Industry news and views from Panacea and our partners.
Rathbones
Rathbones Asset Management - The Sharpe End podcast: Losing the plots
A month into Kevin Warsh's tenure as the closely watched Fed Chair, investors are debating whether this is simply a change of personnel or the start of a new era for US monetary policy. Next, the team turn to AI, after a sharp sell-off in the mega-cap hyperscalers amid growing scrutiny of the sustainability of their spending. Finally, this month’s stock spotlight is Amer Sports – a name that might not be familiar, but who owns brands such as Arc’teryx and Salomon that are certainly growing in popularity.
Rathbones Asset Management: Power, pipes and precision: the exciting next five years of investing in sustainability
Despite a noisy backlash against ESG, Rathbone Greenbank Multi-Asset Portfolios Fund Manager David Coombs argues that the underlying direction of travel hasn't changed – and identifies the themes he believes will drive returns over the next five years. Read more
Rathbones Asset Management – Article: From luxury to necessity: air-con and ventilation
Britain may not be built for heat, but its future increasingly demands that it is. Rathbone UK Opportunities Fund Manager Alexandra Jackson and Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability Fund Manager David Harrison explore the investment case behind cooling, ventilation and climate resilience.
Rathbones Asset Management: American postcard: SpaceX, stock tips from bellhops, and the AI gold rush
In his latest American postcard, David Harrison looks past the spectacle of one of the largest-ever stock raises to ask what’s really moving markets. Follow the money pouring from AI model owners and hyperscalers to the chipmakers, suppliers and industrial firms standing in front of an enormous wave of spending.
Rathbones Asset Management: Don't buy the UK, buy the right UK companies
The UK stock market is far more interesting than the headlines suggest, if you know where to look. Rathbone UK Opportunities Fund Manager Alexandra Jackson explains where she’s finding great companies.
Rathbones Asset Management - The Sharpe End podcast: Space X-Rated
Stocks have held up well on the surface so far this year, but it’s been an extremely narrow market, driven by a handful of mega-cap hyperscalers and AI enablers. Yet after a wild week or so, that has flipped – could momentum be starting to turn the other way? Next, they move on to the aerospace and defence sector, where the technology-focused names are leaving more traditional players trailing in their contrails. Finally, this month's stock spotlight reaches for the stars as SpaceX prepares for what promises to be a blockbuster IPO. Is this a rocket ship that investors should be looking to board?
Rathbones Asset Management – Article: From cloud to concrete: the data centre boom meets the real world
Data centres are the beating heart of the digital economy – and the engine room behind the AI boom. But as these engines of the cloud multiply, communities are asking a simple question: who pays the price in water, electricity and quality of life? Sustainable investment analyst Neil Smith explores why local pushback is rising, and how some hyperscalers are trying to earn the trust it needs to keep building. Read more
Rathbones Asset Management – Article: The most important company you've never heard of
When Will McIntosh-Whyte and David Coombs launched our Rathbone Greenbank Multi-Asset Portfolios five years ago, the mandate was clear: own companies that didn't just do well, but that also improved the world. ASML was there on day one.
Rathbones Asset Management – Article: AI can do the work – but should it do the thinking?
As AI transforms the speed and breadth of market analysis, Rathbone Income Fund Manager Carl Stick asks an uncomfortable question: what happens when investors stop doing the thinking themselves?
Rathbones Asset Management - You don't need a rocket to profit from space
The SpaceX IPO will be the most hyped stock market debut in history, argues Rathbone Multi-Asset Portfolios Fund Manager David Coombs. He explains why we won't be buying, and the space economy suppliers his team owns instead.
Rathbones Asset Management - The commodity surge: why selectivity matters
Gold, copper and oil prices are all surging, but we’re not calling a broad-based commodity supercycle for now. And, as Multi-Asset Fixed Income Research Analyst Sally Hoang explains, today’s unique drivers behind each price spike argue for a surgical, precise approach to commodity allocations – not a lump-sum bet on the whole basket. Read more
Rathbones Asset Management - The Sharpe End podcast: Power Struggle
South Korea has leapfrogged the UK to become the world’s eighth-largest equity market, prompting the team to consider the implications for geographic allocation within portfolios. Next, to mark the five-year anniversary of our sustainable multi-asset portfolios, we reflect on how sentiment toward renewable energy has evolved and how the rise of AI has fundamentally reshaped global power demand. Finally, we shine a spotlight on Veralto, a US-based water-treatment and quality-control business.
Rathbones Asset Management - Bonkers conkers: selling in May and going away
We all know the old saying: “Sell in May and go away.” Like many bits of market folklore, it sounds neat, memorable and tempting to follow. But when Rathbone Multi-Asset Portfolios Fund Manager Will McIntosh Whyte explores whether this seasonal strategy stacks up and whether spiders really are afraid of conkers.
Rathbones Asset Management - In The KNOW blog: Family matters (and markets)
For years the FTSE 250 has been described as unloved, overlooked and somehow perpetually disappointing. And yet, over a full investing lifetime, it has quietly delivered. Rathbone UK Opportunities Fund Equity Analyst Robbie Carr reflects on becoming a new father, the underestimated resilience of UK mid caps, and why the middle child of equity markets deserves a reassessment.
Rathbones Asset Management - In The KNOW blog: Why Taiwan is now on a par with China
China once dominated the emerging market equity universe. But Taiwan has caught up with its massive neighbour in terms of its weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Head of Emerging Market Equities Tim Love explains what’s driven this change - and what it means for investors.
Rathbones Asset Management - The Sharpe End podcast: War and Cease
With headlines and tweets about the Middle East continuing to come in hot, this month Rathbones Asset Management’s multi-asset team explores what has changed – and what hasn’t. The focus then shifts to commodities, covering energy, metals and everything in between.
Rathbones Asset Management - The Iran conflict reinforces that geopolitics is back with a vengeance
The rumble of B-52s is giving Head of Multi-Asset Investments David Coombs sleepless nights, while his days are filled with fever dreams of oil and TACOs. He looks at the long-term consequences of a more fractured world.
Rathbones Asset Management - The Sharpe End podcast: Dire Straits
As the conflict continues in the Middle East, the team discusses whether they are making any changes to their portfolios in response to the big moves they're seeing in markets. Next on the agenda is the software sector: once-loved, but where sentiment has since soured. Finally, the stock spotlight of the month is Singapore Telecommunications, one of Asia's largest telecom operators that's evolved well beyond a traditional phone company.
Rathbones Asset Management - Is the UK doing better than you think?
UK Opportunities Fund Manager Alexandra Jackson is busting the winter blues. Great stuff is being made in the UK – and it’s being made exceptionally well.
Rathbones Asset Management - The Sharpe End podcast: Stuck in the meddle
Geopolitics remains front and centre this month, as the team unpack President Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, and what America’s renewed focus on energy security and re-shoring could mean for global markets and the funds. The conversation then turns to the industrials sector - an eclectic mix of companies increasingly buoyed by the AI boom and their growing role in data centre infrastructure - where the team see compelling opportunities.
Rathbones Asset Management - In The KNOW blog: Lean Machine
A tough few years for the healthcare industry have seen one US laboratory supplier bolster its market position. In the first of a series about his trip to meet companies on the east coast of the US, Multi-Asset Fund Manager Will McIntosh-Whyte explains why pressure can sometimes help make diamonds.
Rathbones Asset Management - In The KNOW blog: Time to Relx: How AI could transform clinical decision making
Amid growing investor scepticism about the potential payback from some firms’ huge investments in AI, one sector already seems to be reaping clear AI-driven gains: healthcare. Sustainable investment analyst Neil Smith explains how bespoke generative AI tools could transform healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes and ease stretched spending budgets.
Rathbones Asset Management - The Sharpe End podcast: Crude awakening
As the calendar page turns to 2026, the team discuss what the year ahead could hold. Will the new year bring about any changes or is it business as usual?
Rathbones Asset Management - In The KNOW blog: 2026: The Year Ahead. Maybe?
As is now the annual ritual, the head of multi-asset investments David Coombs reveals his top 10 predictions for 2026. As usual, they should be taken with a very healthy dose of salt…
Rathbones Asset Management - In The KNOW blog: Revolutions often eat their heroes
As the AI revolution really kicks into gear, several big-name stocks have soared above the rest of the market. Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund Manager James Thomson explains why he’s using investors’ FOMO to diversify.
Rathbones Asset Management - The Sharpe End podcast: Taxing your home for Christmas
The Christmas jumpers and mince pies are out for the Multi-Asset Team as they enjoy that magical time of the year where they review Fund Manager David Coombs’ market predictions for 2025. How wrong was he this time? Or did he manage to turn it around for once? Did he divine the direction of UK growth and bond markets? What about the fortunes of US equities and presidential politics? All will be revealed.
Rathbones Asset Management - In The KNOW blog: Sunny side up
Engagement Analyst Jenny Twigg preps her New Year’s resolutions early. She’s already committed to celebrating something life-affirming each day. Luckily, her conversations with companies are delivering plenty of cheer.
Rathbones Asset Management - In The KNOW blog: I’m a sustainable investor… get me out of here?!
President Donald Trump’s fierce pushback against renewable energy earlier this year left the sector reeling. Sustainable Multi-Asset Investment Specialist Rahab Paracha explains why she’s convinced that investor appetite for sustainable investments should continue to grow despite political headwinds.
Rathbones Asset Management - The Sharpe End podcast: The Uncredibles
The multi-asset team kicks things off this month with the UK Budget and what they would like to see emerge – but probably won’t get – from the Chancellor's briefcase. Next, it's on to the US, where fund manager Will McIntosh-Whyte has just returned from. The team hear about his week of on-the-ground research and meeting with companies on the east coast. Finally, they discuss a new holding: Booking Holdings, a global online travel agency.
Rathbones Asset Management - In The KNOW blog: From central Europe with Love
Forget Germany, the real European rocket ships are tucked away in the periphery. Head of emerging market equities Tim Love explains why developing nations in south and central Europe have outpaced their advanced neighbours.