Opinion

CONTRARIAN

John Bellows, an investment strategy analyst at Legg Mason's fixed income subsidiary Western Asset Management, explains why fiscal policy is holding back corporate confidence in the US, and discusses the impact of the fiscal cliff on bond markets.

M&G Bond Vigilante Anthony Doyle presents five charts, each "more scary than the last".

US FISCAL CLIFF

One of the key positive aspects of equity investment is that you can buy and sell stakes in small and larger companies, safe in the knowledge prospective and existing owners of a business are being treated equally.

A client recently inquired why we still hold Avon Products considering the terrible time the company and its shareholders have experienced.

What should we do about Russia as an investment opportunity? Until recently, I have been incredibly negative about Russian equities, but I have largely been happy to let the numbers speak for themselves.

How long have you been in the industry? Five years, ten, 20?

If you pore over past performance figures, you will be told that long-term investment in shares works.

Let us talk contrarian investing, Mundy-style. Alastair's new book You say Tomayto: Contrarian Investing in Bitesize Pieces from Harriman House is an essential collection of succinct and witty observations about the mad world of investing.