Investing beyond the screen

Do you remember a time when people weren’t glued to their mobile phones? To be honest, it’s pretty hard to imagine life without that small box giving you access to a virtual world. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube are used by millions of people across the world to share videos and keep in touch with one another. 

But the lack of an actual social connection can cause loneliness and poses longer-term health risks, according to the Office of the US Surgeon General. Its findings have inspired the ‘Global Day of Unplugging’, during which people are encouraged to embrace tech-free events – whether it’s for one hour or the full 24.

A Global Day of Unplugging

Uswitch, the comparison site, found adults spent around five hours per day on their screens – in addition to time using them for work*. This annual event, which takes place on March 7-8, is organised by the nonprofit, Unplug Collaborative, that wants communities to elevate human connection over digital engagement.

It has come up with a list of suggestions, including a human library day during which people learn from those with whom they wouldn’t normally interact. Building a community garden, volunteering with your children, embracing the long-forgotten art of letter writing, and playing games together are some of the other ideas.

But in a world full of technology giants, is it possible to make a financial gain from investing in companies that benefit from unplugging?

Reading a book

Let’s start with the simplest option. Half of adults in the UK don’t often read, while a quarter of 16 to 24-year olds have never regularly picked up a book, according to a study by The Reading Agency**. Its recent report claimed regular readers benefited from higher wellbeing and life satisfaction, as well as improved sleep, concentration, empathy, and creativity.

Alexandra Jackson, manager of the Rathbone UK Opportunities fund, believes reading a novel is “the ultimate way to unplug” but investing in this area isn’t easy. “Publicly-listed publishing houses are few and far between these days, as most have been bought by larger media groups,” she said. However, Alexandra, whose flexible fund targets quality growth businesses, has exposure to Bloomsbury Publishing, the London-listed Harry Potter publisher.

“It’s a hidden gem,” she told us. “At a £500m market cap, it’s under most investors’ radars but has delivered 10% average annual growth in the dividend over the last decade, while investing in organic growth and doing bolt-on M&A at the same time.” Alexandra highlighted the company’s valuable intellectual property, as it owns the rights to any titles it publishes for 70 years after the author’s death, and its newer authors.

“Ask a Gen Zer what book they are reading to unplug and chances are it will be a Sarah J Maas ‘romancey’ novel,” she added. “She’s sold more than 40m books since 2012 and is a social media titan. There’s a new book in the works for next financial year too.”

Discover your next book: Celebrating world book day

Holidays and breaks

Turning the mobile phone off and enjoying some quality time with family and friends is another great way to unplug and lessen your reliance on technology. TIME:Commercial Long Income is a fund which aims to provide a secure and stable investment return through acquiring commercial freehold ground rents and properties on long leases. 

Its current holdings include sites used by a number of companies that specialise in offering stays, whether these are overnight or for longer. For example, these include the Premier Inn in both Peterborough and Great Yarmouth, as well as the Southend Holiday Inn, and PGL Liddington, the activity centre***.

We see this fund as an excellent diversifier due to its low correlation to fixed income and equities, as well as a great building block of any income-oriented portfolio.

Catch up in person

Of course, making the effort to visit a friend or relative, rather than sending them a quick text, is a great way of improving social connection.

Trainline, which sells train tickets and railcards, recently reported growth in its UK rail market with industry passenger revenues increasing to £11.2 billion in the year to the end of August 2024. It also noted in its half year results: “The circa €44 billion European rail market provides significant headroom for Trainline’s future growth.”

The company is a current holding of the WS Amati UK Listed Smaller Companies fund***, which is an unconstrained portfolio seeking UK growth businesses that can grow faster than the economy. This fund is managed by a team of exceptionally experienced managers, with few smaller companies funds able to boast this level of resource.

Thinking of people

At the core of the unplugging movement is making people feel socially connected – and this can be achieved as simply as sending them something through the post. A key player in this market is Card Factory. The stock is one of the largest holdings in the Premier Miton Tellworth UK Smaller Companies fund***, which is run by Paul Marriage, John Warren and James Gerlis. This is a pure smaller companies fund and the managers have an outstanding long-term track record of investing in this area. They also have a solid but flexible process.

*Source: Uswitch, 7 February 2024

**Source: The Reading Agency, 19 July 2024

***Source: fund factsheet, 31 January 2025