DAVID COOMBS
HEAD OF MULTI-ASSET INVESTMENTS
RATHBONES
Score prediction: WALES 2 – SWITZERLAND 1
INVESTMENT INSIGHT:
Move over tigers – it’s the Dragon’s time
“If you build it, they will come.”
Based on a line from the 1989 Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams, this has become a bit of a mantra in business, although not in Wales.
I’m so frustrated that a country with so much to offer remains untapped. The transport infrastructure in Wales is stuck in the 1950s. The M4 runs through South Wales but the stretch from the Severn Bridge to Cardiff is testament to poor planning by successive local administrations.
A relief road to bypass the Brynglas tunnels in Newport would reduce journey times significantly. Couple that with an international airport, and mainline railway station and could Cardiff become a significant competitor to Edinburgh? With the Vale of Glamorgan on Cardiff’s doorstep, and the natural beauty of West and Central Wales less than an hour away, Cardiff would be an attractive place to live away from the crowded South East of England. House prices are much lower, and the area is rich in history and culture.
If road infrastructure is bad getting to Cardiff from England, then it gets worse when you go to West and North Wales. The A470 from South to North Wales is picturesque but single carriageway for much of the way. The trains are terrible. To get from Cardiff in the South to Wrexham in the North (140miles) takes over three hours, not to mention the change at Shrewsbury in England.
Cardiff could become one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. It just needs some imaginative government investment, alongside private capital looking for a region attractive to a skilled workforce – and there are plenty of people looking for work in the post-industrial areas still.
MICHELE DE MICHELIS (and team)
CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER
FRAME ASSET MANAGEMENT
Score prediction: WALES 0 – SWITZERLAND 2
INVESTMENT INSIGHT:
We would like to focus this insight on the Swiss stock market because we do believe it can perform better than the other European ones.
The SMI Index, the biggest in Switzerland, is mostly composed of two sectors: healthcare and consumer goods. About healthcare, this sector is a defensive one and it is also one of the most innovative.
Switzerland is one of the top countries in the world for research and development expenditure, Swiss healthcare companies have an high reputation worldwide. Roche is a disruptive company, offering a very innovative treatments and digital health solutions, it is working to find a cure for covid-19 and its stock seems pretty cheap compared to other healthcare companies.
Another example is Novartis whose business is very stable and the stock offers an interesting dividend yield of 3.62%, a good one with respect to other European companies. Nestlè, talking about the consumer goods sector, is the clear example of a stable and growing company that offers a 2.42% of dividend yield.
All these companies, but generally speaking the SMI Index, performed better than the EuroStoxx50 Index during March 2021, confirming that the Swiss Market could represent a good protection during markets difficulties and gives a stable long term returns to the investors.
In addition, Switzerland has an high rank for ESG practices, during the 2020 the sustainable investments had a double digit growth rate and now accounts for the half of the Swiss fund market.
