Insights

This year’s upward march in equity markets has not been without its wrinkles. Executive Director Roy Leckie highlights some of the events and developments that might influence markets over the coming months. But he also retains an optimistic view on the prospects for leading companies that can weather near-term challenges and seize long-term opportunities.

After a strong start to the year, markets have lost some of their sheen. In this article Executive Director Roy Leckie highlights some of the trends that might influence the equity landscape in the coming months.

Board independence is typically central to good governance. But sometimes, levels of independence may not align optically with acknowledged best practice for very good reasons. One such example is Costco, where we believe the current board of directors is an important ingredient in the company’s ‘secret sauce’.

The complexity of the global energy transition is a significant long-term challenge for investors. At Walter Scott’s recent Research Conference, two guest speakers took a closer look at the reality of the transition and some of the many associated risks and opportunities.

With sustainability the focus of increasingly heated and polarised discourse, we thought it timely to revisit our approach to the subject. Not with a view to taking sides in this debate, but rather to reiterate the fundamentals of our approach and articulate its philosophical underpinnings. In other words, how we do sustainability and why.

The return of volatility to markets in September served as a timely reminder of the benefits of a long-term approach.

As the outbreak of Covid-19 re-set the direction of markets during the first quarter, companies’ balance sheets were under the spotlight.

As we enter the 2020s, it seems pertinent to look back at the first decades of this millennium. Markets may have changed over that time but our investment process has not.