Urquhart Stewart noted that recent history suggests that macro factors can be overridden by any number of micro issue faced by individual retailers.
“Since 2008 I can count some 18 high street names that have disappeared. The reasons seem to be endless and there is not just a single commercial infection that can be blamed for them all,” he said.
With this being the case, it suggests that buying consumer stocks has become something akin to a lottery. Asset managers of course would argue that it strengthens the case for investing in active UK equities funds because they have the necessary stock picking skills and models to pick the winners and side-step the losers.
At the moment though, the winners among UK consumer stocks are looking increasingly scarce.
