I think there are some great opportunities in UK shares at the moment. In both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250, I can see stocks I’d like to buy.
I’m not about to buy either index as a whole, though. And the reason is that both contain shares that I really don’t like the look of.
Taylor Wimpey
I’ve nothing against Taylor Wimpey (LSE:TW) as a business. If I were going to buy shares in a UK housebuilder, its relatively stable dividend means it’s probably the one I’d go for.
Despite this, I’ve no interest in the stock right now. Along with a number of its peers in the industry, the company is being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority.
The focus of the inquiry is potential collusion among UK housebuilders. And I’ve no idea what might turn up or what the implications of this will be.
A look at Lloyds shares over the last week or so should remind investors of how risky ignoring a potential investigation can be. The bank is facing up to £3.9bn in car loan liabilities.
If Taylor Wimpey emerges unscathed, buying the stock today could turn out to be a great decision. There’s strong demand in the UK housing market even with prices continuing to rise.
I’m not in a position to judge how likely this is to happen. And that means buying the stock today for me is essentially a gamble, which is not what I’m looking for in an investment.
Wizz Air
By contrast, I don’t like Wizz Air (LSE:WIZZ) in the slightest. The business model of trying to offer low fares on long-haul flights looks to me to be fraught with danger.
With short-haul flights, it’s possible to make extra journeys by shortening turnaround times. That allows the same aircraft to fly from London to Paris three times in a day, rather than two.
On a flight that takes eight hours, this just isn’t possible. So I don’t think the efficiencies that make low-cost travel viable on short flights are available for long-haul routes.
Another is that there isn’t much demand for premium seating on a two-hour flight. That means the key differentiator is price and low-cost carriers have an important competitive advantage.
I don’t think that’s the case with long-haul flights. Wizz believes it is and they think they can sell enough seats, but I’m staying well away while they try to make this strategy work.
It’s not all bad news for the company – oil prices have been falling and this should help it save money on fuel. But that’s not nearly enough to convince me to buy the stock.
Index investing
This is why I’m not a big fan of index investing. While there are some clear advantages – such as the instant diversification – every index seems to include some stocks I don’t want to own.
That’s why I prefer to try and figure out the companies I do like and buy shares in them. The FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 have plenty, but not every stock is equally attractive.
