Equities still offer interesting valuation opportunities - Alister Hibbert's European view

2016 has proved a very challenging year for active fund management. Over the course of the year we have seen some significant political outcomes and lacklustre earnings growth weigh on sentiment in Europe. It appears that politics and sentiment have overwhelmed the economic reality of stocks at times. Europe has now been in a bear market since spring 2015 despite steady, albeit very sluggish, economic growth and continued ongoing extraordinary monetary easing by the ECB. Where we have seen a material shift is in the sentiment of the European populous, who appear to be increasingly reward...