At the time of writing mid-afternoon on 29 December 2020, I am basking in the good news of the trade deal between the UK and the EU and the early stages of the Covid-19 vaccine programme in the UK and worldwide.
Hope springs eternal as they say. 2020 has certainly been a year to forget because of coronavirus. We appeared to be getting on top of the virus after the first national lockdown but unfortunately, the number of infections and deaths gradually started to rise. Before we knew it we were hit with the big blow of the second more virulent strain and the country being put under national lockdown measures almost as bad as the first lockdown last Spring. You couldn’t help wondering at the time that it couldn’t surely get any worse, could it?
Well, the good news is that we have approved not just one vaccine but two. The Pfizer/BioNTech one has already been released and the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine is to be launched on 4 January. By 26 December 600,000 in the UK had already been vaccinated. Mass vaccination centres at sports stadiums and conference venues are primed to launch in the second week of January (Daily Telegraph). I am very confident that we will be back to the new normal, whatever that may be, by the Summer.
The trade deal between the UK and the EU was announced by Boris Johnson on Christmas Eve. That was a welcome Christmas present for most people. Judging by the media’s and the opposition parties’ reaction to the deal it appears that we have secured a good deal for the UK, one that could be described as a Hard Brexit. Boris Johnson and his government are to be congratulated on such a hard-won deal. A triumph for perseverance and positivity.
These two strokes of luck put our fund, the CCM Intelligent Wealth Fund, in a wonderful position to benefit. Our fund’s largest geographical sector is UK stocks. What’s more, we have invested into a number of Small Cap and Mid Cap shares which will benefit from the UK stock market rising.
The UK stockmarket and the pound have both been depressed ever since we voted to Brexit in June 2016. Both are likely to experience a strong recovery in 2021 and beyond. The pound has already recovered some lost ground against the dollar in recent weeks. The UK stock market has been under-valued internationally for four and a half years due to the double whammy of the Brexit uncertainty and the UK’s poor record in handling of the pandemic.
Furthermore, the fund has recently invested $100,000 in the Juvenescence Convertible Bond Note. This bond enables the fund to convert into Juvenescence shares at a favourable purchase price once Juvenescence shares are publicly floated which is expected to be in the next 6-12 months. This should give a further boost to the fund.
The CCM Intelligent Wealth Fund is up 1.77% so far today alone (Morningstar). Over the last three months it is in the top decile (top 10%) of all funds in its sector and just narrowly outside the top quartile (top 25%) over the last six months (Funds Library)*.
We are very optimistic about the find’s prospects for 2021 and you should be too. So if you aren’t already invested in the fund or you do not have enough of your money invested in it do give it some serious consideration. You know it makes sense**.
* The CCM Intelligent Wealth Fund’s return in the calendar year 2019 was 14.56%. For the last 12 months, the fund’s return has been 9.29% (source: Funds Library). The FTSE 100 Index return for the same period was down by -9.8% (source: FTSE Russell).
The fund’s benchmark is the Global Index – Investment Association Global Sector, not the FTSE 100 Share Index.
**The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Consequently, you may not receive back the amount originally invested. This communication is for general information only and should neither be construed as constituting advice nor be relied upon in making any investment decisions nor an invitation to consider or subscribe for shares in the CCM Intelligent Wealth Fund. You are recommended to seek competent professional advice before taking any action. Any statements concerning the tax treatment of products and their benefits are based on our understanding of current tax law and HM Revenue and Customs’ practice. Levels and bases of tax relief are subject to change.
