Vantage: Finding resilient businesses and self-help stories with Craig Yeaman of Royal London

Vantage meets another UK-focused manager. Craig Yeaman runs the RL UK Opportunities Fund, a multi-cap, UK-focused fund. He takes a bottom-up approach and builds a model on each company he has invested in. He explains how his investment approach identifies businesses with resilience and self-help stories. He illustrates this by talking about MJ Gleeson (GLE.L), Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG.L), JD Sports Fashion (JD.L) and Ashtead (AHT.L). Craig also looks at industry consolidators that can fund acquisitions through their own cash flows. He makes the case for strong balance sheets as an important factor for such companies. In response to what he’s learned in his career, he tips his hat to what Einstein described as the eighth wonder of the word: compounding.

About Royal London Asset Management (RLAM)

Established in 1988, Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) is one of the UK’s leading fund management companies, providing investment management solutions to both wholesale and institutional clients such as not-for-profit organisations, local authorities and the insurance sector. RLAM manages £153bn of assets and employs 126 investment professionals at 30 June 2021. It invests in all major asset classes including UK and overseas equities, government bonds, investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds, property and cash.