Fidelity's Alex Wright: People have misunderstood OMV Russia exposure

'Sentiment is overly pessimistic'

Fidelity’s Alex Wright said his call to move some of his Shell positioning over to the oil & gas group OMV “proved rewarding” as investors “misunderstood” the latter’s exposure to Russia.

Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine almost exactly four months ago caused a wealth of managers to shift portfolio positions out of stocks with exposure to the invading territory. Wright said that although Shell and OMV have similar Russia revenue exposure, equivalent to 3-4% of profits, the latter's share price was punished for this whereas Shell's has "risen strongly". But for Wright, whose Fidelity Special Values PLC and Fidelity Special Situations portfolios have an explicitly value style, seeking out attractive companies at a marked discount, this proved to be an opportunity. ...