The winning stocks of the post-coronavirus economy

Some stocks proved resilient as the market slump was in full swing last month. That’s because investors have singled out the best long-term bets for a new era, says Max King.

The lockdown is good news for Netflix © Netflix
(Image credit: People watching TV © Netflix)

The sudden slump in the stockmarket, which wiped 32% and 29% off the FTSE All Share and S&P 500 indices respectively between 1 January and the late March low, has been routinely described as a “panic” if not “pure hysteria”. It certainly counts as a crash, reminiscent of October 1987, but a panic would be characterised by shares selling off indiscriminately and in unison. That may have been the case initially, but investors subsequently became very discriminating.

Some companies are expected to be unaffected by the pandemic or likely to benefit from it in the years ahead; for others, it could be a death knell. The winners – the stocks that were already rising when the market reached the low – give us valuable clues to the shape of the post-pandemic market and its long-term investment opportunities. There is also a surprising loser that investors should steer clear of.

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Max King
Investment Writer

Max has an Economics degree from the University of Cambridge and is a chartered accountant. He worked at Investec Asset Management for 12 years, managing multi-asset funds investing in internally and externally managed funds, including investment trusts. This included a fund of investment trusts which grew to £120m+. Max has managed ten investment trusts (winning many awards) and sat on the boards of three trusts – two directorships are still active.

After 39 years in financial services, including 30 as a professional fund manager, Max took semi-retirement in 2017. Max has been a MoneyWeek columnist since 2016 writing about investment funds and more generally on markets online, plus occasional opinion pieces. He also writes for the Investment Trust Handbook each year and has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and other publications. See here for details of current investments held by Max.