Why many investors like Aveva 

There is more than one reason why an investor may think the Aveva share price looks tempting. For one thing, there is its history. Aveva shares have roughly doubled over the last five years. They have almost quadrupled since 2010 and have increased approximately 40-fold since its stock market debut in 1997.

Other investors may be attracted by Aveva’s impressive balance sheet. The company’s assets are worth almost four times the value of liabilities, and current assets are worth only slightly less than total liabilities.

Other investors may like the latest annual report. In the year ended March 2020, revenue was up 8.8%. Profit before tax increased by 97%. Others may see the recent fall in its share price as suggesting it’s good value. And others may look at the dividend. Yield is around 1.1%, which may not seem unusually high, but that is a pretty good yield for a stock that performed so well. 

All of the above represent good reasons to look closely at the Aveva share price. I have another rationale for liking the stock, however. 

Why I like Aveva shares 

For investors. Aveva’s appeal lies with the word ‘digitisation’. As its CEO Craig Hayman, recently said: “We are focused on being digital in everything that we do”.

We live in unusually uncertain times. No one knows how the economy will perform once the Covid-19 pandemic finally comes to an end. Even so, I think it is a pretty good bet that we will see business and industry accelerate its adoption of digital technologies, such as AI, remote collaboration tools, and the so-called internet of things (IoT). The digital economy that has been emerging during the crisis is here to stay.

Aveva helps make that digital economy happen. It is in the business of creating industrial software and providing cloud services, and the industrial IoT is fundamental to its business model.

Critics warn that Aveva is too focused on the oil and gas sector. This sector has taken a big hit because of Covid-19. Supporters respond by saying that since its recent acquisition of Schneider Electric’s industrial software business, it has become more diverse.

Indeed, in its latest report, the company emphasised how it is growing in new markets. These markets include water & wastewater utilities, power utilities, facility and campus managers, transportation operators, and data centres.

More to the point, its technology is supporting the evolution of smart cities, one of the cornerstones of the digital economy. For example, Aveva is helping create smart energy grids.

Expertise applies across sectors 

The core strength of this company is its expertise. Industrial software and the industrial IoT are going to be significant growth areas in the digital economy. Aveva’s historical focus in oil and gas was the means by which it created expertise. Now its inherent technical strength can be applied to multiple sectors worldwide.

That is why I think that the Aveva share price is going to continue where it left off at the beginning of this year, and grow impressively year in, year out.

The post If you want to invest in the digital economy then Aveva shares are just the ticket appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Michael Baxter has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

You might be pleased to know that I am not going to go through the billion reasons to invest in Whitbread (LSE:WTB) shares one by one — instead, I will sum them all up in three words: one billion pounds.

Before Covid-19, Whitbread had a strong balance sheet what with the sale of Costa. Now it has raised another billion pounds, meaning its bank balance is bulging.

I think the strength of the Whitbread balance sheet represents an outstanding opportunity. The reason is simple — it’s a great time to be cash-rich. Bargains will be plenty.

Post-Covid-19

No one knows what the economy will look like post-Covid-19. As for property prices — predicting how they will move is a mug’s game — but there is one area where I do expect to see bargains, and that is in commercial real estate.

It is a sad inevitability that pubs will go out of business. Hotels will probably either be sold or put up for sale. As a result, prices will fall.

But isn’t this how the economic cycle works? Any sector, whether it be oil, retail, or the hotel and pubs sectors that Whitbread operates in, follows a similar pattern. In a downturn, prices fall, they eventually become so cheap that demand rises pushing prices up, until they become too high, and another downturn begins.

Those that have sufficient cash, and foresight to invest at times when the downturn is especially severe, can play the cycle to their advantage.

That is why I like Whitbread shares.

Whitbread shares long term

Whitbread has been a good long-term play for years.

If you had invested in the company back in the mid-1990s, when it was first listed on the stock market, then your shares would have increased by almost nine-fold at the beginning of this year. Factor in that the company usually pays reasonable dividends and you can see that Whitbread shares have been good long-term performers.

Okay, shares have fallen this year. They are down by almost half, but even after this massive drop they have still doubled over the last decade and more than quadrupled since 1995.

But this year’s fall in the Whitbread share price does make it look especially tempting.

Solid performance, unique opportunity

It is the combination of Whitbread’s steady performance in the long term and what I see as a unique opportunity that makes the company such as a compelling investment.

I expect it to grab market share such that when the economic recovery finally begins in earnest, Whitbread will be well placed indeed.

That is why I think now represents such a great opportunity to invest in Whitbread shares.

The post There are a billion new reasons to invest in Whitbread shares appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Views expressed in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

NCC is a cybersecurity business with a worldwide reach. It works with private and public sectors, has a presence in the UK, the rest of Europe, North America and, perhaps most important of all, a growing business in the Asia Pacific region.

The company is research-driven and has outstanding expertise in the cyber arena.

NCC shares 

NCC shares have taken a hammering since the Covid-19 crisis began. The share price fell from around 230p at the beginning of the year to 147p.

A superficial analysis would suggest that the fall in the share price is strange. After all, cybersecurity is supposed to be an area due to see rapid growth. A slightly more detailed look at the company reveals the reasons — many of its customers are struggling, and this will hit sales. Look deeper still, and the initial analysis looks about right.

Cybersecurity set to explode 

To describe cyber as an area likely to see rapid growth is like describing the sun as a region of our solar system where it is quite hot.

Cyber isn’t merely set to grow fast, business activity in this area will explode.

It was The Economist that said “data is the new oil,” and it was right. PwC projects that AI will contribute $15.7tn a year to the global economy by 2030. Data is to AI, what oil is to the internal combustion engine. It makes AI possible. However, the more data we use, the greater is the risk presented by cybersecurity.

Covid-19 and cyber 

I wonder whether the markets have understood the implications of the Covid-19 crisis and associated lockdowns in all of this. We have seen an acceleration in the move to digital. 

Post-Covid-19, I expect remote working to stay. The so-called Zoom economy is not going away, and this, in turn, creates a massive cybersecurity challenge. With employees working away from their offices, maybe accessing the internet via a router applying default passwords, the risks of data breaches grows enormously.

I expect the data economy to grow exponentially, and the risks of data breaches and need for robust cybersecurity to grow at a similar pace. Shares in companies that can offer expertise in this area may not necessarily increase exponentially, but I do expect them to increase pretty fast.

NCC has expertise in abundance. It is, by the way, working with the NHS and supporting its use of data from contact tracing apps. 

I think the fact that the NCC share price has fallen so far this year illustrates how the markets have not cottoned on to how the world is changing.

The lower share price means its P/E ratio has fallen from the giddy heights seen earlier in the year, while the dividend yield looks a lot more attractive — even if it takes a one-off knock this year, which I think is a distinct possibility.

NCC Group is due to provide a trading update following the end of its financial year to 30 May 2020 on 23 June. I, for one, am looking forward to it. As for the shares, I think they look tempting.

The post Why aren’t more investors talking about investing in this British cybersecurity company? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Michael Baxter has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK owns shares of NCC. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

I admit, until a few days ago I was puzzled. Why had stocks performed so well since the March crash? Back in February, I felt that the markets were failing to price in the likely impact of Covid-19. Then, soon after they finally realised Covid wasn’t just a problem in other countries, they failed to price in the likelihood of a second wave of the virus.

Second wave

The Spanish Flu of 1918–1920 came in three waves. The second claimed the most lives. Yet the markets seemed to dismiss the danger. It was like they were saying ‘that was the past, now is different’. Then news broke that Iran was experiencing a second wave, but they seemed to say ‘Iran is different’.

Yesterday stock markets finally plummeted. In California, Texas, and Florida, new infections look to be in danger of growing exponentially again. Until yesterday, markets seemed to be ignoring this harsh reality. If we don’t see a second wave of Covid-19, I will be delighted, but surprised. 

That is why I do not expect any return to normality soon. Markets, by contrast, had been behaving as if normality was around the corner.

I know it is a cliché to talk about a new normal, but that is what we are going to get. I want to make a prediction concerning a new cliché for the next six months – the Zoom economy. By the end of this year, we will all be fed up with hearing about the Zoom economy.

Tech investment in the year of the Zoom economy 

Remote working is here, and across the world, people are discovering it’s not so bad. The new Zoom economy will see productivity finally grow at pre-2008 rates. There will be a hollowing out in city centres, automation will accelerate, output will recover reasonably quickly, but jobs won’t.

Yet in one respect, markets have got it right. In one respect, super-higher valuations are justified. I refer to technology stocks. Tech investment has been a winning strategy these last few months, and there is a good reason for that.

Whatever cliché you want to use to describe the post-Covid economy: new normal, Zoom economy, or something else, the companies that thrive will be those which provide the technology for this age. Cloud providers, smartphone companies, producers of apps, telemedicine firms, cybersecurity businesses, AI specialists, and companies that support digitisation will become the quality stocks post-Covid.

In times of trouble, we often see a flight to quality. I think that in the new normal, quality will be tech, and tech investment will be the best investment strategy.

The post Why I think tech investment will be best in ‘new normal’ stock markets appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Should the oil price recover, I would expect shares in BP and Royal Dutch Shell to recover too. But there’s a catch. I only expect this recovery to be short-lived and to be volatile long into the future. 

Oil price, what next?

Predicting what the oil price will do in the short run is a mug’s game. But I do think that in the medium term, let’s say over the next half a decade, the price will go up. Yet longer term, I have my doubts.

The oil cycle moves slowly. When the oil price is high, we gradually change habits. As our car ages, we may replace it with a more fuel-efficient model. Simultaneously, we may insulate our loft or buy solar panels. Industry will change habits too, but slowly. As for oil supply, under these conditions, the oil industry typically invests more in exploration.

Human nature being what it is, a narrative then emerges that the elevated levels of that period will become permanent. However, as a consequence of the slow changes I described above, eventually oil supply rises just as oil demand falls. The price then crashes.

When oil is cheap, we see the reverse conditions occurring, gradual changes in demand and supply happen, until the oil price increases.

These slow-moving changes in demand and supply is why we have an oil market cycle.

Post-Covid

Once the Covid-19 crisis finally ends, there will still be a massive oil inventory. I expect the economy to recover slowly, but eventually, demand for oil will rise and the oil inventory will disappear.

For that reason I expect the oil price to surge again later this decade. In theory, shares in oil companies will recover at that point, perhaps a little before.

The end of the cycle

I also suspect that cheap oil will slow the advance of renewable energies and electric vehicles. But I don’t expect this to be significant. The economics of electric vehicles are becoming ever more compelling, not least because they have fewer moving parts and can be cheaper to maintain. The cost per unit of energy of renewables is constantly falling, as is energy storage costs.

And let’s not forget the one extremely important factor missing from the above narrative — climate change.

Just as the world has reacted to the threat posed by Covid-19 with a lockdown, irrespective of the economic costs, I suspect that in the second half of this decade, when the reality of the true costs of climate change finally sink in, we will rapidly move away from oil, and adopt alternatives regardless of the costs.

Fortunately, by then I expect the cost of energy generated by renewables to be so cheap that the economic damage caused by a switch away from oil will be modest.

Oil companies will be hit hard by this move away from their core product. I still think the oil giants looks interesting as they’re investing in oil alternatives. But I’d need to see more proof of how these investments will boost their businesses before I buy.

The post Is it a good time to invest in oil companies? I think long-term investors should look elsewhere appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Michael Baxter has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

In these difficult times, it’s hard to get business done. That even applies to companies providing services that could support companies during the lockdown. AIM-listed Blue Prism (LSE:PRSM) is a case in point.

Robotics process automation, or RPA, doesn’t have an awful lot to do with robots, not in the traditional sense. Rather RPA is about software automation. It’s about automating processes, applying what the industry calls digital workers — which is actually a specific type of code — to carry out the repeatable, well-defined, but mind-numbingly boring tasks that are vital to many large corporations. It is sometimes called business intelligent automation.

I believe that in the post-Covid-19 world, we will see an acceleration in companies adopting digital technologies including RPA.

RPA and the lockdown 

But actually, even during the crisis, RPA is in high demand from organisations battling the virus.

For example, Blue Prism technology is being used by the NHS to automate a dashboard that provides information on essential data enabling NHS staff to monitor patients.

Blue Prism has also launched a Covid-19 response programme, applying digital workers to support business critical operations.

Despite this, Blue Prism shares have taken a hammering. They have dropped around 33% from the year’s high and are less than half the all-time high share price set in 2018.

It does appear that the company, like most businesses, has suffered during the lockdown. It is, after all, difficult to sell to staff who are on furlough.

The company has responded with a couple of developments that may concern some shareholders.

Fundraising

First, it has raised £100m from existing and new investors. Second, a few days ago, founder Alastair Bathgate announced he was stepping down as CEO after 18 years at the helm. Executive chair Jason Kingdon is taking over as the new CEO.

I know that some might see this as a bad sign. In fact, in the area Blue Prism operates in, its funding to date has been quite modest, perhaps too modest. Its two main rivals, UiPath and Automation Anywhere, have raised far more in the past. It is even possible that Blue Prism has used the Covid-19 crisis to justify a fund raising that it might have needed anyway.   

The company stated that the money raised will help boost “balance sheet strength in case of prolonged disruption during the period of uncertainty relating to the Covid-19 pandemic“. It also expects the money to support the company’s efforts to reach a cash flow break-even point. 

Armed with this substantial cash buffer, I think that Blue Prism is well placed to start expanding. After this crisis, we will see an acceleration in the number of companies adopting automation technologies. I think Blue Prism shares will recover the losses seen this year and may well surpass the 2018 peak.

The post I think shares in this AIM-listed robotics process automation company could soar appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Michael Baxter has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

If there is one business activity that public opinion doesn’t like right now, it’s profiteering. Happily, this is not what GlaxoSmithKlin is doing.

I think GlaxoSmithKline shares look tempting. Not specifically because GSK may help us defeat the virus, but because of what this announcement tells us about the company.

CEO Emma Walmsley has said the company won’t profit from any resulting vaccine during the pandemic. Instead it would use the revenue to fund a ramp-up in manufacturing.

This tells us the company is well placed for the world that will emerge once this crisis is finally over.

The deal

The arrangement entails combining the Sanofi’s DNA technology, which it uses to manufacture flu vaccines, with GSK’s expertise in adjuvant technology. This technology leads to a much stronger immune system reaction, creating more antibodies.

The adjuvant technology means a much lower dosage is required for a vaccine to be effective. As a result, vaccine production can be increased more rapidly.

It is extremely unusual for pharmaceutical companies to collaborate in this way. Walmsley called it “unprecedented“. She also referred to the remarkable speed with which the two companies plan to mass produce a vaccine. They expect the vaccine to be available in the second half of next year. It normally takes many years, even as long as a decade, to be able to mass produce a new vaccine.

That’s modern technology for you. If the Covid-19 pandemic had occurred a few years ago, there would have been no hope of developing a vaccine so fast.

Post Covid-19

I believe that once this crisis is finally at an end, the world will seem like a different place with very different priorities.

There will also be much greater awareness of the dangers from disease. Covid-19 is the third major coronavirus this century. The pressures created by climate change and over-population is some regions means there will probably be more.

Furthermore, with antibiotics losing their effectiveness, I expect to see renewed efforts to develop new antibiotics. GlaxoSmithKline is proving that its outstanding expertise will be invaluable in this new era.

Foolish bottom line

Glaxo’s share price has fallen around 14% from this year’s peak price. In general, I think the markets are underestimating the long-term economic effects of this crisis. GlaxoSmithKline, however, is one of the few companies that I think is well poised for the post Covid-19 era. Recent falls in the share price push its forward price-to-earnings ratio down to around 13. At the current share price, forecast dividends are 5.3%. However, I don’t think the share price is reflective of this upside potential.

The post GlaxoSmithKline teams up with Sanofi for a Covid-19 vaccine. Are its shares worth considering? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Michael Baxter has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK owns shares of and has recommended GlaxoSmithKline. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

It is important to remember that stock market crashes create buying opportunities. There are, however, aspects to this crisis that are quite unique. Many companies will go bust. Yes, buying opportunities will be created, but tread with care. Just because a company is cheap, it doesn’t mean it’s a bargain. It may be cheap because it is struggling to survive. I also happen to think that this crisis has a lot longer to go. We are nowhere near the bottom yet.

Here are three things I think that an investor can do during this particular stock market crash. 

Acceleration of digital

First, l think the Covid-19 crisis will see an acceleration in the move towards digital. Remote working has increased enormously for obvious reasons. I feel that many companies, when this crisis is finally over, will want to continue encouraging some remote working as much as possible.

That means companies that provide technology that supports remote working will flourish. This trend will be good for cybersecurity companies such as Sophos. And BT Group is becoming a major player in cyber security too.

But be careful as we are already seeing reports of a reaction against some digital services because of concerns regarding inadequate cybersecurity and privacy safeguards.

Asset Diversification

Secondly, remember that some assets can perform quite well in times of uncertainty. Ask yourself what funds do with their cash when they sell equities. They will often buy low-risk or safe-harbour assets such as government bonds or some ultra-safe corporate bonds. As a general rule, such bonds often increase in price when equity prices fall. I am not suggesting put all your money into these assets, but you could think of investing some of it this way. 

Patience

Finally, be patient. Remember what Warren Buffett said: “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”

I think that right now, investors are worrying that they might miss out on a market recovery.

History, tells us that markets fall rapidly and recover slowly. Predicting the point when markets have reached bottom is impossible unless you have a time machine!

Assuming you do not have such a device, you can limit your downside risk by drip-feeding your money into stocks. I would say there is some seriously bad news on the global economy to come. Until then, pick your investments with even more care than normal. 

And a saying

I will finish today with a saying. The time to buy is when all but the most bullish of investors have become bears. The time to sell is when all but the most bearish of investors have become bulls. For my money, there are far too many bulls around to rush back in indiscriminately. But there are also some solid companies with strong recovery prospects trading at attractive prices. 

The post 3 things investors can do during a stock market crash appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Michael Baxter has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

I really don’t get the logic behind the rally. I think the markets are being hopelessly optimistic.

Imperial reports 

Why do I think that? Let me cite as evidence a report from Imperial College, led by Professor Neil Ferguson (not to be confused with famous economic historian Niall Ferguson). This report, published in mid-March, prompted a change of strategy by UK and US governments. Professor Ferguson and his team looked at the experience of the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918–1920. They warned there would be a disastrous second wave of infections unless governments implemented social distancing measures.

The report also predicted a series of mini spikes in the coronavirus infection rate.

Spikes in the curve tracking infections 

We are all now familiar with the phrase ‘flatten the curve’. In the Imperial model, once the number of reported admissions to an area’s ICUs falls below a certain level, social distancing measures can be relaxed. At that point, we can all go back to something approaching normal. Full normality will not be restored for a long time. Until there is a vaccine, any return to work will be accompanied by extensive testing and surveillance.   

The reality of exponential growth

I imagine that if it has achieved nothing else, this crisis has rammed home the true implications of exponential growth. I think the markets failed to grasp this in the early days of the crisis. When the penny finally dropped, they suddenly went into a panic.

Until there is a vaccine — which could be a year to 18 months away – there is a risk the virus will start spreading exponentially again.

Mini spikes

The Imperial model assumes that if ICU admissions start to pick up again, then social distancing measures will be imposed again. In other words, social distancing will be like a tap — something you turn on and off. This means the curve that indicates infections includes a series of spikes. The idea is to ensure the spikes are not too high, which is why I call them mini spikes. 

We might see a month of relative normality followed by two months of lockdowns — or at least semi-lockdowns.

Investor options

A partial return to normality from time to time will be better than just one continued, uninterrupted lockdown. However, I think the scenario I have just described would still be disastrous for the economy. The markets are yet to price this possible scenario in.

What can investors do? They can look at investing in companies that provide digital services and that may benefit from an acceleration in the take-up of digital technology. They can invest in assets types that tend to do well in a recession, such as government bonds. Or they can wait this one out.

The post Are markets near bottom? Watch out for mini spikes appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Views expressed in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

The turnaround has been 12 years in the making, but I think that banks have finally won back the public’s trust – mostly. 

But what about investing in banks? What about shares in HSBC Holdings or Lloyds Banking Group, for example? What about Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland Group shares? Have they become more attractive too?

The share prices

Most of the banks have suffered especially acute falls in their share price this year.

The FTSE 100 has fallen by just over a quarter since the beginning of the year, but shares in Lloyds, on the other hand, have halved. It has been a similar story with Barclays  shares, while the RBS share price has more than halved — from 244p to 114p.  For HSBC shares it’s been tough but not quite so bad. Its shares have fallen by slightly less than a quarter.

At face value that feels almost ironic. Shares in the bank that is famous for its links with China has performed much more strongly than the more UK-centric banks. But if you look a little more carefully at HSBC shares compared with shares in Lloyds, Barclays, and RBS, you will see a slight difference in timing. The HSBC share price started to fall a little sooner and has seen a mild recovery, roughly coinciding with with signs that the Covid-19 virus was spreading less quickly in China.

Lower share price means higher dividends 

The recent falls in shares pertaining to the four banks has meant the yield has improved — assuming that dividends are maintained. The HSBC dividend yield is now just under 9%. Lloyds dividends are over 10%. RBS dividends are lower at just under 4%, but then the bank has only recently started paying dividends. The Barclays dividend yield sits roughly between the HSBC and Lloyds yield.

With interest rates so low, I would be tempted to say these yields are very attractive.

There is one big question mark hovering, however. Will dividends be maintained?

We just don’t know how weak the economy will be in the post-Covid-19 era. Suppose house prices crash. A significant part of Lloyds’ revenue is from mortgage lending, so how would falling house prices affect it?

Then there is the possibility of a debt bubble. If the economy falls into some kind of depression, might indebted households default in big numbers?

On the other hand, partly thanks to international regulations imposed to reduce banks’ vulnerability in the event of another financial crash, banks have much stronger balance sheets today compared to 2008.

I hate to tempt fate by saying this, but I think that the banks are highly unlikely to need a bailout this time around.

We will always need banks, and after certain teething problems, they have all learned how to adopt digital technology. I think that shares in HSBC, Lloyds, and Barclays are appealing, right now. As for RBS shares, I am not so sure — this crisis is not good timing.

The post Investing in the Covid-19 era – I think bank shares are looking attractive appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Michael Baxter has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Barclays, HSBC Holdings, and Lloyds Banking Group. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.