Stuart Kirk

FT columnist and ex: Head of RI (HSBC AM), Head of Research (HSBC & DWS), Head of Multi-Asset (Deutsche), consultant (Oliver Wyman), equity PM (Morgan Grenfell)

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

That AI stocks are ESG darlings is hilarious. Reminds me of the old gag about a businessman who kills himself in order to reduce the tax he pays. As so often with humour, the joke highlights a serious side of human folly — in this…https://t.co/pKJXfDtwtp https://t.co/Fy05L6xNh7

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Hypocrisy is ubiquitous, of course. But whereas in politics it is said voters don’t mind lies (it’s the saying one thing and doing another that appals), in business we can seemingly cope with the dissonance required of hypocrisy -…https://t.co/5e1DfzJwux https://t.co/NpZQvxG6oV

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

With AI stocks booming, I thought I'd share with you an FT article I wrote more than five years ago on why such crazy stock valuations might be justified. It's far-out stuff - introducing the idea of negatively-depreciating physica…https://t.co/WQPzZj2icA https://t.co/LxUYC2iwkD

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Active management is a fraud. Sure it's possible to flip heads twenty times in a row - and a few superstar investors have. But on average it's impossible. In my latest column in the #financialtimes I remind readers why only fools d…https://t.co/t8ZoZScNGw https://t.co/zY16zqbAd8

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

When Barry Humphries died last week, Aussies mourned. I was told recently of a similar mood in Zurich since Credit Suisse passed away.

Humphries and the Swiss bank have occupied much of my time over the years. And odd as it seems,…https://t.co/GZwmcF2LmZ https://t.co/DVNt9bS9Dk

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

I received hundreds of emails and comments following my FT column last week. My hypothesis was that down-and-out office buildings were worth a look. About half agreed, the other half thought the idea was cracker-nuts.

What do I g…https://t.co/vSda98XSVU https://t.co/VGaPTOZunB

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Who doesn’t have a shame-list of investments they’ve declined? Apple shares when Steve Jobs rejoined in 1997. Bitcoins a decade ago at ten bucks. An ex-colleague told me his Hungarian mother refused Ernő Rubik some money for a toy…https://t.co/HTeMeCINNF https://t.co/Ei3RyuMgJA

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Think you understand how currency moves affect your investment portfolio? Long ago I decided the best approach is to ignore exchange rates and order a pint. Find out why you should join me in the #FTWeekend.

#currencies #savings #…https://t.co/6HMeaBWlDC https://t.co/8ok1FR0SOt

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

More regulation. Stricter compliance. Higher capital ratios. Our response to the latest banking mess is predictable enough.

What to do? As perverse as this sounds, instead of treating our financiers like wayward teenagers, how abo…https://t.co/M9zszZVfJJ https://t.co/WcAzl67mur

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Once was a bank, run by wokies
Didn’t hedge, now it’s brokies
A biased deposit base, ironic that
Time to pass around the hat

#SVB #siliconvalleybank #federalreserve #financialcrisis #jpmorgan #woke #financialtimes https://t.co/GaZPyHgDfz

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Want to understand Tips and Linkers? Did you lose your blouse owning Treasury inflation-protect securities last year, or index-linked bonds?

You ain't alone. In 2001, inflation fears were building. Geopolitical ones ditto. Low-ris…https://t.co/zxcbJDpvZs https://t.co/SnTPG4T0XT

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

In my column in this weekend's Financial Times, I chart my progression from being a perma bear on stocks to raving believer. Only took more than a decade and thousands of dollars in losses for me to learn the error of my ways. Henc…https://t.co/kU3xBQL5Mt https://t.co/tBi6pKS7ao

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

In my column this week I compare the recent news that money is flowing into corporate bonds with quantum superposition, the fundmental principle that more than one state can exist at the same time. And just as it's said that if you…https://t.co/JLupu69euW https://t.co/0mdBEFkCco

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

You couldn't move this week without reading an article on chatbots, MBA rankings or management consultants. Fascinating business stories all, but they don't have much to do with investing. Really, you ask? Surely revolutionary tech…https://t.co/TZ76Y2RULT https://t.co/yAXy8xhqF7

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

This Saturday in London I'm doing a speech for some dude called #Ted. Wouldn't tell me his last name. Just goes by "x". Must be important however, as he's assembled an amazing line up of speakers. I will be talking about the right…https://t.co/BHmW26f6nX https://t.co/e27EPi3jtd

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Coming up with excuses for crappy returns is core to a portfolio manager's job, I wrote in the #FT in December. Another acquired skill is to fudge one's performance so not to have to apologise in the first place. Investment advisor…https://t.co/e7rEHjJDtj https://t.co/oeWSWxqCj2

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Almost everyone believes taxing companies is a good idea. Far better to hit a nasty, faceless corporation earning millions (and its greedy investors) than poor hardworking families. Except that coporate taxes don't make any sense a…https://t.co/9VddxgMnxV https://t.co/zSMMsWWtbo

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Thematic funds make sense for everyone but investors. Portfolio managers love crapping on about Asia's middle classes or robotics or circular economies - beats doing hard valuation work any day. Asset managers only launch them when…https://t.co/7Pxa0hdHwr https://t.co/wq3tQURMe9

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

If you are buying stocks right now, it should NOT be for any of the following reasons: They are cheap (mostly no). The rate cycle is near a peak (irrelevant). Flows into equity funds are strong (contra-indicator). The yield is attr…https://t.co/LwRl51VNlk https://t.co/Befu9QDfyZ

[Stuart Kirk @stuartkirk__]

Asset management is a world-leading industry in the manufacturing of excuses. Simply no one knows how to avoid blame like a portfolio manager. I would go as far as to say it is their main job. Given the vast majority underperform t…https://t.co/RKHt9GBiuu https://t.co/wGhjDDdW2H