The world has been turned upside down by this pandemic, along with the prospects of many companies. Perhaps some of your own holdings have soared to unexpected highs, or collapsed to unexpected lows. Several of my holdings certainly have. However, don’t pat yourself on the back or don a dunce cap too soon. In most […]
The problem with open-ended property funds is that the liquidity required by regulators is incompatible with investing in real assets – how can we resolve this? When it comes to investing, the illiquid nature of real estate is its defining characteristic relative to investing in equities or bonds. This illiquidity is the prime explanatory factor […]
Predictions for prolonged British misery are based on fears of a no-deal Brexit and a pandemic second spike – but both risks carry little economic downside. When any economy suffers significant job loss, three things need to follow to avoid long-term economic impairment. It is not sufficient merely to see the quick creation of new […]
Conversion to alternative uses may be the only path for some, but there are other options for the imaginative. Shropshire is the UK’s largest inland county – a fact of which many Salopians are strangely proud, and I know this because I’m one of them. It is something I will often tell people, alongside a […]
The ‘next normal’ – the same as the last normal but has just arrived more quickly than expected. Like so many events, it’s a case of expediting existing trends not starting new ones. Retailers that have been living off low interest rate loans and haven’t changed their business models post the Amazon Age are now […]
I visited South Africa for the first time in September of 2006, thanks to Grietjie Verhoef and a great number of hosts around the country, for nearly two-and-a-half weeks. In that time I watched some South African TV in English, and when English subtitles were provided I could follow the Afrikaans soap operas, too, noting […]
The European real estate market environment remains incredibly uncertain. While the severity of the current recession is significantly worse than the global financial crisis, real estate markets have, at worst, been subdued. Outright distress remains largely limited to the retail sector thus far, with rents and values falling significantly – particularly for out-of-town assets. However, […]
“Back to life, back to reality” – prescient words written by Mr Jazzie B. OBE for his number one hit in the summer of 1989. Industries, livelihoods and, undoubtedly, future geopolitical direction currently ride on the answer to when or if we will go “back to life”. For the UK’s life, pension and general insurance funds […]
UK: Total value of exports to EU 27 countries in February 2020: £13,869bn As percentage of total overseas exports: 51% Percentage change since previous year: -7% Percentage change in retail sales in April 2020 compared with last year: -23% Latest percentage change for August compared with last year: 3% Percentage change in value compared with […]
What do investors want right now? Which are their preferred opportunities, and what do you need to know about them? This series sums up what one European investment adviser has gathering in his virtual wanderings. For over 20 years, my role has offered me the opportunity to visit, almost continuously, property companies, strategic investors, asset […]
