RR and AM are two interesting plays, but i donāt know enough about the sector to invest in either.
RR are an interesting proposition as this current environment has hopefully been the wake up call that many āold style never failā company boards are recognising the reality we live in is changing at an ever increasing pace and the need to diversify revenue flows.
There is talks about RR starting to build mini power plants, if that happens to a reasonable scale, we all know where thatās going.
Right now to me, greener energy, low power CPUās, and distribution companies are where itās at.
They have taken out high rate bonds that I agree with everything else is based on the increase in ownership by mercedes, the new management takeover (again by mercedes) and Aston Martins incorporation into the current red bull F1 team under Aston Martin branding. Couple that with the recent Aston Martin win in the GT fia world championship this year the upcoming sales of the new dbx plus orders for the new supercars and then James Bond film released next year whats not to like!!! ASTON MARTIN will also be sharing pace car duties with mercedes for next years F1 if thatās not showing brand confidence Iām not sure what will.
Remember when volkswagon audi group took over a sinking Porsche? This is history repeating itself with mercedes at the helm.
I keep repeating it but all of mercedes new hybrid and EV powertrains at theyāre disposal? Thatās 10 years of evolution with no time invested
Iām not sure that Iād describe Mercedes being at the helm with an 11.8% holding (potentially 20%). Lawrence Stroll is the majority shareholder and therefore heās been happy to pour cash in to align with his sonās F1 interests.
The brand is strong to a degree but the fundamental problems are more difficult ie R&D costs, lack of capacity vs profitability vs having to lay off part of the workforce. It will be a difficult turnaround.
ASTON MARTIN is being run (led) by ex mercedes AMG boss Tobias Moers I think thatās pretty close to being run/led at the helm of MERCEDES or is that just a coincidence?
Lawrence Stroll bought Aston Martin just for F1? Didnāt he already own half of racing point beforehand? Surely if he bought Aston Martin just for the name to go on the F1 car then thats even better news!
This is fake news Aston Martin already have access to Mercedes own drive trains so why would they wait 6 years to draw down on the deal? The dbx has been built specifically to house the new electric unit and now Mercedes has done all the tech work they have one to put in. All Aston Martin have said is the all electric logonda project has been postponed due to costs (hardly surprising really) this does not mean they wonāt release an ev for 6 years.
Just to note Ferrari have also said they will not be making an all electric car until after 2025 but that didnāt make it into the news report? Fake news
AM went through several bankruptcies so itās not far fetched to go bankrupt again. Also George Soros has been shorting it for a whileā¦ Considering the Brexit, if there is no deal I would say AM is toast for sure. AMās only āway outā would be an acquisition.
Even though I think that AM have serious issues, for as long as Lawrence Stroll is interested then I wouldnāt worry about them going bankrupt (he acquired large chunks of the shares earlier this year).
Even six months after your initial postā¦ I think Aston Martin is still being overlooked. Keep hold of those shares, not going to be overnight, but even if buy at around 20ukp, I think we will easily more than double our money.
I wouldnāt touch Aston Martin with a bargepole. I think Iām right in saying it has gone bust something like six or seven times. More generally, Iād also agree with Terry Smith about the economics of the car industry, which he spoke about at Fundsmithās 2021 annual meeting:
Little off topic, but as a new investor I havenāt heard of Fundsmith. Is this fund popular? Proās vs Cons?
Currently my main fund is SMT. Other than that I am investing in individual companies.
Edit* watching this video longer heās not a fan of Crypto. āThe certanty of value on it changes by the hour and its not investing in his mindā which is very true.
Itās among the UKās most popular funds. It has over Ā£20bn under management, which is more than SMT even. Itās an OEIC though, so wonāt be available on T212 anytime soon. That said, you can create a pie to replicate the fund fairly easily.
Main con would probably be the ongoing cost, itās relatively expensive at going on 1%. In terms of pros, the āour valuesā section of the fundās factsheet sums it up nicely:
