Stocks

Mercantile capitalises on recovery stories

Mercantile capitalises on recovery stories

Structural growth stories form the bedrock of Mercantile, the mid- and small-cap investment trust. Changes made to the portfolio since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic also make it well placed...

The power of engagement

The power of engagement

JP Morgan Asset Management’s investment stewardship specialists undertook 500 engagement discussions with 402 portfolio companies globally last year.  Engagement with 96 of these companies focused on at least two ESG factors. The team...

Adding alpha through shorting

Adding alpha through shorting

In a year when the UK stock market slid 9.8%, the JPM UK Equity Plus long/short fund lost just 8.5% and has added nearly 2% of outperformance per annum since inception. The fund follows the same strategy as many other JPMorgan UK equity funds in looking for stocks...

FTSE hits 10-month high as it smashes through 6,800

FTSE hits 10-month high as it smashes through 6,800

The FTSE 100 has hit a 10-month high after soaring through the 6,800 barrier for the first time since the Covid-19 crash as investors cheered the Democratic win in the Georgia Senate election. By 3.30pm the main London index jumped 229 points, or 3.2%, to 6,842 as it...

JPMorgan’s Brittain pleasantly surprised by trading

JPMorgan’s Brittain pleasantly surprised by trading

JPMorgan fund manager Georgina Brittain likes pleasant surprises and is finding plenty of reasons to delight in recent trading updates. Momentum is one of three factors the veteran mid-cap stock-picker favours, the other two being quality and value, and a host of her...

Growth themes beyond big tech

Growth themes beyond big tech

Kyle Williams, co-manager of the JP Morgan UK Equity Growth fund, picks some of his top non-tech themes. For JP Morgan UK Equity Growth fund manager Kyle Williams, the microchip and the internet have been as transformative for life today as the rotary steam engine and...

JP Morgan’s Butler traverses value tightrope

JP Morgan’s Butler traverses value tightrope

This year has been brimming with opportunity and rife with risk for value managers like Ian Butler. The stock market sell-off in March allowed him to add defensive names at knock-down prices to a portfolio typically populated with cyclicals. However, global lockdowns...

Smaller companies to own for after the crisis

Smaller companies to own for after the crisis

Companies might struggle to post profits this year, but JPM UK Smaller Companies fund manager Georgina Brittain has her sights set on 2021 and beyond. ‘Don’t just think about the here and now,’ she said. ‘This year will be a write-off in profit terms for some...

Blue Whale defies crisis to grow by £124m

Blue Whale defies crisis to grow by £124m

The Peter Hargreaves-backed Blue Whale Growth fund has defied the recent market volatility to grow by more than £100m since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. The fund, which has returned 58.6% since inception in September 2017 to 10 June and...