Falling knives or buying opportunity? Hallett stands by ASOS and eyes Tesco

Marlborough's Richard Hallett has pointed to retailers ASOS and Tesco, two of the worst performing UK-listed stocks this year, as potential turnaround stories.

Hallett, who runs the £81m Marlborough UK Multi-Cap Growth fund, has added to his position in ASOS following the firm’s three profit warnings this year, increasing his portfolio weighting from 1.5% to 2.5%. The AIM-listed online retailer has been hit by strong sterling, a warehouse fire, and a shift in investor sentiment after the share price soared in its early years. Analysts at Liberum, for example, have described the 14-year-old company as a “difficult teenager”.   Hallett said: “The profit warnings have been disastrous for the shares, but the problems are fixable. It will be vola...