Paramés: "Este es el momento más fácil que he tenido en 15 años"

1. Estamos en el mejor momento, según Paramés, para comprar renta variable aprovechando los bajos precios. Es más, señala que es el momento más fácil que ha tenido en 15 años. Señala igualmente que la renta variable tiene unos buenos años por delante. Le gusta especialmente porque nadie está hablando de renta variable, y es precisamente en estos momentos,  cuando surgen las grandes oportunidades.

2. Comienzan a ser optimistas con España, puesto que empiezan a interesarse por compañías ibéricas centradas en el mercado nacional frente a las compañias con fuerte carácter exportador por las que han venido apostando en los últimos años. Estaban esperando, tal y como dijeron en la última Conferencia Anual de Clientes, que los periódicos anunciaran quiebras y/o liquidaciones de bancos para iniciar compras importantes en España.


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Investors are fleeing equities with pension funds leading the exodus and with valuations dropping to record lows, value star Francisco García Paramés of Bestinver says it has created the perfect environment to snap up top stocks at knock-off prices.

Speaking exclusively to Citywire Global, the Citywire A-rated manager said his optimism for his sector was at an all-time high.

‘For me this is the easiest time for investing in the last 15 years,’ said Madrid-based Paramés.

‘This moment in time is a fantastic period. The best part is it’s not just in value but also in the overall market, there are some really interesting valuations, equity has some great years ahead of it.’

Admittedly, he said, there was a lot of value to be found during the tech boom but the combination of various elements in today's market are proving potent influences on stock valuations.

'It is not only because we see attractive valuations but also that right now no one is really talking about equities, everyone has sold out and pension funds have dropped their equity exposure.’

‘All these things are fantastic news for those of us that are fully invested in equities.’

‘Today in general I am very optimistic on markets as there is a huge amount of companies that are attractively priced.’

Moving back to Spain

This optimism also includes his domestic market, which until recently he only invested in through top Spanish exporters with global operations.

His Bestinver Bolsa, which invests in Spanish and Portuguese stocks, recently featured in Citywire Global analysis looking at the recent performance of last decade’s top ten returning funds.

It was the strongest outperformer of all the funds included in the analysis but Paramés said recent news has made him rethink part of his strategy.

‘While before we were focused on Spanish exporters now we are looking into companies focused on the Spanish market.’

‘We were really waiting for the time when the front pages of the newspapers announced bank liquidations. When that was happening and then the European rescue package for Spanish banks came along we believed all this was reflected in valuations.’

‘As a consequence, we are now actively researching companies in Spain.’

However, while his outlook for his domestic market is brighter than before he says there is one crucial factor that has not yet been tackled.

‘I am rather optimistic on the outlook for Spain but for me it still has to resolve the problem of its public deficit. It will cost it a lot to bring it out down.’

‘If this is resolved then I believe that the European problem is also pretty much resolved as Italy does not really have a public deficit problem, it does not have a problem of excessive debt except with the state.’

‘If things are resolved in Spain then we really have a blue sky above us.’

Global approach

Turning to his global fund, the €1.2 billion Bestinver Internacional, Paramés said one recent addition he has made is French group Wendel, an investor and shareholder group that assists sector-leading companies in their long-term development.

Through this family run-business he has gained exposure to companies like compliance firm Bureau Veritas and industrials group Saint Gobain.

‘We are buying a global company like Bureau Veritas, that is a fantastic business in the global diversified sector, and we are using Europe that is extremely penalised to buy it.’

While global growth is lower than previous years, he believes there is no cause for alarm.

‘The world is growing and things are going relatively well, this year global growth levels will be around 3-3.5% which is the average of the last 20 years.’

‘For us this macro outline is sufficient.’

Over the past three years the Bestinver Bolsa fund has posted returns of 3.8% while its benchmark, MSCI Spain TR, has fallen 14.3%.

In the same period, the Bestinver Internacional fund has returned 53.5% while its Citywire benchmark, FTSE World TR, has risen 52.8%.