Our recent conversations with users have focused on equities diversification, and very often the appeal of contrarian investment calls. Perennial concerns over pension planning have also come back to the fore.
Appetite growing for GRANOLAS?
The world of investing is replete with catchy, often tongue-in-cheek monikers, the “Magnificent Seven” comprised of America’s largest tech stocks having dominated news cycles – and very often portfolios – in recent times. While there is still a lot to recommend Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, there is a new buzzword on the block our users are keen to talk about. This is the GRANOLAS (or more correctly, GRANNN(O)LLASS), a set of European companies which leading investment houses such as Goldman Sachs are lauding for impressive outperformance and attractive profit growth prospects relative to the possibly overbought US giants.According to analysts, GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, ASML, Nestle, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, L’Oreal, LVMH, AstraZeneca, SAP and Sanofi stand out for their strong, stable growth and heavy reinvestment in research and developmentAccording to analysts, GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, ASML, Nestle, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, L’Oreal, LVMH, AstraZeneca, SAP and Sanofi stand out for their strong, stable growth and heavy reinvestment in research and development. Therefore, these European names could be very interesting indeed for those looking to diversify away from US large-caps. We cannot say whether you should be working up an appetite for the GRANOLAS, or taking a bigger bite than you currently are, but we can assert that this should be a top subject to talk over with a professional portfolio manager if you have not done so yet. Why not let us set up some no-obligation conversations with wealth managers at a time to suit you? It’s fast and free.
Contrarians spy opportunities in unloved assets
There might be a sense of security in ‘running with the herd’, but whether that is a way to secure true outperformance is another question – quite apart from the risk of very popular sectors like technology becoming overvalued and prone to a sudden burst of the bubble (such as we saw with the dot.com market rout). Acknowledging this, we’ve been hearing from quite a few investors in past weeks who are interested in uncovering unloved assets which have the potential for strong, and perhaps even stellar, returns.
Gaining the confidence to be somewhat contrarian with at least some of your portfolio is one of the less appreciated benefits of having a professional adviser on hand to bounce ideas off ofTaking this view, you might look to financials and real estate as underperformers of recent years which are due for a resurgence, for instance (although, as ever, being highly selective is crucial). Regionally, China and South America are being touted for a renaissance too, among a host of other countries, sectors and asset classes besides: Eastern European equities could be in vogue again before too long, as March’s Investment Bulletin highlighted. You might not even need a seismic shift in the markets to make serious gains either, just a return to historical averages. Gaining the confidence to be somewhat contrarian with at least some of your portfolio is one of the less appreciated benefits of having a professional adviser on hand to bounce ideas off of. If you would like to discuss such opportunities with a well-informed wealth manager, why not let us set some conversations up?
Top Tip
I’ve had some really interesting conversations recently with users who are seeking to diversify their equities holdings. The so-called ‘GRANOLAS’ discussed in this piece have come up many times, no doubt due to the widespread press coverage about them, but I’ve also heard from a number of investors seeking to make truly contrarian calls in favour of unloved, under-covered assets.
You could make a compelling argument that by the time the financial pages are covering an investment opportunity, the maximum upside potential has already gone to those really in the know. If you have an adviser backed by a whole investment research team, you can get ahead of trends, rather than jumping on them too late. That is where much of the value of professional portfolio advice lies. If you would like to discuss new, really forward-thinking investment ideas, let us set up some conversations with some of the best in the business.
Lee Goggin
Co-Founder
Worries over Labour’s plans for the Lifetime Allowance
With Reform UK on the ascendant and eating into the Conservatives’ support in pre-Election polls, many are starting to think seriously about what a Labour government would do to their wealth. The Lifetime Allowance (LTA) for pension savings is emerging as a specific concern among our users due to the rhetoric which has been on display from the Labour party.
While Labour seem to have been deliberately vague about what are likely to be huge ‘tax and spend’ plans, they have been clear that they take a dim view of the LTA, with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves dubbing it a ‘tax cut for the rich’ and there being various indicators that charges would be re-introduced and perhaps even increased. We have certainly heard concerns from those who are at or near the LTA limit of £1,073,100.
If they haven’t yet taken professional advice which weighs the most likely scenarios, people are naturally struggling to plan for the future when the rules around tax and pensions seem to be changing with the windAll of this uncertainty is causing much consternation. If they haven’t yet taken professional advice which weighs the most likely scenarios, people are naturally struggling to plan for the future when the rules around tax and pensions seem to be changing with the wind. All we can suggest is that High Net Worth Individuals ensure they have a truly expert and really proactive wealth management team which will be able to adjust their investment and financial planning strategy with equal speed. If you need tax planning guidance alongside investment management advice, simply let us know when completing your wealth manager matching questionnaire.
Optimised wealth management is a team sport
So much of your investment returns will be derived from intellectual capital and the truth is that no matter how well informed an individual is, and how closely they monitor the markets, it is virtually impossible to keep abreast of everything you need to all of the time. The same is even more true when it comes to those all important tax savings you need to retain the maximum possible amount of your wealth.
Our view is that optimised wealth management is a team sport. You need an adviser backed with institutional grade investment research and a team of financial planning experts to offer up-to-the-minute tax guidance too. We can arrange either or both with ease, and at no charge to you. Why not get in touch for an informal conversation on how we can help?
Important information
The investment strategy and financial planning explanations of this piece are for informational purposes only, may represent only one view, and are not intended in any way as financial or investment advice. Any comment on specific securities should not be interpreted as investment research or advice, solicitation or recommendations to buy or sell a particular security.
We always advise consultation with a professional before making any investment and financial planning decisions.
Always remember that investing involves risk and the value of investments may fall as well as rise. Past performance should not be seen as a guarantee of future returns.
