James Gerrish: Low risk equity returns are back (and these stocks provide them)

Some fund managers don't freely disclose how they go about business, for fear of losing a competitive edge (or maybe letting on that they don't have any edge at all). 

Then there's the other school of thought - tell investors how you operate, what you're thinking, and forge ahead as a thought leader. Then, if you're worth your salt, investors pick up what you're putting down and entrust you to manage their capital. 

Today's guest on The Rules of Investing occupies the extreme latter end of that spectrum.

James Gerrish, author and portfolio manager at Market Matters, is one of Livewire's most followed contributors. Subscribers might know him best as author of the Market Matters end-of-trading day report The Match Out. But that’s certainly not the only hat he wears.

He’s also on the tools – running money at Market Matters across portfolios specialising in growth, income, international equities, emerging companies, and global macro.

In this episode of The Rules of Investing, Gerrish and host David Thornton discuss:

• the benefit of holding short-term views when long-term investing;
• the market signals that matter most;
• the sectors with the best risk adjusted return;
• and the one thing investors should fear.

Note: This episode was recorded on Wednesday April 12, 2023. 

 Timestamps

• 1:20 - Managing short-term views with long-term investing
• 4:30 - Short-term noise
• 8:50 - Banking crisis and deposit flight
• 10:40 - The most important signals across sectors and asset classes
• 15:30 - Are bond yields too high?
• 19:40 - Investing is a game of inches, not yards
• 23:50 - How important is the index?
• 25:00 - Risk across today's sectors
• 28:00 - The best risk-adjusted return
• 33:00 - Know your risk, and invest accordingly
• 35:40 - Discounting macro is a cop out
• 42:00 - The thing that should frighten all investors
• 45:50 - Look for companies with warts
• 48:00 - The market's getting ahead of itself
• 49:00 - Biggest career win and loss
• 52:00 - A company for all seasons