JohnBaronPortfolios.co.uk

Welcome to another episode of The Two Johns, the investment trust podcast brought to you by the website www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk. Each month, John Baron joins former Investors' Chronicle editor John Hughman to discuss the big themes dominating the investment landscape and the important issues affecting the sector, while explaining how these are influencing the way the website's ten live investment trust portfolios are being managed.
In episode 22, they discuss the progress of John Baron’s “Trade of the Decade”, a decade outlook first mooted five years ago, revisiting the case for investing in the UK and its undervalued stock market. They explore why UK equities have defied pessimistic expectations, the growing appeal of value investing, and why smaller companies and investment trusts may now increasingly contribute to themarket’s continued strong performance over the next half-decade.
In the second section, they also look at the recent rise in long bond yields, and the structural forces keeping inflation and interest rates higher, including geopolitical uncertainty, deglobalisation and increased expenditure on defence,the energy transition, infrastructure and AI spending – and why, in the context of mounting government debt and stretched central bank credibility, they remain cautious on equities generally while favouring the UK market and alternative investments.

UEM is aspecialist investment company focused on infrastructure, utilities and essential services across emerging markets. Managed by Charles Jillings and his team, the trust invests in the companies that help economies function and grow, including ports, railways, electricity networks, telecoms, digitalinfrastructure and transport assets. With a concentrated, bottom-up approach, UEM looks for high-quality businesses with strong management teams, resilient cash generation and the potential to deliver long-term capital growth alongside a progressive dividend. Investing across regions from Latin America to Asia, the trust aims to benefit from the structural growth trends underpinning urbanisation, industrialisation and rising middle-class demand in emerging economies.
In the interview, Charles discusses how the company has navigated a volatile backdrop shaped by tariffs, geopolitical tensions, inflation and energy shocks, while continuing to uncover attractive opportunities in often-overlooked infrastructure sectors. He explains why emerging markets have become more resilient and adaptable, highlights opportunities in ports, digital infrastructure and Brazil’s waste sector, and outlines how governance and management quality drive stock selection. The conversation also explores China’s industrial evolution, India’s infrastructure ambitions, Latin America’s growing appeal, and why energy security, AI enablement and supply-chain resilience could become powerful drivers of future growth.

Welcome to another episode of The Two Johns, the investment trust podcast brought to you by the website www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk. Each month, John Baron joins former Investors' Chronicle editor John Hughman to discuss the big themes dominating the investment landscape and the important issues affecting the sector, while explaining how these are influencing the way the website's ten live investment trust portfolios are being managed.
In episode 21, they examine why infrastructure is emerging as one of the most compelling long-term investment opportunities, driven by ageing assets, surging electricity demand from AI, the energy transition and growing concerns over energy security. They discuss how governments are increasingly relying on private capital to bridge a multi-trillion-dollar global infrastructure funding gap, creating attractive opportunities in sectors such as utilities, water and transport. The episode also revisits the ongoing conflict in Iran, exploring why geopolitical uncertainty reinforces the importance of portfolio diversification, disciplined risk management and maintaining a long-term investment perspective rather than reacting to short-term market volatility.

EGL investsin a diversified portfolio of utilities, environmental services, and transportation infrastructure companies across developed markets, with the aim of delivering a combination of secure income, capital preservation, and long-term growth. Managed by Jean-Hugues de Lamaze since launch in 2016, the trust focuses on businesses with predictable cash flows, strong inflation linkage and structural growth opportunities arising from the energy transition. Recent years have seen the portfolio benefit from growing investment in power networks, electrification and energy infrastructure - themes that the manager believes are reshaping what has traditionally been viewed as a defensive, income-oriented sector.
In this interview, de Lamaze explains why utilities and infrastructure are no longer simply "bond proxy" investments, arguing that electrification, grid modernisation, and rising power demand are creating compelling long-term growth opportunities. He discusses how the trust seeks to combine a c.4% yield with dividend growth, outlines the investment case for electricity networks, renewable infrastructure, and environmental services, and explains why the market continues to underestimate the sector's structural growth potential. He also reflects on the impact of AI-driven electricity demand, the energy transition, valuation opportunities created by interest-rate volatility, and how EGL is positioned to deliver attractive returns with lower volatility than broader equity markets.

Welcome to The Two Johns, the investment trust podcast brought to you by the website www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk. Each month, John Baron joins former Investors’ Chronicle editor John Hughman to discuss the big themes dominating the investment landscape and the important issues affecting the sector, while explaining how these are influencing the way the website’s ten live investment trust portfolios are being managed.
In episode 20, they first look at special situations - and why uncertainty, negative sentiment and unloved assets can create compelling opportunities for patient investors. From discounted investment trusts and out-of-favour fund managers to life sciences, data businesses, infrastructure and uranium, they consider when market pessimism signals genuine value rather than a value trap. They then turn to growth, asking where the next generation of opportunities might emerge, from AI and healthcare to infrastructure and the energy transition - and whether investors can still find high-quality growth at a reasonable price.