Author: James Crux
James Crux
James Crux writes extensively about funds and investment trusts and also specialises in retail, food and beverage sector stocks. He has spent 25 years working in the industry and was named Best Financial Consumer Journalist at the AIC Media Awards 2024 and 2025 for his work at Shares magazine (owned by AJ Bell). Before that, he was the editor of Growth Company Investor and a writer for investment and business titles What Investment and Business XL. James is a long-suffering West Ham supporter and a big fan of The Sopranos.
Global trust Alliance Witan’s (ALW) performance lagged the benchmark in a ‘challenging’ 2025 as the portfolio failed to keep pace with a concentrated index and stock selection disappointed. However, the Association of investment Companies (AIC) ‘Dividend Hero’ cushioned the blow of another spell of subdued performance by increasing the dividend for the 59th consecutive year. Steered by Willis Towers Watson, Alliance Witan is the third biggest trust in the AIC Global sector by total assets and market cap. It uses a distinctive global multi-manager approach. This blends the top stock selections of some of the world’s best active managers into…
Shares in Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) rallied 16% to 552p after the company said FY27 profits will smash market expectations. The earnings upgrade was driven by the upcoming release of two new books by bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. The next two novels in the ACOTAR series will be published in October 2026 and January 2027. ACOTAR is the trade acronym for “A Court of Thorns and Roses”. All 16 of Maas’ previous novels were published by Bloomsbury. The publisher said FY26 pre-tax profit will meet the £44.3 million consensus estimate, supported by a strong Academic division performance. However, FY27 pre-tax…
Consumer health and hygiene giant Reckitt Benckiser’s (RKT) Q4 like-for-like sales beat expectations as the Durex seller benefited from strong emerging markets growth. The Slough-based group also provided a confident outlook, guiding for FY26 ‘Core Reckitt’ like-for-like revenue growth within its 4% to 5% medium-term range. So why did the shares slide 4% to £58.23 in early dealings? Well, the Dettol, Lysol and Nurofen maker warned conditions in Europe are likely to remain ‘challenging’. In addition, Reckitt flagged a Q1 impact on its over-the-counter (OTC) business from a weaker cold and flu season. Forecast beat Group like-for-like revenue grew 5.4%…
A sell-off for companies feared to be at risk from AI disruption has been one of 2026’s big stock market trends. The incumbent data and software providers have been in the eye of the storm. On the other side of the trade, firms perceived to be immune to disruption by chatbots and the rapid advances in large language models (LLMs) have caught a bid from investors. Wealth management CEO and respected CNBC financial pundit Josh Brown coined the acronym ‘HALO’ to describe this trade. HALO stands for Heavy Assets, Low Obsolescence. As Brown wrote recently in his blog: ‘We spent…
Shares in Adidas (ADS) dropped 7.5% to €136 after the German sportswear giant’s FY26 guidance disappointed investors. While the company’s turnaround under CEO Bjorn Gulden is gaining traction, this year’s profit outlook implies an operating margin of 8.5% to 8.8%. That is lower than Adidas’ 10% medium-term target. Share price: €136PE: 13.9xMarket cap: €26bnYield: 2.9% The Gazelle and Samba sneaker maker also warned US tariffs and the weak dollar would have a €400 million impact on this year’s results. On the right track Adidas said it expects operating profits to increase to ‘around €2.3 billion’ this year, despite a rough…
Inchcape (INCH) shares skidded 10% lower to 784p after the automotive distributor downgraded its current year growth forecast. Share price: 784pPE: 9.8xMarket cap: £3.1bnYield: 4.1% The cautious outlook overshadowed robust FY25 results and the launch of a new £175 million buyback. Inchcape is now guiding for FY26 organic volume growth towards the lower end of its 3% to 5% target range. The FTSE 250 firm also warned performance will be second-half weighted, often a red flag for investors. APAC problems The downgrade reflects continuing challenges in the company’s Asia Pacific (APAC) operations. ‘For FY26, it is expected that Australia remains stable…
Shares in Greggs (GRG) softened 1% to £15.58 after the food-to-go retailer posted a drop in FY25 profits. The Newcastle-based baker also reported a sales growth slowdown for the early weeks of 2026. Share price: £15.58PE: 12.6xMarket cap: £1.59bnYield: 4.4% And the damage might have been worse had the sausage roll seller not reiterated guidance for stable FY26 profits. Slow start to 2026 Greggs is the British brand beloved by cash-strapped consumers for its cut-price coffees, sweet treats and goujons. Like-for-like sales in company-managed shops grew 1.6% in the first nine weeks of 2026. That represented a slowdown on the…
In his first annual letter to shareholders, new Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) CEO Greg Abel stressed he will maintain the conglomerate’s ‘fortress-like’ balance sheet. He also pledged to uphold the values of his predecessor Warren Buffett. Share price: $505HQ: Omaha, NebraskaMarket cap: $1.09trnYield: n/a Shares in Berkshire Hathaway have underperformed the S&P500 since Buffett announced he was stepping down last May. Signalling it will be business as usual at Berkshire Hathaway, Abel’s comments reassured investors in the Omaha-based colossus. Dry powder Abel insisted he won’t rush to deploy Berkshire’s near-record $373.3 billion cash pile, which gives the company plenty of ‘dry…
Small cap trust BlackRock Throgmorton (THRG) underperformed its benchmark in the year to November 2025. Strong operational performances from many holdings were often not reflected in share prices as the small and mid cap sector suffered outflows. Share price: 643pNAV per share: 720.5pMarket cap: £482.5mDiscount to NAV: 10.8% These were Throgmorton’s last results as a standalone trust ahead of a merger with BlackRock Smaller Companies (BRSC). Backed by Saba Capital, the deal will consolidate BlackRock Smaller Companies’ position as the largest growth-focused UK Smaller Companies trust. Trailing the benchmark Over the year to November 2025, Throgmorton’s net asset value (NAV)…
Embattled Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) is set to fold after its battle with US activist Saba took a troubling turn for the investment trust sector. Boaz Weinstein-led Saba threw the £840 million trust’s future into question by refusing to sell its 21% stake in a continuation tender offer. Share price: 448p (+1.6%)Total assets: £985mMarket cap: £755mNAV: 470.9p Since no tender election was received from Saba, IEM will now terminate the continuation tender offer. Complaining that Saba has ‘refused to engage constructively’, the board sees no choice but to proceed with an exit tender offer. Taking no action ‘risks prolonged instability,…