NAV gain of 21.4% compared with 16% loss in FTSE Small Cap indexValue investing mindset with concentrated portfolio approachUK small caps trading at deep discountSmall cap investing hasn't been easy of late with the FTSE Small Cap (ex investment trusts) index down 15.7% over the year to 31 March 2023.But small cap investment specialist Rockwood Strategic (RKW) delivered an increase in total...

After the excitement surrounding hydrogen as a route to lowering global emissions, a message reinforced at the COP 26 climate summit, the poor performance of hydrogen investments over the last year is something of a surprise.Research by analysts at Liberum shows that over the 12 months to mid-January, the average return for fuel cell and electrolyser companies has been a loss of around 60% of...

UK stocks continued their positive run on Tuesday after official figures showed payrolls surged by almost 200,000 in April, the fourth consecutive monthly rise and the biggest rise on record, as companies rushed to hire.The headline jobless rate fell to 4.7%, the lowest since last August, as firms chased workers and the government was able to reduce furlough payments. At the peak last May, the...

UK shares started Wednesday on the back foot with investors still wary of climbing Covid-19 cases in Europe and elsewhere, while bracing for a key update on the state of the US economy from the Fed on Thursday.9.30am, the benchmark FTSE 100 was down 0.15% at 6,027.96, although mid-caps were firmer. The FTSE 250 added 0.35% to 17,638.75.LOW BAR BEAT SURPRISESubprime lender Provident Financial...

The small cap universe, and its somewhat erratic liquidity, regularly throws up valuation anomalies. Favoured stocks can see their share prices pushed ever higher to potentially unsustainable levels and the unloved find it increasingly hard to attract any interest, whatever the perceived valuation attractions.The following small caps offer food for thought in this respect, with dramatically...

London shares lose early momentum as investor confidence ebbs away despite a string of positive corporate earnings announcements. The FTSE 100 index reverses initial modest gains to slide around 20 points, or 0.3%, lower to 6,275, although smaller companies manage to buck the weak trend, just, the FTSE Small Cap index nudging 0.1% up at 4,611.Credit bureau Experian (EXPN) tops the Footsie...

London shares are firmly southbound as investors fret over further Greece debt talks and ahead of the Bank of England's midday announcement, when the BoE is expected to retain its key interest rate and quantitative easing programme. Resources, insurers and retail were notable fallers, although it is electricity grid Supplier National Grid (NG.) that heads the Footsie loser board, off more than...

UK stocks hit the skids for the second session straight on Thursday as euro land economic issues, a new oil slump and mixed corporate updates leave investors cold. London's blue-chip FTSE 100 index nudges 32 points, or 0.4%, lower to 6,828, having hit 6,871.80 on Tuesday, its highest close since early September 2014.Midcaps manage a softer slide, the FTSE 250 around 33 points off at 16,539. UK...

Latham (James) (LTHM:AIM) 577.5pSheet and hardwood supplier Latham has been consistently profitable for the past 10 years, more than doubling operating profit in the same period. The Hemel Hempstead-based company is expected to grow earnings per share 19% to 39.5p this year.Leaf Clean Energy (LEAF:AIM) 34pRenewable energy investor Leaf Clean is a closed-end fund in run-off. At a meeting in...

Specialist engineer Pressure Technologies (PRES:AIM) looks like running out of steam. Since we last featured the Sheffield-based ompany in the Small Caps section (see Shares, 19 Dec ?13) the stock has advanced 65% on a series of earnings upgrades.House broker Charles Stanley?s forecast for the financial year ending September 2016 has more than doubled since the start of 2014 from £5.6 million...