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Fundsmith’s fate, metals & Asos

Our team discuss whether to sell Britain’s most popular fund, metal price movements and a flagging fast fashion retailer
April 19, 2024

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.