Over the past five years, the FTSE 100 has rallied 57%. British blue-chip companies, with their geographically diversified revenue streams and steady eddy approach to cleaning up unruly balance sheets have soared.
It’s not just UK corporates that have bounced back from the global recession either, most developed market equities have experienced growth and according to Morningstar Equity Quant research North American and European stock markets are now up to 20% overvalued.
Interestingly, the UK stock market as a whole is considered fairly valued, but within listed stocks there is a wide disparity between sectors.
According to Threadneedle head of UK equities Simon Brazier, retail and consumer services stocks are the most expensive, while oil producers, food retailers and pharmaceutical companies are all cheap.
BlackRock emerging markets fund manager Sam Vecht said valuations matter – and that investors must learn the difference between what makes a good company and what makes a good stock.
“Fancy websites do not matter when it comes to investing – all you should be asking yourself is can you make a return? Look at a company’s cashflow. That is what shareholders get paid out of, not earnings which is a figure made up by an accountant,” he said at the recent Morningstar Investment Conference.