2012 Investment Outlook

LONDON, December 15, 2011 -

The wealth managers’ Christmas stocking: Russian commodities, Italian corporate bonds, Unilever, New York apartment blocks, and a gold bubble

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At a 2012 investment outlook event, hosted by The Broadcast PR Business, a panel of wealth managers agreed on the Euro surviving (in the medium term only). They tipped global producers able to tap emerging markets as the best equities, and a very big gold bubble.

Global equities and currencies

“The large global companies making and selling goods that everyone uses on a daily basis - Unilever, Glaxo, Siemens - they will prosper in 2012. They can change where they make and sell goods.”

“Currencies are the nub of where everyone expects the world is going. Sterling is likely to be weak rather than strong, especially against emerging markets. The dollar will erode away.”

Charles Mackinnon, Thurleigh Investment Managers

Emerging markets

“The emerging markets consumption story, the three billion people in China, Indonesia, India and Brazil, will benefit companies like Unilever as these countries urbanise and buy more products.    

“On valuations we like Russia, where equities are cheap, trading at 5 times future earnings compared to 8 times historically. This is the cheapest way to invest in the hard commodities story in Russia - oil, gas, minerals - but invest for the long term.”

Phil Poole, Head of Macro, HSBC Asset management

The Eurozone bond markets

“There will be significant market dislocation, and where there is dislocation investment opportunities abound. In Italy, France and Spain there are global companies with strong balance sheets doing well. The sovereign (debt) dislocation has created the corporate (debt) opportunity.”

Louis Gargour, LNG Capital

Property

“If had to pick just one property geography for 2012 it would be the US. The multi-family apartment bock and rented house sector has some very good incentives on the debt side for investing, and it’s counter-cyclical.

Andrew Friend, Director, Henderson Global Investors

Gold

“I am very bullish on gold, as I believe it will enter the biggest bubble in financial market history. Reasons are the Chinese and Indian desire to own gold as part of personal wealth, the substantial currency printing in the UK, US, Japan and Switzerland, and political uncertainty in the Middle East.”

Jeremy Beckwith (former CIO, Kleinwort Benson)

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