Liontrust's Cross: Why I am avoiding UK domestics

Anthony Cross' bearish views on retail banks and UK consumer-facing stocks are driving returns on the Liontrust Special Situations fund, which has seen assets grow from £13m last June to £131m.

Cross said Liontrust funds follow a strict process of finding companies with strong distribution networks, intellectual property and high recurring income. Both retail banks and UK consumer companies have failed to meet this criteria, he said. "These two areas in the market have been having a tough time in terms of share price performance. "We have always struggled with general retail because they do not have what we look for. Whereas with banks, you could take the view some of them have a distribution network. But it is not translating through to strong and consistent financial re...