Investors are fleeing equities with pension funds leading
the exodus and with valuations dropping to record lows, value star
Francisco García Paramés of Bestinver says it has created the perfect
environment to snap up top stocks at knock-off prices.
Speaking exclusively to Citywire Global, the Citywire A-rated manager said his optimism for his sector was at an all-time high.
‘For me this is the easiest time for investing in the last 15 years,’ said Madrid-based Paramés.
‘This
moment in time is a fantastic period. The best part is it’s not just
in value but also in the overall market, there are some really
interesting valuations, equity has some great years ahead of it.’
Admittedly,
he said, there was a lot of value to be found during the tech boom but
the combination of various elements in today's market are proving
potent influences on stock valuations.
'It is not only because
we see attractive valuations but also that right now no one is really
talking about equities, everyone has sold out and pension funds have
dropped their equity exposure.’
‘All these things are fantastic news for those of us that are fully invested in equities.’
‘Today in general I am very optimistic on markets as there is a huge amount of companies that are attractively priced.’
Moving back to Spain
This
optimism also includes his domestic market, which until recently he
only invested in through top Spanish exporters with global operations.
His
Bestinver Bolsa, which invests in Spanish and Portuguese stocks,
recently featured in Citywire Global analysis looking at the recent
performance of last decade’s top ten returning funds.
It was the
strongest outperformer of all the funds included in the analysis but
Paramés said recent news has made him rethink part of his strategy.
‘While before we were focused on Spanish exporters now we are looking into companies focused on the Spanish market.’
‘We
were really waiting for the time when the front pages of the
newspapers announced bank liquidations. When that was happening and
then the European rescue package for Spanish banks came along we
believed all this was reflected in valuations.’
‘As a consequence, we are now actively researching companies in Spain.’
However,
while his outlook for his domestic market is brighter than before he
says there is one crucial factor that has not yet been tackled.
‘I
am rather optimistic on the outlook for Spain but for me it still has
to resolve the problem of its public deficit. It will cost it a lot to
bring it out down.’
‘If this is resolved then I believe that the
European problem is also pretty much resolved as Italy does not really
have a public deficit problem, it does not have a problem of excessive
debt except with the state.’
‘If things are resolved in Spain then we really have a blue sky above us.’
Global approach
Turning
to his global fund, the €1.2 billion Bestinver Internacional, Paramés
said one recent addition he has made is French group Wendel, an
investor and shareholder group that assists sector-leading companies in
their long-term development.
Through this family run-business
he has gained exposure to companies like compliance firm Bureau Veritas
and industrials group Saint Gobain.
‘We are buying a global
company like Bureau Veritas, that is a fantastic business in the global
diversified sector, and we are using Europe that is extremely
penalised to buy it.’
While global growth is lower than previous years, he believes there is no cause for alarm.
‘The
world is growing and things are going relatively well, this year
global growth levels will be around 3-3.5% which is the average of the
last 20 years.’
‘For us this macro outline is sufficient.’
Over
the past three years the Bestinver Bolsa fund has posted returns of
3.8% while its benchmark, MSCI Spain TR, has fallen 14.3%.
In
the same period, the Bestinver Internacional fund has returned 53.5%
while its Citywire benchmark, FTSE World TR, has risen 52.8%.
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