Fear not, I am done writing about investment trusts. Now I just need to buy one. We also lost a couple of weekends, didn’t we, pondering how to join the private equity cowboys? I still want in here, too — most likely via a fund of listed players. Both closed-ended funds and private equity are out of favour. This always makes me vibrate like a tumble drier. But now there’s a new asset class jiggling my contrarian bones: European equities.
and SAP are world leaders. Meanwhile, food, energy and numerous other pharma companies spew cash flow. Is Europe cheap enough for me to justify selling one of my other funds to pay for it though? The trailing price/earnings ratio even of the concentrated Stoxx 50 is 14 times, according to Bloomberg data. That makes my FTSE 100 fund seem dear after its strong run this year. Likewise, Japan and Asia. Sorry boss, I may have to look into this a little more. The author is a former portfolio manager.