Our Insights
Bonds are back – five reasons to invest now
May 30, 2023
We are amidst a great reset for fixed-income assets. During 2022, bond prices moved lower and yields meaningfully higher, in the sharpest repricing in recent
Read more…The Trouble with Investing in Bank Stocks
April 24, 2023
We invest on the basis of fundamental research in companies that offer quality and value over the long-term. Our four criteria for quality are a
Read more…The future of digital advertising
March 24, 2023
The future of digital advertising has been an important topic for investors over the last two years. Five of the top ten largest companies in
Read more…China Reopening: Luxury goods and consumer discretionary companies to benefit from excess savings boom
January 24, 2023
China is opening up, giving us cause to be optimistic – but what is life like on the ground in China right now, and how
Read more…Perspectives and Outlook on Key Sectors for 2023
December 28, 2022
Consumer companies: Near-term challenges but tailwinds from pricing power, resilient demand and reopening Against the background of soaring inflation and unprecedented interest rate hikes, high
Read more…Streaming wars: Disney’s march gathers pace
November 21, 2022
The shift to streaming video has dramatically changed how the media industry works and how content is consumed. Some of us remember when we had
Read more…Proof that market downturns are temporary
October 17, 2022
Jeff Prestridge, the long-time personal finance editor of the Mail on Sunday, has featured our analysis of the long-term returns offered by equities in this
Read more…Emerging Market Debt: Perceived Risks Greater Than Actual risks
September 27, 2022
The Stern family has been an active investor in emerging markets for generations. In the nineteenth century, the family and its banks help to found
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Roman Holiday
July 27, 2022
Everyone wants a Roman holiday! Americans are back in Paris! Hotels are full, restaurants are booked, luxury stores have long lines outside, and good luck
Read more…Luxury brands, NFTs and the metaverse
June 23, 2022
After two years of absence from museum visits, when a friend suggested that we meet up at the British Museum to see ‘Hokusai: The Great
Read more…Buffett’s Berkshire is anything but Brittle
May 23, 2022
Warren Buffett recently returned to the stage in Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting after a two-year hiatus. Christopher Rossbach, our chief investment officer,
Read more…The Return Triangle: why it pays to HOLD equities through uncertain and challenging markets
April 13, 2022
On many occasions in the last c.100 years, leading stock markets have suffered significant pullbacks for various reasons be they technical, economic or fundamental, but
Read more…Scale and resilience: the realignment of the global supply chain
March 29, 2022
We are at a critical moment of transition. We have been warning of a dramatic realignment of the global supply chain since the pandemic dramatically
Read more…MetaVerse, meta and us: An overreaction and an opportunity
February 25, 2022
“Focus on long-term impact emphasises long-term thinking and encourages us to extend the timeline for the impact we have, rather than optimising for near-term wins.
Read more…Investment Themes and Opportunities in 2022 – A year of Recovery and Investment
January 24, 2022
2021 was a volatile year. Although great progress was made towards recovery and reopening, the path to normality was nevertheless uneven and incomplete, repeatedly disrupted
Read more…Global Economic Transformation, Transition to a Net-Zero Economy and the Upcoming Super-Cycle in Capital Investment
December 24, 2021
“Real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics” David Attenborough The UN
Read more…Digital Transformation in Emerging Markets: Opportunities for Credit Investors in African Digital Infrastructure
November 26, 2021
Today’s emerging markets pose a very different proposition to those of ten years ago. Historically there has been a strong association with commodities, and while
Read more…Game on: The unstoppable rise of women’s sport
October 22, 2021
“Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs, and I want women to have the cake, the icing and the cherry on top
Read more…China’s ‘Common Prosperity’: Understanding the Background, Implications and Opportunities for Technology, Consumer and Luxury Companies
September 24, 2021
“We should build a world of common prosperity through win–win co-operation.” President Xi Jinping addressing the United Nations, 2017 Since the 1970s China has lifted
Read more…ESG Insights: The Promise, Opportunities and Risks of Plant-based nutrition
July 19, 2021
Our core belief is that sustainability is critical to long-term investment. Only companies that are sustainable in the way they do business can have sustainable
Read more…Vaccines, Variants, Boosters and the Outlook for Overcoming Covid-19
June 18, 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every corner of the planet, and the outlook for overcoming it now depends upon the efficacy and availability of vaccines.
Read more…Big Tech and Regulation – There is no Terror in the Bang
May 24, 2021
“This antitrust thing will blow over.” Bill Gates (Speech to Intel executives, 1995) Last September, we outlined our views about the regulatory threats facing the
Read more…Interest Rates and Risk Assets
April 23, 2021
You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down. Charlie Chaplin Last month marked the one-year anniversary of the start of the new equity bull
Read more…The Economics of post-crisis Recoveries
March 22, 2021
The Oxford University Business Economics Programme has produced a series of lectures on the Economics of Post-Crisis Recoveries that we are proud to be sponsoring.
Read more…Sustainability ³ – Reflections on a Year of ESG Implementation
February 22, 2021
Last year we outlined our Roadmap to Sustainable Investing. It has been a tumultuous year for the global economy and the markets, but also a
Read more…Investment themes and opportunities 2021
January 26, 2021
As we start the year, we would like to share some of our expectations for markets, industries and the companies we invest in. Our World
Read more…Accelerating change and disruption: Lessons and Reflections from Investing during the Covid-19 Pandemic
December 21, 2020
Our approach of investing in quality and value for the long-term has allowed us to navigate this year from a position of strength. The pandemic
Read more…The Conundrum of Negative Interest Rates: Generating Income and Return in an Unprecedented Era for Fixed Income
November 18, 2020
Negative interest rates have posed a conundrum for the global economy and the financial markets over the past. They have provided economic stimulus and support
Read more…COVID-19 Vaccines, Therapies and Testing: A Roadmap to Normality
October 15, 2020
Leaves outside our office windows in St. James’s are starting to turn colourful. Fall is coming, and so is the second wave of the SARS-CoV-2
Read more…Regulation, politics and big tech
September 17, 2020
Much of the social, economic and political development of the modern period is driven by technology, innovation and disruption. Steam power, combustion, electricity, telephony, computing;
Read more…The race for COVID-19 vaccines
July 30, 2020
Scientists across the world are working around the clock to develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus which is responsible for the COVID-19 global pandemic. Although
Read more…Risk, resilience and income opportunity
June 30, 2020
Every month that passes by brings more visibility on the economic impact of the Covid-19 virus past, present and future. Reported economic and corporate data
Read more…Risk, Resilience and Opportunity: Covid-19 and its Impact on Key industries and Companies
May 18, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the societies and economies we live in. It is the first pandemic in our globalized world.
Read more…Facts, panic and reason: Coronavirus and seven variables
April 3, 2020
Travelling to work on a bicycle through London’s West End is surreal. The sun shines down; shops and restaurants are closed, buses overtake empty, pavements
Read more…Quality in times of uncertainty
February 28, 2020
In the midst of the uncertainty around the COVID-19 outbreak, it is important to focus on the principles of investing in quality and value for
Read more…Our Roadmap for Sustainable Investing
January 31, 2020
Our investment philosophy at J Stern & Co. builds on the tradition of the Stern family and its 60-year, multi-generational track record of investing for
Read more…Investment themes and opportunities for 2020
December 20, 2019
As we look forward to 2020 after a year of significant returns across our equity and credit investments, we find ourselves in a similar constructive
Read more…Climate change seminar with Lord Browne
November 28, 2019
We are pleased to send you a summary of our recent seminar led by Lord Browne of Madingley and moderated by Dr Eamonn Molloy of
Read more…Make, think, imagine: Engineering the future of civilisation ?
November 22, 2019
This month’s insight was written by Lord Browne of Madingley. John Browne trained as an engineer, was CEO of BP from 1995 to 2007 and is
Read more…Emerging market corporate debt: Nature or nurture?
October 30, 2019
Emerging market corporate debt: Nature or nurture? The question of nature or nurture is one of the false dichotomies that confront us in our attempts
Read more…Innovation, disruption and opportunity: Global fintech gets personal
September 30, 2019
Innovation, disruption and opportunity: Global fintech gets personal Posted on September 2019 How quickly does an innovation go from novelty to habit? Two years ago,
Read more…Smart Cities – The Cities of the future are already here
June 28, 2019
Smart Cities – The Cities of the future are already here Posted on June 2019 Smart Cities, for so long a thing of myth and
Read more…Reflections from the 2019 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting
May 30, 2019
Reflections from the 2019 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting Posted on May 2019 The Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska is known as the Woodstock
Read more…Driverless Cars: Where are they heading?
April 30, 2019
Driverless Cars: Where are they heading? Posted on April 2019 The IPOs of Lyft and Uber are notable not just for their astounding valuations but
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Improving access to universities: A conversation with Dr Tony Sewell CBE
March 29, 2019
Improving access to universities: A conversation with Dr Tony Sewell CBE Posted on March 2019 We believe that responsible and sustainable investing for the long
Read more…Global Consumer Companies: Investment and Innovation the recipe for growth and value creation
February 26, 2019
Global Consumer Companies: Investment and Innovation the recipe for growth and value creation Posted on Feb 2019 Dry January does not mean very much to
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Investment themes and opportunities in 2019
January 30, 2019
Our insight this month provides an overview of our investment team’s thinking on the themes and opportunities for the year ahead Investment themes and opportunities
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Principles of Long-term shareholding: Active ownership, not activism
December 7, 2018
Part of what we do is to meet the companies we invest in. Many of them have been in our portfolios for considerable periods of
Read more…Amazon Enters Healthcare
November 7, 2018
In her insight about Amazon and the opportunity it is pursuing in healthcare, Zhixin Shu has identified a number of the ways Amazon is working
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Blockchain: Enabling the Next Step Change in Supply Chain Management
October 7, 2018
One of the potential long-term drivers of value generation could be blockchain. We talked last month about the discussion we hosted about blockchain in the
Read more…Getting There
September 15, 2018
Our friend Gillian Zoe Segal has spent five years interviewing 50 of the most successful people in all fields about their experiences and their lessons.
Read more…Sports Brands and Brands Equity
July 25, 2018
Our insight this month, written by Jean-Yves Chereau discusses how strong brands and brand equity as seen in the recent FIFA World Cup are key
Read more…Has the Sell off Made it Safe to Return to Emerging Market Bonds?
June 20, 2018
In this month’s insight our portfolio manager Catherine Blanc-Adams, discusses how the recent sell off provides significant buying opportunities in emerging markets bonds, notably in
Read more…Betting the Drugstore on Berkshire
May 25, 2018
We recently returned from our annual trip to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, with the same renewed enthusiasm and conviction in investing
Read more…Battle of the Brands
April 17, 2018
Our analysts Katerina, Zhixin and Giles have put together in our insight this month their thoughts on the opportunities and challenges for consumer stocks, highlighting
Read more…Facebook: Real and Perceived Risk and Opportunity
March 20, 2018
Given the importance of digital companies to our portfolios, our insight this month comes from Giles Tulloch, our technology analyst, who comments on Facebook and
Read more…Emerging Markets and Sustainability – Enrich not Exploit
February 20, 2018
In this month’s investment insight, Catherine Blanc-Adams discusses our approach to investing in high quality emerging market bonds as a more attractive source of returns
Read more…World Stars Five Year Investment Review and Opportunities for 2018
December 18, 2017
Our insight this month provides detail on the portfolio, the attribution of portfolio performance and how we think it will progress. World Stars Five Year
Read more…Industry 4.0 The Transformation of the Modern Factory
November 18, 2017
In our insight this month Katerina Kosmopoulou discusses the transformation of industrial production driven by the advances in digital technology. The catchword for this is
Read more…Value Based Healthcare – The Journey Has Begun
October 20, 2017
Value-based healthcare, rewarding the healthcare industry for outcomes not products or services, will have an increasing impact on all of us as we have to
Read more…India An Emerging Market for the Long-term
September 27, 2017
September’s insight provides a brief discussion of India and the opportunities we see for several of our investments. We take the view that investing in
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eSports Let The Games Begin
July 14, 2017
The rapid ascent of eSports, competitive video gaming to the uninitiated, has seemed implausible. But recent developments in the industry and the current news flow
Read more…Nutrition The Next Frontier for the Consumer and Health Industries
June 22, 2017
One of the key fundamental drivers for our portfolios is the growth in health and nutrition as a business opportunity. In emerging and developed markets
Read more…Digital Marketing: Last month we saw the future
May 20, 2017
Last month, we arranged an event in association with Exponea, a London-based specialist digital marketing company, which helped to highlight just how large this industry
Read more…Smaller, Faster, More Innovative: Challenges and Opportunities for Consumer Companies
April 14, 2017
The annual Consumer Group of Europe conference is one of the opportunities to get a view on the issues impacting many of the companies we
Read more…President Xi’s Three Wishes for Chinese Football
March 13, 2017
Our insight this month is an abridged version of an article we commissioned from Matt Tench, the well-known sports journalist, about China and its impact
Read more…THE CIPRIANI PRINCIPLE: “ICONIC” BRANDS AND THEIR VALUE
February 17, 2017
Our insight piece this month takes a global consumer good as a point of reflection on the value of innovation and brands. The “iconic” Apple
Read more…Tobacco – A Legacy Industry Disrupting Itself
January 20, 2017
Forget about self-driving cars or online retail: The tobacco industry is trying to disrupt itself with healthier alternatives to cigarettes. The CEO of Philip Morris
Read more…Themes and Opportunities in 2017
December 16, 2016
In this month’s insight we look ahead to 2017. Themes and Opportunities in 2017 Posted on Dec 2016 Microeconomics is what we do, macroeconomics is
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Commodities and Emerging Markets: “The Stone Age did not end for want of stones”
November 18, 2016
Catherine Blanc-Adams has written this month’s insight Commodities and Emerging Markets: “The Stone Age did not end for want of stones” on the long-term perspective
Read more…Renewing the American Experiment of Self-Government
October 15, 2016
In her insight piece for this month, Katerina Kosmopoulou seeks to put the issues surrounding the upcoming US election into historical perspective. US presidents have
Read more…Vincit Preserverantia: Families and the Challenges of Succession
September 20, 2016
In our insight this month, Jérôme Stern discusses family succession and the importance of making hard decisions and taking the right risks for families, trustees
Read more…Reflections on Brexit: Western Democracies and the Threat of Populism
July 19, 2016
In our insight piece ‘Reflections on Brexit: Western Democracies and the Threat of Populism’, our partners Tom Price and Christopher Rossbach discuss the issues we
Read more…Football Finance an Attractive Alternative Investment Opportunity
June 15, 2016
One of the opportunities we see to generate returns in the current low interest rate environment is through direct lending. With perfect timing for the
Read more…Business Formation, Creative Destruction and Long Term Investing
May 17, 2016
Katerina Kosmopoulou comments on the recent changes in Warren Buffett’s strategy in her insight this month and argues that the same criteria that made Berkshire
Read more…Is Rent Money Still Dead Money?
April 20, 2016
As long-term investors it is much more important to be sure that we have invested in the right companies over time and if possible to
Read more…My Voyage of E-Commerce in China
March 16, 2016
Our investment analyst Zhixin Shu has recently spent three months living back in her native China. She was amazed by the shift to e-commerce taking
Read more…O que sera que sera…. Petrobras
February 18, 2016
Que sera que sera…Petrobras, our January insight, from Catherine Blanc-Adams and Raphael Antoine, looks at the interesting world of the Emerging Market commodity sector, and
Read more…Good Morning Kennedy
January 14, 2016
In this month’s insight, Chris Rossbach talks about how saying good morning to Kennedy, one of our doormen at 21 Knightsbridge, reminds him of good
Read more…Amazon: Your stock is on Fire
December 15, 2015
Amazon shares have doubled since our analyst Giles Tulloch wrote his insight, Keep Calm and Carry on Clicking, in November of last year and we
Read more…Modern Wisdom from Ancient Greeks
November 18, 2015
In this October’s insight piece Catherine Blanc-Adams, who joined us at J. Stern & Co. this autumn and is a seasoned investor in emerging market
Read more…Value Is What You Get
October 10, 2015
In September’s insight “Value is What You Get”, Chris Rossbach breaks down how we look for quality and value in the companies we invest in.
Read more…Don’t Junk China
September 18, 2015
In our insight piece this month, Zhixin Shu, puts the case that the change in currency policy is not as bad as it seems and
Read more…Don’t call it a comeback, the internet’s been here for years
August 17, 2015
Our insight piece this month expands on our thesis that we are only at the beginning of the value creation from the internet sector and
Read more…Reflections on the Greek Crisis and a Fateful Referendum
July 9, 2015
As our readers will know, the Greek crisis has moved into a new phase culminating in a fateful referendum and bailout agreement. In this month’s
Read more…Argentina
June 16, 2015
Our May insight piece focuses on Argentina ,a country famous for its beef and wines and notorious for its recurring debt defaults, rampant inflation and
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Shareholders’ Rights – The Case of Sika
May 15, 2015
This month’s insight piece follows the shareholder unrest in Sika ,one of our positions, following the Burkard family’s decision to sell their controlling stake to
Read more…The Race for Yield and… Sustainable Returns
April 23, 2015
This month’s insight piece focuses on the continued search for yield and examines why interest rates and bond yields are likely to stay low for
Read more…Advances in Biosimilars – Challenge for Pharmaceutical Companies?
March 19, 2015
Our insight piece this month touches on a more long term issue facing several of the large pharmaceutical companies in our portfolios. They have benefitted
Read more…Currency Matters: Why Currency Moves do not Matter for Long-Term Investors
February 18, 2015
This month our insight focuses on the Swiss National Bank’s decision to abandon the Swiss Franc peg to the Euro. We look at the short
Read more…Charting a Course through Troubled Waters
January 18, 2015
As we embark on a new year, we thought we would take the opportunity in this month’s insight piece “Charting a Course through Troubled Waters”
Read more…Oil Prices: A Brave New World?
December 15, 2014
This month’s insight piece looks at some of the drivers behind the recent plunge in oil and examines whether these are temporary or longer-term issues.
Read more…Keep Calm and Carry On Clicking
November 16, 2014
Our insight piece this month focuses on Amazon. The company divides investors like few others. We argue that Jeff Bezos’ vision is as uncompromising as
Read more…From “Supernormal” to “Normal” Growth: the Paradox of Luxury Investing
October 15, 2014
Our insight piece this month focuses on the luxury goods sector. After a period of extraordinary growth, we highlight the key drivers behind the recent
Read more…The Apple Watch and the rumoured demise of the Swiss Watch industry
September 30, 2014
This month we focus on the launch of the Apple Watch and explore the implication for the industry at large and for now agree with
Read more…Football is a Simple Game
August 30, 2014
Football is Simple Game – Lessons from Germany’s Success at the World Cup Football is a Simple Game Posted on Aug 2014 Football is Simple
Read more…What Would Warren Do
July 30, 2014
Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting 2014 – WWWD or What Would Warren Do? What Would Warren Do Posted on Jul 2014 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting 2014
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