Woodford set for ongoing bear market

Invesco Perpetual's Neil Woodford is positioning his portfolios for a continuing bear market and warns pension liabilities will reduce the ability of companies to provide profits to shareholders. He told delegates at Investment Week's Scottish Markets Forum to expect little recovery in profits or earnings, while low inflation would lead to lower returns on capital and, in turn, lower valuations. He also warned UK dividends will come under pressure. Woodford said: 'Companies face pensions, healthcare and litigation costs. I think pensions is the most significant of these as they have pri...