Day: 22 March 2020

The impact of the coronavirus on the US economy still isn’t fully known yet, as the situation continues to evolve. However, Franklin Equity Group’s Grant Bowers sees at least three reasons to be optimistic about the long-term recovery.

Concerns related to the potential economic impact from COVID-19 pandemic continue to weigh on financial markets; we’ve seen significant downward volatility as market participants attempt to assess its implications. While the situation is fluid and will surely and swiftly detract from global economic growth and consumer spending patterns over the next few quarters, we believe that ultimately the impact will be severe but short-lived. We believe an eventual recovery in growth in the US economy is inevitable, as our view of long-term fundamentals remains intact.

Assessing the duration and extent of the impact on the US economy is challenging at this time, but despite the uncertainty, we see several areas that could provide support in the coming weeks and months.

• First, when we look at China, the epicentre of the crisis, new cases of the virus are slowing, people are returning to work and consumers are starting to resume traditional spending patterns. In Europe and the United States, suppression strategies should begin to “flatten the curve” and slowly return daily life to normal.
• Second, we expect additional monetary and fiscal stimulus in the coming weeks in the United States and globally. This follows on the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cuts and should provide additional support for the economy to manage through the slowdown.
• Third, the turmoil in global oil markets is causing great uncertainty and is impacting the energy sector globally; however, it will also lead to lower raw materials costs for many companies and lower energy prices for consumers.

Consumer Fallout

Our biggest concern, is how the COVID-19 disruptions will impact US consumer behaviour. Presently, containment measures (e.g., store and factory closures, travel restrictions and quarantines) are in effect to slow the spread of the virus. These measures are likely temporary in nature (months not years), though the duration of these measures is an important question.

The US consumer has been the driving force behind the economic expansion of the last decade, benefiting from low inflation, strong employment and rising wages. While we don’t see any long-term fundamental reason for a change to that backdrop, near-term data on consumer confidence and employment are expected to weaken significantly. Once these disruptions moderate, we will be actively evaluating the pace at which the return to normal daily life resumes.

Given the market environment, it is important to reiterate that corrections have been a routine occurrence throughout financial market history. These periods of market volatility and economic uncertainty are challenging to navigate as investors, but frequently have presented excellent investment opportunities for active managers with a careful eye toward risk management.

 

 

Franklin Templeton Key risks & Disclaimers:

Important Legal Information

This material is intended to be of general interest only and should not be construed as individual investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any security or to adopt any investment strategy. It does not constitute legal or tax advice.

The views expressed are those of the investment manager and the comments, opinions and analyses are rendered as of publication date and may change without notice. The information provided in this material is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region or market.

Data from third party sources may have been used in the preparation of this material and Franklin Templeton (“FT”) has not independently verified, validated or audited such data. FT accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss arising from use of this information and reliance upon the comments, opinions and analyses in the material is at the sole discretion of the user.

Products, services and information may not be available in all jurisdictions and are offered outside the U.S. by other FT affiliates and/or their distributors as local laws and regulation permits. Please consult your own professional adviser or Franklin Templeton institutional contact for further information on availability of products and services in your jurisdiction.

Issued in the U.S. by Franklin Templeton Distributors, Inc., One Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, California 94403-1906, (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236, franklintempleton.com—Franklin Templeton Distributors, Inc. is the principal distributor of Franklin Templeton’s U.S. registered products, which are not FDIC insured; may lose value; and are not bank guaranteed and are available only in jurisdictions where an offer or solicitation of such products is permitted under applicable laws and regulation.

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

What are the risks?

All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Brokerage commissions and ETF expenses will reduce returns. ETF shares may be bought or sold throughout the day at their market price on the exchange on which they are listed. ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade above or below the ETF’s net asset value. However, there can be no guarantee that an active trading market for ETF shares will be developed or maintained or that their listing will continue or remain unchanged. While the shares of ETFs are tradable on secondary markets, they may not readily trade in all market conditions and may trade at significant discounts in periods of market stress.

MeDirect Disclaimers:

This information has been accurately reproduced, as received from Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited (FTIML). No information has been omitted which would render the reproduced information inaccurate or misleading. This information is being distributed by MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to its customers. The information contained in this document is for general information purposes only and is not intended to provide legal or other professional advice nor does it commit MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to any obligation whatsoever. The information available in this document is not intended to be a suggestion, recommendation or solicitation to buy, hold or sell, any securities and is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness.

The financial instruments discussed in the document may not be suitable for all investors and investors must make their own informed decisions and seek their own advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in financial instruments or implementing strategies discussed herein.

If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest. The value of your investment may go down as well as up. A commission or sales fee may be charged at the time of the initial purchase for an investment and may be deducted from the invested amount therefore lowering the size of your investment. Any income you get from this investment may go down as well as up. This product may be affected by changes in currency exchange rate movements thereby affecting your investment return therefrom. The performance figures quoted refer to the past and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance or a reliable guide to future performance. Any decision to invest in a mutual fund should always be based upon the details contained in the Prospectus and Key Investor Information Document (KIID), which may be obtained from MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc.

As the coronavirus continues to spread into Europe, the economic picture has changed. Whether the setback will be temporary or long-lived still remains to be seen. Franklin UK Equity Team’s Colin Morton weighs in on the situation and gives his perspective on how it’s impacting the outlook for the UK market. 

UK investors were hoping for a much better 2020 after Brexit trials and tribulations, so obviously the past month has been disappointing. As the coronavirus has spread across the globe, we are in the middle of the perfect storm. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, average corporate earnings had been rising well above inflation and we had very low levels of unemployment in the United Kingdom.

Like many observers, my first reaction to news of the coronavirus outbreak in January/February was to look back at the playbook for similar events, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003. The feeling was that this is something that will probably be relatively short-lived; it will probably last two or three months, and the markets would quickly recover.

Obviously, in hindsight we have been far too relaxed about the situation. As we all know now, we’re seeing a wide spreading of the disease, and a lot of decisions taken by policymakers almost instantly with little global coordination going on. Every country has got different agendas, so we’ll just have to see how things develop.

Linked to the coronavirus outbreak, when it became clear that demand for oil was going to be impacted, price wars broke out. While producers suffer from prolonged low oil prices, in general, lower prices represent a tailwind for the consumer and in parts of the world dependent on oil imports. However, what we’ve all learnt is that in the energy market, oil prices can fall very, very quickly and also rise very, very quickly.

We are clearly seeing a return of volatility in the market, the likes of which we haven’t seen in many years. While the coronavirus seems to have overshadowed everything right now, in the United Kingdom we still have a debate going on with pro-Brexit and the post-Brexit trade, and in the United States, the presidential election is coming up in November.

It seems like China and other parts of Asia are really now in “phase 2” of the coronavirus outbreak, wherein things are starting to stabilise and people are starting to go out again. The United States and Europe are still in “phase 1” with people in lockdown mode, and many investors are in panic mode.

The Central Bank Response

Central banks across the globe have responded very quickly and aggressively. The US Federal Reserve and Bank of England have each reduced interest rates twice this month, to near zero, along with other stimulus measures. On 19 March, the European Central Bank announced a huge stimulus package, pledging to buy up to €750 in government and private sector bonds and commercial paper though year end.

While the central bank actions are welcomed, markets are now looking for individual governments to address how they are going to help individuals, companies and/or industries the pandemic has impacted.

German officials recently said something almost unheard of, that they would in essence break fiscal rules and would do anything it takes to try and protect their economy. Meanwhile, the United States government continues to debate a coronavirus relief bill. As investors, what we need to see is action for companies that are going to be massively impacted, particularly smaller businesses, and for workers that may not get paid for many months.

A Word on the UK Budget

The 11 March budget announcement by newly-appointed UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak essentially included an open-ended promise to support the country’s National Health Service (NHS), provide “business interruption” loans of up to £1.2 million, and abolish business rates for retail, leisure and hospitality sectors with a rateable value below £51,000.

In our view, this is a large spending programme relative to history and recent years, and when we take into account the UK’s projected £2 trillion debt plan, the government’s spending proposal begins to resemble former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s. However, whether the budget has gone far enough or not yet is the debate.

We think this one-two punch of monetary and fiscal support provides a much-welcomed injection of liquidity and should help assure investors somewhat that policymakers are willing to take action. Let’s not forget the beginning of the 2007 Global Financial Crisis involved a severe shortage in liquidity in the UK market after the collapse of British bank Northern Rock, which had to be split up and nationalised. What we can see is a concerted effort by the UK government to avoid anything similar to the panic during those times.

Implications for Investors

In terms of the impact on companies, it’s been different from prior crisis periods. People were still traveling and going out during the financial crisis just over a decade ago (albeit maybe a bit less than usual), whereas today, people are shutting themselves in their homes. We could see a three- to six-month period where businesses involved in leisure activities or travel take in very little to no income but still have fixed payments, like rent, debt or salaries.

Certain companies or sectors such as health care, personal household goods and utilities look to fare better during this time of market turmoil, but indiscriminate selling sprees start to unlock values. From a valuation perspective, UK stocks are so lowly priced now that it won’t take much for share prices to go back up, should we see glimmers of positive news. If there is an improvement in the coronavirus situation, we’d expect at least a small uptick in consumer spending as pent up demand begins to be unwound.

We are looking at individual companies and sectors with quality management teams and solid business models, with a long-term lens. We all know in business it’s about cash flow. Of course, if there is no cash flow coming in at all for a reasonably long period of time, quickly there will be problems.

For example, we spoke to a pub company recently which was in very good financial health but have basically said they could probably survive three months of a closure without breaching any of the covenants. That’s quite a long time to be able to withstand no income at all. They are hopeful the banks will relax all of the covenants and the bondholders will relax all the covenants.

That’s really the type of thing we need to see next; we need to see a little bit more evidence of support from the government for these types of industries.

Similarly with UK house builders, if the situation is short-lived, we see companies that should be able to survive and thrive. Management at one company in the sector we recently spoke to said it is retaining cash on its balance sheet, rather than returning it to shareholders, to get through any negative demand shock related to coronavirus. And many stocks in the sector look very cheap to us right now.

While things do seem pretty bleak at the moment, our team feels pretty confident in conveying that the global economy and the markets will eventually recover from the coronavirus shock.

But at the same time, it’s very difficult to give absolute confidence in what’s going to happen over the next three to six months, because we’re in a situation where it’s so fast-moving and we’re really waiting to see how this develops. The market is worried that the West is going to struggle to be able to contain the virus as quickly as China—which has a totalitarian regime and more control over the economy.

Naturally, it’s hard to envisage what may lie ahead over the next six months, as it’s a fast-moving situation. 

 

 

Franklin Templeton Key risks & Disclaimers:

Important Legal Information

This material is intended to be of general interest only and should not be construed as individual investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any security or to adopt any investment strategy. It does not constitute legal or tax advice.

The views expressed are those of the investment manager and the comments, opinions and analyses are rendered as of publication date and may change without notice. The information provided in this material is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region or market.

Data from third party sources may have been used in the preparation of this material and Franklin Templeton (“FT”) has not independently verified, validated or audited such data. FT accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss arising from use of this information and reliance upon the comments, opinions and analyses in the material is at the sole discretion of the user.

Products, services and information may not be available in all jurisdictions and are offered outside the U.S. by other FT affiliates and/or their distributors as local laws and regulation permits. Please consult your own professional adviser or Franklin Templeton institutional contact for further information on availability of products and services in your jurisdiction.

Issued in the U.S. by Franklin Templeton Distributors, Inc., One Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, California 94403-1906, (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236, franklintempleton.com—Franklin Templeton Distributors, Inc. is the principal distributor of Franklin Templeton’s U.S. registered products, which are not FDIC insured; may lose value; and are not bank guaranteed and are available only in jurisdictions where an offer or solicitation of such products is permitted under applicable laws and regulation.

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

What are the risks?

All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Brokerage commissions and ETF expenses will reduce returns. ETF shares may be bought or sold throughout the day at their market price on the exchange on which they are listed. ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade above or below the ETF’s net asset value. However, there can be no guarantee that an active trading market for ETF shares will be developed or maintained or that their listing will continue or remain unchanged. While the shares of ETFs are tradable on secondary markets, they may not readily trade in all market conditions and may trade at significant discounts in periods of market stress.

MeDirect Disclaimers:

This information has been accurately reproduced, as received from Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited (FTIML). No information has been omitted which would render the reproduced information inaccurate or misleading. This information is being distributed by MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to its customers. The information contained in this document is for general information purposes only and is not intended to provide legal or other professional advice nor does it commit MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc to any obligation whatsoever. The information available in this document is not intended to be a suggestion, recommendation or solicitation to buy, hold or sell, any securities and is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness.

The financial instruments discussed in the document may not be suitable for all investors and investors must make their own informed decisions and seek their own advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in financial instruments or implementing strategies discussed herein.

If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest. The value of your investment may go down as well as up. A commission or sales fee may be charged at the time of the initial purchase for an investment and may be deducted from the invested amount therefore lowering the size of your investment. Any income you get from this investment may go down as well as up. This product may be affected by changes in currency exchange rate movements thereby affecting your investment return therefrom. The performance figures quoted refer to the past and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance or a reliable guide to future performance. Any decision to invest in a mutual fund should always be based upon the details contained in the Prospectus and Key Investor Information Document (KIID), which may be obtained from MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc.