The Asian beer company to buy now

As investors around the world have piled into cyclical “recovery” stocks, defensive sectors such as booze have been all but ignored. That’s left some great opportunities for smart investors, says Cris Sholto Heaton – such as this Thai beer company.

When times are tough, it's tough being sober. That's why investors turn to a defensive sector such as booze when a bear market sets in then lose their taste for it as soon as the rebound is underway.

Hence Diageo, the world's biggest drinks firm fell just 35% during the slump, but is up only 28% from the bottom. Meanwhile, a cyclical stock like chemicals firm Akzo Nobel was off 65% - but is now up 73% from its lows.

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Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.