Perspectives
Corporate Debt & Creative Destruction
October, 2021
The Bank of England published its quarterly “Financial Stability Report” recently and it is no surprise to find that companies have resorted to borrowing to get them through the Covid pandemic. What is more interesting is the distribution of the increase in debt. It is overwhelmingly in the smaller company sector. The term “blue-chip” harks […]
On inflation (and other matters)
October, 2021
It is hard in the UK to get away from the memories of the 1970s, when the government lost control of inflation, or the early 1990s when Black Wednesday occurred and the British government was forced to withdraw the Pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), following a failed attempt to keep the pound […]
ESG and Capital Allocation
October, 2021
Since 1900, population density has risen from 15 people per square kilometre, to 30 in 1960 and 60 in 2020. Compared to our Victorian ancestors, now each of us has only ¼ of the land available to support our needs. Biologically, we all need to eat, breathe, and excrete. It is estimated that out of […]
The End of QE: Should investors be concerned?
September, 2021
Every year the Chair of the US Federal Reserve gathers his or her fellow central bankers along with leading economists at Jackson Hole to discuss the state of the world’s finances. This year was no different, except of course, like meetings the world over, it was held virtually across the internet, saving the planet a […]
Modern Tulips
September, 2021
The Dutch tulip mania in the 17th century saw the price of tulips rise precipitously before crashing back down to earth. Generally considered to be one of the first ever recorded asset bubbles in history, it remains unclear what precisely was the catalyst that precipitated the scramble for the flowers. Wealth certainly played a part. […]
US Hegemony
September, 2021
We have written many times about the dominance of US technology companies and how countries such as the UK, Germany and France have been left behind by the technological revolution of the past 20 years. But we do not believe it is only over the past couple of decades that competitors have struggled to keep […]
Why invest in an Investment Trust?
September, 2021
Tacit strategies have always had significant exposure to investment trusts due to their inherent benefits over other investment vehicles such as open-ended funds. This week we consider their inherent advantages to UK investors: A fixed pool of assets A ‘closed-end’ investment trust issues a fixed number of shares. This means the portfolio managers always know […]
Unintended consequences
August, 2021
Gordon Pepper, a founder of Greenwell Montagu’s gilt-edged business in the 1970s had the unusual background of a Cambridge economics degree, actuarial training and, as a young graduate, a job on the floor of the old stock exchange as a dealer. He was the widely respected author of Greenwell’s Monetary Bulletin, required reading in those […]
Characteristics of Chinese Technology Companies
August, 2021
China’s economy is often described internally as “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. Its stock market, largely driven by the large technology companies, can also be described using such idiosyncratic phrasing. The large Chinese tech companies are not quite like the tech companies in America, Europe or anywhere else. They come with their own unique characteristics. The […]
Characteristics of British Technology Companies
August, 2021
Britain has a long history of innovation. The Lunar society in Birmingham had members such as Joseph Priestly, Erasmus Darwin and James Watt, who were some of the catalysts behind the industrial revolution in the 18th century. In the 20th century, Frank Whittle, the co-inventor of the turbo jet engine, ushered in the age of […]