Robert Stephens, CFA

One of the most difficult parts of being an investor is living with paper losses. Inevitably, there is a degree of frustration when an investment doesn’t go quite as planned. I’ve experienced this lately with a shareholding in precious metals miner, Fresnillo (LON:FRES). It’s down around 7% since I bought it. Although a disappointing performance…

A change in strategy can reignite a company’s profit growth. Or, it can lead to large opportunity costs. In my opinion, Centrica’s decision to refocus on its customer-facing supply business at the expense of its Oil & Gas operations falls into the latter category. I understand why the company felt it needed to rebalance its…

As the UK finally invokes Article 50 to leave the EU, the outlook for housebuilders such as Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) is incredibly uncertain. The company’s shares may have risen 16% already this year, but they continue to trade on a P/E of 9.7 and a prospective dividend yield of 6.9%. For many investors this could…

Inflation is arguably one of the biggest dangers facing investors at the moment. Although it is currently only 2.3% in the UK, forecasts from various entities such as the Bank of England say it will hit 3% or even 4% by the end of 2018. Added to this is the potential for a relaxed fiscal…

Investing in a retailer with exposure to the UK economy may seem foolhardy given the prospects for UK plc. Consumer confidence is weak, Brexit talks are about to begin and inflation is now at its highest level in four years. These are hardly the conditions which are conducive for positive like-for-like sales growth or rising…

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) has enjoyed a very successful decade. Its shares have risen by 225%. That’s 11x the capital gain of the FTSE 100, and 3.4x the return on its only UK-listed rival, Imperial Brands. However, I think British American Tobacco will in future enjoy an even more successful decade because it is acquiring…

News headlines in the last nine months have been dominated by Brexit and Trump. In my view, that’s understandable given the uncertainty and potential implications for the global economy which those two events have precipitated. However, I also believe investors are failing to give enough attention to an obvious growth opportunity which can easily be…

A recent poll suggested people in the UK are more worried about inflation than Brexit. That’s understandable, in my view, since Brexit is an event which will not take place for at least two years. Inflation, on the other hand, is rising now. It is forecast to reach 2.7% this year, according to the Bank…

Although economic data suggests the UK economy has generally not been severely affected by the EU referendum, I expect a ‘restaurant recession’ to take place in 2017/18. The main reason for this is higher inflation caused by Brexit. Already, CPI is 1.8% and is expected to move to 3% or even 4% this year according…