Insights

Is the mighty US consumer finally feeling the pinch? Amidst signs of a slowdown in spending, investment manager Ashley-Jane Kyle takes a look at how some consumer-facing companies are faring.

The promise of artificial intelligence is now becoming a reality. Investment manager Tom Miedema highlights how leading companies are exploring, embracing, and harnessing the opportunities afforded by this evolving technology.

This summer Europe will play host to the Paris Olympics, Uefa’s European football championship and the phenomenon that has become Taylor Swift’s New Eras tour, bringing tourists from around the world. Europe’s global champions across luxury goods, consumer products and travel sectors too will be on show and in sporting terms, many of these companies are well placed for podium positions.

With US equities enjoying a sustained period of dominance over their international peers, some investors have questioned the wisdom of looking beyond US shores, preferring instead to stick exclusively with the world’s dominant market. Whilst this approach is perhaps understandable, we think it risks leaving long-term opportunities on the table.

Universal Music Group (UMG) led the music industry in negotiating with streaming platforms to protect the value of its artists’ work and its own publishing catalogue. Now, in a stand-off with TikTok, it is again leading the industry in a fight against AI-generated noise. Paul Loudon considers these ongoing negotiations and the attributes that put UMG at the forefront of this exciting sector.

With the era of cheap money now firmly in the rear view mirror, Roy Leckie, Executive Director, delves into the implications of today’s higher interest rate environment and the benefits to companies of adopting a conservative approach to debt financing.

After a period of extraordinary growth, the luxury sector is showing signs of slowing. An inevitable normalisation or evidence of something more fundamental? Lindsay Scott considers the long-term outlook for the industry and some of its most illustrious exponents.

Executive Director Roy Leckie shares his thoughts on recent market developments and highlights the enduring importance of company fundamentals.

“Artificial intelligence” and talk of its ground-breaking capabilities have been around for decades. Almost every company talks the talk around generative AI. But which are the companies making genuine advancements with the technology and how is it going to be transformational for their business?

Executive Director Roy Leckie discusses some of the current trends in markets, and highlights the need to focus on strong company fundamentals in what remains a testing backdrop.