Old Mutual Wealth

The scale of investment in artificial intelligence continues to grow, but the economics of the AI industry are becoming increasingly important to understand. In this episode of Markets & Meaning, Sean Ashton examines Anthropic's extraordinary growth and improving profitability, considering what its latest financial disclosures reveal about the commercial potential of AI. He also explores the growing capital requirements of the industry, as major technology companies turn to equity markets to help fund their investment plans. The conversation then turns to SpaceX, where a significant proportion of projected operating earnings is expected to come from AI computing infrastructure rather than its better-known space businesses. While the long-term opportunity remains compelling, Sean considers the risks investors need to weigh, from the supply of new shares entering the market to the sustainability of current demand and pricing for AI computing capacity.

How much are investors willing to pay for growth when the cost of money is rising? In this episode of Markets & Meaning, Sean Ashton explores the changing relationship between higher interest rates, economic growth and equity valuations. He looks at why US Treasury yields have moved above 5%, whether this represents a normalisation of markets after years of low growth and low investment, and what higher yields mean for the role of bonds in a balanced portfolio. Sean also examines the next phase of the AI investment cycle, as the focus shifts from infrastructure and data centres towards AI agents that can act on behalf of consumers. Using Meta's new Muse product as a case study, he considers how these technologies could challenge business models built around consumer inertia and friction.

In this month’s Markets & Meaning, Sean Ashton looks beyond the latest headlines to assess where we are in the market cycle. He unpacks rising US Treasury yields and growing concerns around fiscal deficits and the dollar, before turning to NVIDIA’s latest results and what they reveal about the strength and sustainability of the AI investment cycle. Sean’s conclusion is perhaps the most important takeaway: we may be further into the cycle, but strong earnings, healthier valuations and periodic resets in sentiment suggest the bull market could still have legs.

South Korea's technology stocks have experienced a sharp correction despite strong corporate earnings. In this episode, Sean Ashton, Head of Investments at Private Clients by Old Mutual explains why leverage and investor positioning played a key role, what the sell-off means for semiconductor companies, and why disciplined investors should distinguish between short-term market moves and long-term fundamentals. The conversation also covers the latest interest rate decisions in South Africa and the US, and what they signal about the balance between inflation and economic growth.

Markets don't always move in the way we'd expect. In our latest episode of Markets & Meaning, Sean Ashton explores why rising memory chip prices could signal a new inflationary pressure, why he believes recent interest rate decisions may have been a policy mistake, and one of the market's biggest contradictions: semiconductor companies continue to outperform while the businesses funding the AI infrastructure buildout have fallen out of favour. What does that disconnect tell us about where markets think value will ultimately be created?