Commentary

Like many investors, we worry about current equity market valuations looking historically high. Surely markets cannot continue to defy gravity? Although we believe that they are ultimately anchored to fundamentals, it pays to remember that we live in wealthy times.

This chart shows the wealth of the United Kingdom, expressed as a multiple of the country’s national income. Wealth in the UK, and elsewhere, has grown substantially since the end of the second world war, and the financial crisis of 2008 did little to slow this down.

Following the financial crisis, it is not only the stock market that has risen, but so too has a populist political movement. Arguably the rise of Trump and the Brexit vote are the product of discontent over how wealth is shared within society. Cuts in public spending and low wage growth, coupled with rising asset prices, have clearly served to increase the divide between the haves and have-nots. It is not our place to take a view on the correct divide of wealth within a society, but we recognise that the debate forms one of the major components of the economic climate that we operate within.

Has this growth in wealth, coupled with low interest rates, created increased demand for owning stocks? Does this mean that markets are not heading for an imminent fall? Or has the bull-market seen valuations become too high? Are investors not fully recognising the realities of the current political climate?

Our approach to investing is to not rely on any one narrative being correct. We attempt to understand the intrinsic value of an investment in a range of different scenarios in the belief that this will help us be robust to an uncertain future. We want to be part owners of companies that are not highly leveraged, purchased at prices that do not require undue optimism about the future. Furthermore, our preference is to currently hold some “dry powder” outside of the stock market. This forms the major part of our “proceed with caution” approach to the place in which we find ourselves as investors.

A full year has now passed since Havelock London was founded.

My reason for embarking on this journey was based on a vision of the future of investment management. This vision is based on two beliefs: firstly that technology will increase efficiency and lower costs for customers; and secondly that the growing abundance of data can be harnessed to quantify the uncertainties investors face and make more informed decisions.

The team at Havelock London have been putting this vision into practice and I am proud to announce that we have started deploying founder capital into a fund that operates according to our vision: LF Havelock Global Select. The investment decisions we make are grounded in data, using a combination of human and machine to give a transparent and disciplined process. The total charges (which include the ongoing charges) the fund will pay is capped at 0.99% and this includes portfolio transaction costs. The fund invests on a global basis in company shares and fixed income securities (government and corporate bonds) without using leverage or shorting. The fund’s Key Investor Information Document (KIID) and prospectus are available in English from Link Fund Solutions or from Havelock London on request.

Our focus is on finding decent companies where undue optimism is not required for us to think they represent good value.

Matthew Beddall, CEO, Havelock London

The fact that the fund launched the day before the S&P 500 marked its “record for the longest ever bull run” is not lost on me. Does this mean I am bullish on the equity market? Or might it be over-valued and ready for a correction?

We use data to estimate what companies are worth, under a range of scenarios, which allows us to decide if we think their share price represents good value. I believe this to be a more reliable form of decision making than prophecy, and with around 50,000 listed public companies this approach fortunately only requires us to hold an opinion about a tiny fraction of them.

On average valuations are historically high, which makes it more difficult to find businesses that we think make for attractive investments. Indeed, there are some companies where I believe market prices are based on considerable optimism about their future profits. This optimism may prove to be well-founded, but it contains within it a risk of disappointment. Cost cutting exercises, low borrowing costs and reduced corporate tax rates have all helped to increase company profits in recent history but are not repeatable indefinitely.

Our focus is on finding decent companies where undue optimism is not required for us to think they represent good value. These views are formed by an analysis of a custom set of data selected to be relevant to each individual business. . Our use of data then continues to help us decide the weight we place on each investment, to monitor our assumptions and to keep an eye on how each business evolves. All of this makes for a process where decisions are driven by facts and not speculation.

On what basis do I claim we have travelled 584 million miles? It is the distance that the earth has travelled around the sun in the last year, and our approach to investing requires our feet to be firmly on the ground! I would like to thank all our supporters and encourage you to keep following as we continue our epic journey.

— Matthew

Important information

Please ensure you have read this important information. The value of investments in WS Havelock Global Select may fall as well as rise. Investors may not get back the amount they originally invested. Investments will also be affected by currency fluctuations if made from a currency other than the fund’s base currency. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Potential investors should not use this website as the basis of an investment decision. Decisions to invest in WS Havelock Global Select should be informed only by the fund’s Key Investor Information Document (KIID) and prospectus. Potential investors should carefully consider the risks described in those documents and, if required, consult a financial adviser before deciding to invest. WS Havelock Global Select can invest more than 35% of its value in securities issued or guaranteed by an EEA state listed in the prospectus. The KIID and prospectus are available in English from this website and from Link Fund Solutions.

This website is not intended for any person in the United States. None of Havelock London’s services or related funds is registered under the US Investment Company Act of 1940 or the US Securities Act of 1933. This material is not an offer to sell or solicitation of offers to buy securities or investment services to or from any US person.