Alex Wright: “Fundamentals look really strong, particularly in the consumer area”

Being a contrarian investor has been a tough gig over much of the past decade but Alex Wright, manager of Fidelity Special Values (FSV) and Fidelity Special Situations believes the best way of making money is to go against the consensus. 

In this interview, he tells Mary McDougall how he identifies mispriced assets, what he has been buying and selling recently and in what sectors he sees the best opportunities. He also explains how he mitigates the challenges faced by value investors. The interview was recorded on 8 December.  

00:00 - Intro

00:55 - What did you learn from Anthony Bolton?

02:17 - Investing style

03:33 - Process for spotting mispriced assets

04:33 - How intangibles affect thinking

05:23 - Avoiding value traps

07:23 - Turnarounds

08:50 - Recent fund performance and current outlook

11:24 - What have you been buying and selling recently?

14:17 - Inflation impact

17:42 - Fund turnover

19:10 - Challenge of needing lots of investment ideas

20:09 - Need for a large portfolio

21:54 - Pricing methodology

24:39 - When to sell when stocks don't rerate as you hoped?

30:06 - Why small caps hold better value

31:44 - Liquidity problems in funds?

34:13 - Volatility vs risk

36:13 - M&A

39:10 - UK vs European markets

41:38 - UK holdings you're excited for

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