Fidelity Special Values Share Discussion Threads

[jong] 30/11/2023 12:15

XD today. 6.27p per share payable on 10 January 2024.

[this_is_me] 21/9/2023 08:27

This is the third time this year that the NAV has hit £3. Surely this time it will keep going up.

[topvest] 07/6/2023 20:23

I was listening to Alex Wright at Fidelity Special Values today. I must admit to liking his style at present.

This makes you think.

Diageo is on a 52 week low. It's on a forward P/E of 19 and valued at 9x book value yielding just 2.5%. Analyst consensus are flat to down a bit.

Barclays is at a similar price level to a year ago, is on a P/E of 5 and valued at 35% of book value with a prospective yield of 6%. Analyst consensus estimates have been increasing.

Question 1 - which is the better quality company? Easy, it's obviously Diageo.
Question 2 - which is the better investment at a 4% 10 year bond rate? More tricky. I might have to say Barclays, even though its a dreaded too big to fail bank!

Any thoughts? Alex Wright is big on banks such as Barclays and NatWest along with Phoenix, Aviva and Impreial Brands. All reasonable quality very high yielding stocks at very low valuations.

[this_is_me] 17/4/2023 07:44

After a dip NAV is now back above £3

[this_is_me] 06/1/2023 07:17

NAV hits £3.

[topvest] 11/11/2022 18:15

Yes, I’m quite surprised by the current bounce in markets. Is it the start of a bull market or a bear market rally?

[this_is_me] 11/11/2022 07:20

NAV and share price going up.

[alan pt] 23/5/2022 09:38

AB had absolutely the right idea, but underestimated the challenge in how differently things worked and some of the different risks

It wasn't the greatest end to a career, but at the time it seemed like the China "unretirement" was more about him being excited by the opportunity than any kind of hubris and it was clear to investors that it was a high risk opportunity

But then I made plenty of money on his special situations fund and lost none on China, so maybe that's why I still think well of him :)

[spectoacc] 23/5/2022 08:49

FCSS rescued by Dale Nicholls tho - AB had moved to HK thinking he could do in China what he'd done in UK, only to get caught in some Northwest Bio-style frauds.

Eg:


Unlike Woodford - and so far, BG - AB did at least admit he was wrong and move on (or was pushed?). Woodford as hubristic as ever in the way he keeps trying to restart, and difficult to see BG changing course even if the outside chance of an SMT blow-up comes to pass.

Nick Train another interesting one.

[topvest] 22/5/2022 20:50

Interesting - I think quite a few have that view, but not me. FCSS went on to be very successful and the drawdown was temporary, versus Woodford where he permanently destroyed capital. I think AB did well with FCSS, but the market timing was off. His successors have done very well using the same style. China is volatile. China now - nothing works and FCSS is again under pressure. Things will change again, that's for sure.

[spectoacc] 22/5/2022 17:42

I ended up hating AB :)) The hubris - and downfall - with FCSS was Woodford-esque, albeit pre-Woodford!

But point taken - and agree as a buy-and-forget it's surely a decent punt, biased strongly to value.

[topvest] 22/5/2022 08:34

Nothing particularly special that can't be replicated but I like holding an investment trust portfolio for the long term and I think most of the Fidelity trusts are good. This and Fidelity European are my favourites - both originally Anthony Bolton vehicles. Good stock pickers, albeit not quite as good as Anthony Bolton.

[spectoacc] 22/5/2022 07:45

Unusual to see "CFD of.." in the holdings - avoiding too much stamp duty on the chopping & changing makes sense.

But still not convinced "Fidelity's Wright" has anything "special" that can't be replicated.

[topvest] 21/5/2022 19:35

I think this trust will do better than most for what its worth. Its had a tough time of late, but style wise there is a clear rotation going on.

[alan pt] 21/5/2022 17:45

Those holdings move around quite actively though and with good success. It's almost the polar opposite of Train.

This and LWDB are my main UK trusts (ex property & infra), it's a nice alternative to a FTSE all-share tracker as a core holding

[spectoacc] 21/5/2022 14:23

CityWire gave it a nudge in their Trusts round-up, pointing out the discount. c.10% is 9yr low, albeit it's been there in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2020 too. But not lower.

0.72% ongoing charge (says HL) yet what's special about the holdings? No great conviction - top holding Fidelity Liquidity Fund at 9%, which I assume is cash-esque (yet still attracting the fee). Then AV 4%, SRP 4%, Fidelity US 4%, Sanofi 3.5%, IMB 3.2%, DCC 3%, Shell 3%, PHNX 2.7%. (All HL & doubtless out of date).

I want either conviction (eg MNL), or something I can't easily replicate (eg Japan fund, property etc).

[alan pt] 25/2/2022 21:59

Cowie is an entertaining writer, but not normally the greatest investment picker

Still, he might be right on this one, took the opportunity to top-up yesterday!

[topvest] 25/2/2022 21:38

Yes, a strong hold for me. They are looking very well placed in my view.

[lozzer69] 25/2/2022 08:44

Ian Cowie recommended FSV in his ii article yesterday as a solid play in troubled times.

[sphere25] 23/4/2021 09:21

"Consensus is growing that later this year we could witness an uptick in inflation as economies reopen, and we see pent up demand and constrained supply in some areas. Indeed, many companies we talk to are increasingly highlighting these challenges, particularly within supply chains. There is still an enormous amount of US fiscal stimulus ahead of us, which could stoke things further, and create a very different environment to the one we saw after the financial crisis. Near term, the ability for businesses to pass on these cost pressures will be increasingly in focus, and is a key topic of conversation in our company meetings. An environment with higher inflation and rising bond yields has tended to favour value stocks. If discount rates rise, then some of the very highly priced stocks/sectors could de-rate, which we have started to see, whereas value stocks moderate valuations should benefit from a normalisation of economic and market conditions."

[this_is_me] 23/4/2021 07:24

I am very happy with my investment here.

[this_is_me] 19/11/2020 22:36

Tip in investors chronicle.

NAV now 228.26p

After a decade of underperformance, dedicated value names are few and far between. But options do remain, including Fidelity Special Values (FSV).

This investment trust has already benefited somewhat from recent gains: its shares traded at a premium of more than 2 per cent to the portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) on 17 November, having sat on an average discount of nearly 4 per cent over the previous 12 months. But a focus on unpopular, domestic-facing UK stocks could continue to deliver substantial gains in the coming years.

As analysts at fund research outlet FundCalibre have noted, holdings in the trust that could benefit from an improving economic situation include Meggitt (MGGT), which provides components to aerospace businesses, and C&C (CCR), a drinks company which has been hit hard by the pandemic but continues to make money.

Investment manager Alex Wright has also used debt to ramp up the trust’s exposure to its portfolio, with gearing recently coming to 17 per cent of assets. This additional exposure would allow the portfolio to benefit more from any future gains.

Importantly, Mr Wright also focuses on preserving capital. As FundCalibre analysts note, the investment team choose companies “with exceptionally cheap valuations or an asset, such as intellectual property or inventory, which has the potential to limit share price falls”. The team also seeks companies where there is a catalyst for significant earnings growth, rather than blindly hoping for economic improvements.

In an end of September update, Mr Wright noted that the portfolio was “fairly balanced” in terms of risk, with exposure spread out across more than 100 holdings. The team has also been focusing on companies that have prospered in the pandemic, rather than simply buying beaten up stocks, while going underweight mainstream banks and oil and gas names.

“Unusually for a recession, some households are better off, as they spend less on eating out, holidays and transport due to the restrictions,” Mr Wright said in an end of September commentary.

“The pandemic has led them to reassess their priorities, and we are seeing evidence of increased demand in areas such as housing, DIY, electronics and sportswear/bicycle sales. Very unusually, some companies are actually upgrading their earnings guidance, despite the pandemic. These are areas where we have built meaningful exposure.”

[this_is_me] 13/11/2020 13:11

NAV 217.88p