January 2024 Update
Ashburton Investments is proud to support the next generation of Jersey-based investment managers in our equity portfolio competition.
We are thrilled by the 25 entrants this year and the students’ enthusiasm to gain valuable insights and explore the investment management world.
Equity markets have finished in positive territory at the end of January 2024, recovering from the difficult first few weeks of the year. As per last year, US and Japanese equity markets performed better than most. The tech sector, and in particular the chip sector, continue to dominate performance. This reflected in the performance of the portfolios, with the most successful during the month being those that were heavily weighted towards these and other higher beta sectors.
The corporate earnings season is in full swing and has led to some short-term volatility in equity markets, reflected in the student’s equity portfolios.
At this early stage, Team ACLLE from Highlands College tops the teams table with a gain of 11.35%. Its two best performing holdings were US-based companies Nvidia and Sensus Healthcare. Just behind them, in the second spot, is Stock Bottom from Victoria College whose biggest contributors are Nvidia and Japanese gaming company, Nintendo. The next three places are all taken by Beaulieu Convent School, so there is some interesting intra-school rivalry going on.
The table shows that Victoria College is the best performing overall school with an average 5.08% in January across its teams. Beaulieu Convent School is second with Highlands College in third.
January showed economic activity remained resilient, despite a mixed economic outlook. While recessionary concerns appear to have receded for now, risks and uncertainties remain, including geopolitical and the timing and extent of monetary policy.
It is very early in the competition, but we congratulate all the teams for the effort and dedication shown so far and wish them the best of luck for the weeks and months ahead.
To find out more, go to www.ashburtoninvestments.com/int/investmentchallenge
