Bestinver, the largest independent asset manager of financial groups in Spain, held its annual conference this Thursday and wanted to highlight a message: despite the fact that the Ibex rises 14% in the year, which makes it one of the most bullish indices in Europe, “it still has a long way to go,” until reaching the 16,000 points that it almost touched in 2007. This was expressed by Ricardo Seixas, director of Iberian variable income at the Acciona investment firm, who He stressed that Spain is no longer “the ugly duckling” of the Old Continent.
Seixas highlighted that the corporate results of Spanish companies have been above the European average and market expectations, and stressed that the valuation differential continues to be favorable for Spain, since trading at 10 times earnings compared to 13 times in European markets.
“These good conditions of the Iberian market have been capitalized almost exclusively by the five main stocks of the Ibex, leaving the rest of the stocks significantly more undervalued than at the beginning of the year. A context that offers many opportunities,” he highlighted in his speech, where he explained that This year’s IPOs, like Puig’s, show that “there are many high-quality businesses that will continue to nourish the Iberian market.”
Seixas assured that at Bestinver Bolsa they have a very diversified portfolio because “we find opportunities in many sectors. There are many small and medium-sized companies that have not risen as much as the large ones and that are trading at very attractive valuations, such as Almirall or Jerónimo Martins. However, these companies are doing their homework, improving their margins, reducing their leverage and strengthening their international expansion,” the manager stressed.
Bestinver International
This good perception of equities is not limited only to the Iberian market but also to international equities, of which Tomás Pintó, head of this portfolio at Bestinver, once again stressed the fact that the rise of Passive management allows you to take advantage of opportunities in an increasingly short-term market.
“Passive investing, the proliferation of thematic baskets and ETFs make markets more volatile and inefficient. That is the ideal environment for long-term investing. Passive management is a great ally for value investors. For us “volatility is synonymous with opportunity,” said Pintó, who highlighted the entry of Reckitt, Barclays or Unilever and the increase in Heineken or Philips as the main movements of Bestinver Internacional, where they have undone the position in Bayer and Booking and have reduced pesos in Meta or Pandora, among other companies.
For the manager, this fund, one of the house’s emblematic products, should double its value over the next few years. “With a portfolio of companies whose profits are going to grow by close to 75% and that are trading at a 50% discount to the indices, We estimate that the reasonable potential of the fund is 100%. Our numbers indicate that the accumulated sales of the companies in the portfolio are going to grow close to 30% in four or five years, while profits will increase by 75%,” said Pintó in his speech, for whom the fund’s portfolio is trading at a discount close to 50% of the valuation of the indices.
“There is no better proof of how cheap our companies are than the rate of buybacks of their own shares that they themselves are doing. At a rate never seen before in Bestinver’s funds,” highlighted the head of international equities at the asset manager. Act.
Bestinver’s investment director, Mark Giacopazzi, wanted to emphasize that, since the integration of the new investment team almost five years ago, “the accumulated profitability of Bestinfond and Bestinver Internacional is 85%, and that of Bestinver Bolsa is 75%. %, while Bestinver North America, our most recent launch, is up 46% since its inception.”
Golden age for active management
In his opinion, a new “golden age” for active value management is approaching. “The markets are at the beginning of a phase of improved productivity, good economic growth, falling rates and moderate inflation, with a very positive impact on business profits and on the stock markets in the medium and long term,” but for “If we active managers are able to achieve the returns we seek, we must remember how dangerous it is to pay too high a price for a company than to invest in an obsolete business. The coming years will require active managers to invest in companies capable of competing , in dynamic businesses and in undervalued stocks. As Warren Buffett said, it is as dangerous to invest looking in the rearview mirror as it is to drive looking in the rearview mirror,” he stressed.
For his part, Eduardo Roque, director of fixed income at the manager, explained that the application of active management in the debt portfolio has also borne fruit, as shown by Bestinver Renta accumulating 14% profitability above its index. reference. “At Bestinver we are pioneers in the application of value investing in fixed income and we are demonstrating that it is the appropriate strategy. Despite how volatile the environment for fixed income has been, our funds are at historical highs,” he said.
The manager wanted to highlight that it already has nearly 6,800 million euros in assets under management of more than 46,000 participants, which are distributed among 5,256 million in variable income funds, 978 million in fixed income funds and 422 million in alternative assets. In addition, Rafael Amil, business director of Bestinver, commented that 70% of the unitholders’ operations are already carried out through digital channels, although the firm has held 50 conferences ad hoc with investors throughout the cities where it has a presence.
#Bestinver #assures #Spanish #stock #market #long
