Monthly Investment Briefing: Business As Usual

June 2026 Investment Commentary

June 2026 was a month of significant geopolitical and domestic political development. A late June diplomatic breakthrough between the US and Iran produced a 14-point framework agreement that initiated the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of Iranian oil exports under waiver. Brent crude, which had approached $120 per barrel earlier in the quarter, retreated sharply as the energy risk premium unwound, settling back to around $72.

Simultaneously, Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned on 22 June, just four days after Andy Burnham’s return to Westminster via the Makerfield by-election. With Labour leadership nominations opening in July and Burnham the strong favourite, his devolution-leaning “Manchesterism” platform has introduced fresh uncertainty into gilt markets, and Downing Street has at the time of writing frozen new policy and spending commitments pending a successor. Equity markets responded positively to the Hormuz de-escalation, with technology and AI-related names continuing to lead, while the UK political transition added a layer of domestic complexity that we are monitoring closely.

Portfolio Activity

Portfolio activity in June focused on rotating out of positions that had achieved or exceeded their price targets and deploying proceeds into new holdings aligned with our core investment themes.

• Beazley (sold): We sold our holding in Beazley following the announcement of a takeover by Zurich, realising gains and freeing capital for redeployment into our preferred insurance exposure.
• CrowdStrike (partial sale): We trimmed our CrowdStrike position following an exceptionally strong run, banking profits and rebalancing the holding back towards its target weighting.
• Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (partial sale): We took further profits in Mitsubishi Gas Chemical after continued strong performance driven by AI-related semiconductor materials demand, maintaining a position in the stock whilst reducing concentration.
• Allianz (purchased): We initiated a position in Allianz, adding European insurance exposure with attractive defensive income characteristics as a direct replacement for Beazley within the financials allocation.
• RTX Corporation (purchased): We added RTX Corporation following a sector pullback, increasing exposure to the Divided World theme through US defence and aerospace at an attractive entry point.
• Wheaton Precious Metals (purchased): We initiated a position in Wheaton Precious Metals, adding exposure to gold, silver and critical transition metals via a high-quality streaming model after recent weakness in the gold price created a compelling long term entry level.
• Royal London Money Market Fund (partial redemption): We redeemed a portion of the Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund, deploying liquidity held since our Q3 2025 defensiveness raise to help fund the new purchases at attractive valuations during a period of continued market volatility.

Portfolio Positioning

We enter July 2026 with portfolios remaining just short of our equity targets and some liquidity available for any future volatility. Fresh UK political uncertainty and a still-elevated bond yield environment mean we remain selective, continuing to deploy capital thoughtfully into our highest-conviction thematic positions as opportunities arise.

Will de Baer-Investment Director