The final MRM investment cracker for Christmas – and beyond: Tom Becket

It’s that time of the year again; time to search for presents for loved ones, which in my house means buying untold amounts of plastic crap for a four-year-old while recycling her gifts from years gone by for her little sister (sounds harsh but honestly, its ok, the littlest one is still in the “put every toy in my mouth to see if its food” phase)

Presents are clearly awesome and I would never not buy said plastic crap for the kids, but, for those thinking more long-term, us here at MRM HQ thought there might be some better stuff to buy for the kids (and adults too) by thinking about the exciting world of investments.

Now, I’m not for a minute suggesting anyone cancels the bike they were going to buy as a gift for little Tommy and opts for a share certificate instead. Tommy, for one, would probably not be too happy about that. But rather than spend every hard-earned penny buying eighteen tons of Lego, we have put together some potential investments for junior ISAs, or just plain ISAs, which might make a decent return over the longer term.

Investment expert and inveterate gambler that I am, the decision was made to cast the net a bit wider than myself when it came to the actual investments which show promise for the coming year (plus I basically just own a load of uber high-risk tech stocks). Throughout the last week, a series of experts who are far more learned than me have given their tips for “alternative” Christmas presents, and without further ado, its time for the (drumroll please) final blog!

Day 5:

Psigma’s chief investment officer (CIO) Tom Becket – Asian equities

Our positive view from the start of 2017 towards Asian investments remains in place as we head in to 2018, although we have taken profits in both markets as the year has progressed. In China and related regional markets we feel that the key focuses of the government can still bring investors rewards and our investments are focussed on the consumerisation of Asia, pollution control and supply side reform.

That being said, we have to recognise that the regional market has moved from “cheap” to “fair value”. Earnings growth should be around 12-15% next year from the region. Why do we think Asian companies can deliver these good rates of earnings growth next year? Firstly revenues will continue to grow at least in line with nominal economic growth. Secondly, there are some faster growth sectors, such as consumer tech or “new economy names”. Finally, we are now at the end of a major capital expenditure cycle and regional industrial companies should start to see strong earnings growth through operational leverage.

Click here to read more Christmas crackers.