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When you invest with so many high-quality fund managers, it’s only natural to pick their brains every now and then. We have spoken to a few of them and collected their thoughts on the current situation in China. As a background, around nine months ago, in November 2020, Ant Financial (Alibaba’s fintech business) was ready to break records with a $37 billion IPO and an estimated valuation close to $300 billion. However, the Chinese regulators pulled the plug on it, officially because of risks around financial security. Since then, the clampdown has extended more broadly, reaching the wider internet and e-commerce sector, property developers, the ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing and the entire private education sector. Markets and more broadly investor sentiment has been under pressure and Chinese stocks are now trading at around 30% below their February peak.

You will likely be aware that last month Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, was blasted to the edge of space aboard New Shepard, a rocket designed to give fare paying customers an out of this world – and out of their seats – experience. His flight came just days after that of fellow billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson whose company Virgin Galactic is also opening up a commercial venture. Surely Elon Musk can’t also resist the ultimate ride? What fewer readers will know is that just a few weeks before Mr Bezos’s pioneering flight he stepped down as CEO of Amazon, handing the reins to Andy Jassy, a 23-year Amazon veteran who in 2003 founded Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud computing business, and has grown it into arguably the biggest profit centre under the Amazon banner today. These two events were not directly linked, and Mr Bezos stays on as Executive Chairman, but it does shine a light on an important aspect of business operations and corporate governance: succession planning.

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” is a phrase I’ve often found myself replying in retort – we are sadly not all blessed with looks that appeal to the masses! The concept of beauty has been a topic for debate preceding Christ and almost certainly precedes value investing, but I would suggest that it is not just beauty that is in the eyes of the beholder, but also value.