Emily, we will always have best interests of our readers at heart

IWAS amused to see a comment from a financial adviser on social media website LinkedIn accusing the financial press of focusing on negative stories at the expense of good news. What baloney.

The post was made by Emily Turgoose, managing director of Life Matters, a financial planning company in Poole, Dorset.

I quote directly: ‘Are you aware that over the past six weeks, billions of pounds in value have been added to the value of UK companies? The FTSE100 is up by almost six per cent in the last month alone, and yet, we haven’t seen this reported, let alone making the headlines.’

She adds: ‘It really frustrates me that the media focus on bad news and sensationalise normal market behaviour.’ There’s more, but she concludes: ‘Whatever you do, don’t let the media influence your investment decisions. They have their own agenda and it isn’t aligned with yours.’

For the record, I have nothing but utter respect for the great work that financial planners such as Emily Turgoose do in advancing the financial wellbeing of their clients. But to accuse all (personal finance) journalists of having an agenda at odds with that of looking after the best financial interests of their readers is both naive and insulting.

It’s like me saying that all financial advisers were guilty of advising members of the British Steel Pension Scheme to transfer their money out of it, causing them significant financial loss. Both are lies.

FOR the record, I am happy to report the FTSE100 is up 1.9 per cent over the past year, down 0.6 per cent since the start of the year and 2.3 per cent to the good over the past month. That’s mostly good news (two out of three) to counter Emily’s view that the media’s reporting ‘certainly isn’t going to breed optimism and may make a recession deeper and longer’.

One further point on good investment news. A few days ago, I had a fascinating conversation with Paul Marriage, one of three managers overseeing fund Tellworth UK Smaller Companies.

Like all funds investing in UK smaller companies, the Tellworth vehicle has had a torrid past year, incurring losses of 26.3 per cent. Its performance has been blighted by a flight out of risky assets as interest rates have risen and inflation has soared. International investors have also shown great antipathy towards the UK stock market, UK smaller companies in particular.

Enough to derail some fund managers, but not Paul Marriage. Having been an investment manager for more than 20 years and dealing with the market corrections of March 2020 and the financial crisis of 2008, he knows how to roll with the punches.

Although he says further losses cannot be ruled out short term, Marriage believes there are positive signs in that the market fortunes of many UK smaller companies may be turning for the better. These include frantic merger and acquisition activity in the sector with international businesses attracted by the low valuations on many quality companies.

Marriage also says earnings downgrades within the sector are not as severe as expected while investors are beginning to return in dribs and drabs. Once inflation and energy costs start to fall, maybe as early as next spring, this could trigger a rerating of UK smaller companies in the order of 20 to 30 per cent.

Take note, Emily: UK smaller companies could well turn out to be one of the investment good news stories of 2023.