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Alex Wright

Portfolio Manager, Fidelity Special Values PLC (Fidelity International), Fidelity Special Values

Search every verified Alex Wright interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Alex Wright, portfolio manager of Fidelity Special Values PLC and Fidelity Special Situations, has recently discussed the UK stock market’s performance and valuation. In early 2026, he noted that the UK market, after a strong 2025, was trading at about 14 times earnings, roughly in line with its long-term average, while other developed markets traded at 17-18 times and the US at 24 times. He has said the UK market remains attractive on a relative basis and that value investing has outperformed growth in the UK for several years. Wright has also commented on geopolitical risks, stating in April 2026 that the outlook for the stock market was "materially worse" than a month prior due to tensions involving Iran, particularly regarding energy prices, though he said the UK market was in a relatively better position than others. Wright has described his investment approach as value-contrarian, focusing on companies trading below their intrinsic value, often in out-of-favor sectors or with near-term issues. He has said the trust holds about 100 names, with roughly 60% in mid and small-cap stocks, and uses gearing flexibly, typically between 5% and 20%. He has also said he no longer invests in US companies, citing a lack of value, and has reduced overseas exposure to about 11% of the portfolio, primarily in European companies. Wright has highlighted opportunities in sectors such as banks and financials, and has noted that UK companies have been frequent takeover targets due to low valuations relative to global peers.

Recent appearances

  • 392. Value investing in a volatile world

    April 15, 2026 · 📺 FundCalibre - independent research for investors

    This interview examines how escalating geopolitical tensions are influencing the UK equity market and investor sentiment. Rising energy prices and disrupted supply chains are expected to feed through into inflation and interest rates, creating headwinds for more cyclical areas of the market. Alex Wright, manager of Fidelity Special Values Trust (https://www.fundcalibre.com/elite-fun...) , explores how the portfolio is being adjusted in response, including changes to exposure across sectors such as defence and oil. We also consider the challenges of navigating markets where traditional defensiv…

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  • Alex Wright: It’s a myth that UK shares have a problem

    January 16, 2026 · 📺 Fidelity UK

    What has been driving the UK stock market’s winning run in 2025? In this week’s Personal Investor podcast, Ed sits down with one of the UK’s most prominent investors, Alex Wright, manager of the Fidelity Special Situations fund. Capital at risk. This is not a personal recommendation. ----- 0:00 - Intro 0:58 - Setting the scene for UK shares 1:46 - How Alex’s funds have done this year 3:38 - UK vs the world 4:39 - What’s different in 2026? 5:55 - Do we expect the UK to be cheap? 7:10 - Growth vs Value investing 8:56 - Policy and the UK market ----- Follow us on social media: Facebook:   / f…

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  • Fidelity Special Values PLC 2025 AGM

    January 14, 2026 · 📺 The Association of Investment Companies (AIC)

    Recording of the Fidelity Special Values PLC AGM 2025 with an Investment Update by the Portfolio Manager Alex Wright. Recorded December 2025. #investmentcompanies #investmenttrusts #investing The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) represents investment companies, investment trusts and Venture Capital Trusts. We help our member companies deliver better returns for their investors. We provide investment company guides, information, performance data and news to people interested in finding out more about investment companies. Visit the AIC website: www.theaic.co.uk Follow us on X: www…

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  • Taking Stock after the Bell: High Fidelity

    October 06, 2025 · 📺 Quilter Cheviot

    With UK equities among the best performers, we chat with Alex Wright, manager of Fidelity Special Values, for his take on what lies behind the UK’s outperformance, as well as ask the contrarian investor which areas he has been investing in and what he looks for in a stock.

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  • Inside Fidelity Special Values Trust with Alex Wright

    September 19, 2025 · 📺 FundCalibre - independent research for investors

    In this Talking Factsheet, Alex Wright, manager of the Fidelity Special Values Trust, provides a concise overview of what the fund invests in, explains their investment process, and outlines the key risks associated with the fund. Additionally, Alex shares insights into how ESG considerations are incorporated into the fund and offers insights into how the trust uses gearing and discount control mechanisms. Key Topics Covered: What does the fund invest in? Investment process explained Managing risks ESG integration Gearing and discount control mechanisms Learn more at https://www.fundcalibre…

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  • 285: Money Makers Investment Trusts Podcast - with Alex Wright (05 July 2025)

    July 05, 2025 · 📺 Money Makers

    In this edition of the Money Makers Investment Trusts Podcast, Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook and winner of the 2024 AIC Best Broadcast Journalist Award, is joined by Alex Wright, manager of the Fidelity Special Values Investment Trust, and Fidelity Special Situations, the open-ended equivalent fund. This discussion was recorded on Tuesday 01 July 2025. ** Out now: The 2025 Investment Trusts Handbook ** The Investment Trusts Handbook is an independent educational publication designed to provide investors with a handy annual reference book that summarises all you ne…

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  • Why I no longer invest in US shares

    May 28, 2025 · 📺 interactive investor

    In our latest Insider Interview, Fidelity UK value investor Alex Wright explains why he's been cutting down on overseas exposure at Fidelity Special Values. The investment trust can hold up to 20% in overseas stocks, an allowance that Wright has previously taken full advantage of, but this weighting has now fallen to 11% due to US stocks gradually departing the portfolio. Wright explains why he no longer invests in US shares, where he's finding value opportunities in the UK market, and his approach to investing in ‘unloved’ stocks. Fidelity Special Values is one of ii’s Super 60 investme…

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  • In The HotSeat - Alex Wright from Fidelity Special Values

    May 16, 2025 · 📺 QuotedData

    Alex Wright joined Fidelity in 2001 as a research analyst and has covered a number of sectors across the market capitalisation spectrum. He has managed the Fidelity Special Situations Fund since January 2014 and has also been responsible for managing Fidelity Special Values PLC since September 2012. Alex has a BSc (Economics) from Warwick University, where he graduated with First Class Honours, and he is also a CFA Charterholder. #QuotedData #Investments #Investing #Live #Livestream #FidelitySpecialValues #Fidelity

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  • ALEX WRIGHT – Lead manager, Fidelity Special Situations

    January 27, 2025 · 📺 Hargreaves Lansdown

    https://www.hl.co.uk/funds/help-choos... Alex Wright, lead manager of the Fidelity Special Situations fund, joins Joseph Hill on this episode of HL’s meet the manager. Wright discusses the fund’s value focused investment approach, identifying undervalued companies that have been shunned by other investors as well as how active managers can take advantage of market inefficiencies. Watch to find out who Wright credits with having the biggest influence on his investment approach. Fidelity This video isn’t personal advice. These are the views of the fund manager and not a recommendation to buy…

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  • Stock market outlook for 2025 webinar: Fidelity Special Values

    January 08, 2025 · 📺 AJ Bell

    Alex Wright, Portfolio Manager of Fidelity Special Values, discusses the trust's investment process, the importance of valuation, and the performance of the trust over the years. He also highlights the current opportunities in the UK market, the impact of value investing, and the potential for continued M&A activity.

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  • 239. Why banks are the most exciting investment in the UK today

    May 28, 2024 · 📺 FundCalibre - independent research for investors

    Alex Wright, manager of the Fidelity Special Values investment trust, explains to us how the UK’s largest 100 companies can be trading cheaply, even though the index has hit an all-time-high. He discusses the different areas of the UK stock market and tells us why he thinks banks are the most exciting sector for investors today. Alex also discusses the importance of dividends and tells us why he prefers a couple of European companies over their UK peers. What’s covered in this episode: • Does the FTSE 100 reaching an all-time high mean it’s too expensive now? • What’s more attractive?…

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  • 37. The 12 year-old asking for an investment

    May 28, 2024 · 📺 FundCalibre - independent research for investors

    Having badgered his parents for an investment in Foreign and Colonial investment trust at the age of 12, it’s perhaps no wonder that Alex Wright became a fund manager. Here he talks to us about his own trust, Fidelity Special Values, tells us why he invests in stocks other people don’t like, and debates the merits of banks and Brexit. Learn more on fundcalibre.com (https://www.fundcalibre.com/) Please remember, we’ve been discussing individual companies to bring investing to life for you. It’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. The fund may or may not still hold these companies at the tim…

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Notable quotes

“What AI is increasingly being viewed as doing is making incumbency and monopolies much harder to persist. So, if you look at some of the highly rated companies in the UK, like a Relx, and a Rightmove, and Auto Trader, and LSE, that they're there because they've got ingrained network effects and monopoly type characteristics that's allowed them to have incredible pricing power and incredible earnings growth over a 10-”

“The outlook for the stock market is materially worse than it was only sort of a month ago before Iran and that's irrespective of what happens from here. It's very difficult to predict exactly how peace talks and deals will go from here and we're not trying to do that, but what we are looking at is what's happened and what it means for the world and I guess particularly here it's all about what happens to energy price”

“Value has been outperforming for each of the last five calendar years in the UK. And actually that phenomenon is also occurring in all markets globally with the exception of the US. Now if you look over time why do people like to call themselves value investors? That's cuz value stocks outperform. So that's not unusual and it's because of the sort of behavioral characteristics like people like exciting stories like t”

“For a long time the UK market's been trading very cheaply not just versus other markets but also versus its own history. And so actually for the first time in 10 years the UK now with that big rerating that we've seen in 25 is now trading about average for its long term. So about 14 times earnings. Now that compares very well to other markets though. So other developed markets are more like 17 to 18 times if you look”

“So other things being equal, declining interest rates are generally a negative for banks. And indeed there were a lot of fears when you got to the sort of the peak of interest rates about two years ago about what a declining interest rate environment would mean for the banks because obviously it's been a very long time actually since we've seen a sort of declining interest rate environment because you were obviously ”

“So if you look at the cash generation of the two businesses, it's very strong for both. But HSBC chooses to spend most of that cash on dividends and has a much lower share buyback. Whereas Standard Chartered has a much lower dividend and a much larger share buyback. And that share buyback when your stock is undervalued is very accretive to the earnings per share. So the growth of earnings of the company going forward”

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →