For me personally, I think it is neither a Bull nor a Bear market – it is merely volatile.
With volatility comes opportunity.
Who do I believe?
Not an easy task this. More often than not you have to get past the ‘white noise’ and talk to some of the professionals and then place your trust.
I was in London recently visiting the offices of Quilter Cheviot, 1 Kingsway. David Miller, lead Fund Manager of the Nexus Global Solutions Portfolio was on hand to take us through the ups and downs of the market, whilst allowing us to observe how his portfolio managed to ‘preserve’ wealth during this volatile time and even look to gain. Not an easy task!
How so?
QC take a view that you should not necessarily look at the Macro Economics of things – so ‘the bigger picture’. You have to look at the component parts when ‘stock’ selecting and really look under the bonnet of the individual companies.
For those of you who have been sat on Tracker Funds over this period – wow, what a ride! Tracker Funds are recommended/sold because they are supposed to be a cheap solution at following the market – and boy do they just do that! Is that what you really wanted- to follow the market down?
QC sat back and looked at how much cash they were sat on and considered which stocks looked even cheaper and likely to bounce back – but based on true economics and knowledge of the asset. For example they added to their weighting of Apple and also of BAT – both stocks recovering extremely well when the jitters stopped.
So whilst investors, professional and retail, get the scared and head for the door – there are those who step back, review, re-visit and make informed decisions on where the ‘value’ actually lies.
How did they do?
Well if you were sat in a FTSE100 tracker you would have seen the value of your money reduce by some 6% on the year. The Nexus Global Solutions Portfolio managed by Quilter Cheviot was off less than 1% on the year.
Whilst the Portfolio is more expensive to run than a tracker – here is where we can demonstrate the ‘added value’.
Moving onwards
We have seen this last week the FTSE100 back up to 6300 from its low point of 5800 in recent weeks. So those bold enough to have used their cash to purchase stocks at those prices will be smiling today.
Summary
It is clear to me more and more each day, that I am no expert in selecting funds or stocks and that’s the general consensus of the firm I represent.
It is far better to place your clients’ hard earned wealth in the hands of experts; find the right company and place your trust in them.
As Blacktower enters into its 30th year of trading, we have worked with many a Life Company, Fund House and Discretionary Fund Manager – and have built up trustworthy relationships with all.
You place your trust in us as we do in them in order to preserve your wealth and make it grow for you.
This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.
Opposition to the imminent changes to the Dutch 30% tax reimbursement scheme (see the 
Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on 15 September 2008. With $639 billion in assets and $619 billion in debt. Their bankruptcy filing was the largest in history and prompted an immediate fall in the FTSE 100 of 4%. It was the beginning of a slump that by Christmas of 2008 had resulted in 23% being wiped off the value of Britain’s top 100 companies. As a stock market crash, it ranks alongside the dotcom bubble and the shock of 1987. However, while living standards have flat-lined since that date, the stock market revival has been spectacular. Many investors were, however, spooked by the financial crisis of 2008 and liquidated their investment portfolios. Unfortunately as shown below – they lost out on the bull run of the next 10 years.