'Avengers: Endgame' boosts Young's AXA Framlington Blue Chip Equity Income fund

Rising popularity of video games and comic books thanked for performance

Portfolio manager Simon Young said the growth in popularity of comic book franchises such as Avengers has helped boost the fortunes of one of his more prominent additions to the AXA Framlington Blue Chip Equity Income portfolio.

Since taking on the fund last November, Young has added Nottingham-based Games Workshop - now a top ten position in the £79m unit trust at 3.9% - as a clear example of a company with strong intellectual property (IP).  He said last year one of Games Workshop's leading franchises, Warhammer, received 18 million page views on its YouTube channel and bucked the trend for retail decline by investing in design, manufacturing, its online presence and multiple facets of brand capital.  More than three-quarters of the business' 2018 sales came from outside the UK, with the US, Germany and Aus...