Fly on the Wall

The Kennox Advisory Panel meets every 6 months for a lively discussion on current topics impacting the investment landscape. The Advisory Panel is made up of Peter Hollis, Russell Napier and Angus Tulloch, together with the Kennox investment team.

June 2021

For the third successive meeting the Panel met virtually, in of itself an example of the restrictions that society still faces. The debate focussed on what covid-related impacts will be temporary and which will be longer lasting. The largest topic for discussion was the possible return of inflation and how best to prepare portfolios if […]

June 15, 2021

December 2020

Fuelled rather than deterred by the disruption and uncertainty of Covid-19, the Advisory Panel conducted its second remote meeting in December. The disruption caused by the pandemic has produced plenty of talking points and diverse opinions as to where the best opportunities might be. Central to this was a discussion as to which radical changes […]

December 3, 2020

May 2020

Due to the lock down, the Advisory Panel met for the first time not in person but over video link, to discuss a changed and turbulent world. Energy and the fossil fuel economy, the future of global transport, the likely comprehensive change in the world’s perception and understanding of debt, the resilience and/or susceptibility of […]

May 1, 2020

December 2019

Given elevated levels of global equity markets, the panel expects returns from the equity asset class to be muted compared to recently, and especially in the US where stocks look most expensive. Should one readjust one’s investment style for this? Good growth managers should still look for good growth companies, and value investing will still work where […]

December 3, 2019

May 2019

The Advisory Panel met with the backdrop of markets that have risen 14% in the first 4 months of the year, and a clear return to “risk on”. Information technology once again tops the sector charts (up 25%) and the more “defensive” sectors of Utilities and Health Care are up 7% and 3%. Rising markets […]

May 1, 2019

November 2018

Max Ward (former head of UK equities at Baillie Gifford and current manager of the Independent Investment Trust – the best performing Investment Trust in the UK in 2017) joined the Advisory Panel for our November meeting. As a self-confessed perma-bull (“because it’s just more fun”), even Max was interested to explore whether or not […]

November 27, 2018

April 2018

In a break from our usual format, Alastair MacLeod joined the Advisory Panel to bring a fresh perspective and keep the usual faces on their toes. Alastair has spent over twenty years in investment and hedge fund management, in London, Edinburgh and North America. We outline a couple of the topics discussed during the meeting below. […]

April 19, 2018

November 2017

An early and ongoing supporter of the Kennox Strategic Value Fund, Angus Tulloch has served on our Advisory Panel since its inception. Angus confirmed his recent retirement from First State, where he headed the Asia ex-Japan Fund and the panel took the opportunity to ask Angus for his thoughts and lessons learned over his highly […]

November 7, 2017

May 2017

The Advisory Panel met against the backdrop of yet another looming election. As well as touching on a few of the usual questions (such as central bank actions and inflation versus deflation), topics of conversation included, but certainly weren’t limited to: the incredible growth rates of the technology majors; levels of consumer credit (high) and the […]

May 3, 2017

November 2016

The panel met in the aftermath of Mr Trump’s US election victory, and to a degree we managed to keep conversation away from politics… Banks – opportunity or threat? The panel had a wide-ranging discussion on investing in banks. In summary: emerging markets are different to developed markets. In emerging, a great time to buy […]

November 23, 2016

June 2016

It should be noted that we met before the EU referendum, but are writing up these notes after the UK voted to leave. We can’t claim to have predicted the outcome of that vote, but the comments remain pertinent, and the subsequent performance of some of the sectors mentioned has been interesting. The discussion (unusually) […]

June 1, 2016

November 2015

The discussion began with the panel acknowledging that disruption continues to be the key issue. Everyone agreed that there are two key sources of excess competition on which analysts focus research, regardless of the specific stock opportunity: the internet and China. This has divided the market to a certain extent – into stocks considered at […]

November 23, 2015

April 2015

The discussion started with everyone agreeing that the investment environment was not easy at present with high prices for assets and significant risks. However, we have also all felt this has been the case for quite some time now. A good way of judging market exuberance is to collect anecdotes of the herd doing irrational […]

April 15, 2015

November 2014

On disruptive technology… Disruptive technology is pervasive, often (but not always) led by the internet. Consider the impact of Amazon on retailers, where the cost of running physical stores has made it almost impossible to compete directly on price with internet-only alternatives. Consider the impact of Google’s advertising model on traditional advertising strategies. Consider the […]

November 1, 2014

April 2014

As always, a few of the key thoughts from the discussion: How markets are defying gravity The markets continue to look unreasonably expensive considering the delicate economic climate in almost all regions. Companies also seem to be finding the environment tough, with more debt downgrades announced recently than at any time since the second quarter […]

April 10, 2014

November 2013

The panel flirted with various topics, and here is a taste of the key areas covered. Inflation or deflation We touched on this debate at the last panel with the conversation on Japanese quantitative easing, and the fact that the lower yen exchange rate has increased deflationary pressures as foreign countries import cheaper goods from […]

November 19, 2013

May 2013

The Panel discussion danced around many and varied subjects, and as always, these notes are just a flavour of what was raised at the meeting. Japan So closely fought has been the recent race between global currencies to devalue that none have appeared to be very successful. That was until Japan entered the fray in […]

May 19, 2013

November 2012

Inflation, but when? The Panel believes that the risk of inflation in the US is now increasing. The Fed has continued with Quantitative Easing (QE) even though private bank lending is now increasing. This could very quickly lead to inflation. The Panel was not convinced that commodity stocks would be unreserved winners as they were […]

November 20, 2012

March 2012

China: even pessimism may be over-optimistic There are signs that the good times may be coming to an end in China. Exceptional growth has been fuelled by government spending, a heavily under-utilised workforce being put to work and an undervalued currency boosting competitiveness. All three tailwinds are now turning to headwinds as evidenced by certain […]

March 20, 2012

November 2011

Euro zone crisis Let’s assume the euro will fail (note the Panel did not necessarily think this was the case but the scenario is worthwhile considering). Should one hold any assets in the euro area? The answer is yes, especially if they’re priced attractively. There is a good chance of a flight by investors to […]

November 20, 2011

Kennox Asset Management

23 Melville St, Edinburgh EH3 7PE

Email: enquiries@kennox.co.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 131 563 5440

Home About us Kennox Value The Fund

Insights Contact Regulatory Information

Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 475658)