Economic and market impacts are rarely synchronised, so as evidence of stabilisation of the virus spread comes through, markets are likely to rebound even if the economic effects have yet to play out.
The following points list the different actions we have taken in the portfolio over the past days/weeks given the volatility of the markets:
– We raised our cash levels at the end of January which then hovered between 6% to 10% during February. We still have a 7% cash level at the time of writing in early March.
– We trimmed some exposure to the higher beta markets who are more sensitive to global flows like South Korea and South Africa. We had been underweight South Africa for some time but reduced it further while cutting back our South Korea exposure from 11% down to 5%. South African equities were down nearly 13% while the South Korean equities were down 7.4% in February. We also cut exposure to some parts of South East Asia, including Thailand, whose key tourism industry will suffer in the months ahead.
– We reviewed all the positions in the portfolio to determine sensitivity to the Covid-19 impact and we remain very bullish on the companies we own. In China, our large positions in property management and high education are likely to see very limited impact due to their nature of business. Our Food & Beverage holdings will see limited impact as well. Sportswear is observing some pressure due to traffic drop; however, we are expecting a quick recovery once things are normalized due to pent up demand.
Meanwhile, we will be increasing exposures to countries and companies that will benefit when the panic stops, particularly in Brazil and South Korea, two countries that are attractive from both a long term macro and micro perspective. In Brazil, we believe some important reforms will still be approved this year; the economy still has a lot of room to grow, a big unemployment buffer and all-time low interest rates. Our investment team has therefore been using this opportunity to increase our exposure to names correlated to the Brazilian economy (like Magazine Luiza and Cogna) and also commodity names that aren’t linked to infrastructure investments in the world, like the pulp and paper sector. The team is not worried about the drop in early March, we saw a similar move in the Brazilian markets in 2018 with the Truck Drivers Strike and it proved to be temporary.
In South Korea, we have shifted our focus to the small and mid-caps and away from the more global mega caps. The small to mid-cap companies offer tremendous upside at attractive valuations.
In terms of oil exposure, we have been overweight Russia (6.5% weight vs index weight of 3.5%) for the last 18 months or so as the fundamentals have looked extremely attractive. The market was also up +50% in 2019 so we have benefited from our overweight position. It is difficult to predict the outcome of the dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia, but our Russia team has been closely monitoring the situation and their analysis continues to show that profits in the Russian oil sector will be more resilient than other producers and that cash flows will be sufficient to support investment debt service and dividends. Meanwhile, the Russian equities still look attractive in our asset allocation models.
Disclaimer
For professional investors only. This article is strictly private and confidential and is issued by Milltrust International LLP, incorporated in the United Kingdom, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Milltrust International LLP has its registered office at 5 Market Yard Mews, 194-204 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3TQ, United Kingdom and is a subsidiary of Milltrust International Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd.). None of the investment products mentioned herein are regulated collective investment schemes for the purposes of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The promotion of such products and the distribution of this document are, accordingly, restricted by law. Most of the protections provided by the UK regulatory system and compensation under the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme will not be available. The investments described herein are only available to investors permitted to invest in the prospectus of the fund and are not available to private investors. The nature of the fund investments carries certain risks and the Fund may utilise investment techniques which may carry additional risk. The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This document contains forward-looking statements which are correct as at the date of this document. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results, performance or projections to be materially different from future results. Any investment in the funds mentioned above should be based on the full details contained in the relevant prospectus and supplements which are available from www.milltrust.com. Notice to US investors: the shares of Milltrust International Managed Investments ICAV and Milltrust International Investments SPC have not been registered under the 1933 Securities Act or under the 1940 Act; however the company takes advantage of the 3[C]7 exemption and shares are available to 3[C](1) US qualified purchasers and those qualifying under Reg D distribution activity in the US is undertaken by Silverleaf Partners LLC, a registered broker-dealer based in New York.
