Hopefully 2017 will set the stage for the return of value investing. My comfort zone is furnished with a sense of what constitutes good management, insight into economic trends, a grasp of the business cycle and discipline under pressure.
2016 was characterised by violent market movements due to one off events, monetary intervention and political bombshells. Not the ideal playground for anyone trying to make sense of things.
In the meantime, I take comfort in evidence that holding on to good companies does pay off, that demand and supply are still relevant and that whatever the policy, the market always has the final say.
The following list includes three best performers in the EU, the UK and the US. The list highlights comeback stories, European technology and the return of the mining industry.
Europe – Euro STOXX 50
Adidas AG – 62% A German multinational corporation, headquartered in Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second biggest in the world.
ASML Holding NV – 29% A Dutch company and currently the largest supplier in the world of photolithography systems for the semiconductor industry. The company manufactures machines for the production of integrated circuits (ICs), such as CPUs, DRAM memory, flash memory.
Siemens AG – 28.8% A German conglomerate company headquartered in Berlin and Munich and the largest manufacturing and electronics company in Europe. The company is a prominent maker of medical diagnostics equipment and industrial automation.
UK – FTSE 100
Anglo American PLC – 289% A multinational mining company based in Johannesburg, South Africa and London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and metallurgical and thermal coal. The company has operations in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America
Glencore PLC – 208% An Anglo–Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. The current company was created through a merger of Glencore with Xstrata on 2 May 2013. As of 2015, it ranked tenth in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies. It is the world's third-largest family business.
BHP Billiton PLC – 72% An Anglo-Australian multinational mining, metals and petroleum company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. It is the world's largest mining company measured by 2015 market values and Australia's fourth largest company (by revenue), formerly the largest.
US - S&P 500
Nvidia Corp – 256% An American technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia designs graphics processing units (GPUs) for the gaming market, as well as system on a chip units (SOCs) for the mobile computing and automotive market. Nvidia's primary GPU product line is the "GeForce" line of gaming video cards. Nvidia expanded its presence in the gaming industry with its handheld SHIELD Portable, SHIELD Tablet, and SHIELD Android TV
Oneok Inc – 140% A diversified Fortune 200 corporation based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. ONEOK's Energy Services operation focuses primarily on marketing natural gas and related services throughout the U.S. Energy Services, which derives more than 84 percent of its earnings from the physical marketing business
Freeport-McMoran Inc - 103% A mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Freeport is the largest copper and molybdenum producer in the world.
This article was issued by Antoine Briffa, Investment Manager at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt . The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice.