218. There is hope yet for UK equities!

Alexandra Jackson, manager of the Rathbone UK Opportunities fund, talks to us about UK equities: how they have performed, the impact of UK political and economic turmoil, why mid-cap stocks are attractive, and why M&A targets are no longer vulnerable companies but trophy assets. She also tells us which stocks she has sold recently, reveals which real estate company has locked-in cheaper energy prices for its tenants, and gives us some hope amidst all the doom and gloom.
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Rathbone UK Opportunities is a flexible fund targeting quality growth businesses. The manager looks to take advantage of cheap UK valuations, but avoids the ex-growth, large-cap dinosaurs. She combines structural winners with a strong core of high-quality compounders and the final portfolio consists of around 50 to 60 holdings, with a bias to medium-sized companies.

What’s covered in this episode: 

  • How growth stocks have performed in the past six months
  • Whether the manager has made any changes to the portfolio following the political and economic upheaval in the UK
  • Which stocks the manager has sold and why
  • Why M&A activity has moved from snapping up vulnerable companies to buying trophy assets
  • Why the manager favours medium-sized companies over larger ones
  • Which company is benefitting from the rise in cyber attacks
  • Why the manager has been testing the energy resilience of her companies
  • Which real estate company has managed to lock-in cheaper energy prices from 2020
  • The positives to be found amidst all the doom and gloom
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