Strategy
Invesco Upbeat On European Equities

Invesco has released its Henley European Equity Team’s
monthly summary, painting an optimistic picture of the future for
European equity markets.
According to the report, fiscal austerity measures across Europe
are paying off - with the result that the crisis in the eurozone
is nearing a resolution.
Although Luke Stellini, European product director at Invesco
Perpetual and author of the note, said equities were unlikely to
return to pre-2008 “normality”, Invesco analysts felt “the end of
the euro crisis is at hand”. Resolving the debt crisis would
remove one of the main reasons why the risk premium on European
equities has remained high, said Stellini.
The analysts do not expect Spain to require a financial bail out,
as happened in Ireland and Portugal, because the country’s loans
represent a much smaller proportion of GDP than in either of
those countries. A relatively low proportion of Spanish banks are
in trouble and structural reform has added credibility to Spain’s
ability to address its deficit, the report said. The country is
also benefiting from growth in exports and tourism.
The analysts said that high risk premiums, low investor
participation, and undervalued companies that are performing well
all suggest that now is a wise time to invest in European
equities.