A game of two halves

In the first article of our series examining the AIC Flexible Investment sector, we divided this widely disparate group of trusts into what we think are more comparable sub-groups, identifying four roughly similar types of strategy.

Third Point Investors - Overview

Third Point Investors (TPOU) has had a stand-out year so far in performance terms, with the manager’s differentiated approach to multi-asset investment delivering very strong returns. As we discuss in Performance, the standout performers this year in absolute terms have been the fund’s private investments, which have subsequently IPO’d and continued to deliver very strong returns as public equities. The manager has specialist teams in credit, equity, merger/activist and venture strategies, not

60/40 and other dinosaurs

Over the decades, investors’ ideas about how to build the perfect investment portfolio have evolved. Large independent pension fund investors have typically led the way, with consultants and smaller pension funds following, and then discretionary private client wealth managers followed by individual retail investors echoing trends as they trickle down. Markowitz is identified as the architect of modern portfolio theory and, to an extent, over time investors have been working with and adapting t

Every which way but loose

The AIC Flexible Investment sector is, like a discounted haggis, a simple casing which can house myriad ingredients. In fact, the constituent meats are so exotic that we typically caution it is not a good comparator when discussing relative performance. The individual trusts that make up the sector often aim to accomplish very different things. Meanwhile the flexible mandates of some of them mean the composition of individual portfolios can vary drastically over time. Below, we have looked at th

A better class of travel

A family office, particularly after the year we have just had, means different things to different people. For the less fortunate, it’s the kitchen – where mum and dad spent a large part of last year at the same table, each trying to block out the noise of the other’s zoom meeting while the children smeared peanut butter on the dog. In the more traditional – and entirely more desirable – sense, the term family office covers a range of multi-faceted organisations which, at their core, provide pr

Third Point Investors - Overview

Third Point Investors (TPOU) offers exposure to Third Point’s flagship master fund. Third Point applies an opportunistic approach to investing in companies across the capital structure on a global basis. It aims to invest in different asset classes to optimise risk and reward through a market cycle, and provide consistent long-term capital appreciation. The strategy has in the past demonstrated market directionality over short term time frames but, as we discuss in Performance, has delivered ret

Can the passive bull market continue forever?

Passive investing has, it seems fair to say, attracted a fair few fans globally. (Indeed some have taken it even further, and are now investing passive aggressively. Whenever they’re asked for their opinion on their index fund’s top holdings, they simply respond ‘never mind’). Whilst passive investing was primarily championed as a practical solution by Jack Bogle and Vanguard, Francis Galton’s observations on the wisdom of crowds can highlight some of the underlying intellectual justifications f

Third Point Investors - Overview

Third Point applies an opportunistic approach to investment, exemplified by Third Point Investors’ (TPOU’s) portfolio activity this year. As we discuss under Portfolio, the manager has successfully pivoted exposure to asset classes during the market volatility experienced in early 2020, managing risks and delivering a lower-volatility return for the year. TPOU’s objective is to provide consistent long-term capital appreciation. To achieve this, the manager looks across global credit and equity m

The return of the activist... but not as we know it.

The advent of social media has led to an increase in activism of all types, the like of which has not been seen since the penny press changed the course of American history in the 1800s. From #MAGA to the Arab Spring, platforms such as Facebook have had a profound effect on politics and society. Everywhere, we are invited to support campaigns on social media. Where once it would have taken a petition (which requires a pen, frayed paper, and someone to hand it around at the very least), it is no

Third Point Offshore - Overview

Third Point applies an opportunistic approach to investment. Its objective is to provide consistent long-term capital appreciation; to achieve this, the managers look across global credit and equity markets for what they view as the best risk adjusted returns. Daniel S. Loeb is the portfolio manager, overseeing all investment activity supported by a lean investment team of approximately 35. Daniel invests in both long and short opportunities, but over longer time periods it is expected the portf

Third Quarter of 2019

There was palpable shift in sentiment over the third quarter with the cautionary undertone perhaps best reflected by gold’s resurgence. Ongoing trade jockeying between the US and China did not help the mood and neither did the Argentine debt default in August. At the real economy level, manufacturing output has been trending lower across some of the major global economies.

USA! USA. USA?

2018 saw the first negative calendar year for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones since 2008 and, despite a subsequent rally, sentiment remains divided between those who believe the US market has more room to run, and those who think the longest bull market in history will soon come screeching to a halt. Instinctively, it feels like a correction must be due and, indeed, a recent survey of Kepler Trust Intelligence readers showed the majority feel that there are choppy waters ahead. Among those who fel

Understanding the deepest discounts

At Hardman and Co, we try to answer the questions of why to invest in a company and what the risks are in doing so. For many investors, simply having a deep discount to NAV is a good enough answer to the first question. However, investors need to appreciate the risks and, in particular, the reasons why the shares are at a discount. Having understood those risks, investors need to be convinced that there is a catalyst for change on the part of the manager and how long (if at all) it will take for

Fidante Daily Digest

Civitas Social Housing – Update on Westmoreland | Third Point Offshore – Share buybacks | GCP Asset Backed Income – Proposed placing

Fidante Daily Digest

John Laing Infrastructure – Interims to 30 June 2018 | BBGI – Interims to 30 June 2018 | Third Point Offshore – Interims to 30 June 2018 | Carador Income – Interims to 30 June 2018 | Phaunos Timber – Stafford Rayonier response

NewRiver REIT+ (NRR, House Stock at 87p) - Credit rating update reinforces balance sheet quality

SP Angel Morning View: China lithium stocks rally on prospects for market rebound

Regional REIT - Dividend rebase pragmatic and sustainable

Regional REIT’s (RGL’s) post-pandemic recovery in new lettings paused in H123, as occupiers adopted a cautious ‘wait and see’ approach, although rents increased and the strong ‘return to the office’ supports RGL’s expectation that leasing will accelerate. With DPS lowered to match reduced income prospects, the shares have fallen sharply, maintaining a sector-high dividend yield. Including asset sales focused on low-income properties, our forecasts show the rebased dividend to be fully covered an

NFT INVESTMENTS PLC (NFT PZ) - NAV Rises to 4.3P per share

Initial Equity Trading Comments - 1 December 2023

The Joy of Techs - Cavendish Technology quarterly sector note

£23.3bn in enterprise value has been returned to AIM technology shareholders over the past six years in the form of 51 public to private takeouts, including 10 in 2023 alone with the takeovers of Smoove* and Tribal announced in early October. With UK valuations appearing cheap and looking more attractive to potential acquirers, we take a moment to reflect on the trends of corporate and private equity bidders targeting AIM-listed technology companies going back to 2017, through the uncertainties

Henderson Far East Income - Cautious of continued volatility but value on offer

In our last review of Henderson Far East Income (HFEL) in July, Attractive yield despite modest dividend increase, we drew attention to the dividend increase from what is comfortably the highest yielding fund in the AIC Asia Pacific Equity Income sector. It was pleasing to see that in the company’s published full year results to the end of August, the dividends paid by the company were covered and that over £1m was added to the revenue reserves over this period. In this note we examine the drive

Princess Private Equity Holding - Offering an attractive dividend yield

Princess Private Equity Holding (PEY) posted a year-to-date NAV total return (TR) to end-October 2023 of 4.9%, 2.4% of which was from Q323. PEY’s performance continues to be assisted by portfolio earnings, with last-twelve-month (LTM) revenue and EBITDA growth to end-September 2023 of 16% and 15%, respectively, and sustained healthy average EBITDA margin of 24%. PEY’s balance sheet remains firm with c €134m in undrawn credit facility and €3m in cash, further assisted by the Civica sale proceeds

NewRiver REIT+ (NRR, House Stock at 85p) - High quality earnings story – upgrade potential

LIBERUM: PensionBee: Hitting milestones despite headwinds

Early Mover in UK Lab-grown Meat

BSF Enterprise Plc (BSF) is a biotechnology company focused on acquiring, combining, and building businesses in the lab-grown tissue space. It aims to achieve this through an acquisition-led growth strategy and has already acquired the tissue engineering and cellular agriculture company, 3D Bio Tissues.

NextEnergy Solar Fund - H1/24 interim results and asset recycling update

NextEnergy Storage Fund now has 100 operational assets with a combined installed capacity of 933MW and exclusivity over, or ownership of the project rights for, most of its c£500m pipeline of domestic and international solar and energy storage assets. H1/24 performance was robust, with power generation in line with budget and the 36MW Whitecross solar farm energised. The first sale from the asset recycling programme has been completed post-period, with the proceeds being used to reduce short-ter

European Opportunities Trust - Termination of coverage

Edison Investment Research is terminating coverage on European Opportunities Trust (EOT). Please note you should no longer rely on any previous research or estimates for this company. All forecasts should now be considered redundant. Previously published reports can still be accessed via our website.

R&Q Insurance Holdings - FY22 Results

R&Q reported an adjusted group pre-tax operating loss for the year to end December 2022 of US$33.3m (2021 (US$21.4m)). The results were in line with guidance from the April trading statement but represented a significant deterioration YoY as strong results from the Accredited program management business were more than offset by losses in the R&Q Legacy insurance business and higher corporate costs. On an IFRS reported basis, R&Q made a loss of US$297.0m (2021 (US$127.1m)) generating a loss per s

Jarvis Securities (JIM) - Subdued transaction volumes, Skilled Person costs take toll; Model “B”s reduced

This morning's announcement from JIM highlights a combination of factors which lead to the company trading below current market expectations. In the light of current market conditions, it will come as no surprise that trading volumes are under pressure. Beyond this, in the interests of reducing any potential risks associated with certain Model “B” clients, and with voluntary restrictions imposed on some of these, Model “B” client numbers, as disclosed in today's RNS, have seen some reduction.