Kelly Prior of BMO Gam’s multi-manager team says not being able to share an Iceland buffet with her family on Boxing Day will be the thing she misses the most this Christmas and explains how a “pre-lockdown inspired addition to the family” has proved a handful while working from home.
What have been your top and worst performing fund picks during the year?
It is interesting to split the year into three segments: the year to the third week of March; the third week of March to the vaccine announcement; and the vaccine announcement to now. Looking through the year as a whole, masks volatility in fund performance that would make Santa fall off his sleigh. The clear winners over the entire period have been anything invested in quality growth and the laggards are anything paying an income, but the reversion in recent weeks has been breathtaking. We are long term investors and while this has not been an enjoyable year in investment terms, active management has worked for those that were brave enough to roll up their sleeves in the dark days and find mispriced bargains.
What are your biggest over and underweights as vaccine news points towards a return to normality?
We are overweight active managers who are well placed to pick through the year as a broad observation. There are many companies that have just fallen off the radar as they haven’t been exciting enough, or, quite rightly had their long term viability called into question in such an uncertain future. We remain exposed to but underweight in expensive growth on the whole, but there are pockets of interest here.
Best asset manager webinar of the year?
I think M&G and in particular Jim Leaviss has stood out for me in his unfaltering honesty when he is interrupted by his children hogging his broadband, or the council cutting down trees outside his house. We can all relate to these interruptions while trying to remain calm and look professional in a wholly unprofessional set up occasionally.
What parts of the lockdown have made your job easier? And what parts of the lockdown have made your job more challenging?
My commute is less life threatening than usual as I have dispensed with doing battle with the white vans of London on a fold up bike for the time being, however I have missed the train down time that allows me to catch up on my reading. I have considered asking my husband to share my office chair with me and listen to drum and bass through inefficient headphones to replicate the situation but he has thus far declined my offer.
What would be your ideal lockdown Christmas present?
A dog silencer for our “puppy” Uno. A pre-lockdown inspired addition to the family who likes a chat (usually at the most inappropriate times).
How are you altering your Christmas plans in light of the pandemic?
No mad dash back to glorious Essex to see my family and share an Iceland buffet on Boxing Day is my greatest sacrifice.
What has been your most memorable Zoom moment of the year?
I have enjoyed seeing more of my colleagues’ other halves in our meetings, if that counts. I notice that Gary Potter’s wife is definitely getting a better annual review than my husband or kids in their support function capabilities.
What City haunt are you most looking forward to returning to once office working returns?
I hope the pie stall in Spitalfields market has survived. We are an enterprising nation – the amount of support that has been swelling up for local business where I live has been astonishing and I am hopeful that some positives can come out of what has been a terrible year for some. I hope the City reflects this shift and I can get a decent steak and ale and mash in the near future.
What lockdown movies, series or books would you recommend for people hunkering down during the holidays?
Watch the whole Star Wars box set in order. Mind – blown.
Kelly Prior is a fund manager in BMO Gam’s multi-manager team
