The chief executive of James Henderson – a British-American global asset management group headquartered in London – Ali Dibadj, has said international investors are “starting to take notice” of investment opportunities in the UK, adding to the growing chorus of senior finance executives who are bullish about British assets.
The company offers a range of financial products to individuals, intermediary advisors and institutional investors globally, under the trade name Janus Henderson – the groups holding company.
“There is an enormous opportunity, not just for investors to invest in the UK, but to open up the UK to investors around the world.” Dibadj said. “The UK has a stable political backdrop and has solid foundations for growth – a UK consumer that is in real wage growth and has built up savings since covid, businesses that have been conservative in their borrowings, and banks that have re-built their balance sheets since the global financial crisis.”
Dibadj, who joined Janus Henderson in 2022 from Alliance Bernstein, added that a likely lower interest rate environment in the UK and a stock market that trades at a “significant valuation discount” to those elsewhere in the world were among other reasons to be optimistic.
“A stable political backdrop and a modestly growing economy at a very reasonable valuation is a solid place to be,” said the 50-year-old. “International investors are starting to take notice and there has been an uptick in inflows to UK equities from overseas.”
UK-focused funds have posted considerable outflows following Brexit and several bouts of political upheaval, but the pace of withdrawals has slowed in recent months.
Data from Calastone showed net outflows of £449m from UK equity funds in May were down to half the monthly average for the past three years. However, equity funds have only recorded one month of positive flows in the past four years.
New York-based Dibadj is the latest high-profile investment executive to single out potential investment opportunities in the UK. In May, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told The Times that the world’s largest asset manager had been increasing investment in “undervalued” UK assets.
Fink said the $11.6m asset manager had added to its UK positions “across the board” and claimed some of the negativity shown towards British companies “was probably not warranted.”
“I have more confidence in the UK economy today than I did a year ago,” Fink said. The 72-year-old pointed to the growth agenda fostered by the UK government. He highlighted in particular that the Competition and Markets Authority has sped up its decision-making.
“I don’t know what’s changed it but it’s a good change,” Fink said.
JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon also recently backed the government’s approach. He told Financial Times in April that “there’s much to like” about Labour’s pro-growth agenda. Other investment leaders are pointing to renewed interest in European assets amid uncertainty following the introduction of trade tariffs by US president Donald Trump.
Growth minded: Dibadj praised the UK government for “real conviction” in pushing through market reforms that aim to spur growth and investment, such as the recent Mansion House Accord.
This saw several of the UK’s largest pension providers commit to allocating at least 10 per cent of their defined contribution assets to private markets by 2030. At least half of those asset will go to investments in the UK.
“There is a growth-minded government that has shown it will take action, a catalyst to kick start investment,” said Dibadj. “That, combined with the opportunity that existing valuations present, are what makes the UK such an attractive proposition moving forward.”
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