AJ Bell head of active portfolios Ryan Hughes has largely enjoyed lockdown, especially the additional family time, but wishes he hadn’t got an eyeful a colleague’s unmentionables during a work video call.
What have been your top and worst performing fund picks during the year?
The best has been the Allianz China A Shares fund which we added to some of the higher risk portfolios in February. It’s up over 50% since this point and remains hugely under owned making it a great differentiator. The worst has been the Man Undervalued Assets fund managed by Henry Dixon which is down just over 17% this year. We run style diversified portfolios and therefore have had some value exposure all the way through but thankfully it’s bounced very nicely since May.
What are your biggest over and underweights as vaccine news points towards a return to normality?
We have been significantly underweight duration for a long while which we think is a sensible place to be in a world where so many bonds now have negative yields. With governments now hoping for a pick-up in inflation, we could see the yield curve steepen sharply and therefore we don’t want to be over-exposed to this. In the equity element, we are overweight Asia and emerging markets as we continue to see these areas as the long-term engines for growth in the world. With a young workforce and low levels of debt, they have a big structural advantage as the world recovers.
Best asset manager webinar of the year?
Having sat through literally dozens over the past nine months it would be wrong to single any out. What I would say is that the quality of them has improved hugely over recent months and the great thing about lockdown has been that fund managers have been so much more accessible. We have better access and richer conversations than we would normally have had if we’d been in the office, while fund managers have come across as much more relaxed.
What parts of the lockdown have made your job easier?
Without doubt, it’s been the ability to spend much more time with my family. I would normally have a very long commute and would have little family time during the week, but the last nine months have been great. I’m spending more time with my family, doing the school run, sleeping better, eating better and exercising more. To be honest, I’ve actually really enjoyed lockdown.
And what parts of the lockdown have made your job more challenging?
I think we would all agree that hours and hours of meetings on Zoom, Teams, Skype, Webex and many other online meeting tools takes its toll after a while, particularly if you’ve had many in a week.
What would be your ideal lockdown Christmas present?
Having had our annual skiing trip to France cancelled at the last moment last year, my ideal present would be for President Macron to allow the ski resorts to re-open so we can get a much need winter break in the New Year.
How are you altering your Christmas plans in light of the pandemic?
I generally like a pretty low-key Christmas and therefore this year will be like most others. If anyone needs me, I’ll be slumped on the sofa flicking channels between wall-to-wall football and the darts world championships, much to the annoyance of my wife.
What has been your most memorable Zoom moment of the year?
Too many to mention. Having to ask my colleague to move his drying washing so I didn’t have to look at his boxer shorts in the background, having to use my personal Zoom account for a work meeting and forgetting I’d changed the background, my cats making impromptu guest appearances during pitches for new business. And if I had a pound for every time I’ve had to say ‘you’re on mute’, I’d be a very wealthy man.
Which haunt are you most looking forward to returning to once office working returns?
Any of the Portfolio Adviser events of course.
What lockdown movies, series or books would you recommend for people hunkering down during the holidays?
I’m one of those people who is miles behind everyone else when it comes to watching films or boxsets. However, I do like to read and therefore I’d recommend The Spy & The Traitor by Ben Macintyre. It’s one of the most incredible books I’ve ever read telling the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a Russian KGB double agent who helped end the Cold War.
Ryan Hughes is head of active portfolios at AJ Bell
