Investors' Chronicle

Mark Robinson leads this week’s discussion, beginning with the chaotic week for takeovers, including all the Anglo-BHP drama and Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services’s (IDS) £3.5bn deal.It then moves on to activist investors, discussing Dave Baxter’s article on their role in investment trusts over the past 12 months and whether or not this is good for shareholders.Jemma Slingo takes the hot seat next with her piece on how artificial intelligence will affect the media. From Bloomsbury Publishings’ chief execs view that it’s like the “wild west” to some analysts suggesting it presents new revenue streams, the rise of AI is dividing opinion.Last but not least, Christopher Akers runs through our result of the week, Pets at Home (PETS), which came through as expected, but a £25mn buyback may give investors reason to wag their tails. Christopher and Mark also touch on the ongoing competition probe and what it means for the industry.Timestamps6:08 Activist investors  12:10 Media sector 17:37 Pets at HomeClaim your first 12 weeks of Investors' Chronicle Print + Digital for just £12. You will get instant access to our website and app, plus the magazine delivered to your door every week. To start your trial, visit investorschronicle.co.uk/podcasttrial*After your 12-week trial you will pay just £56.25 every 13 weeks by direct debit. If you’re not entirely satisfied, you can cancel up to 5 business days before your renewal date and only pay the £12 already debited. This offer is for UK subscribers only.

In this episode, Alex and Lord Lee are joined by the chief executive of a company that some have aptly called ‘a John Lee stock’. Louis Hall, founder and CEO of the software solutions company Cerillion has plenty of skin in the game, a quality Lord Lee holds in high accord and has led him to successful investments.Listen to the episode to hear the trio discuss the business’s backstory, the benefit of investing in research and development, understanding a complex company as a private investor and much more.Lee and the IC will return later in the summer. Timestamps 1:13 Introduction to Cerillion 6:37 Resource centres 9:51 Experience of public markets 13:27 How John got involved 17:57 Forecasts for the business 20:19 John’s approach to understanding the business22:07 Investing in R&D26:21 Having cash on the balance sheet 29:12 The importance of naming customers 30:32 Where Louis rates his business on 1-1031:58 Concentration of the customer base35:07 Louis’s future with the company37:36 John’s portfolio 40:13 John’s take on the current UK stock market Claim your first 12 weeks of Investors' Chronicle Print + Digital for just £12. You will get instant access to our website and app, plus the magazine delivered to your door every week. To start your trial, visit investorschronicle.co.uk/podcasttrial*After your 12-week trial you will pay just £56.25 every 13 weeks by direct debit. If you’re not entirely satisfied, you can cancel up to 5 business days before your renewal date and only pay the £12 already debited. This offer is for UK subscribers only.

We kick off this episode with Julian Hofmann, who gives the rundown on credit data company Experian (EXPN). Whether you’ve checked your credit score on the site or saw television adverts in the early 2010s, you will have heard about the company. Its recent results were very well received and the share price subsequently shot up, but how is the overall health of the business?James Norrington is part of the duo that wrote this week’s cover feature on building the ideal portfolio. In the episode he explains the thinking behind the piece, academic research that helps investors form the ‘best’ ideas and reveals what sensible asset allocation looks like.Val Cipriani’s article this week on cash flow modelling and the last segment of the podcast are a must for anyone thinking about planning their retirement. She tried out free online calculators that aim to replicate financial advisers – without the hefty bill – and details the US options available for those looking to cast a wider net. We round off the episode with her and Dan briefly touching on next week’s Big Read on how much you need for retirement. The Companies and Markets Show will resume on 31 May.Timestamps 1:41 Experian13:40 Building an ideal portfolio 25:05 Cash flow modelling 

We begin this week’s chat with deputy companies editor Michael Fahy who runs through the history and new developments at tech solutions company Filtronic (FTC). Having signed a deal matching its total revenue last year, Michael unpacks the potential prospects for the business.On the day the Bank of England announced it would keep interest rates on hold, Julian Hofmann joins the conversation to discuss his latest story on mid-cap stocks benefiting from interest rate cuts. Alex Newman also weighs in on the debate.Last up, Mark Robinson discusses oil services group John Wood Group’s (WG) trading update and the recent opportunistic bid from Sidara. Would a deal make sense?Timestamps 1:25 Filtronic (FTC)16:12 Mid-caps 29:29 Wood Group (WG)Claim your first 12 weeks of Investors' Chronicle Print + Digital for just £12. You will get instant access to our website and app, plus the magazine delivered to your door every week. To start your trial, visit investorschronicle.co.uk/podcasttrial*After your 12-week trial you will pay just £56.25 every 13 weeks by direct debit. If you’re not entirely satisfied, you can cancel up to 5 business days before your renewal date and only pay the £12 already debited. This offer is for UK subscribers only.

The latest episode of The IC Interviews features Ian Lance, co-manager of Temple Bar Investment Trust alongside Nick Purves, who together have more than five decades of experience. The duo focus on undervalued UK shares and are adept at avoiding value traps.In this episode, Dave and Ian discuss the possibility of a UK re-rating, the sectors most attracting Ian and Nick’s attention, news from Royal Mail-owner International Distribution Service (IDS), tobacco stocks and much more.This episode was recorded on 17 April.Timestamps00:51 Is there a catalyst for a UK re-rating?2:35 Buybacks 4:54 The sectors catching his eye6:42 Energy and commodity prices8:54 How Lance thinks banks balance the benefits of higher rates versus risk11:11 Why the trust doesn’t have more UK holdings 13:52 The fund's income versus total return outlook15:25 Holdings that don’t pay much out 17:11 International Distribution Service (IDS)19:53 What would make Lance give up hope on a turnaround play23:05 Sectors that are hard to be optimistic about25:04 Other sectors with appeal Claim your first 12 weeks of Investors' Chronicle Print + Digital for just £12. You will get instant access to our website and app, plus the magazine delivered to your door every week.To start your trial, visit investorschronicle.co.uk/podcasttrial*After your 12-week trial you will pay just £56.25 every 13 weeks by direct debit. If you’re not entirely satisfied, you can cancel up to 5 business days before your renewal date and only pay the £12 already debited. This offer is for UK subscribers only.

Are you paying £5 for a coffee? £4 for mayonnaise? With food and drink inflation still on the rise, the IC team asks whether consumer goods companies are reaching the limits of what they can charge households. Jennifer Johnson discusses the latest trading update from Unilever (ULVR) as well as its spin-off plans, and examines figures from US consumer giants, too. Also under the microscope are two other consumer staples businesses: Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) and Haleon (HLN).With local elections taking place across the UK this week, we consider the implications of Labour's rail nationalisation plan. Was the reaction from Trainline (TRN) and FirstGroup (FGP) investors overdone? Chris Akers is on hand to give his views.Meanwhile this week's cover story looks at the world's largest companies. Michael Fahy asks what we can learn from the rankings, and considers the outlook for the likes of ASML (NL:ASML) and Toyota Motor (JP:7203).Timestamps2:55 Consumer staples14:56 Rail nationalisation22:55 National championsClaim your first 12 weeks of Investors' Chronicle Print + Digital for just £12. You will get instant access to our website and app, plus the magazine delivered to your door every week. To start your trial, visit investorschronicle.co.uk/podcasttrial*After your 12-week trial you will pay just £56.25 every 13 weeks by direct debit. If you’re not entirely satisfied, you can cancel up to 5 business days before your renewal date and only pay the £12 already debited. This offer is for UK subscribers only.

Much of what has been covered in Lee and the IC episodes is about financial literacy and in this episode, Alex and John take a step further by hosting three members from the Renaissance Foundation, a specialist London-based youth charity.The foundation, among its other aims, hopes to bring financial literacy to young people who otherwise may not have exposure to the world of investing. It will soon launch the City of London Youth Investment Fund and Alex and John are joined by CEO, Sat Singh, and co-chairs of the fund, Ananya Chowdhury and Wahid Uddin, who benefitted from the foundation as children.The five discuss a range of topics from the formation of the fund to their research methods when finding companies to invest in. Lord Lee shares insight from his six-decades-worth of experience as a private investor, and Alex and John also touch on his Lok'n Store holding and take questions from listeners. Timestamps 1:11 Financial education and the Renaissance Foundation6:15 The fund8:27 Practical considerations of the City of London Youth Investment Fund10:12 Co-chairs of the fund Ananya Chowdhury and Wahid Uddin 12:29 How to bring investing to life for young people 13:46 John’s entry into investing15:16 The investing approach to the fund16:36 Balancing risk and range of a fund17:52 How investing changes when it's collaborative versus personal18:46 Will their fund be more company or fund-focused?21:33 What success would look like for the fund23:48 Sharing investing styles 27:37 The importance of dividends29:01 John’s portfolio & Lok'n Store34:20 PZ Cussons41:22 Listener questionsClaim your first 12 weeks of Investors' Chronicle Print + Digital for just £12. You will get instant access to our website and app, plus the magazine delivered to your door every week. To start your trial, visit investorschronicle.co.uk/podcasttrial*After your 12-week trial you will pay just £56.25 every 13 weeks by direct debit. If you’re not entirely satisfied, you can cancel up to 5 business days before your renewal date and only pay the £12 already debited. This offer is for UK subscribers only.

On the day of the announcement mining giant BHP offered a whopping £31bn for Anglo American, Mark Robinson runs us through the thinking behind the deal, the impact South Africa’s upcoming election may have on Anglo’s assets, and whether this is just the beginning of negotiations.Jemma Slingo takes the hot seat to discuss this week’s cover feature, hopefully, a comfort for many listeners: investors’ biggest mistakes. Jemma shares a few examples from fund managers interviewed, what they have learnt from their mistakes, the behavioural science behind them and more. Last but not least, Julian Hofmann discusses the biggest estate agent Property Franchise Group (TPFG) which recently completed a takeover of smaller realtor Belvoir. It’s now the biggest real estate agent in the country in terms of its multitude of locations thanks to its franchise model, but is it a quality business in the cyclical sector?Timestamps1:08 BHP’s big for Anglo American13:56 Investors’ biggest mistakes25:01 Property Franchise GroupClaim your first 12 weeks of Investors' Chronicle Print + Digital for just £12. You will get instant access to our website and app, plus the magazine delivered to your door every week. To start your trial, visit investorschronicle.co.uk/podcasttrial*After your 12-week trial you will pay just £56.25 every 13 weeks by direct debit. If you’re not entirely satisfied, you can cancel up to 5 business days before your renewal date and only pay the £12 already debited. This offer is for UK subscribers only.

We begin this week's episode with a rundown of industrial metal price movements. From copper’s boom, Russian sanctions and the price of gold, our commodities correspondent Alex Hamer reveals what investors need to know on all things metal.A change in fate has swept across one of the UK’s most well-known and loved funds: Fundsmith Equity. It has not beaten its benchmark for the past three years, bringing a concerning end to its long run as a high-growth fund. Dave Baxter talks about the shifts in the portfolio over the past decade, analyst criticism, Terry Smith’s response and more of what readers can expect from this week’s cover feature.Last but not least, our senior companies reporter Jennifer Johnson unpacks our result of the week: Asos (ASC). The fast fashion retailer released interim results which show the outlook is still underwhelming. Its plan to reduce unsold merchandise panned out but resulted in falling margins. Is there any hope for the company and those holding it in their portfolio? Associate editor Alex Newman and companies editor Mark Robinson also join the conversation to share their take on the latest market news.1:30 Industrial metals 11:51 Fundsmith equity 22:35 Asos (ASC)