The New Future webinars to help all investors learn more about the trends that are shaping the world, from consumer demands to healthcare and fintech to the data revolution. Starting on 2 March, this series of online events should help you understand how to manage your money in fast-moving times.
How to benefit from post-Covid consumer trends
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated change across multiple industries. New ways of working, entertaining and communicating have resulted in rapid advancements in technology, while the pressure on healthcare brought on by the virus has pushed the pharmaceutical industry to new heights. Are these new trends shaping consumer behaviour, or is demand leading development?
The first installment of The New Future is available on demand to help you understand how these societal changes might impact your money and how to make the most of these new opportunities.
Your questions, answered
We have made the links below free for a limited time only.
How do I invest in ESG?
Lauren Almeida says that, “picking companies can be difficult because they use different ESG definitions and frameworks - Boohoo had a pretty decent ESG rating last year, despite reports about poor working conditions”
Many have made calls for a more unified system, including Ronald Cohen who we spoke to last year.
Oliver Telling says that it “depends whether you see ESG as an ethical or financial investment. Those who see it as a financial investment may be more open to tech stocks in ESG funds, but those who see it as an ethical investment will want to look closely at the holdings.”
Should investors wait for some performance history before investing in new ITs with sustainability agendas?
Dave Baxter says “it can still be worth investing in new trusts if you can satisfactorily answer the following questions:
- Does the manager have an established track record elsewhere?
- Do they have an established pipeline of investments?
- What makes them stand out in a crowded space? For example are they focusing on less established parts of the market or looking for geographical diversity? If so, it's worth asking if this involves taking more risk.”
He also says that in areas like renewables, it can be attractive to back IPOs because shares in the existing trusts tend to trade on big premiums to the portfolio's net asset value, so you get a much "cheaper" entry point.
You can read more about Dave’s advice on investing in new investment trusts in this article.
What are the investment opportunities in future food technology?
Oliver Telling recently spoke to Anthony Chow, co-founder of Agronomics, which has invested £27m in companies that grow meat, cheese, leather and other animal products. Oliver says that “we cannot feed the world sustainably with farmed meat” and options to grow meat replacement products in a lab are exciting.
You can read Oliver’s full interview here and our recent comprehensive overview of the agriculture industry is here.
Can the UK develop a world beating tech sector or are we always destined to sell out to the US?
Lauren Almedia says “our tech sector is quite small compared to the US, its largest businesses are in the food technology space”. But it is also worth remembering that “no profits sometimes necessary in fast growing and competitive tech market and the fact that UK investors are starting to warm up to this is promising and could help encourage more tech companies to come to market.”
Company valuations should not just be based on reported profits - that’s something Algy Hall has spoken to accounting professor Baruch Lev about. Algy has also provided a fascinating rethinking of value investing in this feature.
Keep an eye out for further installments of the IC New Future webinar series:
The healthcare revolution: opportunities abound (July)
2020 was the year for a healthcare revolution. NHS frontline workers have been likened to soldiers, virtual check ups have become the norm and vaccine developments have been made in record time. Has this shift been long overdue or has it merely been accelerated by Covid-19? Alongside this, the effects of an ageing population and increased spending in healthcare and wellbeing has meant greater opportunity for investors to profit. Hear from the Investors' Chronicle and our expert panel as they detangle these opportunities and showcase how healthy profits can be made.
Endless disruption: profiting from the fourth industrial revolution (October)
Are we in a new industrial revolution, one driven by data and cloud systems? We think so. We think investors have the opportunity to capitalise on huge trends which are reshaping the world. With less time being spent in the office, reliance on new technologies and changes in the ways of working, traditional societal structures are shifting. Unlike the past, these disruptions are no longer taking place on a local level, but rather on the global playing field. Join the Investors' Chronicle and a team of experts at this webinar to understand which sectors are likely to outperform others and how to make the most of these in your portfolio.
FinTech: the next generation (December)
Technology has been at the forefront of revolutionising the finance sector. Online payments, digital wallets and cryptocurrencies are leading the charge into a new era of FinTech and concerns are mounting that legacy financial service providers might get left behind. But the proliferation of technology throughout the finance sector is not without its faults: questionable data usage and allegations of fraud have dogged the sector for many years. But as technology advances and innovation is at an all time high, these pitfalls are being rapidly corrected and transformation is taking centre stage. Join us for the final New Future webinar of the year to navigate broad terrain of FinTech.
