed by a few decades of historical evidence), with the aim to balance volatility (‘risk’) and returns by attributing a risk-weighted exposure between equities (higher and more volatile returns), and bonds (less volatile and yielding less, with a defined capped upside).

The lower rates / lower inflation regime experienced since the ‘80s has proven to be a great soil for risk parity and 60/40 portfolio constructions. As many professionals of the sector have reported, the negative correlation of rates and equities during that time was a function of several factors – from the introduction of inflation targeting by central banks which had gained their independence, to deflationary pressure from globalisation, to quantitative easing by central banks after the 2008 financial crisis, and a self-fulfilling market mechanism.

The ‘Everything Rally’ brought on by the years of quantitative easing (QE) began to challenge the theory; correlation between equities and bonds started to turn positive as each shock brought ever faster quantitative easing, leading to longer periods of positively corelated (positive) returns. But returns were positive, and we looked elsewhere. Then, in 2022, came the “Everything Sell-off”. While 2023 was good overall, intra-year sell-off’s saw once again bonds and equities go down in tandem.

What fuelled the success of these strategies is just not there anymore. Those portfolio constructs do not achieve their aim in a regime of higher inflation, since bonds and equities are likely to remain positively correlated.

But inflation is going down, so surely, it’ll go back to normal?

It’s hard to dismiss the case against it. Globalisation is not in vogue anymore and 40% of the world population voting this year is likely to confirm this trend. At the same time, between the exponential growth of public debt on the back of fiscal stimulus, and the quantitative tightening of central banks (reversing their monetary stimulus), bond yields might easily be floored.

Geopolitical tensions remain on the rise and will keep being the tailwind for inflation (and deglobalisation). As long as central banks keep their independence (a debate gaining traction in fact), we should not expect rates to go aggressively lower. Should inflation make a comeback, rates might in fact rise further.

While bonds might not work as a risk offset to equity exposure, the investment itself is still very much an attractive proposition. Especially if corporate earnings start to deteriorate and weigh on stock prices. Bonds just need to be considered for what it says on the tin; fixed income. The great reset in yield has made for more attractive nominal returns for bonds – but also for structured products.

Under a low-rate regime, structured products were mostly for yield enhancement as investors looked for ways to add leverage. But as rates rose, the issuance of structured products rose as well. The higher yield regime created new opportunities for structured products; total or high capital protection.

Structured products are now offering close to 10% return with high capital protection. An attractive proposition versus typical 60/40 portfolios, especially as you get closer to retirement age in a high inflation environment. Such coupons offer a higher chance of a positive real yield on your life-long investment, while the capital protection is key to protect against a 2022 redux.

This has always been the crux of the matter; participating in equity upside, clipping high fixed income coupons, while not risking life-long invested capital, and even more so as one gets closer to retirement age. As portfolio construction itself is not trusted to provide this protection anymore, pension solutions like Hilbert Protect 90 offer 90% capital protection. This capital is invested in equity and fixed income ETFs, and every quarter, returns making for a new high-water mark of investment values are also protected at 90%.

For more information about Hilbert Investment Solutions’ retirement products with capital protection, click here to visit our website.

The value of investments can fall. Investors may not get back the amount invested.
For Financial Advisors only. This is not investment advice.

By Newton Investment Management

Against a backdrop of volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty, investors might be wary about the future. Here, Newton multi-asset chief investment officer Mitesh Sheth and FutureLegacy portfolio manager Lale Akoner outline what they think makes a robust multi-asset portfolio in the current environment.

We have entered a market regime characterised by deglobalisation, decarbonisation and divergence, which requires an active, dynamic and sustainable approach to portfolio management, according to Newton multi-asset chief investment officer Mitesh Sheth and FutureLegacy portfolio manager Lale Akoner.

“We believe this next decade will be unlike anything we have lived through before,” says Sheth. “We cannot just rely on historical models and data, or experience alone to navigate this volatile regime.”

Sheth thinks volatility in markets has led investors to be nervous about saving for the future.

“People want their investments to keep pace with inflation, they want to remain resilient through this market volatility and leave a legacy, not just for their own kids but for all our futures on this planet,” he adds.

He argues in this environment it is important for investment management to draw heavily on multiple research inputs across asset classes. At Newton these include quantitative, fundamental, and sustainability research and even investigative journalism.

On a thematic level, Newton’s research considers the macro themes of big government, China’s influence, financialisation and the great power competition; and micro themes of the internet of things, smart everything, tectonic shifts, picture of health and natural capital.

Sheth says bringing this all together enables the investment process to be ‘joined up, agile and able to spot opportunities others miss – now and in the future’.

Dynamic and active

Other important factors in the current environment, Sheth adds, include being directly invested and actively managed.

“At a time of great divergence, we believe passive strategies may struggle to deliver positive real returns,” he says.

Akoner concurs that as capital becomes limited, talented active managers have a higher chance of outperforming benchmarks. She notes 2022 was the first year since 2009 that most active asset managers of equity mutual funds were able to outperform the S&P 500 index .

“This is because liquidity is getting scarce and the dispersion between stocks and sectors is increasing, leading to a boarder opportunity set for active managers,” she adds.

Tactical overlay

In terms of portfolio construction, Akoner argues tactical asset allocation, using a derivative overlay, is fundamental to navigating the current market volatility.

“We look at things like liquidity indicators, positioning and flow indicators as well as spreads data to see if there is any froth in the market,” she says. “We can use futures, forwards, and physical securities to navigate the environment tactically.”

In terms of long-term positioning, Akoner says the portfolios are overweight in healthcare and utilities while underweight in consumer discretionary and energy. When it comes to fixed income, portfolios are underweight duration relative to the benchmark.

“We think market is incorrect in pricing quick Fed cuts,” she adds. “We think especially the ample amount of Treasury issuance could contribute to the peak rate environment in the short term. When those rates start to come down, we could go neutral and move long equity futures.”

Sustainability

With decarbonisation also being a key facet of the new market regime, Akoner says it is important for an investment process to support the transition to a low carbon economy. This, she adds, means adopting an investment process that incorporates red lines for excluding certain companies. The FutureLegacy team then look for three buckets of investment opportunities:

  1. Solution providers – companies solving problems on sustainability through products and solutions. For example, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) businesses
  2. Balanced stakeholders – companies with sustainable internal processes. For example, companies best in class for governance or high standards on human capital management
  3. Transition – companies at the start of their sustainability journey but showing a credible commitment to a transition business model

Akoner notes sustainable strategies in the wider industry have tended to have a growth bias, because they consist to a large degree of technology companies which can have lower carbon emissions. However, she argues quality is the primary factor the team look for which could then result in a stock being either value or growth.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like more information on the FutureLegacy range.

The value of investments can fall. Investors may not get back the amount invested.

For Professional Clients only. This is a financial promotion.

Any views and opinions are those of the investment manager, unless otherwise noted. This is not investment research or a research recommendation for regulatory purposes.

For further information visit the BNY Mellon Investment Management website: http://www.bnymellonim.com.

By Minerva Fund Management Solutions

For a number of years, financial advisory firms have operated in an environment that is ever changing and bringing increased challenges to their business model. One challenge is managing a range of client portfolios across a range of clients and asset classes.

As a financial advisory firm, it is an expectation that the suite of products offered will be broad, flexible and potentially encompass a range of investment options that meets a varied set of client needs, particularly for firms holding themselves out as independent.

PROD has resulted in financial advisory firms offering their clients solutions based on client lifecycles (the ‘target market’), that can contain a variety of investment solutions including active, passive, blended options, bespoke investment management and the ability to meet a client’s ESG preferences.

Needless to say, Consumer Duty is a piece of FCA regulation that brings another challenge, which requires a financial advisory firm to scrutinise their business and formally document how they meet the four client outcomes, taking into consideration a number of requirements such as client needs and the associated costs aligned to a level of service or tariff that represents fair value.

This has led financial advisory firms to explore opportunities to simplify their processes, and one opportunity that is generating more interest is unitising existing client investment solutions within their Centralised Investment Proposition (CIP).

The rationale for this is due to a variety of reasons, so there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach but to give you an example; under the Consumer Duty, good client outcomes for all clients is one of the core principles, if a financial advisory firm is managing a CIP across multiple platforms and each platform trades with a different modus operandi, then investment outcomes will inevitably be varied across their client base. Firms will need to think through the implications of this under their Consumer Duty procedures.

A unitised fund solution can enable a financial advisory firm and its clients to access the same investment solution and have similar investment outcomes. In addition, there are a number of other factors that could lead a financial advisory firm to consider unitisation as an option for their business. It has the potential to provide:

In addition to the above, in our view, a unitised fund solution may help a financial advisory firm satisfy two of the four outcomes under Consumer Duty, namely Products and Services and Price and Value. This is because under the Consumer Duty, products that already comply with the Product Governance Rules in PROD and the Collective Investment Scheme Assessment of Value Rules in COLL, can satisfy these two Consumer Duty Outcomes. As a result, the use of FCA regulated unitised funds could achieve these two outcomes.

So, there are a number of fundamentals as to why a financial advisory firm could consider this option to augment their CIP. However, before a financial advisory firm reaches a conclusion that a unitised offering is a good move for their business, there are other factors that need to be considered before they can press the start button.

As a starting point, a financial advisory firm will need to compare a client’s current proposition with the potential unitised investment offering. Prior to undertaking this comparison, there is perhaps a perception that a fund offering may increase the ongoing charges figure (‘OCF’). However, this is not always the case and before making this assumption, it is always worth having an in-depth discussion with potential providers. Of course, one key factor in an overall OCF is fund size, and in our experience, making a unitised solution as part of a CIP viable requires AuM of at least £50m per fund.

Another aspect to consider is client reporting. A client using a Model Portfolio Service for example, can have the added benefit of a client viewing individual holdings in a quarterly valuation and take comfort their portfolio is diversified; compared to a unitised solution with just one or two fund holdings. Having said that, there are technology solutions that are available and will offer a ‘look through’ service.

In essence, there is no overriding rationale as to why a financial advisory firm should, or should not, offer a unitised investment solution to their clients. The most optimal outcome will, of course depend on their business model, client requirements and what is most suitable for their clients.

Find out more. Contact Mark Catmull, Sales and Marketing Director, Minerva Fund Management Solutions.

The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and a tightening of global supply chains have unleashed an inflationary wave which looks set to drive greater corporate discipline, boost income stocks and increase the importance of dividends to investor returns, says Newton portfolio manager Jon Bell.

After years of low interest rates and low inflation, the economic tide is turning. Post the Covid-19 pandemic, Newton Investment Management’s Jon Bell says an injection of pent-up savings has introduced a fresh flood of liquidity to the market. This, in turn, has helped fuel a sharp spike in inflation across major markets – just as supply chains contract.

While the initial rise in inflation was at first considered a transient blip by some economists , Bell believes higher inflation levels are now here to stay, with major implications for global investors.

“Post-pandemic, we believe we are now seeing a regime change from a disinflationary world to one which is more inflationary,” he says.

“In recent months markets have seen growing evidence of deglobalisation and increased protectionism which will further support this. In our view, we will have to get used to the fact we are living in a more inflationary world than we were.”

All of this, says Bell, means change for both equity investors and the companies they invest in. In a post-global financial crisis (GFC) environment, where the corporate operating cashflows of some of the largest US technology companies and many others rose significantly, corporate excess and a general lack of focus on shareholder returns became more common. In some extreme cases, this led some companies to focus more on devising workplace gimmicks than delivering shareholder value.

Payback time

For Bell, changing market conditions mean it is now payback time for investors, with some investment managers now looking to subject the companies they invest in to much greater scrutiny, demanding more capital discipline and higher dividend pay outs.

“Although corporate margins have improved over time, many companies have given less back to shareholders in the form of dividends than they did historically. In our view, that needs to change. As we go into a different, more challenging economic environment, corporates need to offer more value to shareholders,” says Bell.

“The days when companies could spend as much as they like on whatever they want are behind us and we expect to see them begin to tighten their belts. The age of extravagance is over.”

Bell believes investment managers can play a key role in shifting corporate thinking, influencing management teams and encouraging them to change behaviours in order to generate greater shareholder value.

He says, “Ideally, we want to see more corporate discipline and the return of a healthier blend of corporate reinvestment and dividend pay-outs to shareholders. In fact, companies have not been doing a very good job of giving cash back to shareholders in recent years and, in many cases, we have actually seen pay-out ratios fall.”

Not all sectors are alike. While some US technology giants have a poor track record of rewarding their shareholders in recent years, some pharmaceutical and utilities companies have been far more responsive, with business models that do more to reward investors.

Against this mixed backdrop, Bell stresses the historic and ongoing importance of dividends in a world where slower economic growth can limit returns. The compounding of dividends from income stocks, can fuel a steady accumulation of income within portfolios. This strength of income stocks, he believes, was often overlooked during a long period of low inflation and heavy central bank intervention in markets, post the GFC.

Exciting investments

“The 2020s started with a record low return from dividends, and an environment of zero interest rates and excess fuelled by quantitative easing. Yet when financial bubbles burst dividends, can become a very important factor in building returns,” Bell says.

“It may be that in 2030 we look back on a decade where dividends have been critical to investor returns. The last time inflation was a major problem, in the 1970s and 1980s, strong returns came from dividends and income stocks do tend to outperform during similar periods.

“In inflationary markets, we continue to believe dividends are key and that the compounding of dividends makes select income stocks some of the most exciting investments in the current market.”

For more information on equity investing at BNY Mellon Investment Management, please visit our dedicated Adviser site.

The value of investments can fall. Investors may not get back the amount invested.

For Professional Clients only. This is a financial promotion. Any views and opinions are those of the interviewee, unless otherwise noted. This is not investment research or a research recommendation for regulatory purposes.

For further information visit the BNY Mellon Investment Management website: http://www.bnymellonim.com

1572505 Exp: 05 April 2024

By Casterbridge Wealth

Investing is often made to appear more complicated than it needs to be, and sometimes conventional wisdom isn’t really wisdom at all.

Nothing proves this more than the damage wrought by bonds during 2022. The so-called ‘risk-free’ asset proved anything but, and bond market falls in the region of 30% would have made for some difficult conversations with unsuspecting investors who thought their bond allocation gave them some protection.

The battering bond markets took last year is a great example of ‘group think’ within investing – where warning signs are ignored and it feels safer to travel with the herd. Unfortunately though, when it comes to Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) offerings, independent thinking is not part of the proposition. Instead, most choose to ‘play it safe’ and hug their benchmarks.

That’s all well and good if you believe in safety in numbers. But advisers may want to ask whether MPS portfolios are being managed to a benchmark for the sake of the client, or the sake of the provider. Because the simple truth is that clients don’t care about the benchmark; they just don’t like losing money.

We recognise the feeling, which is why one of the defining principles at Casterbridge is that we manage client money as if it were our own. In fact, when you don’t believe in benchmarks determining your asset allocation, it gives you the freedom to play to your strengths and act on your own insights.

So, when in 2021 central banks and the big investment banks were describing post-pandemic inflation as merely ‘transitory’, we were more sceptical. Our research, our experience of managing investment portfolios across numerous market cycles, and our belief in challenging conventional thinking told us that pent-up consumer demand and broken supply chains would lead to surging – and far stickier – inflation. Being benchmark-agnostic meant we could act on this view.

We therefore changed our portfolios to a maximum underweight in bonds, while holding shorter duration bonds capable of proving more resilient in a rising rate environment. As a result of this inflation hedging and bond underweight, the Hardy MPS range outperformed most of its peers by between 5% and 8% over 2022, meaning those advisers who recommend our Hardy range could have much more positive conversations with their clients.

Our agnostic approach also applies to choosing between active and passive investments for our portfolios. We don’t believe in restricting our investment universe, and think passive funds should be used as a building block of active asset allocation, not as the driver. We doubt that passive investments have the capability to outperform in the current environment, so we apply a blended approach that stays conscious of costs, while still giving portfolios the potential to outperform based on value judgements.

We’re always ready to share our thoughts on portfolio positioning or the future direction of markets. So, to have a frank and fearless discussion with us, get in touch on 0800 644 4848.

For more information about the Hardy Managed Portfolios, visit https://casterbridgewealth.co.uk/hardy-advisor/

By BNY Mellon Investment Management
Multi-asset investing has come a long way since the days when the 60% equity – 40% fixed income portfolio was the only game in town for diversification-seekers. Today, the marketplace has become markedly more sophisticated, with fund managers selecting from a rich array of assets. But have these funds become too complex for their own good?

Has the 60/40 spell been broken?

It cannot be denied the classic 60/40 portfolio has been a successful formula for investors down the years. It’s proven to be a simple, understandable and, with low turnover, cost-effective option for steady capital growth with lower volatility over the long term.

But now there’s a problem. The role of bonds as a natural buffer to equity-market volatility has been all but extinguished by quantitative easing’s distortion of the financial markets since the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC). This mattered little while central banks were in full money-printing mode as even government bonds, despite paltry yields, produced some truly stellar capital performance. However, as bonds moved into lockstep with equities, they shed their qualities as a backstop in times of crisis. As quantitative easing has morphed into quantitative tightening, total returns for bonds have lurched into a tailspin, leaving 60/40 investors to nurse some notable losses in the last year or so.

To make matters worse, the medium-term backdrop for 60/40 is not encouraging. The global economy is expected to enter a phase of lower growth, while higher inflation is starting to sap the economic life-force that is consumer spending. Uninspiring dividends and rich equity valuations complete the somewhat dispiriting outlook for an investment formula that typically only thrives when growth is on the up. So, with 60/40 funds seemingly poised to produce noticeably lower returns compared to long-term averages, can multi-asset funds step into the breach?

A growing presence in the market

Following the publication in the 1980s of research by Brinson, Hood & Beebower suggesting active asset allocation, not security selection or market timing, was the main driver of investment value, funds that switch dynamically between multiple assets classes began to increase in popularity. From the early 2000s their proliferation rose as the stinging losses brought about by the GFC forced investors to look at more diversified solutions offering better protection for capital.

The low-yield/high-volatility reality of the post-GFC environment spurred fund managers to investigate new ways of meeting investors’ objectives. This brought about the launch of products that sought to use a diverse yet complementary blend of assets to combine capital growth with downside protection and competitive income generation. Upending the rigidity of the old 60/40 model, the new multi-asset funds sampled a new spectrum of assets, a number of which were specially designed to play a defined role in those unconventional times.

The blossoming of multi-asset saw a new emphasis on equities, with fund managers tasking them with income-generation duties to complement their traditional role as the cornerstone of capital growth. Once alternative assets such as real estate investment trusts (REITs) and commodities were added to the mix and an active asset allocation framework applied, the familiar globally diversified balanced portfolio had evolved into something far more responsive and dynamic.

One size no longer fits all

In launching suites of multi-asset funds, typically graded by risk, fund managers sought to meet the rapidly evolving needs of investors. The traditional 60/40 portfolio had functioned largely as a generator of reliable, low-volatility growth and income for people approaching retirement. However, that model was no longer appropriate for younger investors, who were in need of stronger early-years growth to compensate for the withdrawal of both state pensions and generous final salary company schemes, and also for older investors, who were looking for higher income to maintain their standards of living as life expectancy rose. By dipping into the increasingly varied and thematically layered multi-asset market, investors were enabled to create a blend of strategies to neatly match their changing circumstances and aspirations from almost cradle to grave.

But could the “überdiversification”, now a feature of some multi-asset funds, actually be self-defeating? Could trying to cover too many bases mean that fund managers end up covering no bases at all? There is, after all, such a thing as too much diversification.

Complexity also compromises transparency. Investors typically gravitate to strategies that are easy to grasp, while the opaque mechanics of some of the more specialist assets risk being alienating. Today, people increasingly want simplicity.

Cost is a further unwelcome byproduct of complexity. Trading in fringe assets that are not widely understood may also attract higher fees (not to mention low relative liquidity), while the extra resources required for research and analysis risk pushing those ongoing charges into the red zone.

Pragmatism in the face of uncertainty

At Newton, we believe there is no blanket formula for success that can be applied across multi-asset funds, given the variety of roles they are expected to perform. The sector is simply too diverse and wide-ranging. So, instead of trying to cast our net too wide, we focus on understanding company fundamentals, because it is where we expect to find the best opportunities for capital growth and income.

The investable universe and client expectations have evolved to such a degree that we need to start thinking in different terms.

Find out more about multi-asset investing at BNY Mellon Investment Management

 

The value of investments can fall. Investors may not get back the amount invested.

For Professional Clients only. This is a financial promotion and is not investment advice.

Any views and opinions are those of the investment manager, unless otherwise noted. This is not investment research or a research recommendation for regulatory purposes.
For further information visit the BNY Mellon Investment Management website: http://www.bnymellonim.com. Doc ID: 1230450

By Lucy Haddow, Investment Specialist, Baillie Gifford

In July 1938, amid a turbulent political and economic backdrop, a team of German and Austrian climbers finally conquered the north face of the Eiger, a mountain in the Alps that had stolen many souls in the pursuit of a successful ascent.

While the problem had been cracked, it turns out there was no shortage of ways to solve it. The 1938 expedition took three days, but in 2015 the late Swiss climber Ueli Steck set a record ascent time of two hours, 22 minutes and 50 seconds. This goes to show that, the desire of humans to conquer challenges, grow and innovate continues, regardless of past success or what is going on in the world.

Against the backdrop of a tough 18 months for markets, one question has been asked over and over again: is this it for growth investors? The decade after the Global Financial Crisis was a great success, but have things changed? While some are now questioning if the solution for achieving long-term capital growth is still growth investing, we are of the opinion that it is.

The next decade will likely be very different to the one which has just passed and could prove to be testing for even the strongest businesses, not only due to a challenging economic environment but also due to delicate geopolitical tensions, most notably between the US and China. However, we have confidence in the resilience of our existing holdings, on top of which we believe there are reasons for long-term optimism, especially for companies that will further the integration of technology in our day-to-day lives.

Take the convergence of biology and technology, for example. This could represent a significant step forward for humanity as well as a meaningful investment opportunity. There are many high-quality health-tech companies in Europe, for instance, but we have found that valuation has always been a hurdle.

However, in light of recent market movements, we took the opportunity to reassess the situation and ultimately invest in CRISPR Therapeutics and Evotec. The former is a Swiss-American gene editing company that could drastically transform the treatment of many illnesses, from cancer to sickle cell disease. Furthermore, with around US$2bn on the balance sheet, it is in a position of financial strength.

German-listed Evotec is a business that companies outsource their research to as it can do this research faster and more cheaply. It is now evolving its business model to develop co-owned products to generate meaningful royalty payments, which could increase its already strong gross margins (20%).

Elsewhere, the demand for newer, cleaner energy sources continues apace – a trend only accelerated by the tragic war in Ukraine. One company driving energy innovation is Nexans – one of only two companies in the world able to lay sub-sea cables at extreme depths, a must-have for offshore wind. Another example is Fanuc, the Japanese robotics manufacturer, which is set to benefit from a broadening of applications as companies look to make entire plants more carbon efficient.

Growth can also be found in those companies addressing the more fundamental challenges too. Bellway, the UK house builder will struggle in the short term due to high interest rates and recession, but the reality is that the UK is not building enough homes right now. This is a profitable company with a robust balance sheet and a well-invested land bank.

Our job on the Baillie Gifford Managed Fund isn’t just to focus on near-term resilience but also to position the portfolio to deliver long-term capital growth. To do that, we need to find opportunities – ground-breaking businesses like that team of pioneering climbers, forging a path into uncharted territory, but also innovative companies, seeking new efficiencies and disrupting norms like Ueli Steck.

Baillie Gifford Managed Fund Annual Past Performance to 31 December each year (%)

Source: FE, StatPro, net of fees, total return in sterling. Class B Acc Shares. The manager believes an appropriate comparison for this Fund is the Investment Association Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares Sector median given the investment policy of the Fund and the approach taken by the manager when investing.

Past performance is not a guide to future returns. All investment strategies have the potential for profit and loss, capital is at risk.

This article does not constitute, and is not subject to the protections afforded to, independent research. Baillie Gifford and its staff may have dealt in the investments concerned. The views expressed are not statements of fact and should not be considered as advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a particular investment.

The Fund’s share price can be volatile due to movements in the prices of the underlying holdings and the basis on which the Fund is priced. Investments with exposure to overseas securities can be affected by changing stock market conditions and currency exchange rates.

Baillie Gifford & Co Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Baillie Gifford & Co Limited is an Authorised Corporate Director of OEICs. All data is sourced from Baillie Gifford & Co unless otherwise stated.

By David Macfarlane, Director, Discretionary Wealth Management, HSBC Asset Management

We know there is an opportunity cost from not investing, particularly given the current inflationary pressures, but it’s important we help clients understand that short-term worries about market volatility shouldn’t override their long-term objectives.

Einstein is rumoured to have said that ‘compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world – he who understands it, earns it…. and he who doesn’t, pays it’. The simple message is, when it comes to investing, regardless of how volatile markets may seem, the earlier investors can start the better.

We ran a study1 that compared two investors, each saving $1,000 dollars a month. One started in 2004 and the other in 2007. We ran it to the end of 2021.

The investor who started in 2004 saved an extra $36,000 dollars into their pot (by starting three years earlier), but by the end of 2021 the earlier investor had a pot worth $133,000 dollars more – having only put in an extra $36,000 dollars. A great example of the power of compounding and the difference a delay in starting could cost in the long run.

But what about the worries your clients have of staying invested during falling markets? The amount of cash in a savings account doesn’t really change from one day to the next so we feel in control of it, even if we aren’t seeing the impact of inflation on purchasing power. However, Benjamin Graham, author of ‘The Intelligent Investor’ advises us that ‘you will be much more in control if you realise how much you are not in control’.

We can’t control markets but by focusing on risk profiles, asset allocation, fulfilment and cost, and filtering the noise, we look to deliver strong risk adjusted returns, as we know these factors are key in driving long-term returns.

Napoleon said, “A genius is the man who can do the average thing when everyone else around him is losing his mind.” Does ‘do the average thing’ mean remain invested? In many instances, yes.

We looked at what would have happened if an investor had put $100,000 dollars into a basket of global equities from 2005 – 2022. Over those 17 years, just leaving things be, gave an average annual return of 8.1%.2

We then stripped out the top 20 days in that 17-year period. These accounted for only 0.3% of the total number of days but, crucially, by missing those 20 days in that 17-year period, returns dropped from an average 8.1% per year to 1.8% a year. This means that by missing the 20 best trading days, the final balance would have reduced from $380,000 to just over $136,000. It’s simplistic, but this example helps highlight why it’s often important to remain invested, even during periods of volatility.

Given the speed at which information flows around the globe these days, we often lose sight of the longer-term picture and spend time focussing on the here and now. We can check markets on our smartphone 24 hours a day, fretting that markets have fallen, forgetting why we’ve invested in the first place.

So, when volatility picks up, it’s important to communicate to clients how time can be the most powerful force in investing and remember the thoughts of Einstein, Graham and Napoleon.

 

The HSBC Global Strategy Portfolios are HSBC Asset Management’s flagship multi-asset solution for Advisory clients. The range includes five funds, tailored to different investor risk attitudes and diversified across key asset classes and global regions, including developed and emerging regions. Visit www.assetmanagement.hsbc.co.uk to learn more.

[1] Source: Bloomberg, HSBC Asset Management. Investing = MSCI AWCI Net Return Index, 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2021.
[2] Source: HSBC Asset Management, Bloomberg, Returns are for developed markets stocks – MSCI World Daily Total Return Gross World Index, as at January 2022

For Professional Clients only

The material contained herein is for marketing purposes and is for your information only. This document is not contractually binding nor are we required to provide this to you by any legislative provision. It does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice or a recommendation to any reader of this material to buy or sell investments. You must not, therefore, rely on the content of this document when making any investment decisions. The value of investments and any income from them can go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Approved for issue in the UK by HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Copyright © HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited 2022. All rights reserved. ED 3849. 31.07.2023.

www.assetmanagement.hsbc.com/uk

By M&G Investments Sustainable Multi Asset Team

Despite the pandemic and the recent slowdown in global economic growth, the take-up of sustainable investment strategies continues to expand, forming a permanent fixture in the investment landscape for millions of private and institutional investors the world over.

Opportunities across the spectrum of sustainable investing continue to grow, as companies and governments strive to develop products and solutions to meet the world’s social and environmental challenges.

The spectre of persistently high inflation now threatens to deliver an environment of lower growth and shrinking corporate profits in many countries. As stock and bond markets demonstrated during the first half of 2022, these fears, combined with significant hikes in interest rates, can easily translate into a challenging environment for investors. Some sceptics argue that a significant deterioration in the outlook will affect ESG and sustainable investing disproportionately, as investors could begin to question its wisdom in the face of lower growth, geopolitical uncertainty and energy security concerns.

However, we believe the opposite is true: sustainable investing presents long-term solutions to many of the challenges we are currently facing. Therefore, we attempt to position our sustainable multi asset portfolios towards various structural tailwinds, as governments, industries and consumers direct capital towards lowering emissions, driving efficiency, reducing waste, bringing equality to underserved groups of the population, or providing an efficient, innovative and affordable healthcare system. As long-term investors, we pick what we consider to be quality securities that we would be happy to hold for many years, through multiple economic cycles.

We think that many of the long-term growth success stories of tomorrow will come from today’s attempts to tackle systemic risks, such as climate change. We must also acknowledge the long-term investment horizons of sustainability-related holdings, which can make them, in some cases, potentially less susceptible to bouts of volatility during times of uncertainty.

Where are we seeing opportunities?

As nations rush to enhance their energy independence in the wake of the recent geopolitical turbulence, a focus on companies leading the transition to a renewable energy future seems sensible to us. Renewable energy specialist SolarEdge Technologies has been a successful long-term holding in our sustainable multi asset strategies range. The company is a global leader in solar technology and offers a diversified product range for residential and commercial use, including its main product proposition, photovoltaic (PV) inverter solutions. The rapid deployment of solar PV could help solar energy become the largest source of low-carbon capacity by 2040, by which time the share of all renewables in total power generation is expected to reach 40%.

Another recent and particularly relevant investment – given that severe drought has affected so much of the world in 2022 – is global water technology company Xylem. The business designs and manufactures equipment and services for water and wastewater applications. The company operates across the full cycle of the water usage process, from collection and distribution to use and return to natural environment. Sustainability was brought into the heart of its funding strategy in 2020 when the company announced its inaugural green bond worth US$1.0 billion. The proceeds are being used to fund projects that will help improve water accessibility, water affordability, and water systems resilience.

Sitting within our Social Inclusion holdings, Home REIT, a member of the FTSE 250 index, is dedicated to fighting homelessness in the UK by funding the creation and acquisition of high quality accommodation for the homeless. The firm helps to convert or refurbish existing buildings and accommodation and also provides forward funding for new-build projects. We think the firm’s portfolio delivers much-needed, tailored accommodation for vulnerable homeless people, and we have been invested since its IPO in October 2020.

Investing towards a better future

At M&G we believe the investment industry needs to evolve. Rather than short-termism and quick wins, we believe investing requires forward thinking, a long-term outlook and active engagement with companies, helping them to adapt and make a more meaningful and lasting impact on our world.

We think the cross-asset nature of M&G’s sustainable investable universe (green bonds, supranationals, listed infrastructure, equities) affords us the breadth of opportunities to invest flexibly for the long term, in order to help us generate returns and have a lasting impact on the world’s future.

When it comes to the world’s most pressing issues, there’s no quick fix. But by investing sustainably in a pragmatic and measured way, we can work towards a future that’s better for everyone, delivering positive returns for both investors and the planet.

Find out more

The value and income from a fund’s assets will go down as well as up. This will cause the value of your investment to fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you originally invested.

For financial advisers only. Not for onward distribution. No other persons should rely on any information contained within. This Financial Promotion is issued by M&G Securities Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK and provides investment products. The company’s registered office is 10 Fenchurch Avenue, London EC3M 5AG. Registered in England and Wales. Registered Number 90776.