Noble-Nesbitt on the prospects for UK equities

UK GROWTH

The past six months has been a difficult time for equities exposed to the UK economy.

Significant gains in general equity indices mask a clear divergence between the stronger performance of overseas earners and the weaker performance of domestic earners. Fears over the UK public sector deficit, levels of overall debt, future tax increases and a hung parliament are the simple reasons for this. That said, there are over 1,500 smaller-company equities listed in the UK (Hoare Govett Smaller Companies Excluding Investment Trusts plus AIM). Each one of these businesses has its own story, each is affected by the economic climate in a different way and each has its own valuati...