7IM senior portfolio manager Peter Sleep reveals which asset manager webinars wowed him and the City haunts he looks forward to returning to the most as he gears up to spend his first Christmas at home in more than 20 years.
What have been your top and worst performing fund picks during the year?
The Veritas Global Focus fund performed well in the circumstances. Veritas has a long-term overweight to aerospace which was difficult this year, but they stuck with it and still finished the year in the black. I got a lot of understandable client pushback over the Schroders Global Recovery fund which fell to a surprising degree in Q1 2020. It has started to rally now and I hope my clients’ patience will pay off in 2021.
What are your biggest over and underweights as vaccine news points towards a return to normality?
Our biggest overweight is equity and the biggest underweight is duration. To be more precise, we have moved into global mid-cap equity to make our overweight punchier. In fixed income, we have greatly reduced our sovereign bond exposure and bought bank AT1s and Asian high yield.
Best asset manager webinar of the year?
There were two that led me to pick up the phone and request a follow-up meeting. One from T Rowe Price and another from Kames Capital (now Aegon Asset Management).
What parts of the lockdown have made your job easier? And what parts of the lockdown have made your job more challenging?
Not having a crowded commute every morning was nice, but I do not think anything job related was easier. A key part of my job is relationships and communication and these were all more difficult.
I miss the interaction with my colleagues as you learn a lot from them. Consequently, I have been going into the office as much as possible.
What would be your ideal lockdown Christmas present?
A vaccination for everybody who wants it.
How are you altering your Christmas plans in light of the pandemic?
We usually go away for Christmas. This will be the first Christmas at home for about 20 years.
What has been your most memorable Zoom moment of the year?
None really. I am just pleased that I have not embarrassed myself.
What City haunt are you most looking forward to returning to once office working returns?
I am looking forward to the conferences we used to have in the old guild halls which are dotted around the City. Not only could you network and catch up with old friends, but you could do it in some amazing locations – much better than the basement of a West End hotel.
What lockdown movies, series or books would you recommend for people hunkering down during the holidays?
I am just finishing Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall series. I also enjoyed Jason Matthews’ Red Sparrow trilogy and Philip Kerr’s Berlin Noir series.
Peter Sleep is a senior portfolio manager at 7IM
