Spy caught up with a veteran British fund manager this week. He was born on 1st of January 1945. “My mother fell pregnant with me during one of the worst periods of all time. Many of her friends asked her what the hell she was doing! Of course, it turned out I was about to be born into the luckiest generation in human history. We ‘boomers’ have never had it so good. Just remember my story, the next time someone tells you the world is a mess or a shambles or they fear for the future of their kids.” Life affirming from a chap who has been around the block, reckons Spy.
Spy supposes it was inevitable. The weight loss drug phenomenon was bound to trigger an ETF sooner or later. Roundhill has launched the GLP-1 & Weight Loss ETF for investors wanting to join this particular horse race. Roundhill has shamelessly pinched its ticker for the fund from the Novo Nordisk product, Ozempic – OZEM. With widespread adoption of these weight loss drugs, Spy was intrigued to come across a Harvard Medical School report [Link: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/glp-1-diabetes-and-weight-loss-drug-side-effects-ozempic-face-and-more] on some of their well observed side effects. One, known as “Ozempic Face”, is that users of the drugs get a “hollowed” look on their face. Let’s hope investors don’t get hollowed out should any more serious side effects of these wonder drugs become apparent.
Spy was interested to see that Nick Train, a celebrated fund manager of the Finsbury Growth and Income Trust in Britain, made an apology this week for a few years of underperformance. That funds have periods of underperformance is well known. What did surprise Spy was the apology itself. Fund managers rarely apologise for not beating their benchmark or the “market”. It was certainly refreshing.
There is a saying, “If your taxi driver is talking to you about stocks, it is time to sell.” Spy spotted a picture doing the rounds this week that made him go ‘hmmm’. The owner of this Porsche 911 Turbo, has clearly ridden the Nvidia wave and put his rapidly gotten gains to some fun use. Spy does wonder if this heralds some sort of top? On Wall Street they used to say, if it is in the newspaper, it is in the price. In 20204, if it’s on a number plate, is it already in the price?
Spy came across a new euphemism this week, ‘the judgemental fund manager’. Spy at first thought the author was referring to some sort of fundamentalist investor who had a serious moral side to his stock picking. It turns out ‘judgmental manager’ is nothing more than a description for an active manager as opposed to those non-judgemental passive investors. Spy prefers ‘stock picker’, but then he can be a little old fashioned.
First we had Green. Then came Greenwashing. Now, apparently, we have “green hushing”. This is the phenomenon whereby companies suddenly tone down their green and sustainable credentials to avoid a political and social backlash. A survey by EY, “showed that 71% of corporate leaders in Singapore are now “green-hushing” – deliberately keeping quiet about their sustainability goals”. The survey, which covered 1,200 executives across the world, found that 58% of CEOs in Singapore have deprioritised their focus on sustainability, compared with a year ago. Is beige the new green, wonders Spy?
In 1990, English pop-synth duo, the Pet Shop Boys, released their hit track, Being Boring. This popped into Spy’s mind this week observing an online discussion about flashiness versus quietly getting on with the job. “Everyone wants to be sexy or controversial or attention grabbing, but ‘boring’ people are, in fact, top tier. The boring person who cares about the quality of what they do, who they are in their own home and company versus the outside world. They just build their life, their business and their product. Boring is rare and truly extraordinary.” Spy may not agree entirely, but it certainly made him think.
By the time you read this, it will probably be the only story in town. Former US president, Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts of his colourful porn star hush money bribery case. In a deeply divided US, ahead of another highly contested election, this verdict is unlikely to change anybody’s mind on the merits of The Orange One running for President again. The fact that his fund-raising website, WinRed, immediately crashed under the volume of people trying to donate to his campaign, rather tells Spy everything. The appeal will no doubt be filed within days and the circus will continue.
Meanwhile, in a far more serious case, China’s crackdown on bribery continued this week notes Spy. On Tuesday, a former general manager of China Huarong International Holdings Ltd. was found guilty of accepting RMB1.1bn ($152 million) in bribes and sentenced to death without the chance of reprieve. Whatever happens to Trump, it won’t be this.
With Stephen Bird, the CEO of Abrdn, exiting the business, a number of people have been speculating whether the company will change its much-ridiculed brand again. One insider, who spoke to Spy on the strict condition of anonymity said, “God no – please – it has been painful enough. Not another change, surely.”
Until next week…
