Funds Crescendo

Gold shining bright, but miners need a polish

Research: 05 April 2024

The Performance Conundrum

Research: 28 March 2024

As fund selectors there are few things that get us more excited than finding a talented manager that few others have ever heard of (yes, we are that sad).

Bridging the Gap

Research: 22 March 2024

You must have been in hibernation over the past two years if you haven’t heard us and other commentators talk about the nonsensical cost disclosure rules on investment companies and its negative impact on the share prices and discounts of the sector.

Idiosyncratic Returns

Research: 01 March 2024

Investments capable of marching to the beat of their own drum, independent of the waxing and waning of economic factors and other financial assets are great things to own at the best of times, bringing lovely diversification benefits to multi-asset portfolios.

Vanbrugh’s 15th Anniversary

Research: 23 February 2024

5 years ago we wrote an article celebrating our Vanbrugh Fund’s 10th anniversary, which contained 10 things we believed were key to its success back then.

Breathing Fire

Research: 16 February 2024

I know your inbox will have been inundated with posts this week with titles on some variation of ‘The Year of the Dragon’ as Chinese markets are closed this week as the country celebrates their New Year. Or perhaps for many commiserates it. Those who have been invested in Chinese equities in recent years don’t have much to be joyous about.

Darkest Before Dawn

Research: 09 February 2024

Energy Transition

Research: 02 February 2024

A topical Crescendo this week as today’s (Thursday 1st February) developments at Gresham House Energy Storage (GRID) warrants some comment. 

Perception vs Reality

Research: 26 January 2024

Are real returns a fantasy in the US?

Research: 19 January 2024

Market history is riddled with examples of extremely high valuations producing dismal long-term outcomes for investors. The US market itself has historically gone through very long periods where the returns generated from its equity market have lagged the returns on Treasury Bonds.

When the Industry Came Together

Research: 12 January 2024

In 1868, the first investment trust, Foreign & Colonial Trust, was launched to provide ‘the investor of moderate means the same advantage as the large capitalist’. We are a step closer to making sure this democratisation of access to investable assets of all different types continues

The Hawksmoor Funds - 2023 in Review

Research: 05 January 2024

A Significant Week for the Investment Company Cost Disclosure Campaign

Research: 08 December 2023

An atypical week in the life of a multi-asset fund manager

Research: 01 December 2023

Black Friday Bargains… We’ve got three!

Research: 24 November 2023

Going for Gold

Research: 17 November 2023

Mixed Messages

Research: 10 November 2023

UK Equity Market in Crisis?

Research: 03 November 2023

Unsung heroes

Research: 27 October 2023

Should Investment Company Directors be paid more?

Research: 20 October 2023

We don’t have to invest in aggregates

Research: 13 October 2023

Disclose. Don't Double Count

Research: 06 October 2023

When it all comes together

Research: 29 September 2023

Global Opps 5th Anniversary

Research: 22 September 2023

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of Bids)

Research: 15 September 2023

Smoke and mirrors

Research: 08 September 2023

“History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes”

Research: 01 September 2023

We Need to Talk About Investment Trusts

Research: 04 August 2023

Final Part : Our recommendations

We Need to Talk About Investment Trusts

Research: 28 July 2023

Part 5: Relevance & Communication

We Need to Talk About Investment Trusts

Research: 21 July 2023

Part 4: Capital Allocation and Corporate Activity

We Need to Talk About Investment Trusts

Research: 14 July 2023

Part 3: Alignment and Structure

We Need to Talk About Investment Trusts

Research: 07 July 2023

Part 2 - The IPO Process

We need to talk about Investment Trusts

Research: 29 June 2023

Part 1 - Why are Discounts Currently Wide and Why Does it Matter?

We Need to Talk About Investment Trusts

Research: 23 June 2023

An Introduction to our six-part series on the current malaise impacting the sector

Natural Income

Research: 16 June 2023

We’re Still Here If You Look Hard Enough

Research: 09 June 2023

Artificial Intelligence – The End of the World or an Investment Opportunity?

Research: 02 June 2023

False Dawns and Rising Suns

Research: 12 May 2023

Recycling: Good for the planet, and good for investors

Research: 05 May 2023

Paying £1 for 98p

Research: 28 April 2023

Perception vs Reality

Research: 21 April 2023

Is bigger beautiful?

Research: 14 April 2023

We’re not Marks & Spencer!

Research: 06 April 2023

Survival of the Fittest?

Research: 31 March 2023

Under the bonnet

Research: 24 March 2023

Truly EPIC

Research: 17 March 2023

What a tool!

Research: 10 March 2023

A Call to Arms

Research: 28 February 2023

The curious case of LAND versus SHED

Research: 24 February 2023

Fourteen years young

Research: 17 February 2023

We`ve got issues

Research: 10 February 2023

On the road again

Research: 03 February 2023

Credit where credit is due

Research: 27 January 2023

“If I don't do it, who will......?”

Research: 20 January 2023

Uneven Playing Fields

Research: 13 January 2023

Fund cost disclosure rules are not being applied consistently. The result is that the OCF – the number that is meant to represent the annual cost of investing in a fund (“ongoing cost figure”) – is currently meaningless. Even worse, we are seeing fund distributors penalise certain funds in the name of Consumer Duty. Something HAS to be done.

Topsy Turvy

Research: 06 January 2023

It is interesting how similar the average returns for the IA multi-asset sectors were last year, but it is perfectly explainable given the dominance of government bonds (supposedly lower risk) and growth equities (supposedly higher risk) across most portfolios and how sensitive they both are to rising interest rates. Cautious investors have fared worse than they would have expected, and the industry should use the experience of 2022 to review how it assesses risk.

Forget cautious optimism, we’re outright excited

Research: 16 December 2022

Our portfolios are as full of managers excited about their fund prospects as we can ever remember – that makes us excited too.

The Privilege of Permanent Capital

Research: 09 December 2022

Managing the portfolio of and being a board member of an investment trust is a privilege that is far too often taken for granted. The current situation with VPC Specialty Lending* highlights many of the issues we care so deeply about.

Common sense is not that common

Research: 02 December 2022

Many investors over-complicate investment so, inspired by Howard Marks’ latest memo, we focus on a few things that don’t really matter in our process

Do you yield?

Research: 18 November 2022

After a decade of investors focusing on capital growth, we believe that the coming years will see income investing come back to the fore.

Picking bottoms

Research: 11 November 2022

Our process, the most important member of the team, leads us to be fully invested ahead of market nadirs that can result in short term underperformance. It has happened before and is happening now. It is uncomfortable but we are pains to communicate to our investors that this may happen – indeed it is why our long-term performance is what it is.

Empathy

Research: 04 November 2022

In May of 2021, Daniel Lockyer opened up in these pages about his own personal struggles dealing with the stresses of the fund management job. After yet another stressful period for UK investors, savers and homeowners and the professionals whose job it is to advise these people, we return to the importance of looking after yourself, each other and having empathy for your clients.

Blend it like Beckham

Research: 28 October 2022

Despite evolving asset allocation the benefits of blending multi-asset funds with truly differentiated approaches are evident through the cycle.

We Will Underperform

Research: 21 October 2022

Our investment process emphasises margin of safety and the importance of valuation in prospective returns. This usually means outperforming our peers when markets fall. However, on rare occasions, we will underperform when markets fall. This is a great sign. Read on.

Sorting the wheat from the chaff

Research: 07 October 2022

Real asset investment trusts have derated aggressively in response to higher bond yields. Some of these moves have been rational, but we believe certain real assets continue to have an important role to play in multi-asset portfolios.

The Great Re-Pricing

Research: 30 September 2022

The UK sovereign 10-year real yield just rose by over 150bps in a week. We must be honest about what this means for financial assets. This is a re-pricing of risk on a seismic scale.

Happy 4th Birthday Global Opportunities

Research: 23 September 2022

It has had a good start in terms of performance but we are just as excited about the attractiveness of the current portfolio as at any time during the last 4 years, which bodes well for continued good performance over the long term.

Real assets and rising bond yields

Research: 16 September 2022

Has the recent repricing of mainstream assets such as corporate bonds undermined the case for investing in alternative assets? The answer, as always, is not clear cut. Here we discuss how we are navigating the ever-changing investment landscape, with particular reference to alternative assets.

Small is beautiful – part 2

Research: 02 September 2022

Preferring small funds is not the same as saying as saying outperformance is more likely

How to sell a fund to us

Research: 19 August 2022

Fund salespeople know their funds better than we do. We wish they’d tell us which funds we should be looking at, rather than asking us what we are looking at.

Small is beautiful

Research: 12 August 2022

We love backing new and smaller funds where managers focus and incentive to perform is highest, and alpha potential is greatest.

Clearing the deadwood

Research: 05 August 2022

There are too many investment trusts languishing on wide discounts which are either too small to attract new buyers or lack a USP. Consolidation is required to reinvigorate demand for a significant proportion of the sector.

The Duty to the Consumer

Research: 29 July 2022

The FCA published its final guidance on its new Consumer Duty rules on Wednesday (27th July). We applaud the excellent intentions but once again bemoan the fact that intermediaries – advisers and platforms – are not being given the right information to correctly assess price and value.

Vested Interests

Research: 22 July 2022

Having long term relationships with fund managers we trust helps us with investment decisions, which, as active managers, gives us an edge over purely passive managers.

Is a recession priced in?

Research: 15 July 2022

We are increasingly optimistic about future returns thanks to the cheap valuations we are now seeing across more liquid asset classes. The key question though is whether valuations have priced in a recession.

Funds of funds: completely misunderstood

Research: 08 July 2022

Some investors seem to think that funds of funds are a rip off. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Take a look at our private parts

Research: 01 July 2022

The listed private equity sector has had a very poor 3 month period of performance despite us believing the sector was attractively valued 3 months ago. So has anything changed?

Proving it’s metal

Research: 23 June 2022

Inflation has made a mockery of the notion that bonds are always an effective diversifier of equity risk – investors need more tools in their armoury including one with over 5000 years of history as a store of value.

Valuation Matters Part 2

Research: 17 June 2022

Despite the sharp drawdown in equity markets year to date, headline indices are still not offering great value. The last time the US 10-year yield was above 3% was in 2018, and the US was on 20x CAPE vs 30x today. Despite a bear market in US stocks, there’s a long way to go before valuations reach attractive levels.

Exasperated of Exeter: we address transactions cost disclosure

Research: 10 June 2022

This week we return to the subject of cost disclosures. We have addressed the OCF calculation previously and here we touch upon transactions costs – which is another example of frankly ludicrous requirements and disclosure rules with inconsistent application. We will not stop until the relevant bodies have listened.

Control the Controllables

Research: 27 May 2022

Boards of investment trusts should not try to target the discount. The discount is a reflection of market sentiment and will disappear (or not appear in the first place) if the Board allocate capital well. Buying back shares is nothing to do with narrowing the discount and everything to do with enhancing NAV per share and allocating capital efficiently.

Going against the grain

Research: 20 May 2022

‘Negative headlines and deteriorating economic data dominate, but UK equity valuations are already pricing in lots of bad news, offering a significant margin of safety for those willing to take a contrarian view’

Valuation Matters

Research: 13 May 2022

We are in a valuation-led bear market. High inflation means positive real returns will be tough to come by in the short-term. Inflation protection at the company level doesn’t always translate to inflation protection at the investor level. The importance of valuation discipline has never been greater. Fortunately, we are optimistic that positive real returns from today over the next 3 years are achievable for those with a valuation discipline.

Foundations built on sand

Research: 06 May 2022

Carrying on the long-running theme of ours, highlighting the fallibility of using bonds as a core part of lower risk portfolios, I move on to how this perception permeates through the fund management and financial advice industry. This is a structural issue and usually not an investment decision by most investors or advisers. What will it take for this to change?

Inflation has changed the rules of the game

Research: 29 April 2022

The start of 2022 has seen one of the biggest drawdowns in history for bond markets, including the third largest drawdown in a century for the US 10-year Treasury bond. This has been a material headwind for conventional portfolio construction and underlined the importance of our Funds unconstrained and differentiated investment approach.

The OCF Campaign - revisited

Research: 22 April 2022

The campaign to improve cost disclosure is gaining momentum. Here we revisit why we are so motivated to take action, what we are trying to achieve and why.

Premium Assets

Research: 08 April 2022

The significant re-ratings in recent weeks, enjoyed by many of our alternative investment trusts, has been a big positive for Fund performance whilst adding emphasis to the importance of our ongoing assessment of value. Some active management of position sizing aside, we think there is more to go.

A refreshing end to the Eat, Sleep, Zoom Repeat cycle

Research: 01 April 2022

As more of the fund management community goes back to the office, it bodes well for our investment process if in-person meetings can become more frequent occurrences and bring the “Eat, Sleep, Zoom, Repeat” cycle of the last two years to an end.

What ARE “Real Assets”?

Research: 25 March 2022

The fund and investment management industry is brilliant at over-complicating simple concepts and mis-labelling things. Here we address so-called “real assets” and conclude with the only conclusion that matters (it doesn’t matter what you label an investment – as long as it achieves the client objective!).

Weeks where decades happen

Research: 18 March 2022

There is an old saying that there are decades where nothing happens, and weeks where decades happen. For China, in the past week a decade has passed!

Re-kicking the Tyres

Research: 11 March 2022

For valuation led investors willing to objectively revisit the fundamentals, market and individual share price volatility can present opportunities.

Valuations not Events

Research: 04 March 2022

Hawksmoor Fund Managers react to valuations not events. Here we remind investors of what we can and cannot do amid a crisis that barely anyone foretold.

Teenage kicks

Research: 18 February 2022

The Hawksmoor Vanbrugh Fund celebrates its 13th birthday today and we look back at some of the key process-driven factors that have helped it become the number one fund in its sector since its launch in 2009.

Return free Risk

Research: 11 February 2022

The increase in bond yields has accelerated in recent months resulting in painful capital losses for the world’s major fixed income markets. For nimble, active investors there is another way.

Price vs Value

Research: 04 February 2022

When it comes to investing, it’s crucial to distinguish between price and value. A higher optical cost of investing does not necessarily mean poorer value. Unfortunately, the well-intentioned Investment Association is not helping investors out with this distinction.

Revisiting Oakley

Research: 28 January 2022

This week we revisit one of our highest conviction ideas as an illustration of the returns an investor can generate when improving investment trust governance meets a strongly performing portfolio.

ESG: Don’t ignore the G

Research: 21 January 2022

We support the aims of AVI and their co-investors in their recent fight to uphold high standards of corporate governance and argue that it is the “G” in “ESG” that is too often ignored by investors.

From Hero to Zero

Research: 14 January 2022

This week Dan Cartridge explores how the ARK Innovation ETF has destroyed over $1bn of investor capital, despite achieving time-weighted returns of over 300% since launch.

Drivers of Hawksmoor Funds’ 2021 performance

Research: 07 January 2022

As the New Year begins, Ben Mackie looks back at the major positive and negative drivers of returns in 2021, which have resulted in all three Hawksmoor Funds being in the top quartile of their respective IA Sectors.

Season's Greetings from HFM

Research: 17 December 2021

As we enter the festive period, rest assured that the portfolios will still be monitored and we are still working hard to unearth new ideas, but we won’t be providing you with our reflections on the past year.

Transitory proves transitory

Research: 03 December 2021

Dan Cartridge explains that inflation should be a concern for all investors, given higher inflation makes it more difficult to achieve client objectives of growing their wealth. Portfolios using traditional building blocks may struggle in an inflationary environment but many alternative assets offer inflation busting returns.

The Fund Management Industry’s Biggest Conflict?

Research: 26 November 2021

This week Ben Conway explains that when a fund gets "too big" it is likely that the manager will have to compromise their investment process, and therefore client objectives too.

Time to Consider Generalist REITs?

Research: 19 November 2021

"Most targeted REITs are now trading on premiums to net asset values (NAV), while most traditional generalist REITs are currently trading at discounts to NAV." - Daniel Lockyer looks at REITs and considers if it's time to consider generalist REITs?

Portfolios Crackling with New Ideas

Research: 12 November 2021

This week Ben Conway highlights the exciting new ideas that we are adding to the portfolios, ultimately helping our Funds meet client objectives.

Skin in the game part 2: Performance Fees

Research: 05 November 2021

This week read Dan Cartridge's views on performance fees. He explains why, in many cases, we are happy to pay them, but they must be appropriately structured in order to be justifiable.

The Income Conundrum

Research: 29 October 2021

Ben Mackie highlights an interesting chart showing that the real yield on a traditional equity-bond portfolio has recently gone negative for the first time. He explains that our Distribution Fund, which sits in the IA Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares sector, continues to deliver an attractive and stable level of income, in a risk controlled manner, despite the deterioration of yield elsewhere.

Investment Trusts - too good to miss, too big to ignore

Research: 22 October 2021

Having just returned from a 3-day roadshow, Ben Conway highlights the message he has been presenting on along with additional data from Numis which shows the huge increase in the number and size of investment trusts - an area that is essential to consider in order to achieve client objectives.

Skin in the game

Research: 15 October 2021

This week Dan writes about fund managers investing in their own funds and the importance of the alignment of interest between them, the investor and the fund.

Giving it '110 percent'

Research: 08 October 2021

This week Daniel explains how investment trusts, unlike footballers, can give 110% by using debt for gearing.

Hard hats and high-vis jackets for a tungsten mine visit

Research: 01 October 2021

Here Daniel talks about his recent visit to a tungsten mine where he learnt about how tungsten is mined and produced, what it is used for, and the financial model of the business.

Issues with issues: conflicts of interest with investment trusts

Research: 24 September 2021

This week Ben reacts to the huge amount of investment trust issuance at the moment and explains why we will mark the cards of boards and investment managers who issue shares at too large a discount to the market price.

The Little Engine That Could

Research: 17 September 2021

This week Ben explains how this American folktake can be used as a metaphor for some of our holdings, including uranium miners, and even applied to the Hawksmoor Funds themselves.

Strong as an Oak(ley) Tree

Research: 10 September 2021

Private equity exposure has been a mainstay of Hawksmoor's multi-asset portfolios since day one. This week Ben Conway has a closer look into one of the largest positions across all three of the Funds - Oakley Capital Investments.

Fund closures – will there be another one along in a minute?

Research: 13 August 2021

This week Daniel talks about the closure of the Aviva Multi Strategy Target Income fund and the importance of a common-sense and pragmatic approach to management.

Access all areas

Research: 30 July 2021

In this blog Dan Cartridge highlights the importance of idea generation by conducting hundreds of meetings with fund managers every year.

Infrastructure trusts: two decisions

Research: 23 July 2021

This week Ben Conway looks at infrastructure investment trusts - and explains why the Team are wary of many of the major investment trusts owning infrastructure assets..

Through the Looking Glass

Research: 16 July 2021

“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future” - Ben Mackie explains how this quote from decorated New York Yankee baseball player and part time sage Yogi Berra applies to financial markets.

Hot Right Now

Research: 02 July 2021

This week Ben Mackie looks at the amount of new issuance that has been going on in the investment trust sector of late – and why we believe that a “highly selective, due diligence heavy approach” is the best solution.

Anti-clickbait: An update on our view on US equities

Research: 25 June 2021

What’s the opposite of clickbait? Answer: writing a blog that argues US equities are expensive. In this blog, Ben explains why we don't own any US-dedicated equity exposure and highlights a chart that analyses valuation better than anyone else we have come across.

Going for a song

Research: 18 June 2021

How important is music in your life? In this blog Daniel highlights that 'songs' is now an investable asset class as well as something to listen to, dance to, cry to.

The Perils of Cumulative Performance

Research: 11 June 2021

Typically, funds are judged on 1/3/5 year cumulative performance which we think is very dangerous. In this blog Ben Conway explains why this is the case, and why it is often the best time to invest after a period of poor performance.

Back in Berlin

Research: 04 June 2021

Phoenix Spree Deutschland, one of the top holdings across our three Funds, has this week announced a radical and very shareholder-friendly capital allocation policy. Read our thoughts here.

The REIT Stuff

Research: 28 May 2021

Property as an asset class has been filling the column inches again in the past few weeks. In this blog Ben Mackie highlights the highly targeted exposure to property that has been an important component of our Funds for years.

Off the beaten path

Research: 21 May 2021

This week Ben Conway discusses our ability to still find interesting opportunities despite expensive mainstream assets.

Absolute not relative

Research: 14 May 2021

This week Daniel speaks out about mental health, the pressures that can be felt within fund management, the benefit of being surrounded by a supportive team and the importance of individuals speaking out to raise awareness.

Premium returns at a discount? Shush – it’s private!

Research: 07 May 2021

The private equity sector has been on a tear over the past six months. In fact, it has been on a tear for about 30 years! This week we look at the recent stellar NAV progression across the sector, why we still remain excited about the value private equity offers, and our top private equity holding across our funds.

Don't miss the boat

Research: 23 April 2021

In investment terms, we’re usually always early on to something, sometimes have to spend a while in the metaphorical waiting area, twiddling our thumbs, but we eventually get let in, and get a great seat. Tufton Oceanic Assets is a good example of this, and we think it is a cracking investment idea.

Mietendeckel: Special situations in property

Research: 16 April 2021

It has been said that the definition of a special situation is a good investment gone wrong. This has certainly crossed our minds numerous times when considering one of our largest holdings in our three Funds, Phoenix Spree Deutschland (PSDL), over the last couple of years.

Who's got the power?

Research: 09 April 2021

I think we can all agree that cannibalism is a bad thing. Patrick Bateman? Bad. Hannibal Lecter? Definitely bad. Renewable energy infrastructure trusts? Bad. Hang on – renewable energy trusts are bad? Surely they’re good?!

Unprecedented use of the word ‘unprecedented’

Research: 26 March 2021

This week Daniel reflects on a year since the start of the first lockdown. A year where the UK economy contracted by 9.9%, yet the UK stock market is up more than 40%.

Counting fairies on the head of a pin

Research: 19 March 2021

This week Ben highlights the fact that we do not have a crystal ball, and that we would therefore rather focus on things within our control such as portfolio positioning and valuation.

The Competition for Capital

Research: 12 March 2021

With competition for capital in the Funds currently very high, in this blog we highlight which holdings we are having to sell in order to buy things that we like more.

Fixed Income: active management required

Research: 05 March 2021

Bearing in mind low government bond yields, tight credit spreads and the capital losses that come with rising yields, in this blog we answer the question: What should one own in this space?

When asset allocation makes no sense

Research: 26 February 2021

In this week's blog, we share our views on asset allocation and how we focus on bottom up opportunities. The current environment is extremely unusual and yet we are very excited about the return prospects for our Funds.

The hidden gems of UK equity funds

Research: 19 February 2021

UK equities are a classic example of a region where we are able to find exciting funds, despite not being terribly excited about the market. In this blog we explain why we are finding so many good fund managers in the UK who are particularly excited about their funds, this late into a bull market.

Bitcoin behind enemy lines

Research: 12 February 2021

We are frequently asked about our views on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general, and here we lay out the principles we use when assessing whether the rise of cryptocurrencies should inform our investment process.

Hi Ho Silver Lining

Research: 05 February 2021

This week's blog focuses on the frenzied buying of physical silver and the impact on the futures market.

Merry Men target financial elite

Research: 28 January 2021

This first blog highlights the "utterly gobsmacking" events in markets this week, surrounding the attacks on hedge funds from retail investors.