How has the coronavirus affected your day-to-day work – from both a portfolio and workplace perspective?
My days pre-virus used to start with checking Asian markets, listening to early morning financial updates and then driving to the office. Now it’s checking Asian markets before listening to a maximum of 30 minutes of financial headlines. Then it’s sitting at my desk at home and spending 15 minutes looking at the virus impact and country infection rate trajectories. I have eliminated most social media. I then study how each aspect of investments has performed
What has been your biggest contributor to performance since the coronavirus hit markets?
Our biggest contributors to performance have been our sovereign bond exposure via the iShares UK All Gilt Stocks Index and our Vanguard US Government Bond Index (sterling hedged) followed by our iShares Physical Gold ETC.
What has been your biggest detractor?
The biggest detractor has been some of our UK funds such as the Polar Capital UK Value Opportunities and JOHCM UK Dynamic funds. Although they have had a torrid time, we retain faith in both management teams and we are now even more bullish on UK equities on a medium-term outlook.
What feedback have you had from clients since the coronavirus sell-off?
We had been making all versions of our investments more cautious since Q4 2018 and this peaked on 1 February. This has led to very positive feedback from the advisers who use our services. Our continuing message that there will be an event(s) outside of central bank control which will bring the markets down had been heard over a sustained period by our clients. Unfortunately, the coronavirus appears to be it.
How do you find working remotely during volatile markets?
I don’t mind working remotely in any market conditions. My team and the wider company are in continuous phone/Zoom/Teams contact. I have way more contact with my colleagues now than I did before. I would however echo some other managers who have said it’s nearly always better to ring than to email, but then I have always found that to be the case.
What do you do for fun when you take a break from working at home?
I take walks with Pip, my trusty West Highland Terrier. If he is asleep, I talk to my wife.
What is your favourite snack when working from home?
Cherry tomatoes or mixed nuts. It’s a token effort at not larding up but it’s better than nothing I suppose.
Do you have a ‘top tip’ to share on working remotely?
I think trying to stay in a routine during the week is important. My other tip is to really limit your use of social media. It would be so easy to get swamped in bad news and bad hypothesis; it doesn’t do anybody any good. We have a company call at 10am each morning and we all contribute good news and the subject almost doesn’t matter. What is key is that we try to minimise the effects of people feeling isolated.
Chris Metcalfe is investment and managing director at Iboss
