YouGov Share Price Plunge: Which Funds Are Exposed?

But
how
are
the
stock’s
backers
reacting
to
the
disappointing
news?

It
is
actually
difficult
to
tell.
YouGov
is
something
of
an
elephant
in
the
room
in
the
City,
and
fund
houses
with
the
biggest
exposures
to
it
seem
reluctant
to
comment.

Nevertheless,
some
are
talking.
John
Moore,
senior
investment
manager
at
RBC
Brewin
Dolphin,
said
that,
from
now
on,
YouGov
will
have
to
focus
on
rebuilding
trust
around
its
longer-term
growth
plans.

“YouGov
is
a
data
business
that
should
be
a
long-term
beneficiary
of
artificial
intelligence
(AI)
but
in
the
short
term
it
has
been
broadsided
by
declines
in
its
fast-turnaround
research
services,”
he
told
Morningstar.

“This
will
come
as
a
shock
to
shareholders,
who
were
guided
toward
high
levels
of
visibility
in
the
previous
statement,
and
wider
observers
who
might
think
that,
in
such
an
election-heavy
year,
the
business
should
be
well
placed.

“From
here,
rebuilding
trust
around
the
longer-term
growth
narrative
and
executing
on
areas
like
the
Consumer
Panel
business
in
2025
will
be
key
to
the
share
price
recovering.

But
according
to
Laurence
Hulse,
investment
director
at
Dowgate
Wealth,
the
fund
sold
out
of
the
polling
company
months
ago.
The
fund’s
performance
has
been
a
mixed
bag,
recording
negative
performance
of
-3.02%
in
2023,
although
its
year-to-date
return
has
picked
up
to
9.06%.

The
Athelney
Trust
(ATY)
held
a
2.4%
exposure,
as
of
March
31,
2024.

The
trust,
which
invests
solely
in
UK
small
cap
companies,
has
seen
its
share
price
trail
the
Morningstar
UK
Small
Cap
Index,
with
both
reporting
-2.8%
and
8.9%
over
one
year,
respectively.

London-based
asset
management
firm
Liontrust
also
has
a
significant
stake
in
YouGov.

The
polling
company
features
in
both
Liontrust’s
Morningstar
Bronze-Medal
rated

UK
Smaller
Companies
Fund,
as
well
as
the

Liontrust
GF
Special
Situations
Fund
at
2.36%
and
1.8%,
respectively.
Both
funds
have
experienced
outflows
over
the
last
year.

The
Liontrust
UK
Smaller
Companies
fund
has
seen
redemptions
of
more
than
£149
million,
while
Liontrust
GF
Special
Situations
witnessed
outflows
of
more
than
£63
million.

However,
the
Liontrust
GF
Special
Situations
fund
has
seen
a
positive
return
rate
of
5.68%
and
5.57%
for
2023
and
year-to-date,
respectively.
Meanwhile,
the
Liontrust
UK
Smaller
companies
fund
lost
-0.81%
in
2023,
but
has
since
returned
5.23%
so
far
in
2024.

BlackRock’s
Throgmorton
Trust
(THRG)
also
has
a
stake
in
YouGov
at
2.23%
as
of
March
2023.
The
trust’s
total
return
sits
at
3.4%
for
the
period
March
31
2023
to
March
31
2024,
underperforming
the
Morningstar
UK
Small
Cap
Index,
which
returned
7.66%
over
that
same
period. 

What
Caused
YouGov’s
Nose
Dive?

YouGov’s
share
price
nosedive
was
triggered
by
its
half-year
results
for
the
six
months
to
January
31,
which
saw
lower
sales
bookings
than
the
market
had
anticipated.
That
said,
the
business
still
expects
2024
revenue
to
be
between
£324
million
and
£327
million,
up
from
£258.3
million
in
2023.

Because
of
the
disappointing
performance,
the
business
believes
its
full-year
group
adjusted
operating
profit
will
be
between
£41
million
to
£44
million,
a
sharp
dip
from
the
£48.3
million
it
recorded
last
year.

Peel
Hunt
analyst
Jessica
Pok
said
this
indicated
downgrades
to
forecasts
for
2024
of
around
6%
to
revenue,
and
38%
to
adjusted
operating
profit.

“This
was
a
disappointing
statement
from
YouGov,
given
the
high
visibility
reported
at
the
interims,”
she
said.

Sales
in
YouGov’s
Data
Products
division
have
remained
slow
although
it
is
optimistic
about
its
Consumer
Panel
Services
business,
which
is
performing
in
line
with
expectations.

In
light
of
the
situation,
Liberum
analyst
Andrew
Ripper
has
amended
his
assessment
of
YouGov
from
Buy
to
Hold.
He
says
the
company
now
has
some
explaining
to
do.

“YouGov’s
trading
update
was
high
up
on
the
Richter
scale
of
profit
warnings,”
he
said.

“The
combination
of
revenue
miss,
lower
gross
margin
and
higher
costs
warranted
further
explanation
in
the
RNS
and/or
a
conference
call.”

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