COVID-19: Implications for UK Small & Mid-Cap Stocks

Lead fund manager Grant Bowers provides a timely update for investors, covering:
-Overview of the Fund
-Impact of Covid-19 on the Portfolio
-Outlook for US Equities

With varied expectations for the speed of UK recovery, we will use this update to re-appraise mid-cap stocks, touching on their resilience, diversity and the key themes driving performance. Fund manager Richard Bullas will also cover the paths to recovery that are beginning to emerge;
•Market Overview
•Opportunities and risks
•Portfolio positioning

Assessing the impact COVID-19 volatility is having on ETF assets and the benefits inherent to this wrapper.
•Have ETFs delivered on their main attributes of liquidity, transparency and cost efficiency?
•How are ETFs being used in portfolio construction and is that about to change?
•Can Smart Bata reduce volatility and minimise drawdowns in pursuit of higher risk-adjusted returns?
Please join us to hear how passive, active and smart beta ETFs have fared during the past few months and for our outlook for what lies ahead.

Please join Colin Morton, manager of the Franklin UK Equity Income Fund, who will share his investment outlook and detail how he is positioning his portfolios in the current environment. Colin’s presentation will be tailored for professional fund buyers and will cover the key themes and stock ideas that are central to his thinking;
•Key themes driving performance
•Recent portfolio changes
•Outlook and positioning

Matt Moberg, manager of the Franklin Innovation Fund, shares his views on the impact coronavirus is having on innovation, including how the crisis has made some companies more valuable now than pre-coronavirus.

In this short video Grants Bowers shares his views on recent market volatility and how he sees the road forward playing out, as we move past this crisis.

A brief update on how many companies are accelerating their digital transformation, showing even digital laggards will have to increase their investment in technology to keep pace.

This 45 minute presentation reviews current market shocks in a historical perspective, describes how emotions affect decision-making ability and provides three strategies to help investors live with market volatility. This webinar is fully accredited by the CII for structured CPD

Andrew Ness, portfolio manager for the Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust (TEMIT), gives an update on current market conditions and the TEMIT portfolio

This update will be tailored for professional fund buyers and will talk to the stocks and sectors being impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and the approach the managers are taking. In summary, it will cover;
•The risks and opportunities they see
•How they are reacting
•Smid-cap outlook

Two Franklin Templeton Chief Investment Officers share their views on the ramifications of the current volatility and what might come next for both developed and emerging markets.

Colin’s presentation will be tailored for professional fund buyers and cover the likely impacts of the coronavirus epidemic, oil market disruption and continued stock market volatility. He will explain how the team are dealing with the risks and opportunities such conditions bring and take specific questions on the sectors and stocks being impacted;
•Current positioning
•Our response to the crisis
•Market outlook

Dan Green, co-lead manager of the Franklin UK Smaller Companies Fund, shares his outlook for UK smaller companies. He also covers the themes that underpin his portfolio, recent portfolio changes and how he’s positioned for the opportunities and risks of post-Brexit Britain.

Five investment themes exciting us now whilst looking forward to 2030;
•Disruptive Commerce
•Genomics
•Intelligent Machines
•Finance
•Exponential Data

Andrew Ness, portfolio manager for the Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust (TEMIT), gives an update on emerging markets

Fund manager Andrew Ness discusses the evolution of emerging markets and the new opportunities now available:
•The impact of outdated perceptions on asset class allocations
•Opportunities arising from domestic consumption and world class technology

Colin Morton, Franklin UK Equity Team, articulates our UK equity outlook for 2020 and the need to maintain an active and considered approach to stock selection as the implications of a post-Brexit environment play out.

Please join Colin Morton, manager of the Franklin UK Equity Income Fund, who will provide an update tailored to professional fund buyers on this important asset class. Colin will share his views on how the general election and the Brexit process may impact market movements, as well as covering the key themes and stock ideas driving performance;
•Key themes driving performance
•Recent portfolio changes
•Outlook and positioning

An overview for financial advisers of the emerging markets income opportunities available across fixed income and equity asset classes.