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Simon Edwards, lead manager of the Midas Growth fund and co-manager of the Midas Balanced Income fund, predicted a concerted recovery in the value of many assets to which Midas is exposed, including equities, overseas property, structured products, alternative assets, corporate bonds and venture capital.
He said: “Equity valuations are low by any standard, with the FTSE 100 trading around its lowest historic price/earnings since 1993.
"Despite the prospect of further earnings downgrades and dividend cuts, blue-chip companies with the capacity to withstand pressure and the balance sheets to support attractive yields are cheap.”
Net asset values (NAVs) in Midas's holdings in overseas property, he added, have remained robust, and further share-price falls could lead to NAV discounts in excess of 50 per cent, in effect signifying a "Eurasian property Armageddon".
“This we did not expect," he said. "The scope to release value in this area is very significant.”
With regard to structured products, Midas Capital said continued market fluctuation was most likely to be followed by a fall in volatility, which would see the value of the embedded options in its structured product portfolio rise.
The company has also increased its investment-grade corporate bond exposure and reduced its gilt positions in response to pessimistic default pricing. Midas plans to maintain its positions in alternative assets, with some hedge funds of funds now trading at significant discounts.
Mr Edwards said Midas, being a value investor, believed in "reversion to mean".
"Extreme valuations don’t stick around forever, or even for long. We will continue to manage money on a highly diversified, multi-asset basis, reducing the risk of exposure to a single asset class.”
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Location: Nationwide
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