Investment trust Smithson (SSON) has work to do to repair its relationship with shareholders after recent controversy over a continuation vote at the stablemate of Terry Smith?s Fundsmith Equity (B41YBW7).Smithson, which looks to apply Smith?s ?buy good companies, don?t overpay, do nothing? approach to small- and mid-cap companies, had said to investors at its inception it would consider holding a

US-listed large-caps shone last year with shares in mega-caps, and the ?Magnificent Seven? in particular, surging higher. However, this outperformance only widened the valuation gap between US large and small-caps and left shares in the latter cohort languishing at the low end of historical valuations.Over one and five years, the Russell 2000 index of US small-cap stocks is up 14.6% and 30.5% at t

City of London most bought in FebruaryScottish Mortgage most sold last monthAI winner Nvidia tops stock buysInvestors across the AJ Bell platform have been piling into popular City of London (CTY), JP Morgan Global Growth & Income (JGGI) in February and selling Scottish Mortgage (SMT) and Smithson Investment Trust (SSON).Overall, 11.44% of all buy deals placed on the AJ Bell platform were for City

Despite well-documented cost-of-living pressures, consumers continue to set aside cash for affordable luxuries such as cosmetics which make them feel good about their appearance and add a little glamour to their lives.In contrast to the slowing growth being reported by the large luxury goods groups, companies which sell makeup, skincare and haircare products and other beauty and wellness wares are

SMITHSON INVESTMENT TRUST (SSON) £13.93Market cap: £2.22 billion. After a steep decline during most of 2023, investment trust Smithson?s (SSON) shares are enjoying a healthy rebound which should have further to run as sentiment towards quality global small- and mid-cap companies improves, with potential interest rate cuts providing a tailwind.The trust?s wide 11.5% discount to NAV (net asset val

There is no question the dominant theme in stock markets last year was AI (artificial intelligence), in particular generative AI.In an interview with Time magazine last June, Sam Altman ? the former chief executive of OpenAI, whose ChatGPT product has been at the forefront of the AI trend ? said he believes the technology will ?transform the way people work and the way people learn. It?s going to

In this third part of our investor survey, we asked some of the UK?s leading fund managers which sectors or stocks they thought were the most promising for 2024.The responses were as varied as they were thought-provoking, with only a couple of managers singling out technology stocks.As before we would like to thank all those who took part for sharing their views, and we hope readers enjoy them. WH

For the second part of our annual survey, we asked fund managers if they had changed their view on any stocks this year, for better or for worse, and what lay behind their decisions.As with the winners and losers survey last week, the answers were often frank and once again we would like to thank everyone who took part.Thomas Moore - Aberdeen Equity Income Trust (AEI)THE STOCK THAT I CHANGED MY MI

There were several trends in the UK stock market this year which, if you managed to identify them, served you well.Most obviously, although it may not have seemed it at the index level, large-cap stocks generally performed better than small- and mid-caps, although for the lucky few the small-cap space has been rife with takeover activity.In terms of sectors, aerospace and defence topped the FTSE 3

Equity income trusts in demandCity of London most boughtScottish Mortgage, Finsbury Growth & Income divide opinionWith conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine creating uncertainty, and investors grappling with cost-of-living pressures as falling inflation is expected to be a drawn-out process, dependable income trusts have proved popular on the AJ Bell platform over the past month.At the same time

Shares in US cybersecurity firm Fortinet (FTNT:NASDAQ) plunged 18% after disappointing both on revenue and on the outlook with its third quarter update.Fortinet has 680,000 global customers and sells a complete cybersecurity package on a subscription basis. This includes firewalls and risk-detection tools.Although you would expect strong demand given the growing importance of businesses protecting

Fallen growth star loses net 6% trade volumes on AJ BellTerry Smith's Smithson also an autumn loser so farInvestors snap up reliable growth and income trustsOnce one of the UK's favourite investment trusts, Scottish Mortgage (SMT) continues to lose backers hand over fist as investors stay wary of private company valuations. Last month, the Baillie Gifford-run trust accounted for nearly 15% of all

It was a good first half of the year for Smithson Investment Trust (SSON) after it significantly beat the market. The Fundsmith-managed vehicle grew net asset value by 11.7%, outperforming the MSCI World Small and Mid-Cap index by 9.8 percentage points.That goes some way to making up for the miserable time investors experienced in 2022 where the quality-focused trust delivered net asset value tota

The events of the past three years have completely altered the investment backcloth against which fund managers are trying to earn above-average returns.Fund managers can have an investment framework to operate within, but what do they do when a 'black swan' lands? How do they adapt their strategies and reshuffle portfolios when a once-in-a-century event happens - like a global pandemic or an outb

Slowing growth coupled with heightened uncertainty is never a good combination for stock markets. Smaller company shares tend to deteriorate more because their operational risks are seen to be more concentrated versus large-cap peers.History shows that smaller companies tend to underperform larger ones during economic downturns, so given the gloomy backdrop, many investors will happily avoid small

The boom and bust of Neil Woodford's fund management career showed that star fund managers are not invincible and that a better solution might be to have two or three managers making investment decisions as a team rather than rely on one person.But what if that team consisted of 15 people? That is the situation with Swiss asset management firm 2Xideas, which has taken the view that one person alon

- NAV down 28% and shares down 35% in 2022- Most of the damage caused by rising rates- Pledge to stick with quality despite short-term painSimon Barnard, the manager of Smithson Investment Trust (SSON), began his 2022 shareholder letter by holding up his hand and admitting that while it is impossible to outperform the market every year 'the extent of the poor performance this year was particularly

While many investors will talk about wanting to hold shares for the long term, it is interesting to learn why fund managers decide to make changes to their portfolio. This active management is often spurred by changes to the investment case or valuation.For example, Pershing Square Holdings' (PSH) manager Bill Ackman earlier this year held shares Netflix (NFLX:NASDAQ) for a mere three months. The

As 2022 draws to a close amid continuing market volatility Shares has canvassed leading fund managers to find out where they have been finding the best opportunities.Jamie Ross - Henderson Eurotrust (Hne)LOOKING OUT FOR BOMBED-OUT GROWTH STOCKSWe have spent the last 12 months trying to find opportunities within the growthier area of the market - our favoured part of the market and the part of the

Shares in Halma (HLMA) have fallen nearly 40% since the beginning of the year, putting the stock in the bottom quartile for performance among FTSE 100 companies. This means that shares in the company can now be bought at 26 times March 2024 earnings. This represents Halma's lowest valuation in four years, and is roughly the same price to earnings multiple as 2016.The chart shows how the shares hav