magazine archive
magazine archive
Investment Trusts
Why investment trusts use gearing
Thursday 17 Aug 2017Investment trusts have a thrust button they can push to boost returns, it’s called gearing. This involves the manager using debt to increase the level of holdings rather than having to sell some securities they’d rather keep to fund future purchases. This facility is not available to open-ended...
Fund managers dismiss tech bubble fears
Thursday 10 Aug 2017Record-setting share prices this year are sparking renewed fears of a technology sector sell-off of potentially epic proportions. Share prices in industry giants including Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet have rallied strongly through 2017 to trade at historic levels. The S&P...
Four ways to use investment trusts
Thursday 03 Aug 2017Record issuance of investment company shares during the first half of 2017 has propelled industry assets to an all-time high of £167.9bn. Ten new initial public offerings raised £1.5bn, while secondary issuance reached £3.3bn – a record over a half-year period. The closed-end structure holds...
Buying brands through investment trusts
Thursday 27 Jul 2017According to WPP’s ( WPP ) annual BrandZ Global Top 100 Most Valuable Brands report for 2017, the value of the Global Top 100 increased 8% year-on-year to $3.6trn despite a year of grand geopolitical surprises. WPP says the value of the BrandZ Strong Brands Portfolio, a subset of the Brandz Top 100...
Looking for opportunities among large companies
Thursday 20 Jul 2017London’s high-flying FTSE 100 hit a record high in May, closing above 7,500 for the first time and currently trades above 7,400. Many large, liquid, internationally-diverse companies are in demand at a time of economic uncertainty, particularly as beneficiaries of lower sterling. Their overseas...
Staying focused amid market noise is key to Bankers’ success
Thursday 13 Jul 2017Being a successful fund manager typically means taking a different viewpoint from the market in order to outperform a benchmark. It requires skill in knowing when to buy and sell and doing so at an advantageous price. The fund manager needs to question everything that’s going on in the markets and...
The growing appeal of investing in logistics facilities
Thursday 06 Jul 2017‘Logistics is the new retail,’ claims Andrew Jones, chief executive of real estate investor LondonMetric Property ( LMP ) . The significant growth in consumers shopping via the internet has led to the rise in specialist real estate, namely large warehouses that act as distribution centres for...
Funds to help portfolios blossom
Thursday 29 Jun 2017The Japanese economy appears to be finally cranking back into growth mode after as ‘Abenomics’ and financial stimulus by the country’s central bank take effect. Reforms, introduced by prime minister Shinzo Abe, are matched by improving corporate governance and are broadly supportive of Japanese...
Funds to hitch a ride on the FTSE 250 rally
Thursday 22 Jun 2017Britain’s mid cap companies have been on a scorching run since investors stopped panicking about the Brexit vote in June 2016. The FTSE 250 index has soared by more than 30% in the past 12 months, chalking-up a new record along the way – closing at 20,024.92 on 26 May 2017. Yet recent events...
Do fewer holdings result in higher risk?
Thursday 15 Jun 2017Diversification is the goal of funds with a large number of stocks in their portfolios. Yet be aware that the more diverse the portfolio, the closer to the benchmark index a fund tends to trade and the less the stock picking skills of the manager can be expressed. Last year, research from the...