86. How the spirit of the Industrial Revolution is alive and well in UK smaller companies

Simon Moon, manager of the Unicorn UK Smaller Companies fund, says the recent sell-off has once again demonstrated the ability of burgeoning UK businesses to be both nimble and resilient amid uncertainty. He also explains why the boom in computer gaming is here to stay post-lockdown and why the legacy of the Industrial Revolution is alive and well among high quality niche engineers in the UK small-cap arena.

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The Unicorn UK Smaller Companies fund is managed by Simon Moon and looks to uncover some truly hidden gems at the lower end of the market cap spectrum. Unicorn is a specialist in the UK small-cap space with the team looking for stocks with lasting competitive advantages, experienced management teams and strong balance sheets. All companies must be profitable at the point of investment, while the fund actively avoids companies in the oil and gas, mining and biotech sectors.

Read more about Unicorn UK Smaller Companies

What’s covered in this podcast: 

  • Why UK companies have not bounced back to the same degree as their peers following the sell-off [0:18]
  • How the uncertainty following the sell-off has transformed into resiliency in the UK smaller companies’ arena and the importance of Government support to these businesses [2:32]
  • Why a localised second lockdown would be far less detrimental to the UK economy [6:45]
  • How the legacy of the Industrial Revolution is alive and well through engineering businesses in the UK smaller companies’ space? [7:34]
  • Why the boom in computer gaming will continue post-lockdown with a new, engageable audience [10:50]
  • The spectre of a hard Brexit and why many of the niche industry leaders are insulated from this outcome [16:45]
  • Small is beautiful – how the nimble and proactive actions we’ve seen from UK smaller companies in the recent sell-off supports their strong long-term outperformance [17:10]
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