(The Telegraph) - Investors are shifting their money out of America and into Europe following the outbreak of Donald Trump’s trade war, according to the boss of one of the City’s leading stockbrokers.
Steven Fine, the chief executive of Peel Hunt, said spooked traders had pulled an “awful lot of money” from US markets in recent months, primarily because of the president’s “liberation day” tariff blitz.
This has led to a greater degree of interest in the UK, he added.
He said: “When you’re investing all your money domestically and someone can literally turn around unilaterally and say ‘Right, we’re not doing that any more’, it’s like ‘Oh my God, what does that mean?’”
This shift in investor sentiment marks a significant turnaround as almost $24 trillion has been pumped into US assets since 2010, according to Peel Hunt.
Mr Fine said the chaos unleashed by Mr Trump had “predicated a concern that excessive concentration in a single jurisdiction might not necessarily be the best thing”.
Kallum Pickering, Peel Hunt’s chief economist, also pointed to the weaker dollar as an example of how investor money is shifting away from the US.
The dollar has fallen nearly 8pc against the pound since the turn of the year and has slumped by nearly 11pc versus the euro in that time.
Mr Fine said: “You think about the return of the S&P 500 over the last five years and you think, where do you want to put your money for the next five years? Suddenly [liberation day] happens, and it’s like ‘Ah, maybe it’s not quite as [attractive].”
However, Peel Hunt warned of the negative impact of tariffs on dealmaking in the City, particularly as the stockbroker is already battling a dearth of listings on the London Stock Exchange.
The company said there have been “historically low” levels of activity in UK stock markets over the last year.
This led to Peel Hunt posting pre-tax losses of £3.5m for the year to the end of March, compared to a £3.3m loss the year before.
However, revenues rose by 6pc to hit £91.3m.
One of its highlights for the year was advising on the deal to list French TV and film giant Canal+ in London in December.
Mr Fine said: “Ongoing uncertainty continued to weigh on equity capital markets activity during the period, driven by geopolitical risks, elections, stagflation fears and US trade tariffs.
“Our diversified offering meant we were able to support clients through these changing market conditions.”
By Chris Price
