5 February 2008
5 February 2008
Markets are facing a winter and spring of discontent, but the financial outlook will begin to improve from summer, says Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin who yesterday addressed the UK Shareholders’ Association’s North West region.
Speaking at two events in Manchester, a UKSA seminar at Brewin Dolphin’s offices then later a meeting of the company’s clients at the Hilton Hotel, Mr Lenhoff told the combined audience of 250: “the message I want to leave behind is that in the next few months we are going to be faced with a very difficult environment, but I’m hopeful that, lower interest rates will stimulate the expectation that better times lie ahead.”
This is the sixth year that Mr Lenhoff, one of the most consistent predictors of the FTSE 100’s year-end levels, has addressed Manchester investors. This year, he argued that the actions of the American central bank could have ramifications which would directly affect investors in the North West.
He said: “The contrast with this time last year is that in 2007 there was no indication that we would be heading into the sort of problems we are now having to confront. At that stage, the outlook for company profits was quite rosy, earnings consensus was on the upside, you still had significant corporate activity and widespread involvement of private equity. Now the situation seems to have reversed. However, I feel that the American central bank has recognised the risks involved in this financial crisis and is bringing interest rates down as swiftly as it can. The Bank of England will follow, which should generate a pick-up in corporate profitability in time. This combination of factors, together with favourable valuations in equity markets should help to turn a bleak performance in the equity markets into something more promising.”
Also speaking at the event was Robert Race, Divisional Director at Brewin Dolphin’s Manchester office, who talked about Brewin Dolphin’s current asset allocation and sector weightings for clients’ portfolios.
ENDS
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For more information, contact Damian Kerr on 0845 213 3026, 07720 783242 or damian.kerr@brewin.co.uk
Notes to editors
Brewin Dolphin Limited (“BD”) is the principal operating company of Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. BD is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.
BD is the largest independent private client investment manager in the UK. The Group manages £21.6 billion of funds for over 120,000 clients, and of this £10.7 billion is on a discretionary basis. BD has 39 offices and is corporate adviser to 131 corporate and 100 institutional clients. Brewin Dolphin Investment Banking was voted AIM Broker of the Year 2007.1
The Group provides complete investment management for private investors, charities and pension funds and trades as:
Brewin Dolphin in England, Wales and the Channel Islands
Bell Lawrie in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Hill Osborne in the East Midlands
Wise Speke in the North of England
Stocktrade is the BD Execution-Only division. www.stocktrade.co.uk
Please see Media Centre section on www.brewin.co.uk for details and photos of all commentators and analysts throughout the BD Group.
1 Brewin Dolphin Investment Banking was voted Broker of the Year 2007 at the Investors Chronicle AIM Investment Awards, in association with the FT