US investors must focus on world-leading brands

ON NORTH AMERICA

Investors in US markets have had much to consider lately. But with crisis comes opportunity, especially for bottom-up stockpickers who are able to screen out the macroeconomic ‘noise' and focus on specific companies. And there is no shortage of opportunities in the huge variety of companies quoted on the US equity market.

For individual companies, the news has not been all bad. The macro outlook may be bleak, but the recent earnings season was good. In general, investors in the US market should focus on companies with global, rather than domestic, exposure. But in a market as rich and varied as the US, there are plenty of stock-specific examples that buck the overall trends. Although consumers may be generally tightening their belts, some luxury-goods firms will shrug this off, as their well-heeled customers are less affected by the economic climate. And of course there will be beneficiaries of belt-ti...