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An update from our investment managers, Ben Ritchie and Georgina Cooper - 26 January 2021
December saw the FTSE All-Share enjoy another strong month following on from the vaccine and US election inspired surge in November, aided in part by expectations of Brexit agreement being reached between the UK and EU. More cyclical stocks were generally in favour and we saw notably strong performance from mining stocks, industrials and equity market sensitive financials. On the other hand stronger sterling and greater risk appetite from investors saw more defensive segments such as consumer goods, regulated utilities and pharmaceuticals lag the market.
Trading in the portfolio was again fairly limited over the month. Following strong relative performance we switched some capital from primary healthcare facilities owner Assura into Sirius Real Estate, a higher yielding and faster growing German industrial real estate landlord. We also added to our existing position in Euromoney, the financial data, media and events business, given an attractive valuation for what we consider to be a very well run and attractively growing business. In contrast the holding in life sciences company Abcam was trimmed given a full valuation and low level of yield. We continued to write a number of options to generate additional income at a time of relatively elevated volatility and attractive pricing opportunities.
As we wrote last month, the development of vaccines for Covid-19 with high levels of potential efficacy represents a significant change to the prospects for both economies and equity markets. They allow investors to look through the current highly negative near-term impact of infection trends and instead focus on the middle of 2021 where a significant and sustained rebound in economic growth is now forecast alongside a substantial recovery in corporate earnings. To add to that, as we anticipated, we have a UK/EU trade deal and the Democrats also achieved control in the Senate - both of which positively impact market sentiment. However, the outlook for markets as we move into 2022 and beyond remains very uncertain and we are somewhat cautious on what may lie ahead, especially given the very strong rebound we have seen so far. As a result we are happy to retain a balance to our overall positioning giving ourselves the potential to perform in a range of market environments, looking to protect capital on the downside while participating in any upside that may develop.
Ben Ritchie is Deputy Head of European Equities at Aberdeen Standard Investments and originally joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2002 as a graduate, having interned with Aberdeen in 2000 and 2001. Ben graduated with a BA (Hons) in Modern History and Politics from Pembroke College, University of Oxford and is a CFA Charterholder.
Georgina Cooper is an Investment Manager in the UK Equities team for Aberdeen Standard Investments having originally joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2014 on the graduate scheme. Georgina graduated with a BSc with Honours Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh and is also a certified CFA Charterholder.
Head of European Equities
Ben Ritchie is Deputy Head of European Equities at Aberdeen Standard Investments and originally joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2002 as a graduate, having interned with Aberdeen in 2000 and 2001. Ben graduated with a BA (Hons) in Modern History and Politics from Pembroke College, University of Oxford and is a CFA Charterholder.
Investment Manager
Georgina Cooper is an Investment Manager in the UK Equities team for Aberdeen Standard Investments having originally joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2014 on the graduate scheme. Georgina graduated with a BSc with Honours Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh and is also a certified CFA Charterholder.
Jasper Judd is a Chartered Accountant. Until 2012, he worked for Brambles Limited, a listed Australian multinational, where he held a number of senior executive roles including Global Head of Strategy. He is also a non-executive director of JP Morgan Indian Investment Trust plc.
He is Chairman of the Audit Committee.
Christine Montgomery has over 30 years of investment management experience, most recently as Head of Global Equities at AustralianSuper in Melbourne from 2016 to 2019. She previously held roles as a global equities portfolio manager at Fidelity Worldwide Investments, Martin Currie and Edinburgh Partners.
Elisabeth Scott worked for Schroders in Hong Kong from 1992 until 2008, most recently as Country Head. Previously she was responsible for Schroders’ institutional client business in Hong Kong and managed multi-asset portfolios. She chaired the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association between 2005 and 2007. She is also director of India Capital Growth Fund Limited, Fidelity China Special Situations Investment Trust PLC, Allianz Technology Trust PLC and the Association of Investment Companies.
Howard Williams has over 35 years’ of fund management experience and was, until October 2017, Chief Investment Officer and Head of the Global Equity Team at JPMorgan Asset Management. Prior to joining JPMorgan Asset Management in 1994, he held a number of senior positions at Shell Pensions and Kleinwort Benson Asset Management. He started his career at James Capel & Co. He is also a non-executive director of Schroders Unit Trust Limited. He is the Senior Independent Director.
Chairman
Non-Executive Director
Jasper Judd is a Chartered Accountant. Until 2012, he worked for Brambles Limited, a listed Australian multinational, where he held a number of senior executive roles including Global Head of Strategy. He is also a non-executive director of JP Morgan Indian Investment Trust plc.
He is Chairman of the Audit Committee.
Non-Executive Director
Christine Montgomery has over 30 years of investment management experience, most recently as Head of Global Equities at AustralianSuper in Melbourne from 2016 to 2019. She previously held roles as a global equities portfolio manager at Fidelity Worldwide Investments, Martin Currie and Edinburgh Partners.
Non-Executive Director
Elisabeth Scott worked for Schroders in Hong Kong from 1992 until 2008, most recently as Country Head. Previously she was responsible for Schroders’ institutional client business in Hong Kong and managed multi-asset portfolios. She chaired the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association between 2005 and 2007. She is also director of India Capital Growth Fund Limited, Fidelity China Special Situations Investment Trust PLC, Allianz Technology Trust PLC and the Association of Investment Companies.
Non-Executive Director
Howard Williams has over 35 years’ of fund management experience and was, until October 2017, Chief Investment Officer and Head of the Global Equity Team at JPMorgan Asset Management. Prior to joining JPMorgan Asset Management in 1994, he held a number of senior positions at Shell Pensions and Kleinwort Benson Asset Management. He started his career at James Capel & Co. He is also a non-executive director of Schroders Unit Trust Limited. He is the Senior Independent Director.
| Year End | 31 January |
| Accounts Published | March |
| Annual General Meeting | May |
| Dividend Paid | August, November, February, May |
Hear fund manager Louise Kernohan presenting Dunedin Income Growth's interim results
Listen to the presentation from our recent AGM