This interview examines how escalating geopolitical tensions are influencing the UK equity market and investor sentiment. Rising energy prices and disrupted supply chains are expected to feed through into inflation and interest rates, creating headwinds for more cyclical areas of the market. Alex Wright, manager of Fidelity Special Values Trust, explores how the portfolio is being adjusted in response, including changes to exposure across sectors such as defence and oil. We also consider the challenges of navigating markets where traditional defensive assets have already performed strongly and highlight where value opportunities are emerging, particularly within mid and small-cap stocks despite the near-term uncertainty.

What’s covered in this episode:

Geopolitical uncertainty and market impact
Energy prices and inflation outlook
Portfolio positioning in volatile markets
Reducing equity exposure and increasing cash
Commodities: coal vs copper exposure
Challenges with traditional defensive sectors
Defence stocks and valuation concerns
Oil majors and long-term outlook
Mid and small-cap opportunities
AI-driven market dislocations and value investing

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Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the time of listening. Elite Ratings are based on FundCalibre’s research methodology and are the opinion of FundCalibre’s research team only.