Finding value in UK small caps
James Henderson, Portfolio Manager of Henderson Opportunities Trust, talks about the Trust’s performance over the first half of the year, areas where he is finding opportunities, and how smaller businesses are innovating to deal with changing consumer behaviour. James also touches on the longer-term investment themes playing out in the portfolio.
Key takeaways:
- It’s been a challenging period for the Trust as smaller companies have struggled in the face of higher inflation, economic uncertainty, and rising input costs. However, the larger mature companies within the portfolio “stabilisers” have performed well and helped offset some of this weakness.
- During difficult market environments – such as stagflation – companies with strong pricing power, solid balance sheets, lower debt levels, and experienced management teams tend to be more resilient.
- Over the long-term, strong growth tends to come from small and medium-sized companies. Though their performance can be volatile, they also tend to bounce back stronger following difficult periods or large equity drawdowns.
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These are the views of the author at the time of publication and may differ from the views of other individuals/teams at Janus Henderson Investors. References made to individual securities do not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, investment strategy or market sector, and should not be assumed to be profitable. Janus Henderson Investors, its affiliated advisor, or its employees, may have a position in the securities mentioned.
Past performance does not predict future returns. The value of an investment and the income from it can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount originally invested.
The information in this article does not qualify as an investment recommendation.
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Please read the following important information regarding funds related to this article.
- If a Company's portfolio is concentrated towards a particular country or geographical region, the investment carries greater risk than a portfolio that is diversified across more countries.
- Some of the investments in this portfolio are in smaller company shares. They may be more difficult to buy and sell, and their share prices may fluctuate more than those of larger companies.
- This Company is suitable to be used as one component of several within a diversified investment portfolio. Investors should consider carefully the proportion of their portfolio invested in this Company.
- Active management techniques that have worked well in normal market conditions could prove ineffective or negative for performance at other times.
- The Company could lose money if a counterparty with which it trades becomes unwilling or unable to meet its obligations to the Company.
- Shares can lose value rapidly, and typically involve higher risks than bonds or money market instruments. The value of your investment may fall as a result.
- The return on your investment is directly related to the prevailing market price of the Company's shares, which will trade at a varying discount (or premium) relative to the value of the underlying assets of the Company. As a result, losses (or gains) may be higher or lower than those of the Company's assets.
- The Company may use gearing (borrowing to invest) as part of its investment strategy. If the Company utilises its ability to gear, the profits and losses incurred by the Company can be greater than those of a Company that does not use gearing.
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