“The difficult environment facing consumers both in emerging markets and globally means that value propositions are very important and need to be thought about in the context of high margins,” he explained.
“As illustrated by auto sales, Chinese consumption is slowing in general, and in some areas slowing significantly. For domestic consumer-facing businesses there is significant pressure, and we prefer companies that are benefitting from low material costs and will be able to navigate their way through this. Caution and prudence are the key words.”
However, while Price is far from optimistic on consumer spending prospects, it does not mean that he is not finding any openings.
“We continue to try and take advantage of ongoing market volatility,” he said. “We have seen a sell-off in some of the good names and interesting opportunities coming from those – AIA Group [5.45% of the fund] is a clear example of that.”
