Kepler Trust Intelligence Podcast

Trust Issues - investing in the Asian income story with SOI manager Richard Sennitt

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Richard Sennitt, manager of Schroder Oriental Income, about the opportunity for investors in the Asian income sector which offers access to world-leading companies in the region.
 
00:00 Introduction
00: 14 Overview of the fund and current portfolio
02:07 Assessing value and key investment attributes
03:32 Why active management matters and key differentiating factors
04:58 Is the region overlooked by income seekers?
06:43 Key drivers for capital growth
07:45 Recent performance
10:15 Managing downside risk
11:29 Which parts of the market are interesting?
13: 35 Will a fall in US interest rates be a tailwind?
 
Our latest note on SOI -https://www.trustintelligence.co.uk/investor/articles?fund_id=60
SOI website - https://tinyurl.com/4svwxs53
 

The investment opportunity in renewable infrastructure with Greencoat UK Wind

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Stephen Lilley, manager of Greencoat UK Wind, about the opportunity for investors in renewable infrastructure, including the strong secular growth drivers for UK wind infrastructure.
00:00 Introduction & performance highlights
03:40 Is the opportunity still as compelling as it was at launch?
08:24 How healthy are underlying dividends from power companies?
12:18 The effect of rising rates
16:14 Does it matter who wins the general election?
20:09 Risk warning

Monthly round-up of investment trust news

Jo Groves and Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff from Kepler Trust Intelligence discuss some of the most notable news stories in the investment trust world over the past month.
We talk about the latest news for Scottish Mortgage, Henderson and Pantheon International, as well as results for Schroder AsiaPacific and Oriental Income.
We also bring you some of the highlights from our recent podcasts with Richard Staveley, manager of Rockwood Strategic, and Christopher Berrier, manager of Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies.
0:00 Welcome
0:17 Scottish Mortgage
4:43 Henderson
6:34 Pantheon
7:54 Rockwood (UK small-caps)
10:52 Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies
13:42 Schroders AsiaPacific & Oriental Income
16:11 Risk warning

Investing in US small-caps with BASC

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Christopher Berrier, manager of Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies, about the opportunity for investors in the US small-cap sector, including recent performance and why the US small-cap sector lends itself well to active management.

The opportunity in UK small-caps with Rockwood Strategic manager Richard Staveley

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Richard Staveley, manager of Rockwood Strategic, about the opportunity for investors in UK small-caps, including some of the key drivers behind Rockwood’s strong track record of outperformance.

Trust Issues - investing in UK small-caps with BlackRock Smaller Companies

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Nicholas Todd, one of our Kepler Trust Intelligence analysts, about investing in UK small-caps and what BlackRock Smaller Companies (BRSC) offers investors looking for exposure to UK equities.

The investment opportunity in Japan, with CCJI's Richard Aston

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Richard Aston, Manager of CC Japan Income and Growth Trust (CCJI). Richard talks through why corporate reforms have made Japan an increasingly attractive place to invest, what sorts of companies CCJI looks for, and how the trust's portfolio is structured. 
00:00 Intro01:00 What is CCJI?01:38 What's attractive about Japanese stocks today?03:58 How do you think about valuations, in light of corporate reforms?08:46 Have any CCJI investments benefited from corporate reforms?10:25 Do any themes emerge in the stock picking process?13:02 Any specific opportunities that look interesting today?14:35 Thoughts on central bank policy

High yield UK stocks, with AEI Manager Thomas Moore

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Thomas Moore, Manager of the Abrdn Equity Income Trust (AEI). The trust pays a high yield and we talk through how Thomas looks to achieve and maintain that. We also look at the UK market more broadly and ask if there is anything which can cause a rerating in valuations.
00:00 - Risk warning 01:00 - Overview of AEI06:00 - Avoiding value traps10:15 - Is gearing still generating positive carry?12:50 - Will anything drive a rerating in UK stocks?17:20 - Do any areas of the market look more attractive today?19:10 - Why invest in AIM?22:22 - Do higher rates mean a better outlook for value stocks?
Our latest research on AEI: https://tinyurl.com/jakfen4yAEI Website: abrdnequityincome.com/en-gb

BlackRock Frontiers analysis

In this episode of Trust Issues, we speak to Thomas McMahon, Investment Trust Research Manager at Kepler Trust Intelligence, about BlackRock Frontiers (BRFI). We look at the trust's unique investment universe, what's attractive about it, and get an outlook for the year ahead.
00:00 - Risk warning and intro01:00 - BRFI's investment universe06:06 - How does BRFI use gearing?08:20 - Correlation with developed markets12:03 - Given dollar strength, how did BRFI manage to perform well in 2023?17:20 - How do the managers manage risk?19:55 - How is the portfolio benefitting from 'friedshoring'?25:44 - Trends and outlook for 2024?
Our latest research on BRFI - tinyurl.com/79javze7BRFI website - tinyurl.com/mry4yd7y
Intro music by State Azure

Asia small cap investing, with AAS Manager Gabriel Sacks

In this episode of Trust Issues we speak to Gabriel Sacks, Manager of Abrdn Asia Focus (AAS). We look at why Asia small caps have performed well relative to other parts of the world, fears about small cap performance post-rate hikes, being underweight India and more. You can skip to individual questions using the timestamps below:
00:00 - Intro and risk warning00:48 - What does AAS aim to do?02:40 - What does the recent manager change mean for the trust?06:24 - Why have Asian small caps performed well compared to large cap?09:54 - Asia large cap is very skewed towards a few tech companies. Do any similar themes emerge in your stock picking process?13:26 - What are valuations in the portfolio like at the moment?17:15 - Are you afraid about the impact rate hikes will have on smaller companies?21:52 - Are Indian companies overvalued?25:00 - Is friendshoring a real phenomenon and does it present meaningful opportunities for investors?
Read our latest research on AAS: http://tinyurl.com/ydte4p3pVisit the AAS website: http://tinyurl.com/7scxvehy
Intro music by State Azure, used with permission.