Defined Benefit wrote:
Anyone any suggestions as to what to invest a pension fund in at present?
Market is up about 10% from the lows of 2 months ago, a shame because things were starting to get interesting and I was finding some bargains. As a whole, I would be waiting for another dip, however I am seeing small pockets of value. I have been buying some small oil/gas services companies with strong balance sheets. I have also been buying a few of the global banks, which are trading close to 52 week lows. Right now, my pick of the bunch would be Barclays at £1.52.
It's the cheapest of all the major UK banks because the market doesn't believe in their latest turnaround plan. I've been lucky enough to meet the CEO, and I actually think the market is wrong. The big problem at Barclays is that old management seemed to think the best strategy was to grow the company by building assets. New management has recognised this and done away with that strategy. They are now focused on the core business while cutting out the loss making trash. There's still 2 years to go, but by that time, they'll no longer have crappy non-core parts of company dragging on profit.
Also worth taking a look at Bank of America, in a very similar situation (a turnaround bank which is mostly retail, but has an investment bank attached).
My two cents, do your own research, etc.