PIWORLD Investor Podcasts

The Market Call - Week Ending 22nd August 2025

This week has been relatively quiet. Progressive's Gareth Evans and Jeremy McKeown discuss the prospects for peace in Europe, the not quite so bad news, but still not good news, about the UK economy and our public finances. UK inflation and the long end of the gilt market both look like they might be getting out of control. UK inflation has now been above target for 49 out of the last 51 reports. Not conventionally a scenario in which to cut rates, unless, of course, it is transitory. Jeremy talks about the significance of Jay Powell's speech at Jackson Hole and asks whether he is prepared to die on the hill of inflation and central bank independence. Gareth then highlights the dramatic warning and share price reaction from WHSmith this week and its potential implications.

In the Company of Mavericks: Wealth Management for the Bitcoin Curious with Charlie Morris

Progressive's Jeremy McKeown recently spoke to Charlie Morris, an investor, entrepreneur, and advocate for hard assets. Charlie has 27 years of experience in fund management, with a reputation for actively managing multi-asset portfolios. Charlie was previously the Head of Absolute Return at HSBC Global Asset Management, where he managed $3bn of assets. He writes research for private clients, providing actionable model portfolios that cover equities, bonds, commodities, and other alternative assets. Having discovered gold in the early 2000s, Charlie was an early entrant into the Bitcoin rabbit hole. In 2013, Charlie founded ByteTree, which he initially intended to be the “Bloomberg for Bitcoin”. However, he was unable to find a workable revenue model. With start-ups, being early is just another way of being wrong. In 2022, he launched a Bitcoin and gold ETF (BOLD SW). A fund that remains unauthorised in the UK, albeit available to sophisticated investors on other European exchanges. As Charlie says, he developed BOLD as a new take on the traditional 60:40 portfolio. He identified a valuable low level of correlation between its constituents, Bitcoin and gold, which he has exploited to deliver impressive results. Towards the end of this chat, Jeremy and Charlie trade thoughts on the latest UK microcap craze for Bitcoin treasury companies, which Charlie believes is unsustainable and just the result of regulatory arbitrage. With that, please enjoy Jeremy's conversation with the maverick, Charlie Morris.

The Market Call - Week Ending 15th August 2025

In their usual weekly chat, Progressive's Jeremy McKeown and Gareth Evans cover the macro market news and events with a few thoughts on what it all means. While the UK reporting season is a bit dull, the US Q2 reports have been more positive. There is a long wait for the Autumn Budget in the UK, and many companies are likely to face a long wait for the inevitable tax increases. Lots of comments out there about gambling taxes, IHT and maybe VAT increases. Overall, the UK economic news this week has been poor but not calamitous. Equity markets are moving to all-time highs, with powerful rallies seen from the early April lows, particularly in the US. Maybe investors are looking ahead to a period of policy easing. However, in bond markets, the message is more mixed. Will the Fed cut rates next month? A stronger-than-expected US PPI print for July indicates that tariff-induced inflation might be on the way, giving Powell a reason, or excuse, to keep rates on hold. There is a setup for a big showdown between the White House and the Fed. If Powell is focused on his legacy, then he might want to go out as the man who stood up to Trump and defended the economy from inflation, as Paul Volcker rather than Arthur Burns. Gareth covers the updates from Xaar and Zoo Digital. Jeremy highlights the warning from Shoe Zone and suggests the shares might have overreacted to the news. Almost certainly meaning there is worse to come! Looking ahead, next week, there is UK inflation data, which might increase to 4%. So, it’s not the typical environment in which to cut rates. We also have Japan’s inflation data, which is expected to remain at a tricky 3.3%. The main event is likely to be the outcome of the talks in Alaska. Will Trump and Putin move the lines on the map of Europe? Brought to you by Progressive Equity.

Talking Tech - Episode 27

Progressive's George O'Connor and Ian Robertson catch up on US giants results, reflecting on very different approaches and perhaps outlooks, before considering whether the IPO noise is consistent with the share price performance of UK tech stocks. Microsoft – AI reality, talk of returns on its own investment on AI but no real idea on those of its customers. George argues that it’s the best placed and bemoans the lowly valuation. Meta – it’s worth listening to the call just as reminder of how different the mindset and culture is to Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and Amazon. This leads onto what is AI 2.0: What business will be built on top of the cold AI servers? What’s next for search? Perhaps we will see Zuckerberg’s virtual dreams becoming a reality. Back to the reality of the UK market and how the FTSE 100 rise contrasts with the UK small cap tech share price declines. Just how strong is the underlying local demand for new IPOs at full tech prices?

In the Company of Mavericks - Investing in China with Rufus Frazier of Variis Partners

Is China investable? If so, how do you go about it? What are the basic ground rules? Recently, Progressive's Jeremy McKeown spoke to an American fund manager living in the UK whose life has been intertwined with China since he was a young boy. Rufus Frazier of Variis Partners [https://www.variispartners.co.uk/] has a long career investing in emerging markets, and he believes China offers some of the best investment opportunities available anywhere in the world. In a fascinating discussion, they cover the macro backdrop to China and the perceived risks, such as the Taiwan issue, property rights and the historically poor returns from Chinese equities over the last couple of decades, when its economic growth has been so strong. What are we missing about this disconnect, and why might this be changing? Rufus explains why the scale and structure of China’s market makes stock picking essential, he talks about the things to look for as well as the sectors and stocks to avoid. For example, China’s Uber, Didi, seems fine, but its huge battery manufacturer with a dominant global market position, CATL, is more problematic. Finally, Rufus puts the opportunity for Chinese equities into its broader EM context. Where are the other “hot” emerging markets? In his view, mainly in Latin America and Southeast Asia. And with that, please enjoy Jeremy's conversation with the maverick, Rufus Frazier.