Earlier this year asset manager Standard Life Aberdeen renamed itself abrdn. This is a very silly name for many reasons: not having vowels is silly; not having a capital letter is silly (particularly at the beginning of sentences). But there is good news: the company is not as silly as it sounds (which is why I sit on the board of an investment trust it manages). It has a new advertising campaign on the go, and it’s pretty good.
Instead of the vague inanities you get with most financial advertising (which suggest it all has something to do with teeth whitening and holidays) the firm has actually had a go at explaining what investing is – the financing of the companies that actually do the stuff that keep the economy going. “When you invest in this”, says the TV ad, over video of a construction site, “you invest in this”, over video of happy people at a football match. The same trick is used for scientific research (you see labs, then a child with a prosthetic limb) and hospital equipment. The radio ad takes a similar tack. The idea, says abrdn, is to reframe investment as “an ability – the power to change, not just your future but lots of futures, for the better”.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? It is. Over the last decade, capitalism has taken a bit of a bashing: more than 60% of UK Millennials think they would like to live in a socialist society; we think they probably wouldn’t. We also think that if they understood that they mostly own shares (via pension auto-enrolment) and that their ownership gives them power, they might change their minds. After all, while socialism promises everyone ownership and power, it has never actually delivered; shareholder capitalism is delivering. There’s a hill to climb to before that is fully grasped in the UK – a recent survey found only 35% of adults know that their pension contributions go into shares – but campaigns such as this will surely help.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
That said, there is one problem with the campaign. It suggests that investing is a type of soft, fluffy and mostly-green do-goodery (“...when your investments do good things so can you”) that mostly goes right. That isn’t necessarily so. Investing can also mean capital losses, miserable retirement and failed technologies. And to be properly diversified (and more certain of getting the returns you need) you might find you have to put your money into things that are morally more complicated than prosthetic limbs for children. Right now many markets are expensive, and nearly all are fragile – see page 6 for the various breakdowns and recoveries caused by the Omicron variant in even the four days since its apparent discovery.
Recent history suggests you should buy every dip. Long-term history says that given valuations and obviously non-transient inflation you should buy only very carefully. What counts as careful? Take oil. There is no bit in the abrdn ad pointing out that when you invest in petrocarbons you also invest, for example, in the sulphur that makes much of the fertiliser that helps maintain global food security. But you do. Lithium mines may not feel fluffy either – but we need it and there’s a supply and demand mismatch that makes the sector look attractive. You might also look at emerging markets: buying into Turkey, Russia or South Africa might not feel comfortable right now, and certainly doesn’t come with a soothing voiceover, but there is often good reason to buy what others shun.
-
House prices are falling in London but how does it compare to the rest of the UK?Advice The capital remains the most expensive part of the UK to buy a property, but it isn’t being as badly hit by the housing market slump. Where are London house prices heading?
-
Will a Santa Rally provide festive cheer for investors this year?
News Equities often get a seasonal boost during December - will there be a Santa Rally in 2023?
-
Can Lidiane Jones be Bumble's perfect match?
Dating app Bumble is taking on Lidiane Jones, a well-regarded leader in tech, as its new boss. Can she work her magic in a new arena?
-
UK millennials are worse off than previous generations
The evidence shows that millennials today are getting a raw deal. And, ultimately, that's a political choice.
-
The rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried – the “boy wonder of crypto”
Why the fate of Sam Bankman-Fried reminds us to be wary of digital tokens and unregulated financial intermediaries.
-
The jury's out on the AI summit at Bletchley Park
World governments gathered for an AI summit at Bletchley Park in November, but were they too focused on threats at the expense of economic benefits?
-
As a market correction begins, money is on the move.
The force of a market correction is equal and opposite to the delusion that preceded it, so we can imagine that the correction will also be unparalleled.
-
How small businesses can retain staff in a competitive job market
Small businesses are struggling to retain staff and compete against large companies with deep pockets.
-
The French economy's Macron bubble is bursting
Cheap debt and a luxury boom have flattered the French economy. That streak of luck is running out.
-
K-pop hitman Bang Si-hyuk aims to repeat BTS phenomenon
Bang Si-hyuk created the world’s biggest boy band, BTS, making K-pop music a global sensation and himself very rich. Can he repeat the trick with a girl band?
