Interactive Investor

Stockmarket sell-off: Where to hide, where to find bargains

12th February 2018 12:09

Kyle Caldwell from interactive investor

The stockmarket rout gathered pace late last week, with US, European and Asian markets posting sharp declines. The million-dollar question, as with every market sell-off, is whether the declines will prove to be a short-term blip or the start of a more pronounced market correction, possibly triggering the start of a bear market.

The general feeling among market commentators and money managers is that the sell-off was 'overdue', after a strong 2017 for global markets generally when volatility was at extremely low levels compared to history.

Prior to the sell-off, the expectation was that a market dip was inevitable at some point as valuations became pricier, particularly in the US. On one respected valuation measure - CAPE - the US market has only been more expensive on two other ominous occasions - 1929 and 1999.

But, while pricier valuations are one factor behind the sell-off, a bigger driver is the move by the US Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy by raising interest rates in the face of rising wages and fears of an uplift in inflation. As Ben Yearsley, a director of Shore Financial Planning, observes, the panic seems a little odd, particularly when rates in the US went up three times in 2017.

"The strange thing about the market falls is that they have been driven by positive rather than negative news. Markets are in a tizz about interest rates increasing more quickly than expected in the US in 2018. Following strong unemployment numbers last week and GDP growth powering ahead, markets are now worried about inflation kicking back in, which will mean more rate rises to combat it."

The other big concern - which is spooking markets and will no doubt cause further sell-offs in the future - is what happens when the cheap money era draws to a close. As Alex Scott, chief strategist at Seven Investment Management, points out, quantitative easing policies have "underpinned market confidence and valuations" for a number of years now.

Most commentators, however, stress that the sell-off is unlikely to herald the start of a full-blown downturn, which would lead to a bear market. The health of the global economy is fuelling investor optimism, while investor euphoria is noticeably lacking, with Investment Association statistics showing fixed income funds were more popular than equity funds in 2017.

Where to find bargains

The sell-off has created bargains for bold investors, particularly in the case of investment trusts, where value opportunities have been hard to find of late. There are now a couple of bargains to be found in the Asia and emerging market sectors.

Aberdeen New India, for example, is currently trading on a discount of 14%, wider than its 12-month average discount figure of 11%. Other trusts that look cheap include Utilico Emerging Markets, on a 13.3% discount versus a 10% one-year average, and Fidelity Asian Values, which is offering a discount of 9.4% versus a one-year average figure of 4%.

Due to the structure of open-ended funds or unit trusts, finding a bargain among them is more of an art than an exact science. But, given the steep falls across the globe, fund investors should be looking to top up exposure to areas where they think the sell-off looks unjustified in relation to the region's long-term prospects. Japan, for example, may now be worth a closer look.

In the case of individual equities, domestic UK stocks have become even cheaper after suffering further share price falls, while in terms of sectors banks stand out for their low valuations.

Fund for a falling market

Investors who are instead looking to take stock and reduce risk, perhaps fearing a more pronounced stockmarket correction, may want to consider a fund that prioritises capital preservation. The trade-off is that in rising markets these funds will lag both the stockmarket and many of their sector rivals.

Darius McDermott, managing director of FundCalibre, picks out BlackRock UK Absolute Alpha, a fund that bets on share prices falling as well as rising. He also likes Premier Defensive Growth, a fund that he says has been thoroughly tested in a wide range of scenarios and has continued to deliver.

He adds: "Many people will be worried that this is the start of a prolonged correction, but I think this is premature. It is a good wake-up call to investors to make sure their portfolios are in a fit state to withstand such an event, however - to make sure their portfolios are diversified and have some form of cushion to lessen the impact of a larger fall."

ii Rated Investments that are run in a cautious manner include TM Fulcrum Diversified Core Absolute Return, Old Mutual Cirilium Conservative and Artemis Monthly Distribution.

This article was originally published in our sister magazine Money Observer, which ceased publication in August 2020.

These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.

These articles are provided for information purposes only.  Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties.  The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.