A spotlight on WH Ireland's private client performance

Lawrence Cotton, investment manager at WH Ireland expects his exposure to cyclicality and Asia will help turn round performance.

Positioning

Lawrence Cotton has been working to add cyclicality to the portfolio recently, bumping up a position in cosmetic chemicals company Croda after its recent good performance elevated it into the FTSE 100. ‘As we have seen, one thing that does hold up well during a recession is the beauty segment,’ he said.

Bahamas Petroleum has also been a key holding in the portfolio despite its recent poor performance: ‘This stock was a detriment to performance but has been up 100% over the last few weeks.’

Cotton pointed to recent oil finds, government support and the Bahamas’ proximity to the US as reasons investors could expect the company to do well. ‘They are planning on drilling in the first part of next year and the Bahamas is desperate to diversify its earnings away from tourism,’ he said.

Performance

Over the year to 21 February, the portfolio returned -0.4% compared to +2.3% in the Apcims Balanced benchmark.

‘Last year, performance lagged through having no exposure to gilts and having quite a big overweight to Asia. I stuck by that strategy and that’s now starting to perform,’ says Cotton.

He expects a position in a house builder to help boost performance going forward.