Podcast Summary: Merryn Talks Money
Episode: Cheap, Unloved, Profitable: The Case for Value Investing Today?
Host: Merryn Somerset Webb (Bloomberg)
Guest: Ian Lance (Manager, Temple Bar Investment Trust)
Date: May 4, 2026
Episode Overview
This episode explores the enduring relevance and recent resurgence of value investing, focusing on the principles, psychological challenges, and successes of the Temple Bar Investment Trust under Ian Lance. With the Trust celebrating its 100th anniversary and producing standout returns, the conversation digs into how sticking to value investing principles - even when unfashionable - has delivered for investors, how to distinguish value stocks from value traps, where global bargains may lurk, and the current risks facing markets.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Temple Bar's Performance and Value Philosophy
[02:04] - [04:15]
- Merryn highlights Temple Bar’s exceptional recent performance, with NAV returns near 200% and shareholder returns over 200% since 2020, outperforming benchmarks (even the S&P, despite being UK-focused).
- Ian credits fortuitous timing (taking over at the “bottom” of the pandemic) and strict adherence to the value philosophy: buying quality companies when markets are oversold, holding through adversity, and staying patient.
- Example: Buying UK banks and airlines at historic lows; these sectors performed despite widespread skepticism.
Quote:
"The market is offering you Marks and Spencers below a pound and NatWest Bank at the same price it was in the financial crisis... Simply, as a value investor, your opportunity set suddenly becomes incredibly interesting."
— Ian Lance [04:15]
2. What Constitutes "Cheap": Value Assessment Criteria
[05:31] - [06:59]
- “Cheap” is defined based on normalized earnings potential, not distressed current earnings.
- Focus is on what a company can earn in 3-5 years, not on transient downturns.
- The key: Buying during periods when others anchor to bad news, not future potential.
Quote:
"We try to look three to five years out and then basically value the business off where we think the earnings can get back to."
— Ian Lance [05:37]
3. The Psychology of Value Investing
[06:18] - [07:48]
- Value investing is simple, not easy — the hardest part is psychological: buying hated stocks when sentiment is deeply negative.
- The art lies in enduring criticism and holding through a period of unpopularity.
Quote:
“The mechanics of doing that are not particularly difficult. The difficult bit is the psychological bit... You don’t get bargains unless you buy things that have some sort of controversy around them.”
— Ian Lance [06:21]
4. Portfolio Construction: Concentration and Long Holding Periods
[06:59] - [07:48]
- Portfolio is relatively concentrated: ~65 holdings, with the top 10 making up c.50%.
- Willing to ride winners, especially as they recover (“let them run”), e.g., UK banks growing from small to substantial portfolio weights over time.
5. Value Stocks vs. Value Traps
[07:48] - [09:17]
- Avoiding value traps is challenging; mistakes will happen.
- Primary defense is favoring companies with strong balance sheets (avoiding excessive debt).
- Seek temporary dislocations (due to cycles or sentiment), with plausible paths to earnings recovery, not perpetual laggards.
Quote:
“If you spend your entire time saying, I’m going to avoid companies that might be a value trap, you are going to miss the ones that aren’t, the ones where the market has overreacted.”
— Ian Lance [08:12]
6. High Conviction Holdings – Sector and Stock Case Studies
[09:27] - [14:24]
Energy (BP & Shell):
- Both at top of portfolio; not a call on oil price, but due to low valuations and company-specific strategic shifts (notably BP’s reversal on moving away from traditional oil & gas under activist/management pressure).
Financials:
- Banks have been trimmed as valuations caught up with fundamentals (“no longer so cheap”).
- Example: UK banks went from 5x earnings/half book value to 10x earnings/around book value.
WPP (Contrarian Play):
- 10th largest holding; market hates it due to management and lack of integration.
- Key insight: WPP’s issues appear company-specific, not industry-wide (peer Publicis still growing).
- Market gives “0% probability” to improvement, which Ian sees as opportunity.
Quote:
"The valuation is absolutely crazy... Market is giving new management 0% probability of improving things. We would say if they could just stabilize earnings at 50p, on 10 times, that's a 5 quid share price from kind of 2 pounds 60 today. And we think they can do better than just stabilize."
— Ian Lance [13:01]
GSK (GlaxoSmithKline):
- Not a classic recovery, but a solid company neglected due to sector-wide pessimism; now re-rating.
7. Rotational Flexibility and Persistent Low Valuations
[14:24] - [15:22]
- Success allows continued reinvestment: as stocks rerate, rotate into newly unloved areas.
- Despite big returns, the portfolio as of recording still traded on <10x PE.
8. Value vs. Quality Growth: The Style Debate
[16:46] - [19:36]
- Debate over "quality growth" as an investing style: Ian asserts all investing is value investing when measured correctly.
- Cites the rise and fall of quality growth (2010-2020), fueled by low rates and mispriced optimism.
Examples:
- Nike: Fell from $180 (40x earnings) to $40 as earnings dropped
- Starbucks, Reckitt — similar “overpaying for growth” disasters
Quote:
"You put those two things together and you just get this horrific combination of DE rating on lower earnings. That's the story across lots and lots of these."
— Ian Lance [18:11]
9. Where Is Value Now?
[20:23] - [24:32]
- Most former “quality growth” names remain expensive; Costco/Walmart trade at 45-50x earnings.
- Diageo: Recently added as it's now de-rated (12x earnings) but concerns over industry structure mean the position is modest.
Overseas Value Hunting:
- Korea (“Cheap by neglect,” [22:18])
- E.g., Korean banks Hana & Woori trading on 5x earnings, 8% yields, quality track records, no overt controversy.
- “No controversy… just become cheap by neglect.”
- Still hold, but have trimmed after strong run.
- US “Small Cap” (up to $20bn):
- Pockets of value in smaller/lower-profile energy producers (Devon, Cord).
10. Macro Environment, Market Risks, & Complacency
[24:32] - [26:35]
- Macro is harder to ignore, even for bottom-up stock pickers.
- Main worry: Market “complacency.” Despite global risks (Middle East tensions, high oil prices, etc.), major indices hit new highs; “buy the dip” mentality may not work if central banks can’t rescue markets during geopolitical supply shocks.
- Even a well-constructed, cheap portfolio is not immune to a broader US-led selloff.
Quote:
"I do find that mildly worrying – how people appear to have just become accustomed to buying the dip... Historically it was right because central banks wrote to your rescue... I don’t see how they can print money and open up the Strait of Hormuz."
— Ian Lance [25:32]
11. Memorable Moments & Book Recommendations
[26:35] - [27:27]
- Ian recently finished Lionel Barber’s biography of Masayoshi Son and started Jeremy Grantham’s “Diary of a Perma Bear.”
- Admits to receiving only investment books and socks at Christmas!
Notable Quotes With Timestamps
-
On why value investing works:
"You don’t get bargains unless you buy things that have some sort of controversy around them."
— Ian Lance [06:21]
-
On psychological difficulty:
“I often say when we put up our top 10 holdings, people often feel slightly nauseous looking at the companies that we own.”
— Ian Lance [06:34]
-
On quality growth style’s reckoning:
"People were paying 40 times earnings for Nike just ahead of a period in which the earnings went from $4 to $1.50... that is a fantastic example of where both of those bits went wrong."
— Ian Lance [18:11]
-
On the market’s current risks:
"There just seems to be an awful lot of complacency... we are not macro forecasters but... energy prices at those levels is going to have an impact on the economy... if your starting point is very, very high valuations, those two things together don’t work out well."
— Ian Lance [25:09]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [02:04] – Intro to Ian Lance & Temple Bar’s performance
- [04:15] – Defining value and opportunity post-pandemic
- [05:37] – Assessing “cheapness” and looking past short-term noise
- [06:21] – The psychological challenges of being a value investor
- [07:48] – Distinguishing value stocks from value traps
- [09:31] – Current high-conviction holdings (Energy, Financials, WPP, GSK)
- [14:24] – Rotating value and current portfolio valuation
- [16:46] – Value vs. quality growth investment style debate
- [20:38] – Where value is found now: Diageo, Korea, US small energy
- [24:32] – Market risks and macro concerns; “buy the dip” warning
- [26:44] – Book recommendations
- [27:29] – Closing remarks
Tone & Language
The conversation is candid, sharp, and self-aware. Ian Lance blends analytical discipline with humility about market timing and psychological difficulty. Merryn’s tone is familiar and occasionally light, especially around “contrarianism” and value’s sometimes unglamorous reality.
For Listeners Who Missed the Episode
- The robust outperformance of value investing—when consistently and patiently applied—is highlighted, with detailed examples from Temple Bar’s own performance.
- The conversation demystifies what “value” means in practice and how to avoid the classic pitfalls of value traps.
- Ian Lance gives actionable ideas on where value persists globally, showing how opportunities rotate but the core process stays the same.
- The episode ends with warnings about market exuberance and the limits of central bank rescues in the face of real-world shocks, underscoring the importance of fundamentals, skepticism, and margin of safety.
- Book recommendations provide additional inspiration for value-oriented listeners or those wanting to understand financial market cycles.
In sum:
A must-listen for anyone curious why value investing endures, how to apply it now, and what risks may lie ahead—even for value stalwarts.