By Annabel Brodie-Smith
I hope you have had a lovely summer. I have visited the Welsh seaside and have been swimming in the River Thames in Oxfordshire.
It’s back to school time, the trains are packed again, Australia’s retained the Ashes and the new normal of Brexit chaos has returned. But on the very bright side, the Rugby World Cup starts next week in Japan. As a rugby-loving Wales supporter, I can’t wait, which may explain why this month Compass is ‘Turning Japanese,’ to borrow an 80s song title.
We have talked to a scrum of Japanese managers, including the managers of Baillie Gifford Japan, JPMorgan Japanese and Fidelity Japan amongst others. Read our article to find out more about their investment approach, where they are finding the best opportunities and what impact the world cup and the Olympic Games in 2020 will have on Japan.
Ian Cowie, our investment expert, explains why he’s ‘Big in Japan’ - yes those 80s songs were good. He explains why Japanese shares “remain far below the peak they reached nearly three decades ago” and why Japan may be of interest to investors. As a major casualty of the trade war between the US and China, Japan has suffered recently but “short-term setbacks may offer an opportunity for medium to long-term investors to obtain value.” Japan are unlikely to win the world cup “but the event may focus more people’s attention on the Land of the Rising Sun.”
The suspension of the open-ended fund, Woodford Equity Income, remains in the news and this has demonstrated that the closed-ended structure of investment companies is particularly well suited to investing in unquoted companies. Investment companies are increasingly focused on unquoted opportunities as businesses stay private for longer and the number of public companies shrinks.
So recently, I spoke to three investment companies investing in fast-growing private companies, Richard Watts, manager of Merian Chrysalis which invests in later-stage private companies across Europe, Suresh Withana, manager of Adamas Finance Asia which invests in private companies across Asia, and Richard Matthews, Co-Founder of Augmentum Fintech which invests in unquoted fintech companies. Watch the video or read their views on the attractions and risks of investing in unquoted companies, the benefits of the closed-ended structure and where they are currently finding interesting companies.
Managers discuss the attractions of investing in private companies, the benefits of the investment company structure for these assets, where they are finding opportunities and their outlook for the sector.
Finally, the Infrastructure sector and Renewable Energy Infrastructure sector invest in a range of assets from roads and railways to wind farms and solar parks and offer an average yield of 4.6% and 5% respectively. Watch our new videos on Infrastructure and Renewable Energy Infrastructure opposite to find out more about what they offer to investors, and the benefits and risks of investing in this area.
Have a good month.
Annabel Brodie-Smith Communications Director, AIC
Find out how investing in roads, schools and railways helps produce attractive returns and grow the economy.
Managers explain how wind farms, solar parks and energy storage are benefiting investors and the environment.
