For financial professionals in the UK

HEFT Minisode: Are stock market valuations bubblelicious?

John Bennett

John Bennett

Director of European Equities | Portfolio Manager


17 Dec 2021

In this episode, Andrew Chiguri and John Bennett, Portfolio Manager of Henderson European Focus Trust, discuss global stock market valuations, areas where valuations are looking stretched and sectors where he is finding opportunities. John also touches on what could derail the strong performance we have seen from growth stocks in 2022.

Key takeaways

  • Certain segments of the equity market are looking ‘bubblelicious’, despite higher inflation, global supply chain bottlenecks, and tightening monetary policy concerns.
  • In Europe, valuations within technology and health care-tech (equipment) names are looking very stretched. From a sector perspective, valuations within small-cap and mid-cap growth names also look very high.

If 10-year yields were to steepen meaningfully on the back of higher inflation concerns; this would pose a significant risk to the performance of growth stocks.

Catch up on previous episodes of Trust Radio

Growth stocks Expand

A growth stock is any share in a company that is anticipated to grow at a rate significantly above the average growth for the market. These stocks generally do not pay dividends. This is because the issuers of growth stocks are usually companies that want to reinvest any earnings they accrue in order to accelerate growth in the short term.

Inflation Expand

The rate at which the prices of goods and services are rising in an economy. The CPI and RPI are two common measures.

Valuation metrics Expand

Metrics used to gauge a company’s performance, financial health, and expectations for future earnings eg, price to earnings (P/E) ratio and return on equity (ROE).

Yields Expand

The level of income on a security, typically expressed as a percentage rate. For equities, a common measure is the dividend yield, which divides recent dividend payments for each share by the share price. For a bond, this is calculated as the coupon payment divided by the current bond price.

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.

 

Marketing Communication.

 

Glossary

 

 

 

Important information

Please read the following important information regarding funds related to this article.

Before investing in an investment trust referred to in this document, you should satisfy yourself as to its suitability and the risks involved, you may wish to consult a financial adviser. This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the AIFMD Disclosure document and Annual Report of the AIF before making any final investment decisions.
    Specific risks
  • 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.
  • The Company may have a particularly concentrated portfolio (low number of holdings) relative to its investment universe - an adverse event impacting only a small number of holdings can create significant volatility or losses for the Company.
  • Where the Company invests in assets that are denominated in currencies other than the base currency, the currency exchange rate movements may cause the value of investments to fall as well as rise.
  • 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.
John Bennett

John Bennett

Director of European Equities | Portfolio Manager


17 Dec 2021