Wednesday 24 December 2014

Secret Santa's festive stock tips including SuperGroup, Close Brothers and easyJet

Festive Greetings!

Here is my article and accompanying video (3mins 20) focusing on 6 top stock tips for 2015!




With annual New ISA allowances now raised by the government to £15,000 per tax year (to 6 April), and cash savings rates no better than 1.5% on the high street, investing in stocks seems an obvious destination for any long-term ISA-bound savings.

With the potential for the traditional year-end Santa Claus rally close at hand after what has been a turbulent last couple of weeks, which stocks should you consider for your ISA?


Focus on mid-cap gems

Figure 1: Long-Term, FTSE Mid 250 Index Beats FTSE 100 Hands Down. 

Source: Bloomberg

Over the long-term in the UK stock market, mid-caps - the FTSE Mid 250 index - (fig.1) have far outperformed the largest companies such as Vodafone, Royal Dutch Shell and HSBC (FTSE 100 index).

So I have focused on mid-cap gems of companies drawn from different industries, all with appealing value, attractive dividend yields and high profitability; all factors that have been proven to lead to outperformance over the long-term (data kindly supplied by Stockopedia.com).


Figure 2. Six Mid-Cap Gems

Source: Bloomberg

Amlin
(AML, 461p, Insurance)

Lloyd's insurer Amlin (code: AML)  has a very strong record of profitability over the last 10 years, consistently holding or raising its dividend each year. 


Figure 3. Amlin (AML)

Source: Bloomberg

What makes Amlin even more interesting is its dividend yield exceeding 6%, plus the fact that one of its Lloyds counterparts, Catlin has just been boosted by a takeover bid from XL Group.

With Lloyd insurers the subject of merger and acquisition activity, Amlin may also become a target in time.


Berkeley (BKG, 2501p): Building & Construction

Berkeley Group (fig. 4) is a residential house builder focusing on London and the south east, benefiting from recent strong house price inflation in and around the metropolis over the last year or so.

Figure 4. Berkeley Group (BKG, 2501p): Building & Construction. 

Source: Bloomberg



The traditional spring time UK house price pick-up should lift Berkeley next year, not to mention the benefit to housing demand from effective lowering of the stamp duty burden on house sales under £937,000. This supports a very high 7.5% dividend yield, backed by £150m of net cash on its balance sheet.


Close Brothers (CBG, 1464p): Banks

Close Brothers (fig. 5) is a UK-based merchant bank offering a range of services to both business and private clients, as well as broking services and asset management.


Figure 5. Close Brothers (CBG, 1464p): Banks

Source: Bloomberg


The current growth in new stock market listings is a very positive trend for the company, while the company's book value has grown steadily over the last six years, the mark of a strong banking business model.

Close Brothers should benefit from strong economic growth, allowing them to grow their business loan book. 

Easyjet

(EZJ, 1604p): Airlines

Easyjet (fig. 6) has been a prime beneficiary of the boom in low-cost airline traffic throughout Europe over the past few years.


Figure 6. Easyjet (EZJ, 1604p): Airlines. 

Source: Bloomberg

The recent collapse in oil prices represents a future boost to profitability, as fuel accounts for a large slice of any airline's costs.

Easyjet has carried increasing numbers of passengers at higher passenger yields, resulting in impressive growth in earnings since 2012, which should continue out to 2016 as it focuses increasingly on capturing more European business travellers. 


Soco(SIA, 272p): Oil & Gas. 

Soco International (fig. 7) is an oil exploration and production company with widespread interests in countries including Vietnam and the Republic of Congo.



Figure 7. Soco International (SIA, 272p): Oil & Gas. 

Source: Bloomberg

It is rare among its oil and gas peers in boasting very steady oil production volumes, a superstrong balance sheet with $284m of net cash and the ability to easily support a robust 5.3% dividend yield from its surprisingly stable earnings stream.

A crude oil price recovery would be a key catalyst for Soco, with Brent back down at $61/barrel versus a June high of $115/barrel.

SuperGroup

(SGP, 815p): Retail.

SuperGroup (fig. 8), the retailer of the Superdry fashion brand, has seen its share price fall from a high of over £17 to less than half of that today, as like-for-like sales growth has gone into reverse (-4% as of the latest interim results).


Figure 8. SuperGroup (SGP, 815p): Retail. 

Source: Bloomberg

In spite of that, SuperGroup should achieve revenue growth of 10% of more over the next two years, with the potential to see even higher profitability as it raises gross margins.

And yet, the company's shares are only valued at 12 times next year's profits, a bargain given the expected revenue growth rate.

These six mid-cap gems offer a rare combination of attractive value, high dividend income and are all very profitable, a potent combination offering substantial upside for 2015.

Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year to you!

Edmund Shing

Tuesday 16 December 2014

Argos meets online challenge this Christmas with 'click and collect'


IBTimes UK: Argos-meets-online-challenge-this-christmas-click-collect

IBTimes UK Video Link: Argos Meets Online Retail Challenge This Xmas


Christmas present spending has hit an even greater excess this year, an estimated £350 per person and £604 per household in total, by far the largest of any European country (Figure 1).

Black Friday, yet another US consumer import of dubious merit to these shores, has fuelled a high street spending frenzy akin to that of Amazonian piranhas swarming to feed on a hapless victim.

1: British Spend Big At Christmas



Source: ING



While this might sound like the best of times for the retail sector, in reality this is far from the truth.

One only has to look at the ongoing woes of supermarket giant Tesco (LSE code TSCO), now 50% down for the year after four successive profit warnings (Figure 2).

2. The Fall and Fall of Tesco



Source: Bloomberg

Surviving the internet's deflationary effect


But why is that? As always, UK shoppers are demanding ever-better prices on food and non-food goods alike – and we have become savvy as to the price-cutting powers of online price comparison sites like PriceRunner and Kelkoo, allowing us to sniff out the cheapest prices for all manner of goods, electrical or otherwise.

Equally well, access to online shopping sites while at work in front of our computer screens is very tempting for time-poor employees, and a boon for online retailers such as Amazon, eBay and Boohoo.

This shift in shopping patterns has evidently boosted online shopping to the detriment of traditional high street footfall, with online shopping posting 12% growth and hitting over £70bn this year, according to eMarketer (Figure 3).
 
3. Online Ecommerce Sales Over £70bn in 2014



Source: eMarketer.com

Of course, this has not been bad news for all retailers – some traditional high street chains have in fact evolved quickly to meet the online challenge head-on.


One such successful shift in business model towards the "Click and Collect" online shopping paradigm has been Argos, whose listed mother company is Home Retail (code: HOME), with a total of 44% of sales at Argos are now ordered online (Figure 4).

4. Argos Reaps the Benefits of Click and Collect Shopping


Source: Home Retail Group

Fashion retailers bounce back on colder weather?


A second retail subsector that could see better times ahead are clothing chains, who suffered up to November from unseasonal warm weather, slowing sales of their higher-ticket winter items such as coats and boots.

With the current cold snap and the threat of sub-zero temperatures and snow to come, warm weather clothes sales should pick up sharply, with better like-for-like sales expected in January as a result.

This could fuel a bounce in the share prices of high street chains like Next (code: NXT), Marks & Spencer (MKS) and Associated British Foods (ABF; the owners of Primark) and also in smaller, fashion-oriented retailers such as French Connection (FCCN).

Bargains aplenty even before January sales


At this time of year, with Christmas fast approaching and retailers worrying more and more about shifting their inventory sitting on shop shelves, we can play a game of retail chicken.

We the consumers need to buy Christmas presents before Christmas, while the retailers are increasingly worried that they will be stuck with lots of unsold goods post December 25. Who blinks first?

Generally, shops tend to lose this game and discount goods to reduce inventories, increasingly offering discounts even before Christmas to reduce their risk of having to offer even larger discounts in the January sales.

Which of course is good news for those of us who wait until the last minute to complete our present buying.

This year looks likely to be a good one for last-minute bargain hunters, particularly in electronics and clothing.

For cheaper online purchases, I would recommend looking at discount voucher websites such as Vouchercodes.co.uk and Moneysavingexpert.com.

Alternatively, consider snapping up good value shares in retailers such as Next and Home Retail, in advance of potentially upbeat January trading statements.


Tuesday 9 December 2014

VIDEO CNBC Europe Closing Bell Guest Host: Greek Stocks Crushed



Greece has brought forward its presidential election by two months, causing anxiety in the investment community. Edmund Shing, global equity portfolio manager at BCS Asset Management, weighs in on the discussion.

Quoted on Reuters: FTSE Tumbles on Tesco Turmoil


(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 fell to one-month lows on Tuesday, hit by supermarket retailer Tesco's (TSCO.L) fourth profit warning this year.

Shares in Tesco at one stage fell as much as 17 percent to their lowest in around 14 years, wiping some 2.6 billion pounds off the firm's market capitalisation. It later regained some ground to close 6.6 percent lower.

Tesco blamed its lower profit forecast on the cost of trying to recover from an accounting scandal and a slide in its market share.

The stock's decline also dragged down rivals such as WM Morrison (MRW.L), which retreated by 4.4 percent, and Sainsbury (SBRY.L), which fell 1.8 percent.

"It would be appear to be more of the same for Tesco. We all know that pricing pressure on retailers is intense, in particular on clothing retailers and supermarkets," said Edmund Shing, global equity portfolio manager at BCS Asset Management.

"However, this may be the last 'big bath' provisioning and resetting of forecasts by the new CEO so that Tesco can relaunch on a sensible footing."

Tesco took the most points off the blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE, which ended 2.1 percent down at 6,529.47 points -- near its lowest in a month. The FTSE also suffered its biggest one-day fall since a 2.8 percent drop on October 15.

A further slump in mining and energy shares also weighed on the market. Energy stocks fell as the price of benchmark Brent crude oil touched five-year lows. A supply glut is building as Gulf producers looked ready to ride out plunging prices.

Mining stocks were also hit as aluminium dropped to multi-month lows in London and Shanghai on concerns over excess supply. Other base metals fell before China, the world's top metals consumer, releases data that is expected to show economic growth is slowing.

But specialist gold mining stocks benefited as the uncertain economic climate drove up the price of gold XAU=, with Randgold Resources (RRS.L) rising 3.6 percent.

In spite of the market pullback, Charles Hanover Investments' partner Dafydd Davies still expected the FTSE to rally to 6,800 points by the end of 2014. He said plans by central bankers to stimulate global economic growth would continue to support equities.

(Additional reporting by Atul Prakash and Francesco Canepa; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Royal Dutch Shell and BP tie-up would ease the pain for oil and gas investors





Since July, the collapse in world oil prices has been the talk of global financial markets. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, has fallen from $115 per barrel to under $69 today, a price not seen since 2009 (Figure 1).

1: Brent Crude Oil Back to Prices Not Seen In the Last 5 Years 

Source: Investing.com

This has been painful for investors holding oil and gas stocks such as Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) or BP, with Royal Dutch Shell shareholders nursing losses of 10% since June, and BP shareholders an even more painful 15% loss since June.

Merger and acquisition activity hots up in oil

There have been a number of consequences of this sharp oil price fall, one of which has been an increase in merger and acquisition activity in the global oil and gas sector.

For instance in oil services, Halliburton is in the process of taking over US rival Baker Hughes for $35bn. But perhaps the biggest potential takeover in this sector is still ahead of us...

Could Royal Dutch Shell buy BP?

This sounds ridiculous at first flush – after all, BP is a giant company worth over £136bn at its current 425p share price (as of 5 December). However, it is perhaps not such an outlandish notion upon reflection.

2: BP and Shell Share Prices Have Gone in Different Directions Since 2010 


Source: Yahoo Finance

First of all, at today's 425p BP (code: BP.L) languishes some 34% below its 640p share price reached in March 2010, before the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico took place, costing BP $27bn dollars (so far) in clean-up costs and damages.

In sharp contrast, RDS's A shares (code: RDSA.L) have gained 13% from 1910p in March 2010 to 2149p now (Figure 2). 

As a direct result of this widening gap in relative share price performance, BP is now only worth 64% of the total market value of Royal Dutch Shell, down from almost level pegging back at the end of 2009 (Figure 3)

3. BP's Market Capitalisation Now only 64% of Royal Dutch Shell's 

Source: Yahoo Finance

Are BP's shareholders fed up with Waiting for Godot?

We could well argue that BP's longstanding shareholders are becoming fed up of waiting for the company to regain the 640p level seen pre-disaster back in April 2010.

BP's sale of its share in the Russian TNK-BP joint venture in return for 20% of Russian oil company Rosneft is not proving a great success.

This stake is worth 38% less today than it was back in early July, thanks to a nasty combination of a falling Rosneft share price together with a collapse in the value of the Russian ruble on the back of international sanctions.

There has been increasing press speculation of late regarding a possible Royal Dutch Shell-BP tie-up, with a mooted £5 per share bid for BP equating to 16% more than Friday's closing share price, financed presumably by the issue of new Royal Dutch Shell shares.

The new Anglo-Dutch oil and gas combo would rank second by size in world oil and gas giants, only a fraction behind the US behemoth ExxonMobil (Figure 4).

4. The Largest Global Oil & Gas Companies

Source: Yahoo Finance. Note: RDS BP combination assumes £5 bid price for BP shares

Given that these large oil companies will find life less profitable in the future at these new, lower crude oil price levels, a cost-cutting (and profit-boosting) merger of these UK oil giants makes sense at present, as it would give the combined entity even greater global scale to compete for new projects. 

Worth mentioning too is that BP offers a juicy prospective dividend of over 6% - so you are paid to wait patiently! Even if a bid from RDS does not materialise, you should still benefit from an eventual rebound in oil prices as global demand grows, as crude oil prices have typically rebounded in the past after such sharp price declines!

Edmund

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Navigating the Scylla and Charybdis of inflation and deflation



Why is deflation always treated as a dirty word?

When the term deflation is mentioned, the so-called "lost" decade in Japan or the American Great Depression of the 1930s is usually evoked, periods where the economy in question contracted over a long period, resulting in mass unemployment and lower wages.

1: UK Inflation Hits its Lowest Level in 6 Years 

Source: Author, Office of National Statistics

But it is not all dark - There can be a "good" side to deflation too! The UK Government's preferred measure of consumer price inflation (Figure 1, green line) has fallen to only 1.3%, its lowest level for 6 years.

For avid Christmas shoppers, the second, blue line in the figure is great news, as it demonstrates that high street prices are on average 1.2% lower than in November 2013!

So as far as presents under the Christmas tree are concerned, our money should go further this year than last.

That is the positive facet of deflation that we can all enjoy – after all, who doesn't like to snap up a bargain in the shops?

Strong growth and falling inflation: A rare combination

What is interesting at the moment is that this period of falling shop prices is coinciding with relatively fast economic growth in the UK.

In the third quarter (July-September), the UK economy (as measured by Gross Domestic Product) grew by an annualised 3% growth rate (Figure 2), among the fastest growth rates since 2007.

2. UK Economy Is Growing At 3% Per Year 

Source: Tradingeconomics.com, Office of National Statistics


Today, this growth and deflation combination is being encouraged by lower commodity prices, most notably petrol and food prices (Figure 3).

As these two categories represent a large percentage of a typical household's regular spending, no wonder that purchasing power is being boosted as a result. 


3. UK Petrol Pump Price Lowest In Four Years 

Source: Petrolprices.com, Office of National Statistics

Much of this growth is coming from the service sector, an area which the UK tends to excel in (think of financial services including banking and insurance, or media services such as advertising, where the UK tends to lead the world).

Where can we invest to profit from this phenomenon?

Option 1: Low-cost airlines

On these rare occasions when inflation falls but economic growth is booming, what are the best areas to invest in?

First of all, let's outline some general principles. When the economy is growing at above its long-term trend (normally 2.5% or more), so-called "cyclical" sectors which are tied to the prevailing economic trend tend to lead the stock market.

These include manufacturers in sectors such as Machinery and Aerospace & Defence, plus service sectors such as Media, Transport and finally selected financial sectors such as Insurance.

Bearing in mind the relatively sharp fall in oil prices since July, at the stock level I would focus within the Transport sector on low-cost airline stocks such as Ryanair (RYA.L) and easyJet (EZJ.L), which get a profit boost from lower fuel costs, plus a benefit to sales from higher passenger numbers as UK consumers flock abroad in search of cheap holidays.

Option 2: The German stock market

An alternative is to invest in a highly cyclical economy such as Germany.

The country's DAX stock market index is dominated by cyclical manufacturing stocks such as Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW in Autos, BASF and Bayer in Chemicals and Siemens in Industrials.

In addition, the DAX index is not held back by under-performing Oil & Gas stocks as is the case for the FTSE 100, as there are no large-cap German oil companies.

4. Strong Performance From The Amundi Germany ETF 

Source: Morningstar.com

An easy way to invest in the German stock market is the Amundi MSCI Germany UCITS ETF (Figure 4), which is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE code: CG1) and is priced in pounds (last price: £147.57).

Thursday 27 November 2014

Wednesday 26 November 2014

CNBC Europe Guest Host: Video on the Juncker investment plan

I appeared on CNBC Europe's Squawkbox programme as Guest Host this morning, discussing a range of issues including the newly-announced grand Europe investment plan, laid out by European Commission President Juncker:




Tuesday 25 November 2014

IBT UK: With the Stock Market, the Best Things Do Come in Small Packages




Big is beautiful, so the mantra goes. But not so in the stock market. The very long-term view of stock market performance by size of company, comparing small-caps to large-caps, reveals small-cap companies have in general outperformed the broad market quite substantially.

If you had invested £100 in the UK stock market back at the beginning of 1975, and had diligently re-invested all dividends (ignoring all taxes), then you would have today an investment worth well over £15,000 (Figure 1). Very impressive, you might say to yourself.

Figure 1: Small-Caps Have Done Far, Far Better than Large-Caps


Source: Author, FTSE, Datastream, Hoare Govett

If, however, you had instead invested that £100 in an index of UK small-cap stocks in January 1975 on the same basis, you would now have an investment worth nearly £55,000.

In other words, over the very long-term (nearly 40 years) the small-cap segment of the market has delivered three-and-a-half times the performance of the overall stock market, which is dominated by very well-known stock market giants such as BP, Vodafone and HSBC.

Why would this be the case? The simple explanation is that smaller companies by and large tend to be younger companies with more innovative products or services and which can post faster growth rates, rather than massive companies that are well-established in mature markets with long-running products or services, and which therefore tend to grow at a more sedate pace.

The January small-cap effect

Not only have small-cap stocks done considerably better than large-caps over the long-term in the UK and US, a fact well-documented in the academic financial market literature, but these pint-sized gems have over time performed particularly well at the beginning of the year, the so-called January small-cap effect (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Spot the Small-Cap January Effect! 

Source: Author, FTSE, Datastream, Hoare Govett

While this effect was originally identified in US small-cap stocks, UK small-caps exhibit exactly the same tendency to outperform in January, historically averaging over 4% gains in January since 1975.

In fact, in the UK the first four months of the year have been the best historic period of performance, delivering an average of over 13% from January to April.

Small-caps: One of the few times it is worth using an "active" fund manager


Now in general, I tend to avoid investing using actively managed unit trusts, preferring instead low-cost "passive" index funds and exchange-traded funds for the simple reason that fund managers do not tend to justify their extra cost through better net performance over time.

However, small-cap funds are an exception to this general rule. There are a number of small-cap managers who have demonstrated index-beating performance over time, even after costs.

They manage to cherry-pick a number of high-potential stocks out of a huge universe and then benefit disproportionately from strong long-term performance in these names, while also avoiding a lot of under-performing small-cap "duds".

Figure 3. Strong Performance from Smaller Company ITs Since 2012 

Source: Association of Investment Companies

So, in this case, I would invest in a small-cap fund using one of a small number of investment trusts, which are listed closed-end funds which are run by a stock-picking fund manager.

Funds run by small-cap specialists with long experience and a solid investment process, resulting in a strong performance track record (Figure 3) include:

  1. The Miton Income Fund (LSE code: DIVI), run by small-cap veteran Gervais Williams;
  2. Strategic Equity Capital (LSE code: SEC), a concentrated small-cap fund run by the team at GVO Investment Management;
  3. The Henderson Small-Cap Fund (LSE code: HSL), run by Neil Hermon at Henderson. This trust trades at a 13% discount to net asset value.

Each of these three fund managers have strong long-term track records of investing in UK small-cap stocks and outperforming the small-cap index over time. I particularly like the Miton Fund as it combines small-cap investing with income investing (a 3% dividend yield), aiming for an attractive combination of dividend income and growth from small-cap champions.

Perhaps small is sexy, at least around the new year.

Friday 21 November 2014

Ultra-Low Interest Rates Mean Your Cash Could Use a Workout

International Business Times UK Video Interview




While ultra-low interest rates are a boon for mortgage borrowers, they are a curse for the legions of savers who have seen their cash returns collapse.

Six years into supposed economic recovery after the seismic shock of the global financial crisis, the FTSE 100 index has gained 80% from the 2009 low to the present date.

You might have thought that retail investors would have been enjoying this impressive stock market performance. But in fact, not nearly as much as you might have thought, because according to the OECD, UK households have continued to hold very high levels of cash – some 29% of all their financial assets (excluding housing), in common with retail investors across Europe and Japan (Figure 1).

1: UK Households Still Have 29% of All Financial Assets in Cash 

Source: OECD, National Accounts at a Glance, 2014

Clearly, the scars of the last two bear markets in 2000 and 2008 still run deep. But instant-access cash savings rates have never been as low as they are today in post-war Britain: in fact, they have been on a steady decline really since the height of the last property boom in 1990, falling from a heady 13.6% to 1.25% on average today (Figure 2).

 2: Cash Savings Rates Have Not Been This Low in Post-War Britain

Source: swanlowpark.co.uk

It is obvious that a 1.25% interest rate is not enough to preserve the value of your savings in real terms even when shielded from tax in a cash NISA, when average UK inflation has run at 1.8% on the CPI measure this year, and an even worse 2.5% on the old RPI measure.

If you insist in keeping some of your savings in cash, then I can recommend hunting out Regular Saver bank accounts at HSBC, First Direct, Lloyds Bank and Nationwide which all pay up to 6% p.a. on regular savings of up to £250 per month. Attractive interest rates to be sure, but only available on relatively limited amounts.

Attractive Income from the Stock Market

A second route to higher income is through the stock market, where dividend payments have in general been growing consistently since 2009. UK households are relatively under-invested in shares at 10% of total financial assets, compared to other developed countries (Figure 3).

 3: UK Investors' Exposure to Shares is Below Average

Source: OECD, National Accounts at a Glance, 2014

To identify potentially attractive income stocks, I have used Stockopedia's excellent stock screening service to identify UK large-cap companies that offer:


  • an attractive combination of good value and quality (based on a combination of different valuation, profitability and risk measures), as represented by the Stockopedia Quality Value Rank (scored out of a maximum 100), and
  • a high dividend yield (paid half-yearly or quarterly) of well over 5%.

I have picked out five different UK companies which come out at the top of this ranking from a range of different industries, including house building, insurance and oil & gas (Figure 4):

4: Five UK Large-Cap Stocks With High Yields and High Quality + Value Scores


The Benefits of Dividend Yield Plus Growth

A portfolio containing equal amounts of each of these five stocks would yield well over 5% and would also participate in any stock market advance. Remember in addition that company dividends tend to grow over time, potentially giving the income investor an even higher yield on initial investment over time.

Alternatively, if you just want to buy a single fund to benefit from this combination of high dividend yield plus future dividend growth, you could invest in the SPDR S&P UK Dividend Aristocrats exchange-traded fund (LSE code: UKDV), which invests in a diversified portfolio of higher-dividend yielding UK stocks. To qualify for inclusion in this fund, a UK stock must offer a high dividend yield and must also have grown its dividend consistently over the past 10 years. The current dividend yield on this fund is over 4%, with an annual management charge of only 0.30%.

Both of these investment solutions will give you a far better annual yield on your savings, and should see that yield rise over time too as dividend payments grow – a good alternative to leaving your money in low-yielding cash!

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Is Today's Society Addicted to Technology?

Please click on the web link below to read the article and watch my video


International Business Times Article link (including link to 4-minute Video) 

Is today's society addicted to technology? The benefits of the tech we use on a daily basis are plain to see. But with the pervasive influence of social media applications like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in everyday life, are we becoming slaves to the technology rather than it being just a productivity-enhancing tool for us to exploit?

People are increasingly developing unhealthy relationships with technology, particularly the mobile technology contained in our smartphones and tablet computers, to the extent that you can now seek professional psychological help for technology addiction, much as with other established addictions such as drugs or alcohol.


The Internet of Things in an Always-Connected World

The fact is that the internet is becoming increasingly easy to access, given the advent of wi-fi hotspots throughout cities and the advent of 3G and now 4G mobile phone networks designed to carry ever-larger amounts of data to and from our various mobile computing devices.

Whether you like it or not, and I personally have my reservations, mobile technology is becoming ever more pervasive, with the introduction of wearable technology such as the iWatch, technology-enabled clothing and even now shoes.

This technology growth can be clearly seen in the demand for semiconductor chips, the building blocks of all technology from PCs to mobile phones to sensor-based embedded technology found in domestic appliances, cars and in all manner of industrial automation (Figure 1), with growth in semiconductor demand from the "Internet of Things" forecast by Gartner to grow 36% in 2015.


1: The Internet of Things Semiconductor Revenues by Electronic Equipment




Healthcare Monitoring is a Huge Advantage on the Way

A new source of growth in the Internet of Things relates to health and exercise monitors, which can not only record your pulse, distance walked/run, time slept and calories burnt, but can now push users to adopt "healthy habits" by exercising more regularly throughout the day.

On the basis that in healthcare, prevention is better than cure, this wearable tech area is clearly set to grow quickly in the near future, suggesting that demand for sensors is set to explode. Already there are a wide variety of wearable watches and gadgets that serve to encourage you in a healthier lifestyle, as detailed in this CNET article.


US Technology Has Performed Very Well of Late

This strong growth in revenues as business investment in technology ramps up and as consumers continue to buy into handheld and wearable tech in ever-greater numbers has been reflected in the strong performance of US technology stocks since the beginning of last year (Figure 2) - the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 index has gained 50% in sterling terms versus less than 10% for the FTSE 100.


2: US Technology Has Vastly Outstripped the FTSE 100



Source: Bloomberg

This outperformance looks very impressive, but needs to be set in the context of the last 14 years, where the Nasdaq index is still struggling to recapture its year 2000 highs, lagging the FTSE 100 over this longer timespan (Figure 3):


3: But the Nasdaq Still Lags from 2000



Source: Bloomberg


Best Ways to Invest in Technology

With spending on technology of one sort or another taking up an ever-larger slice of the economic spending pie, I see tech stocks maintaining this outperformance trend going forwards.

I prefer to invest in this theme using Technology-focused exchange-traded funds, such as the two I have listed below. As a side-benefit of investing in one of these exchange-traded funds, a UK or Europe-based investor also has the currency benefits of being invested in US dollars, at a time when the US dollar continues to strengthen against all European currencies thanks to its stronger underlying economy.


  • The Source Technology S&P US Select Sector ETF (code: XLKQ). This London Stock Exchange-listed fund invests in US Technology heavyweights such as Apple, Microsoft and Google and is quoted in pounds sterling.
  • The Powershares EQQQ Nasdaq-100 ETF (code: EQQQ). This London Stock Exchange-listed fund invests the constituents of the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, which is comprised of 60% Technology stocks, 15% Biotech & Healthcare stocks, and 25% other sectors. The largest holdings are also Apple, Microsoft and Google, and again is quoted in pounds sterling.


All the best,
Edmund