84. How to profit when Americans hoard

Martin Flood, co-manager of Lazard US Equity Concentrated, tells us how you can make money from the fact that American’s don’t throw things away. He also tells us why he thinks McDonald’s is such a great business, why dollar stores are the ‘anti-e-commerce’ play and describes how Motorola has moved from flip-top phones to police and fire brigades’ walkie-talkies. Finally, Martin gives his thoughts on a second tech bubble and the upcoming US election.
Download transcript(PDF)
Apple Podcast Spotify Podcast

This extremely concentrated US fund typically holds no more than 20 to 25 companies, ranging in size from the fairly small all the way through to the very large. The well-resourced team spend a lot of time on-the-ground in America and know every company in the portfolio inside out. The managers analyse stocks thinking what could go wrong as well as what could go right, and finding a correct entry point for investing is key to their philosophy.

Read more about Lazard US Equity Concentrated

 

What’s covered in this podcast: 

  • Why the fund isn’t invested in big tech names Amazon and Microsoft [1:18]
  • Where the fund is finding interesting technology opportunities in the US [4:21]
  • Is there potential for a second technology bubble [6:03]
  • How McDonald’s has transformed themselves and why it’s a good investment [8:48]
  • The investment case for real estate holdings [11:45]. Specifically highlighting holdings in Crown [12:52], Prologis [13:24] and Public Storage [14:06]
  • Are we at the start of e-commerce boom in the US post-lockdown [15:08]
  • Trade tensions between US and China and the possibility of bringing manufacturing back to the US [18:00]
The views of the author and any people interviewed are their own and do not constitute financial advice. However the knowledge that professional analysts have analysed a fund or trust in depth before assigning them a rating can be a valuable additional filter for anyone looking to make their own decisions. Before you make any investment decision make sure you’re comfortable and fully understand the risks. If you invest in fund or trust make sure you know what specific risks they’re exposed to. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. Remember all investments can fall in value as well as rise, so you could make a loss.

More Episodes