Political intrigue
It’s an area Butcher has worked in as a fund manager for most of her career, having nabbed a place on the European equities team at Prolific in 1997 – a firm which was swiftly taken over by Aberdeen Asset Management – and subsequently joining the European equity team at Invesco in 2003.
During her career, the political sphere has become increasingly important within the economic and investment world. “We’ve all become much bigger political experts than we ever thought we would be. As a European fund manager, since 2011 you’ve had to have a view on politics,” she says.
The escalation of issues that could impact on the financial world culminated in this year’s presidential election in France, where the possibility of a Marine Le Pen victory posed a real problem for the European project, according to Butcher.
“From 2012 onwards, politics has continued to be important,” she says. “We’ve had Greece, then more recently the UK elections this year. What’s interesting is that it’s beginning to moderate. France was really important. I believe Germany will be fine and while Italy is the last one the market may get wound up about, our view is that there will be no great change, with the potential upside of a stronger government there instead.”
It is the big macro and political developments that really come into the decision-making process at crucial turning points, Butcher says, but admits she is neither a top-down or bottom-up stockpicker but rather “a bit in between”.
Core values
At the core of her investment philosophy is a focus on valuation. Finding value sectors and stocks has been the backbone of her approach during her 25 years in the industry, a view reiterated to her time and again by those she has worked with.
Valuation driven, fundamental and long-term would best describe Butcher’s approach to fund management. She plays a fundamental role in a number of funds at Invesco Perpetual, the main one being the European Equity Income and European High Income funds.
While there has been continuity in terms of her approach, the market has changed drastically. Butcher says: “It’s a very different market today than it was 20 years ago, but that underpinning of valuation has always been there and it is fundamental to what we believe in here at Invesco.
“Ultimately, our view is that paying the right price for an asset is the best risk control. If you’re overpaying you are not controlling risk.”
