Previously only available to subscribers of www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk, you can now listen here to the interviews we’ve conducted with leading investment tru...
BNKR is a FTSE 250-listed investment company focused on delivering long-term capital growth in excess of its FTSE World Index benchmark and inflation-beating income growth to its shareholders. Established in 1888, it invests in a diversified portfolio of global equities aiming to tap into global trends in GDP growth, in particular the rapid growth on offer in Asia. That’s translated into a 57-year record of raising dividends, with a dividend paid every year since inception.
In this interview we speak to lead manager Alex Crooke
about the importance of the three Us (“Unloved, under-owned and undervalued”) to the company’s investment philosophy; why the team is balancing the portfolio to take advantage of faster growth in emerging Asia; building macro analysis by
in-region experts into the company's bottom up stock picking approach; looking past AI hype to opportunities in the broader US market; and why the global economy is likely to experience a ‘soft landing’ that supports the manager's cautiously optimistic outlook.
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30:09
The Two Johns
Welcome to The Two Johns, the new investment trust podcast brought to you by the website www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk. Each month, John Baron will be joining 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 our third episode, we delve into the high-stakes world of activist investing, focusing on Saba Capital’s bold moves within the UK investment trust sector; then, in our ‘Investment Insight’ segment, we discuss the pitfalls of forecasting and why sticking to fundamentals often trumps speculative predictions; before rounding off by considering how to adjust your investment strategy as you approach the end of your investment journey.
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43:58
Schroder Japan Trust (SJG)
SJG is an investment company whose aim is to deliver capital growth in excess of the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s First Section Total Return index, an objective it’s consistently delivered on over the last decade. The company runs a high-conviction portfolio of around 60 stocks across a range of sectors, taking a value-led, bottom-up approach to stock selection within thematic areas it’s identified as likely benefit from trends within the Japanese economy and beyond. The company recently announced an enhanced dividend policy with an aim of paying out 4% of NAV in each financial year.
In this podcast interview, John Hughman speaks with manager Masaki Taketsume about how corporate governance reforms have seen the Japanese market deliver strong earnings growth despite domestic economic stagnation; the country’s shift from deflation to inflation and the normalisation of Japanese monetary policy; how the company uses the deep experience of its analyst network to identify companies set to benefit from macroeconomic and shifting social dynamics within Japan; and how a growing focus on balance sheet efficiency is seeing dividends becoming a key component of investing in Japanese equities.
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30:13
The Two Johns
Welcome to The Two Johns, the new investment trust podcast brought to you by the website www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk. Each month, John Baron will be joining 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 this second episode, we’re exploring the sometimes-complex world of capital preservation trusts and their diversification credentials; then, in our ‘Investment Insight’ session, examining why the principle “Time in the market, not market timing” is a truism worth adhering to; before questioning whether actively managed ETFs really do pose a threat to the sector.
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37:16
Brunner Investment Trust (BUT)
Established nearly a century ago, BUT is a long-standing, family-oriented investment company founded by Sir John Brunner, who reinvested the proceeds from selling his soda ash business to form the company. Primarily designed as a vehicle for wealth preservation across generations, the Brunner family retains a significant 28% stake in it. With assets exceeding £600 million, the trust has consistently grown its dividends for over 50 years. Managed with a global focus, its benchmark is 70% FTSE All-World and 30% FTSE All-Share, positioning it as a diversified global trust with a strong UK component.
In the interview, Julian Bishop describes Brunner’s flexible investment philosophy, which focuses on balancing quality, growth, and value; how the trust seeks to find high-quality wealth compounders like Visa and niche value stocks like Brambles, a pallet-leasing company, and how many of its holdings benefit from unique network effects; and the challenges of macroeconomic prediction and why the managers take a bottom up approach with a focus on industry structures and how companies generate the cashflows that underpin long-term outperformance.
Previously only available to subscribers of www.johnbaronportfolios.co.uk, you can now listen here to the interviews we’ve conducted with leading investment trust managers, to our regular interviews in future, and to our new monthly podcast (The Two Johns) where John Baron and John Hughman will be discussing the latest investment and sector themes which influence how the website’s 10 live investment trust portfolios achieve a range of risk-adjusted strategies and income levels. The website’s members are notified whenever portfolio changes are made.