MRM’s five investment crackers for Christmas – and beyond: Mark Whitehead

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). So over the course of the next five days, a series of experts who are far more learned than me will be giving their tips for “alternative” Christmas presents.

Day 3:

Mark Whitehead, head of income at Legg Mason affiliate Martin Currie – alternatives:

Against a backdrop of chronically low rates, equities offer investors the best opportunity for accessing returns. Indeed, if anything, this environment highlights the need to find, and ultimately invest in, companies exhibiting genuine, sustainable growth.

One such company doing just that is Blackstone, a US listed alternative asset manager. We believe the increasing allocation by investors to alternatives will continue and that the largest players will continue to take market share. In quality terms Blackstone has net cash, high margins and is capital light so capital allocation, given the partnership model, is focused on distributions to shareholders.

Click here to read more Christmas crackers.