Don’t panic, says top fund manager
What does one of Britain’s most successful fund managers think about the prospect of investing successfully in today’s stock market? Find out for yourself in our latest video interview with Neil Woodford, head of investment at Invesco Perpetual.
Hear him explain why he’s not especially nervous about current market turbulence even though he concedes conditions are going to get more difficult and the profits of many companies will come under pressure.
He says most short-term activity in the stock market is driven by hedge funds which have completely different objectives to those of investment funds. From his perspective short-term problems – and that means anything below a year – are largely irrelevant. “It’s not something that should dictate long-term strategy (three to five years).” he says when discussing his strategy in choosing holdings for his funds.
“This is certainly not a time to be deserting the stock market” adding that although there is more risk in the market than for a long time, he believes there are also good, long-term opportunities.
If I re-evaluate a share that I chose originally for all the right reasons and the fundamental story is unchanged then that continues to be the right answer, says Mr Woodford. “Grey hair is an asset in this business.” he says. “Over the long term the market generally gets it right so concentrate on the long term and ignore short-term noise.”
He also gives his views on the prospects for merger and acquisition activity which was a significant feature of the marketplace last year.
