Alex Crooke, Portfolio Manager of The Bankers Investment Trust, talks about the impact of rising input costs (wages and raw materials) on companies, areas where he is finding opportunities and the benefits of global diversification in a volatile market environment.

Key Takeaways:

• Global equity markets have struggled this year, with sentiment largely dominated by concerns over rising inflation and the prospect of faster-than-expected central bank tightening. The war in Ukraine, higher energy prices, and persisting supply chain disruptions have also served as a headwind.
• We are investing cautiously in China and are focusing more on defensive areas such as health care. However, the governments zero-Covid policy remains a risk to the country’s economic growth.
• Companies are using nearshoring to reduce costs and supply chain disruptions. By having certain elements of their manufacturing closer to home, they can reduce transportation costs and have more control over their processes.
• With economies, sectors and businesses are all on different cycles – having a globally diversified portfolio has helped us provide investors with a smoother, less volatile ride as the risk is spread across different regions/sectors.

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