Investors' Chronicle

Mark Robinson hosts this week’s episode and begins with a rundown of the latest news in the financial world, from Donald Trump’s Trust Social listing to the Bank of England’s warning on private equity bubbles. This week’s cover feature on Britain’s top-rated funds is up first. Dave Baxter shares what readers can expect from the article, including the trends picked up by our analysis and the big-hitting funds that can boost portfolios. Julian Hofmann discusses the credit card and loan-focussed bank Vanquis Banking (VANQ) which recently released results. He and Mark discuss whether its doorstep lending model is more or less redundant in today’s age, and consider the reasons it’s trading at such a large discount.Lastly, Christopher Akers unpacks the contrasting results of two beverage companies, Fevertree (FEVR) and AG Barr (A.G.). With the US now its biggest market, Chris looks at whether Fevertree can keep investors and customers interested across the pond. He also explains how AG Barr transformed itself into a “highly successful multi-beverage, branded company”.Timestamps1:37 News rundown 5:15 Britain’s top-rated funds – as picked by analysts 14:32 Vanquis Banking results23:11 UK beverage producers Fevertree and AG Barr Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex and Lord Lee have reunited for the seventh episode of Lee and the IC, two weeks on from Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget. The announcement of a British Isa could shake up the UK’s private investing landscape so the pair begin by mulling over the practicality of the tax shelter and how future governments can improve the public’s attitudes towards investing.In his statement, Hunt also announced the government would be selling its NatWest (NWG) shares, which could be the move to get the ball rolling on Lord Lee’s gifting shares to schools idea, a method to increase investing literacy. Lord Lee then answers questions from listeners on how he generates investment ideas and whether stop-losses are a part of his method. As with each episode, the pair wrap up the conversation by discussing some of Lord Lee’s holdings, including Ampario (AMP), M&G (MNG) and Treatt plc (TET), which Investors’ Chronicle also profiled last week here.This episode was recorded on 21 March.Timestamps1:31 A British Isa 3:24 How future governments can improve cultural attitudes to investing5:54 Overseas shares tax exemption within Isas9:41 Inheritance tax and Isas 12:49 Gifting shares to schools 20:05 Reader questions – does Lord Lee use stop-losses? 23:24 How he checks in on his portfolio24:48 How he generates investing ideas26:28 Will he write a sequel to his book How to make a million slowly?27:30 Anpario (ANP)32:55 Genus (GNS) and Benchmark Holdings (BMK)34:58 M&G (MNG)Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin this week’s episode discussing specialist engineering company Dowlais (DWL) which has found itself making a considerable £450mn operating loss. Mark Robinson shares his thoughts on the business's health since the spin-off from Melrose and debates the effect the EV transition will have on the company.Dan Jones then stops asking the questions and answers them on his recent feature on Vodafone (VOD). Investors may struggle to name a more disappointing stock since the turn of the century, and Dan analyses the chances of the business turning its fortune around, and what the dividend cut means for investors. Julian Hofmann then shares his thoughts on the telecom industry at large.Last but not least, Arthur Sants joins from New York to discuss this week’s cover feature on UK software stocks, and the ability of AI to either boost or break a business. He explains the rationale behind the piece and changes in the sector, while the team discuss some of the companies analysed in the piece, including Sage and Bytes Technology.Timestamps1:13 Dowlais 10:08 Vodafone 22:15 Finding the UK's software successes24:25 Sage27:38 Bytes Technology Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest episode of the IC Interviews, Dan Jones hosts Abby Glennie, deputy head of smaller companies and co-manager of UK smaller companies strategies at Abrdn. As part of Abrdn, Glennie has been pivotal in the world of domestic small-cap shares. In the show, the pair discuss some of the Abrdn UK Smaller Companies fund's holdings, including Bytes Technology, 4Imprint and CVS Group, as well as the current angst over the UK market, portfolio allocation changes, and the ‘Matrix’ stock screen.Timestamps1:17 What Glennie makes of the angst over the UK market8:10 Allocation changes to the portfolio in recent months 11:58 What the valuation process at Abrdn involves14:03 What does the Abrdn ‘Matrix’ screen look for18:33 Bytes Technology21:22 4imprint24:35 Hill & Smith29:59 CVS Group35:31 Food producers Hilton and Cranswick40:35 UK video game stocks42:42 The general rules on position sizing 44:46 Diploma and when to sell a holding Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin this week’s episode with TP Icap, the interdealer broker. Julian Hofmann reports on the figures that came out recently, and he and Dan discuss the divisions driving performance, its electronic trading push and the business's valuation. Val Cipriani, author of this week’s cover feature the IC’s guide to Isas 2024, then runs us through the importance of understanding the allowances, the ‘simplification’ changes made and some of the platforms investors can utilise.  Last up, Mark Robinson discusses the recent results from Hill & Smith (HILS). Which of its business arms are performing best? And how does this compare with Costain’s (COST) results?Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The podcast covers the Spring Budget announcements and their impact on the upcoming election, the new British Isa, and the focus on dividends in the investment landscape. They also discuss Legal & General's increased dividend yield, the importance of dividends in retail investing, and the recent £1bn takeover of Spirent Communications.

Foll currently works as a portfolio manager on the Global Equity Income Team at the Janus Henderson Investors fund, where she has held the position for 10 years.In the episode, the pair discuss where the team tends to focus when stocks don’t pay dividends, the compelling opportunities in the UK market, some of the specific stocks the fund currently holds and one of the fund's largest holdings, Rolls-Royce.This episode was recorded on 27 February.Timestamps00:59 How does the trust differ from its peers2:58 Interesting opportunities outside of conventional income investing 6:08 What the fund looks for in a recovery play 8:05 Rolls-Royce9:29 How the fund treats a well-performing stock 12:19 Dividend prospects for Rolls-Royce 13:42 Are we shifting away from a focus on dividends?16:27 Interesting sectors that are powering dividends 19:21 Warning signs in income stocks 23:55 Areas of hope for UK equity investors 27:59 The mix of UK and overseas stocks and the different appeal 30:23 How prominent are smaller companies in the portfolio?33:56 Monitoring all the stocks Janus Henderson holds34:56 Foll’s take on M&A Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s podcast we begin with our cover feature on companies with brand power. We unpack why consumer staples are under pressure, the competitiveness of consumer health and share the story of how Sensodyne toothpaste became a staple product.As company results season is in full swing, we pivot only slightly to two consumer brands that have reported results this week, Haleon and Reckitt Benckiser. We discuss what has gone well for the companies as well as the concerns ahead.Last but not least, we cover the recently rejected bids for Direct Line and Currys. Could these rejections be a sign that boards are growing more optimistic, or just that they think shares are massively undervalued?Dan Jones is joined by Jennifer Johnson, Mark Robinson and Julian HofmannInvestors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the sixth episode of Lee and the IC, Alex and Lord Lee are joined by Miles Adcock, chief executive of computing product manufacturer Concurrent Technologies. The trio discuss the background of Concurrent, a favoured holding in Lord Lee’s portfolio, when Lord Lee began investing in it, how both he and Adcock view the company’s prospects amid current geopolitical tensions, how to navigate the unknowns of a complex stock as a private investor, and much more.This episode was recorded on 23 February.Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin with Julian Hoffman who delves into the details of recently published banking results. He explains what was hidden inside Barclays’ results and whether it can afford its £10bn payout to shareholders. Julian and Dan also discuss HSBC’s impairments and NatWest’s dividend.Val Cipriani has written this week’s cover feature on taking advantage of the growing need for data centres. She and Dan discuss the background to the piece, the operators and the headwinds they face, and she explains how investors can capitalise on this real estate-cum-infrastructure industry.Last but certainly not least, Michael Fahy talks about Rolls Royce, whose profit more than doubled to £1.6bn. He discusses what investors can learn from this growth and whether or not the momentum will continue.Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.