By Annabel Brodie-Smith
After last year’s unexpected twists and turns, we thought we had experienced our fair share of political shocks. We thought we knew which European elections were taking place this year, with Holland’s and France’s elections now over and Germany’s election in September. However, Theresa May had a surprise in store us for us, and the UK election is just under a month away.
UK investment company managers remain unfazed about the forthcoming election. Whilst some are keeping their powder dry in this uncertain political environment to see how markets progress, others are taking the opportunity provided by market volatility to add to their favourite positions. Read the comments of the investment company managers of Fidelity Special Values, Merchants and BlackRock Smaller Companies amongst others in our article.
Following on with the political theme, Donald Trump has had an eventful 100 days in office. His ‘100-day action plan’ has had its fair share of hurdles, particularly where it has required legislation to be passed through Congress. Trump himself admitted: ‘Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated’. Geoffrey Hsu, manager of the Biotech Growth Trust, explains in his piece the ‘tumultuous ride’ of investors in biotech and the strong US political influence on the sector.
Environmental investors were also understandably concerned about the implications of Trump’s plans on the sector. In his analysis Jon Forster, co-manager of Impax Environmental Markets examines Trump’s influence on the environmental sector: “we believe that whilst the impact is mixed, much of the negativity is likely overdone.” Jon explains why he believes environmental markets will continue to prosper way beyond the Trump presidency.
Finally, this week is Financial Planning Week which aims to encourage consumers to take control of their finances, as well as raise awareness of the financial planning profession. For those of you who are considering finding a financial adviser, our Head of Training, Nick Britton, has put together five questions to ask any potential candidate.
Hope you have a great May. Chelsea Flower Show will be a highlight for me this month.
Annabel Brodie-Smith, Communications Director, AIC